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.

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.

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...

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

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 wearing helmets should be mandatory. Riding a skateboard & bicycle can be dangerous if the rider doesn't have on a helmet. Only, I'm not sure about the parents being held responsible. It's always possible that the parent could tell their child to put one on, and maybe the kid even leaves the house wearing it & as soon as the parent is out of sight, they remove it. In a case like that, the parent couldn't be held responsible. Especially, if this is a teen, then the parent couldn't be expected to keep an eye on them like a hawk. I mean, it isn't like it's a little kid where you would expect the child to be under constant supervision.