Tip—Teach your children bike-safety rules and role-play "What would you do if . . .?" with them.

Summer is prime bike-riding time. Whether your child is experienced or a new rider, it's always good to review the "rules of the road" with them. Remember to re-evaluate your child's bike-riding boundaries each year. Some of us live in fairly safe neighborhoods with little traffic; others of us can only allow bike riding in the park on designated pathways. The Automobile Club of Southern California (AAA) offers the following Bicycle Rider's Tips. (Comments in parentheses are mine.)

• Always wear a bicycle helmet. (Point out examples of children on bikes without helmets—explain why they are not safe.)
• Keep your bicycle in good mechanical condition—tires, chain, brakes. (It is a parent's job to supervise and double-check here.)
• Obey all traffic rules and signs—always give proper hand signals. (Teach your child these things or take him to a bike-safety class.)
• Walk your bike across busy intersections.
• Always ride with the traffic—as close as possible to the right side of the road.
• Be sure the road is clear before entering.
• Always ride single file and watch for opening car doors.
• Don't carry passengers. (Again, point out children doing this and explain what could happen.)
• If you must ride at night, be sure your headlight and reflectors are working.
• Use the safest route to your destination. Avoid busy streets and intersections.
• Yield right of way to pedestrians.

Once your child is well-versed in bike-safety, you might also role-play with him what to do in case he (or a friend) crashes on a bike. Bleeding and broken bones are common injuries when children fall from bikes. When my brother was eight, he took a fall on his bike that resulted in a cut on his wrist so deep it revealed the bone (the neighbor lady nearly fainted when he showed up at her door requesting a bandaid); a few summers ago my stepson suffered a bike crash that broke one finger in three places. Both injuries were inflicted by handlebars where the hand grips had worn through and the metal edge was exposed. Check the hand grips on your child's bike and review first aid procedures for bleeding and broken bones.

Tools—Maribeth and Darwin Boelts, authors of Kids to the Rescue! First Aid Techniques for Kids, offer the following 1-2-3 first aid procedure for responding to a possible broken bone.

1. Yell for help!

2. Keep the hurt arm (or whatever is injured) still. Don't move it. The bone may be broken. Tell your friend to stay exactly where he fell, unless it's a dangerous place.

3. Check for bleeding. If your friend has a cut, remember how to help. Have him press on the cut until the bleeding stops.

For tips on role-playing, see the article What Would You Do If? June 1996, and for teaching children how to give first aid for bleeding, see First Aid for Kids, June 7, 1997.

You’ll find more practical tips you can use right now in Kids to the Rescue! First Aid Techniques for Kids by Maribeth and Darwin Boelts.

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