In most youth sports, parents foot the bill for equipment. Youth football equipment, though, generally comes from the program.

Aside from cleats and some other accessories, the football program that our son plays for provides all of the equipment necessary, including the most essential part of the ensemble.

The helmet.

Five years ago when my son Bradley starting playing, my wife and I were novices and had no choice but to let coaches help Bradley pick out all of his equipment.

As we’ve learned through experience and Heads Up Football, one of the most important elements of being a youth football parent is making sure that your child has a helmet that fits properly.

“A parent does need to be involved with the helmet and equipment, and they have to take an active role in what’s going on out on the field as well,” said Kyle Borland, vice president of sales for Riddell, the official protective equipment provider for USA Football.

While not all parents may be experts when it comes to football equipment, it’s vital that they pay close attention to the helmet that is placed on their children’s heads. In fact, there is a simple request that a parent needs to make.

“Parents should demand that the organization takes a tape measure and measures the circumference of the head,” said Borland, a football dad who also played football at Wisconsin and in the NFL. “That’s where it all starts. That’s a good practice to get into, and it helps set the stage for the importance of the helmet fit with the young man.”

Once the head is measured, an appropriately sized helmet can be selected for the child. Riddell provides a fitting guide on its website that takes parents through the process of making sure that a helmet is the right fit.

There are four main things for a parent to pay attention to at the initial fitting of a helmet.

• The height of the helmet. For a helmet to fit properly, it should sit about an inch above the eyebrows, the greatest head mass and the largest circumference of the head. “If the helmet drops directly down on a young man’s eyebrows, the helmet is too big,” Borland said. “That’s usually the biggest problem that you see with youth players.”
• Moving the helmet from side to side. “There should be a crinkling of the skin on the forehead as it moves,” Borland said.
• Solid contact in the jaw area. It’s important that jaw pads feel firm against the face. “You want to make sure that there’s solid contact in the jaw area with what most people consider the cheek pads or jaw pads,” Borland said.
• Chin strap centered and tight. When a helmet comes from the manufacturer or returns from reconditioning, the chin strap may not be attached the way it should be.  “The chin strap should always slide up with the top chin strap attachments,” Borland said. “The top buckle should always slide up underneath the facemask so the strap is in-between the facemask and the shell itself.”

The chin strap is an important element of the football helmet. Many times, an organization will supply soft cups. Those types of chin straps feature a soft leather covering of the chin. This is an area were a parent can choose invest in something else.

My wife and I have bought our son a hard chin strap each year that he’s played. Our son likes the feel better. It’s vital to remember though: Fit is the No. 1 component to safety when it comes to chin straps. If your child’s chin slides around in a hard cup, the soft cup is the way to go.

Some parents choose to buy their children brand new helmets outside of the ones provided by leagues. That begs the question: What kind of helmet do you buy?

That’s easy: The one that fits the best. Never make a purchase thinking, “He’ll grow into it.”

And since modern helmets include the ability to adjust for fit through air inflation, helmets should fit perfectly, no matter how much a player – or his hair – grows throughout the season.

“The young athlete or the parents should be able to check that fit, and we recommend that on a daily basis,” said Borland. “I call it a snap check which is nothing more than a quick check every day before going out to practice.”

For youth football parents, finding the right helmet can be challenging.

Safety is the primary, and that starts with the right fit.

Just following a series of simple steps can make the whole process easier than you might expect.

Peter Schwartz is an anchor and reporter for CBS Sports Radio and WFAN Radio in New York. You can read his general CBS New York sports blog athttp://newyork.cbslocal.com/tag/peter-schwartz/. You can follow him on Twitter @pschwartzcbsfan. Peter and his wife, Sheryl, are the proud parents of Bradley and Jared. Bradley plays for the Levittown Red Devils of the Nassau Suffolk Football League on Long Island in New York. Jared cheers him on and Bradley returns the favor when Jared is playing soccer.