Hey kids! Whether you bike, skateboard, or roller blade, it's a good idea to wear a helmet! Did you know that injuries involving a blow to the head are the most common in our society? Keep reading to learn more.

About 70,000 people in North America suffer from traumatic head injuries each year, and between 70,000 and 90,000 are left permanently disabled! Head injuries can vary from minor damage to the scalp or face, such as lacerations, abrasions, or bruising, to more serious cases involving damage to the brain.

While traumatic brain injuries happen less often, it's important to know how to identify them and what to do for the patient. Loss of consciousness, even for the briefest period of time, is one of the clearest indications of a blow to the head.

Here's an experiment to get you going:

What you will need:

Two large watermelons
One bicycle helmet
A big target (bullseye works best)
An adult to watch you
Lots of spectators

Now the fun part:

Put the helmet on one watermelon and leave the other one plain. Take this to a park. Climb on the jungle gym if the park has one. Climb on one of the highest bars . Have your adult spread the target over a spot on the ground. Try to hit that. Throw the watermelon without the helmet on the target. Imagine this as the dumb person who doesn't wear a helmet. Now drop the watermelon with the helmet. Make sure that you drop it helmet side down. Imagine this as you, or the smart person who wears a helmet. Hopefully it didn't break. All who watch will be very affected, and hopefully always wear a helmet.

Back to the facts:

Injuries are the leading cause of brain damage among people under 50 years of age!
A blow to the head may cause temporary unconsciousness with only minor damage, but severe injuries to the head may cause more serious damage.
Head injuries before, during, or shortly after birth may cause a disease called cerebral palsy. All the different kinds of cerebral palsy have a certain condition where the victim has no control of a muscle movement. Be one of the smart kids and always where a helmet when biking, roller blading, or skateboarding!

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