help! our littlest (age 5) still requires a helmet to skate (safety AND rink rules) - and also wears eyeglasses. We're having a problem with getting a helmet that is wide enough to accomodate the sidepieces, but, isn't so big that it rocks loose on her head. Any suggestions as to models or makes? We can't adapt the helmet itself at all, as that would make it unacceptable under rink/program rules, otherwise, I'd just cut out padding or something to accomodate the glasses.

Is the problem that the helmet itself is touching the sidepieces, or that the harness gets in the way? I ask because I wear glasses and while I don't wear a helmet for skating, I am a dressage rider and wear a helmet every time I get on a horse. I've never had a problem with my helmets interfering with my glasses, though I do have to ensure that the harness straps are adjusted properly so the front strap lies just in front of my ears, where the sidepieces of my glasses are right against my face.

Just a thought: I realize most people use bike helmets, but if you can't find one that works, you could consider a child's riding helmet. There are some fairly inexpensive sporty, lightweight models that look almost identical to a bike helmet--except that they come down a bit lower over the back of the skull. Seems like it might be good protection in a sport like skating, where the worst head injuries are likely to occur from backwards falls. Troxel is a good brand with child sizes in a variety of colors and styles, some of which come with a dial-fit harness that will allow for some additional adjustment.

Skate Canada says ... and our club insurance specifies - only CSA approved Hockey Helmets. Anything else, the kid doesn't get on the ice; the issue being bike etc helmets don't protect the head adequately. Rightly or wrongly, we're restricted to approved hockey helmets.

the problem is that the actual helmet itself presses on the sidepieces,i.e. there isn't enough of a gap between side of face and side of helmet.

If the child is serious about lessons and you still have a year or so where he/she is required to wear the helmet (and glasses), go to the optician and check out the sports type goggles. they can be fitted with prescription lenses, are shatter proof and have elastic straps. They are also great for other sports.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

I personally don't think wearing eyeglasses is a good thing since they could get smashed.

I think you'll find that is not the case; I know a great many skaters who wear glasses on the ice - I used to myself, for that matter, until I got bifocals and really had to get contact lenses (although having said that, if I skate in my bifocals, it does keep my head up!). I've never heard of anybody having their glasses broken while skating, although I suppose it could happen. You'd be far more likely to have an accident if you couldn't see other skaters, though.

There are various retaining straps one can wear to hold one's specs on if necessary.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Head protection for beginners is really important, kudos to SkateCanada and yourself for enforcing the rule. Too many rinks look the other way, which makes it harder for parents to keep their kids in helmets.

If she's involved in other sports, like soccer or basketball, the goggles are a good investment. I wonder if padding the arms of the glasses would help? Sporting goods stores sell cushions that you can slip over the arms of glasses so they don't press against the head as much. It'll take up some of the already-tight space alongside the helmet, but at least the metal/plastic won't be pressing in.

You can also try clamping sticks inside the helmet (when she's not wearing it, obviously) to compress the foam in that area.
Heating it in the sun or with a hair dryer will speed up the compression. It'll expand later, but not as much.

I don't think removing a "track" on each side of the helmet to allow eyeglasses would compromise the helmet's safety.
A sharp craft knife would make short work of that obstacle.

Just out of curiosity, what do you do with her hair? I've had students wearing helmets that were miserable because their hair gets in their face and they can't move it back due to the helmet.

I never wear my glasses on the ice, but I once went on the ice wearing my glasses in error. (Forgot I was wearing them.) Demonstrated a spin and wheeee! away went my glasses. While they bounced and skittered, a small piece of the frame broke off. It's barely noticeable, but it bugs me still. Since they were clear plastic, we never found the shard before they cleaned the ice. Smashed? No, not unless the Zam or another skater runs over them. Lost glasses will just go flying. I agree - vision's an important safety concern.

