Skateboarding in the Bay Area
Berkeley Parents Network >
Reviews >
Places to Go >
Skateboarding in the Bay Area
July 2008
OK, parents, please let me hear it from you! I understand
that both Berkeley & state law require helmets at the
Berkeley Skate Park. Why is it that I never see them?
How safe do you think it is, for your child, to skate sans
helmet? If you do have your teen wear one, how do
you ''enforce'' it? My middle schooler has started to hang
out there some, and just as I would require a helmet
bicycling, I expected that to be the case at the skating
park. But when we went, I can actually say I had to
agree: ''But MOM, NO-ONE wears one!'' What's that about?
And, to those who do have them, where did you get a ''teen-
suitable'' one? All advice, recommendations, help, even if
it turns out I should ''relax'', I'd love to hear. Thanks
so much.
Helmet at the Skate Park?
My son used to go to the park a lot, and, yes, we argued a
lot about helmets. But the deal was if he went, he had to
wear the helmet, despite the fact most others don't wear it.
That his father also insisted (we are divorced) was key. My
son would have to reminded constantly (likewise with
bicycling.) But I know the helmet saved my son from two
serious concussions at the park - once when an inline skater
ran into him. His elbow cracked -- no pads -- but his head
was ok. I wish more parents would insist, especially for the
little kids. There are 'cool'(er) helmets, e.g. Pro-tec brand.
FYI my son happens to be banned from skating at the moment
b/c he was somewhere he wasn't supposed to be -- the skating
spot across from Berkeley High -- and wasn't wearing a
helmet and just happened to break his foot skating on a
friend's board.
With my son's injuries and the on-going helmet debate, I did
some research on skateboard injuries and talked with a
friend at National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health at the CDC. Surprisingly, the studies are few and are
out of date. They often mix data with in-line skating and
other activities. What I learned is that fractured
extremities are most common, and deaths are actually not
that common. Deaths usually involve skitching or colliding
with a car. What hasn't been documented is the affect of
repeated concussions over time in skateboarders. The general
studies on concussions, especially the evidence from
football, would indicate that a lot of non-helmeted
skateboarders will suffer from cumulative brain injuries due
to repeated 'minor' concussions. This is a very serious
outcome, but it is hard to convince teenagers of the danger
of it now. Yet, if you hang out at the skate park at all,
you are bound to hear the awful sound of head hitting
concrete. It's not pleasant. Maybe there should be a graphic
board on the brain and concussions at the skate park.
FYI - This site has data on reported injuries:
xapps.cpsc.gov/NEISSQuery/
. You can call up data on
specific activities, kinds of injuries and time periods.
martha
Hi - I'm a mom of a middle school age skateboarder and also
a practicing physician in the Berkeley area. The one hard
and fast rule we have regarding skateboarding is that my
son is required to wear his helmet. This is especially true
for the skatepark because of the risk of head injury
while ''droppoing in'' on the ramps. We enforce the rule in
our family by repetition, and letting him know that we'll
take away the skateboards for periods of time, or
eventually permanently if he doesn't comply. His helmets
are the BMX style helmets and can be purchased at most bike
or sporting goods stores. I ''drop-by'' to the skatepark
occasionally (and my son knows it) to check on him and
verify that he is wearing his helmet. It's true that many
kids do not wear helmets, especially the older kids and
adults. It means I'm not the coolest mom around. It is
also the law, and occasionally the Berkeley police give out
tickets to kids who are not wearing safety equipment at the
skatepark.
The most important reason, of course, is to protect your
child from serious head injuries. I've spent too many
hours in emergency rooms and rehab centers with patients
with severe life-long disabilities from head injuries. It
can happen more easily than you might think from falling
off a bike or a skateboard. The American Academy of
Pediatrics strongly recommends helmets with scooters,
bikes, skateboards because of the risk of head injury. Good
Luck!
Deborah
As a previous poster stated...it's a law, I believe a
federal law that states...paraphrasing if I may, that any
child under 18, riding equipment with WHEELS is required to
wear a helmet. There is a fine, however not enough citing
happens in my estimation.
