Sikh woman creates turbanfriendly helmet for kids

A SIKH woman from Ontario has designed turban-friendly helmets for her kids as they started to ride bikes.

Tina Singh started making the helmet as she could not find a single helmet in the market to accommodate the turbans of her three sons, reports said.

Singh has designed what she calls the first safety-certified multisport helmet. She worked on and tested different versions of the helmet for more than two years.

According to Singh, the helmet is in production and certified for use with bicycles, inline skates, kick scooters and skateboarding for kids over the age of five.

‘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,' CBC Toronto quoted Tina Singh as saying.

Finding no turban-appropriate helmet meant that she had to use larger helmets that did not fit right and none were safe options. Singh, an occupational therapist who has worked with patients with acquired brain injuries, understood how important it was to have a well-fitting bicycle helmet.

‘I was frustrated that there wasn't a safe option in sports helmets for my kids,' she said.

The helmet designed by Singh has a unique model as it has a domed portion on top to accommodate her child's hair. Furthermore, the helmet has a two-finger space above the eyebrow, designing a ‘v' shape around the ear and a one-finger space between the chinstrap and the ear, as per the report. In December, the international testing company SGS gave a passing grade to the helmet.

Balpreet Singh, legal counsel for the World Sikh Organization of Canada, called the helmet a ‘welcome step.' Singh said that a helmet is an option that Sikh families can consider and definitely long overdue.