Kids given a brainy idea to protect their heads
Brain Injury Association and NBPD stress wearing helmets
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

STEVEN M. BARON Marie, a first-grader from Greenbrook Elementary School in Kendall Park, presented her illustrated writing at the 14th annual Authors Night May 8.

NORTH BRUNSWICK- Wendy Berk held up an egg and recited the "Humpty Dumpty" nursery rhyme.

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, All the king's horses and all the king's men, Couldn't put Humpty together again."

She then dropped the egg to the floor, with a group of first-grade students at Judd Elementary School watching in amazement.

Berk said you can take the pieces of the eggshell and try to glue them together or wrap the egg, "but it will never be the same."

The prevention coordinator for the Brain Injury Association, which is located in North Brunswick, then related the eggshell to the skull, noting that the shell is hard and protects the softer egg yolk and the egg white, which correlates to the brain

"Our brains help us to walk, to talk, to think, to see, to hear, to smell, to run around outside on the playground, to help us to sit here. The brain controls everything you do," she said.

Berk and North Brunswick Police Officer Craig Patton spoke to students on May 8 about the prevalence of brain injuries in minors, and the importance of wearing a helmet.

Berk said when she was in the fourth grade she broke her leg and wore a cast for six weeks. She said she couldn't walk well, needed crutches and a wheelchair, and couldn't play any sports. She said when the cast came off, she was back to normal.

However, she warned the children that cuts and scrapes last a few days, broken bones last a few weeks or months, but brain injuries can be permanent.

"The brain is different than the rest of the body. The brain doesn't heal like the rest of the body," she said.

This is why she advised the class to wear a helmet every time they use a bicycle, a scooter, a skateboard or skates, especially since observational studies have shown that only 30 to 40 percent of kids wear helmets and there were 11 fatalities in New Jersey last year related to bicycle accidents.

"When you have wheels under your feet, you're off-balance," she said.

Using three student volunteers, she told the story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," relating how the perfect fit of a helmet is essential.

She showed that a small helmet does not fit on the head, and the straps won't close, and that a large helmet will wiggle and jiggle off the head.

A perfectly sized helmet, instead, has only two fingers fitting horizontally above the eyebrows and below the helmet top, two fingers fitting between the straps and the cheek, and a V-shape formed by the straps. Also, if a person walks toward a solid object, the helmet should hit the object first, not the face or the nose.

She also said the fit must be checked every year because the head grows from season to season.

"A helmet has to be properly fitted in order to protect you," she said.

Patton then described the law enforcement side of wearing helmets. Although the initial law in 1992 required that children under 14 wear a helmet, an update in 2006 now requires minors up to age 17 to be fitted.

"Police officers see a lot of accidents and a lot of brain injuries," he said.

He said kids could come to the police department to have their helmets checked, which avoids a potential ticket or fine by police. He also said that wearing padding could help protect the limbs.

Patton also said that although adults are not required to wear helmets, the students should tell their parents about the importance of protecting their brains.