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quote: Just out of curiosity, what do you do with her hair? I've had students wearing helmets that were miserable because their hair gets in their face and they can't move it back due to the helmet. unquote

Her hair gets pulled back off of her face with a stretchy headband; it's about 4 inches wide, which means that it's well anchored, and it's very thin material which means no bulk issue on the helmet. Then, the helmet gets plunked on top. Narrower headbands seem to slide around, sometimes even down over eyes. Plus, if you buy pink, it cuts down on that "helmets are ugly" for my girly-girl. Note that she's got butt-length hair - !

We keep an assortment of such headbands in the skating bags. Our rather older daughter gets sent off the ice by her coaches if she has ANY hair in her face (it must be pulled back, tightly secured, with no bangs or other wisps on the face); thus, the collection is a standard part of our skating paraphenalia, much better than clips, or the bobbypins that are forbidden on the ice here.

RE the Goggles, we did look at them at one point: she participates in soccer, dance, baseball, etc; the glasses she would wear on the ice are actually designed for multisport, with special lenses, flexible titanium frames, attachments for sport bands, etc. No, I wouldn't let her play squash in them, however, they are certified safe for all non-racquet sports, even passing the sniff test by my incredibly picky opthamologist and the local sporting associations. And they look nice, again, important for my girly-girl.

We see a lot of ski helmets, eg www.giro.com. I don't have a problem with them and neither does my club. I'd rather see a ski helmet than an aerodynamic bike helmet.

Skate Canada doesn't say that skaters HAVE to wear a helmet, they encourage it. (underlining is mine)

That's right! Skate Canada recommends hockey helmets but it is up to the individual club to set the rule. Our club allows hockey helmets, with or without cages, bike helmets, riding helmets and ski helmets.. We have skaters with glasses wearing hockey helmets but what I have noticed is that the helmet is slightly larger and not as tight fitting. The chin strap keeps it on the head - and most are wearing cages to protect the glasses.

Some clubs also have an arbitrary age or stage limit for wearing helmets. Skate Canada has not set an age/skill level other than stating that beginners should wear certified helmets.

While I prefer to keep a helmet on any skater at any level until they are 6 years old - for their safety from others, not themselves - and all adult beginners or skaters up to about Stage 4 - I have seen parents in private lessons take off the helmet from 5 year olds once they are on the regular junior session.

BTW I know a skater who completed all badges by age 4 and had to wear a helmet on the junior session until she was age 6 - and only got to remove it when she tried her preliminary figure test at 5.....and for the preliminary dances.

ALSO - Mira Leung's mother forced her to wear a helmet when practicing her triple jumps...and she was a national juvenile competitor! That is one reasy Mira has such funny head technique in her jump take-off.

Yes, Skate Canada only ENCOURAGES helmets (wisely). Yes, every club sets their own policies; ours happens to be one that goes for the CSA-approved helmets only. Sorry for the confusion.

Thought this might be interesting to look at, from the NFLD & Lab Tech Package for 2007/08:

Helmets
Competitors in events designated as “CanSkate” events must wear helmets as recommended by
Skate Canada. Competitors in STARSkate events must be registered with Skate Canada in the
STARSkate programme, or if still registered in the CanSkate programme must wear a helmet as
above (e.g a skater on a Pre-Juvenile synchro team who is still part of the CanSkate programme
must wear a helmet; all entrants in Pre-Preliminary events must be registered in the STARSkate
programme).


So, there you go.

As to our dilemma: We visited a local hockey fitter, who adjusted a helmet to fit the little one's head and glasses. For those interested: CCM helmets fit narrow and square; Nike Bauer fit wider. Interestingly, they were able to solve another problem that had been occurring with the model of helmet that she had been wearing: DD has a hearing problem, and the covers over the ears were compounding it. The new one has openings over the ears, which means that she can hear better than before; I just have to check on the rules for stickers (Many clubs ban stickers on helmets, as do most if not all hockey organizations that I'm aware of, as it compromises the integrity of the helmet) - and then maybe we can fancy it up with sparkly butterflies or something.

Thanks to all who responded - !