The coolness factor is just not enough of a reason not to
protect your most precious asset, and keep your brain
rattle-free and inside your skull.
brain buckets all around
First of all, I love that there is such a great skateboard
park in Berkeley. Great place for kids of all ages. But
absolutely they should wear a helmet. Whether you can
enforce it is another question. Certainly the city of
Berkeley has decided that it's can't be. I work a couple
of blocks and I'd say at least once a week there's an
emergency vehicle that goes to deal with someone injured
there. Injuries come with the territory in skateboarding,
but a head injury is too serious to let slide. Let your
kid know that this is a safety issue too big to let go.
Doesn't matter that none of the other kids are doing it.
David
Following up on this discussion ... I see there was an
article about the skateboard park's helmet laws on July 31
in the Contra Costa Times: ''City steps up efforts to get
helmets on kids at skate park''
http://www.contracostatimes.com/berkeley/ci_10063058?source=rss>
In a nutshell, the article says that the Berkeley police
used to hand out $100 tickets to kids without helmets, but
parents complained, so the city instructed the police to
stop ticketing people, saying instead that the city would
have staff enforce the rule.
To quote the article: ''Parks and rec Commissioner Margie
Gurdziel said the current situation is the result of a
community compromise between balancing funds for staffing
and not calling the police.
''We just don't have the funds to staff the park full time,''
Gurdziel said. ''It's a trade-off. I don't know if anyone
would be happy if we reduced the hours and staffed it full
time during the time it was open. People would be jumping
the fence during the time it was closed.''
Hmm ... maybe parents of teens need to let their city
council people know how they feel about this!
Jan 2008
I have 2 middle-school age boys who love to skateboard but
who are dead set on NOT wearing helmets. The peer pressure
is overwhelming. They refuse to wear helmets at the local
skate park (where there's a sign that says helmets are
required, but it isn't enforced) because no one there
wears one. Many kids skate to/from school every day, and
none of these kids wear helmets. I am torn between
completely disallowing the boys to skate w/o helmets, and
just giving up the battle (which is risky, I know). I
remember how relentless peer pressure was when I was
growing up, and I don't want to take away one of the
activities that gives them so much enjoyment. If I told
them they could never skate again w/o a helmet, they would
quit. We were on vacation recently in FL and took the boys
to a skate park where kids were doing all sorts of tricks,
and where there were kids on BMX bikes also doing tricks.
Not a single kid had a helmet on!
Does anyone have a similar problem, and how are you
handling it? Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
You are right, the kids are wrong. Stand your ground on the
helmet. Broken bones can be fixed but not a head injury.
Several years ago a 15 year old boy in my neighborhood died
from falling off of his skateboard. He wasn't even doing
dangerous tricks, he just hit his head in the wrong place
when he fell. I hate having the helmet battles with my son
too, but when it comes to safety, I think it's a battle you
need to pick. Of course, I suspect that when I'm not around
my son hides the helmet in the bushes, but I at least feel I
have to make my best effort.
buzzkill mom
My sister was a physical therapist when my children were
young (she has since become a physician), and she gave us
chilling descriptions of life with a child who has suffered
a head injury. She definitely had patients who had head
injuries suffered while biking or skateboarding, and their
lives and their family's lives were changed forever. Her
advice was no helmet = no bike/skateboard/scooter. We had
no problem enforcing this with our older two when they
reached middle school years, because our community lost a
well-liked teen a few years older than them when he fell
from his skateboard and hit his (helmetless) head. Our
youngest, now 16, is too young to remember that accident.
He thinks we are too rigid on this, but he definitely wears
his helmet, at least when he knows we are around to see. I
found that making this rule as rigid as the seat belt rule
was the only way to make it work.
Queen of Mean
A response and plea for further insights. Yes to helmets. In
my recent perusal of skateboarding injury research I found
some studies indicating that kids are more likely to wear
helmets if parents insist. Yes, it's true they often ditch
them when away from parents. But I think too often parents
are not insisting. My 13 year old is losing skating
privileges for a year because he was skating w/o helmet and
was not where he was supposed to be. How did I find out? He
broke his foot skating on Friday at the plaza near BHS and
called me to pick him up. A helmet wouldn't have prevented
the broken foot, true. This is the second broken bone. With
the first (elbow), if he hadn't been wearing a helmet, he
would have certainly gotten a concussion if not worse (hit
by adult inline skater at Berkeley Skate Park). Now I'm
looking for some constructive consequences for his
non-compliance. (The ban is his father's edict.) Any ideas?
