I was all excited to take my 6 month old daughter out in the new bike trailer I purchased and while looking for recommendations for bike helmets from other parents on a FB page, people said not to take her before she's 1. I will be so bummed if we have to wait until she's 1, I wanted to go out this weekend! Did you wait or take your baby in a bike trailer before 1 year of age? She does have excellent head control (so much that I don't even think about it) and can sit independently. I'm going to ask our pediatrician but wanted the Bee's input!
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We got ours when my daughter was 1.5, but didn't get a chance to use t until she was almost 2, so no I haven't. I wouldn't use it at 6 months- ours doesn't have that much shock absorption at all and I think a 6 month old would still get bounced around too much. By 9 months I might on a paved path, maybe. My baby won't be a year until December so I'm just assuming only daddy and the big one (will be three this summer) will go and I'll hang back with baby.
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Absolutely not. It's not safe at all and I don't even think they make helmets for children that young.
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I wouldn't. I feel like they're still pretty floppy at that age. Those trailers aren't that supportive.
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Nope. I don't think they make helmets small enough anyway (but even if they did I would wait until 1). My MIL wanted to take our daughter out when she was around 10 months old and even then I said no.
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We took our daughter when she was 12 months exactly - we had been waiting! I really questioned the recommendation as well but then I started thinking about exactly how much bouncing around she would be doing without the protection of her car seat and with the additional weight of a helmet on her little head.
Unfortunately, she HATED it when we took her last summer (screamed the whole time so we eventually quit) but I think it's time to try again!
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@peachykeen: our LO hated it at first two. The trick for us was putting a folded towel behind her back- the helmet pushed her head forward too much to sit comfortably, I think, and to give her a really good snack in the trailer. She loves Annie's fruit bunnies so we always gave her a pack when we went for a ride. And usually we would get ice cream at the end. Suddenly she loved it.
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I've seen infant bucket carseats put in trailers. Maybe I would do it like that. Definitely not just strapped in!
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No.
I just took my 14 month old for her first bike trailer ride. She definitely has the muscle control/strength--she's a very steady walker--but the geometry of the sling seat and her small size made her kind of crumble in a corner. (I think she was safe but mildly uncomfortable.)
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Yes, you can put babies in the bike trailer before they turn 1. They have infant slings that you can use: https://www.thule.com/en-us/ca/products/active-with-kids/bike-trailers-and-seats/bike-trailer-and-seat-accessories/thule-infant-sling-_-20101000
I have also seen people retrofit the trailer to fit a bucket seat as well.
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No, I have a bike trailer and the rec. ages of use are 1+. I don't think our ped would have okayed it before 1. He did okay it at 1. Also, my LO HATED it around 1 (so we didn't end up using it since she cried the whole time) but she did better at 2. I also don't think the bike trailers are that supportive. I start jogging in my jogger with her at 6mo and it is much more stable than the bike trailer. I have ridden behind watching her and it is MUCH more bumpy (even on paved roads) than you would think.
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Absolutely not.
The myelin sheath isn't fully developed until after one. A baby with extraordinary neck support isn't exempt from basic physiological development. Their brains are just not protected enough to ensure the jostling. Even with a helmet they are susceptible to injury. And a head + helmet is hard to hold up.
It's against the law to ride with children under one in New York. -
Nope and I wouldn't until they are 1 and wearing a helmet.
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No, I don't think I would. My 8.5 month old has always had great head and neck control, but even now, she doesn't have the balance or strength to deal with jostling. I also don't think she'd like it all that much at this point. We're going to wait until we can explain what's going on and set her up with a yummy snack.
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We waited the year to make sure they could wear the helmets.
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Yes, I used a car seat like insert to put my baby in at three weeks old. She's almost ten months old, and she's probably logged about 500 miles in it. We ride daily.
The over concern about brain development and shaken baby syndrome is not supported in the scientific literature. If you look into it, you'll find no reported cases of that actually happening - just a lot of people repeating the concern that it might. At six months you'll want to use a supportive sling, and your judgement about bumpy roads and such. But the brain development fear is not supported by science.
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We waited...which was tough since we bought a bike trailer last March and had to wait until July!
I did a lot of research and its just not worth it.
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We put our son in his carseat and put the carseat in the trailer. We were on a rail trail - so very flat and no riding in traffic.
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