Brain Safety

Did you know the real purpose of wearing a helmet during sports activities? Most people say it’s to ‘protect my brain.’ In a sense that’s true but the main reason is to protect your skull, the collection of 22 bones that houses your brain. Your skull is designed to protect your brain so it makes sense to protect that bony housing from cracking and breaking. Unfortunately, helmets designed to protect brain tissue and prevent concussions are not yet commonly available and even when they are, trauma and sudden blows to the head may still cause brain damage. To help children understand this better, you can describe the skull as a large glass jar. Place a several cubes of butter inside the jar and allow the butter to come to room temperature. Now tap your finger against the jar. There is little movement of the butter. Shake the jar violently, however, and butter can spatter against the inside of the glass. More tomorrow.