Convince parents to let me ride a bike without a helmet?

Wrong place to get the help you want. I guess you'd also want us to convince them you don't need a life jacket when you're in a boat or a safety harness when scaling a climbing wall.

Yeah, I know the kids tease you about wearing a helmet, does look sorta dorky,and isn't really comfortable, but no way is a responsible person gonna side with you on this one. Hope you never need it, but it could save your life or save you from permanent brain damage. This in turn will save your parents a world of grief. You owe them that.

Wear the helmet or stay off the bike, especially when riding on sidewalks. They are dangerous places for a bicycle. Obstructions, uneven concrete, blind driveways, limbs hanging over, ppl.

Jimmy S and Bob are absolutely correct! Not wearing your helmet now (especially on a sidewalk where a car could back out and nail you squarely) could be the one thing that keeps you out of a wheelchair and eating thru a straw for the rest of your life, especially those college years...So what if those other kids want to laugh at you for wearing one, you must think that you are the ONLY ONE who ever got laughed at while you were in school?.....think again! I used to get laughed at when I was in college for NOT wearing one. Sidewalk are the LAST place you should be ridding your bike, more accidents happen to cyclists there than on the road. Not wearing your helmet now may mean that you NEVER get older than you are right now. How would your parents feel if you do become a vegetable that THEY have to CARE for the rest of your LIFE???? You call that school of yours Immature, so what will you be if you DONT wear that helmet? learn to absorb all that ridicule you will get, It WILL make you STRONGER inside! Flipping off everyone who makes fun of you will only increase your chances of wrecking your bike because you will have a hand off of the bars which also increases your chances of splitting that unprotected head of yours on the concrete too!

I suppose you will ask us to convince your parents to let you text when you start driving too.....? Think man- this isnt a hard one for you to figure out on your own or are you one of those people who think " that will NEVER happen to me"...

If you give Chris the best answer then you obviously arent as smart as I think you are!

You said, "I never fell off my bike", to which I add, "Yet!" When you do have your eventual fall, you will have hit the ground in less than 2 shakes of a lamb's tail. Will it hurt? Without a helmet, you may never know. Try this. Place your helmet properly on your head. Now bang your head, increasingly hard, against a solid post. When it starts to really hurt, quickly remove your helmet and continue to bang your head hard against the post. Convince me that it doesn't hurt, and you can easily convince your parents that you don't need to wear the helmet when you ride. As for your concern about feeling like an idiot; I think you are a certifiable idiot for even thinking of riding without a helmet, and I think your parents would be equally certifiable idiots for letting you do so. Wrinkled hair is better than wrinkled head. Wear helmet-hair with pride.

When people street race or race, do you see them not wear a safety harness or a seat belt?

Especially when a helmet is the only thing protecting you in a collision or crash.

Most states, it is illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk. Riding a bike, you are considered a motorist. You can also put pedestrians in danger.

If people don't know you, they wouldn't care if you are wearing one or not. If you friends decide to judge you because you wear a helmet, then they aren't your friends.

If wearing a helmet is a "style" issue, then I suggest you to walk or take the bus to school rather then seeing your head cracked open on the pavement.

sounds like as long as you want your parents to feed and clothe and house you and stuff you have to humor them.

dont even bother telling them that every time you step out the front door your risking death that no helmet is going to prevent, because they dont want to hear that. keep using the road when you can and the sidewalk when you need to. its completely ok in most progressive states. be aware that cars dont look both ways before they cross sidewalks like they do when they cross roads though. and if your parents are really worried about you getting hurt they should get you some nice elbow and maybe knee pads. we instinctively protect our heads pretty well when we fall but elbows break all the time. not deadly but painfull. maybe you can get them to spring for a nice messenger bag to carry all your stuff too! re-load bags are pretty cool. hey you know what? i think you need a new bike too......

Chances are that your state requires you to wear a helmet. Your parents can't do anything about that. Ridding on sidewalks is dangerous.

Edit:

Have your parents read this.

http://www.helmets.org/stats.htm

get a nice helmet, like a giro or louis garneau or a catlike. these will make your friends jealous. also its far safer to ride on streets that on sidewalks...

just say that all of your friends dont wear them and list some names. but make sure that the people u choose really dont wear helmets. then say that ur old enough and know how to ride a bike very well.

hey my dear, helmet is a must & a necessity when you're on bikes ok.