A research paper on head injuries?
martha
A friend's kids were skateboarding last weekend with another
helmetless child who ended up concussed after falling and
hitting his head on a wall. The kids were horrified at the
sight of him. That ''he was lying there not moving'' and also
that ''he wasn't going very fast'' were two good reminders
about why helmets are a good idea. Kids are not great at
forethought, that's why they have parents.
Fiona
The person who most influenced my two sons to wear their
helmets skateboarding is a guy named Mike who works as a
waiter at Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe in Emeryville. Mike is a
cool tattooed guy in his early 20s who was once a
professional skateboarder but suffered a serious head injury
when he wasn't wearing a helmet. Now he needs assistance to
perform basic life functions. Mike told my boys about the
consequences of not wearing his helmet in a very matter of
fact way, and it had more effect than any lecture or
punishment that I could give them. Bring your kid to Rudy's
for a burger and a chat with Mike. Helmets should not be
optional, and parents need to do everything they can to
enforce their use.
Carrie
Helmets? Absolutely. I just spent last Friday night in the
emergency room with my 18 year old son. He was terrified,
as were his friends. He was very lucky. Hit the back of
his head going downhill (he still doesn't recall what
happened), banged his face up as well. He had a concussion
and three staples in his scalp. Neither he nor his friends
will go longboarding without helmets. My son realizes that
he could have died.
East Bay Mom
July 2004
Where is the hottest skate park in the Bay Area?
Oakland/Berkeley would be best but willing to drive.
m
The Berkeley skate park is at the corner of 5th St. and
Harrison on the Albany/Berkeley border. This is a free park
open from 7:30 am until 9:30pm daily.
Dandelion
2001
I would appreciate suggestions for places my
12-year-old can skateboard safely and legally. We are
familiar with the Albany and UC Berkeley skateparks,
but would like recommendations on places that are
closer to North Berkeley/El Cerrito and have less
restricted hours. Do any schools allow skateboarding
on their paved areas after hours?
Thanks.
Cheryl
My son does skateboarding at Cragmont school in N. Berkeley (Marin/Spruce).
There's probably nothing fancy you could do there but there are lots of
skateboarders and scooter users in the evening. (They probably wouldn't allow
it until after 600 or whenever the after-school program ends.)
Fran
To the parent who wanted suggestions about skateboarding on school grounds.a
Berkeley will soon have a skateboard park for skateboarders. In the meantime,
I urge all parents to dissuade their children from skateboarding on school
grounds.a Unfortunately, a significant number of skateboarders (including
bicyclists and skaters) have caused huge amounts of damage to the cement
on school grounds.a Thousand Oaks which hasn't yet been fully completed is
one of those.a The edges of the school's cement surfaces have been broken off
and have skid marks all over them.a Additionally, the speed at which some of
these kids & adults are moving, and the dangerous turns that some of them take
(sometimes compounded by the size of the group) put themselves and other
children playing on the school grounds at risk for physical injury.a Then it
could become a liability issue to the boarder, their parents, and the school
district.aa Some boarders (not all) with whom I have talked are not interested
in considering these dangers/consequences.a It became so bad, that the school
was forced to post signs excluding all skaters, skateboarders and bicycle riders.a
Any entry onto the school grounds for those activities could be considered trespass.
The school district is now looking into installing preventative devices.a Possibly,
these devices might allow the grounds to be open again to the less dangerous aspects
of some (not all) of these sports.
Jeanne
There is an excellent skateboard park in
Alameda, at the old naval air station. This park has the distinction of
being built and organized by high school students, who rallied 900
volunteers, and had the facility built in less than a week, a remarkable
achievement. It's considered one of the best parks in the state, and
certainly in the area. It is located on the Northern side of the the old
naval air station (now known as Alameda Point) by the estuary, next to
the old gym. Phil
Home |
Reviews |
Advice |
Members |
Post a Message
Join BPN |
Help |
What's New |
Search |
Contact Us
Last updated: Aug 24, 2008
Copyright © 1996-2008 Berkeley Parents Network
The opinions and statements expressed on this website
are those of parents who subscribe to the
Berkeley Parents Network. Please see
Disclaimer & Usage for
information about using content on this website.