Aspinwall children will be rewarded for using their heads this summer through a new program started by the civic association and the Aspinwall Police Department.

Police officers will watch for children wearing helmets while riding bikes throughout the borough.

Each time a helmet is spotted, the child will receive a reflective spoke slider provided through the National Crime Prevention Council.

At the end of the summer, any child with 10 or more spoke sliders will be invited to a pizza party.

This is the first year for the Bike Helmet Recognition Program, and Chief John Sabol says it is going very well.

"We've already had the kids lined up and knocking on the door," Sabol says with a laugh.

Sabol says many neighborhood children already wear helmets and the program is a great way to recognize them for taking safety precautions. He admits the program also is fun for the police officers.

"It's great to interact with that age group," Sabol says. "You get to know the kids and the kids get to know you, and you encourage safety education."

Jennifer March, of Aspinwall, says she thinks the program is a great idea.

She encourages her two children Woody, 6, and Alden, 4, to wear helmets every time they climb on their bikes, but having a police officer reward them for it reinforces the safety habit.

"We can tell them all the time to wear helmets," March says, "but when a police officer tells them it reminds them of safety and reinforces all the safety issues."

Woody couldn't wait to put the reflective slider on his bike after Sabol caught him wearing a helmet while riding past the police station.

Sabol took the time to congratulate Woody and his sister for wearing a helmet and then talked to them about their bikes. March says it is the interactions like that between community members and her children that make her happy she lives in Aspinwall.

"I think it just goes to show how involved the police and everyone is in Aspinwall," March says.