Should use of a skateboard helmet be a law? Parents responsible?   

I think the laws here state they helmets must be used until they are 14 on bikes. I'm not sure about skateboards, but my 12 year old daughter always wears a helmet when she is on her bike or inline skates. I don't much care what the laws says, I just want my daughter to be safe when doing these activities. Any parent who doesn't needs their own head examined and should be accountable for not making their kids wear a helmet that can keep them safer.

The most common (and often most serious) injury sustained with a bike, on in-line skates, scooters, or while skateboarding, is a head injury. Head injuries are the leading cause of death and disability in these types of crashes. http://www.nyp.org/health/pediatrics_bicycle.html. Parents should enforce this safety element with out a law. When we live on a military base helmets were required for every one. It is the responsibility of a parent to teach their children safety concerning every thing. It's too bad that any toen has to consider making it a mandatory law.

I think it depends on the situation whether or not the parents should be held responsible. After all, the parent(s) may see their child riding off wearing a helmet, but that doesn't mean that their kids are going to continue wearing it once they are out of view of their parents. I don't think parents should be held responsible for that. But if the parents know outright that their kids are riding around without a helmet, then yes, they should be held responsible, although it might be hard to prove it.

Here in California there has been a helmet law in effect since 1994 for those that are under 18 years old when it comes to riding a bicycle. It changed in 2003 for those that are under 18 years old as now they are also required to wear a helmet when riding scooters, skateboards, and inline skates. So it's not just bikes here. And it looks like the city of Chico, CA adopted a helmet law for all ages back in 1991.

Here is a link for bicycle helmet laws in the US: http://www.helmets.org/mandator.htm

I remember when the helmet law first came into effect for kids riding bicycles here. Most kids were actually wearing them, yep even teenagers. As time went by, I started seeing kids under 18 pretend to wear them when riding a bike. Sure they wore the helmet on their head, but the clasp wouldn't be buckled. Nowadays kids, don't even bother wearing a helmet. So it looks like even though there is a helmet law here it is not enforced, or if it is, kids (and possibly their parents) just don't care.

Helmet laws have been in place for several years in Australia and I think it is a great idea. There are far too many head injuries. I am not sure if you are fined here for not wearing a helment as all my kids do wear one. I know the police will pull up people - children AND adults - that they see without a helmet and often they confiscate the bike until you produce a helmet to collect the bike.

At first glance, I think that a helmet law would probably be a good idea in some ways. Kids often take more risks riding their bikes and skateboards than us parents probably know about. Kudos to parents who already make their children wear this kind of protection. It certainly seems like it would lessen the risk of a head injury necessatiting a trip to the ER. Then looking at the flip side....Unfortunately, this kind of a law would surely be a hardship for some parents to afford, as the helmets aren't cheap (and then the kid grows and you have to get the next size up.) Personally, I feel that the government, whether local or national, isn't responsible for trying to regulate parenting. Not that I don't think helmets aren't a super idea, but I know families where they could afford a used bike for their kid, but there's no way they could swing getting a helmet too. I never wore a helmet when riding my bike or skateboard (back in the dark ages lol) and I'm happy to report I have never been to the ER for a head injury, or even had one from riding. Skinned knees so much my neighbors bought stock in the Band-Aid company, but never hit my head once...

Yes I think it should be law because if one doesn't have the common sense enough to know they need one for protection then there should be a law to decide it for them. No I don't think the parents should be held responsible because kids can easily take it off once they're out of eye sight of their parents.

I think they need all the protective gear they can get.