After two years of design and testing, first safety-certified multi-sport helmet on the market.
January 6, 2023 – Tina Singh, a Brampton occupational therapist and mother of three, faced a problem when her children started learning to ride bikes: she couldn’t find a single helmet on the market that could accommodate their turbans.
“My kids keep their hair, so anytime I went to go put a bike helmet when they were going out to ride … nothing fit them properly,” said Singh.
As a result, she had to resort to using helmet that were too large, altering them to fit her children’s hair, or not using helmet at all, none of which were safe options. “I was frustrated that there wasn’t a safe option in sports helmet for my kids,” Singh said.
Determined to find a solution, Singh decided to create her own. After two years of design and testing, she has produced the first safety-certified multi-sport helmet specifically for children like hers.
The helmet is suitable for use with bikes, inline skates, kick scooters, and skateboards for kids over five years old, and features a domed portion on top to accommodate a child’s hair while still fitting properly around the head. “What makes her model unique is it has a domed portion on top to accommodate a child’s hair, while still fitting the way a helmet should: two finger spaces above the eyebrow, creating a ‘v’ shape around the ear and one finger space between the chinstrap and the ear”.
In December, the helmet received a passing grade from international testing company SGS.
The release of the helmet is expected to provide a safe and inclusive option for Sikh children to participate in sports, and is also a symbol of inclusion and diversity in sport participation. “It is also a demonstration of inclusion and diversity in sport participation,” Singh said.
The issue of whether turban-wearing Sikhs should be required to wear helmet while riding motorcycles has been a topic of debate in recent years, with some provinces allowing Sikhs to ride without helmet while others have maintained the requirement for safety reasons.
Singh’s helmet provides a solution for Sikh children to participate in sports without compromising their religious beliefs or safety.
