As parents used to living in the northern clime, we are used to bundling up our kids for activities like tobogganing, ice skating, ice hockey and skiing. But most of us don't pay much thought to winter headgear, though we should.
Researchers at University of Ottawa and Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario studied the suitability of various types of helmets to see which was most effective at protecting children's heads from impact.
As there is no type of helmet on the market specifically designed for winter activities, parents use either helmets for hockey, skiing or cycling.
When testing various helmets to see which performed best, the results, published in an article called "Performance analysis of winter activity protection headgear for young children," were staggering.
On children under seven years old, different helmets were found to be more effective depending on the type of impact: low-velocity (i.e. those occurring in a short fall) and high-velocity (say, when a child slides downhill into an object).
At lower-velocity impacts, the ice-hockey helmet gave the most protection, while the bicycle helmet performed better in high-velocity impacts. The ski helmet provided the least amount of protection.
Overall, the authors concluded that none of the helmets tested "performed adequately" enough under impact, highlighting the need for a new type of winter play helmet that can save a child's brain from potentially grave injury.
Do you always send your child out to play wearing a helmet? Will you think twice about which helmet you use?
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