>I really am curious about this. What exactly is the downside to having your kids wear a helmet and be a little more protected? Maybe I could understand this debate a bit better if I understood the downside, but frankly, I don't see it.
>
>Pluses - the kid is better protected and in case of a bad fall is less likely to be badly hurt.
>Minuses - ?

Overreliance on protective gear, and then less care when moving about. I've once heard about soccer practice (let's see... summer '07) where the number of injuries was about double or worse for kids who grew up wearing sneakers. Those who spent their childhood barefoot got better reflexes and instinctively avoided most of the injuries.

I've learned to trust my bicycle reflexes - if I suddenly lower my head, that's probably because there's a thin branch hanging low from the next tree, and my brain isn't fast enough to tell me what it is. But it's fast enough to make me react.