Safety gone too far?!? Helmets for crawlers????

[badgeguy]

I just heard a report on my local radio that there are now helmets for children learning to crawl and walk?!?!?

Really?? This to me is an example of where people are taking things too far!! It's just a scam to get money from people on ignorant fears and false information!!

(Excluding those children who may be born with or develop a condition where injuries to the head by the slightest touch could be very harmful). If such a thing exists.

To me the best thing is for a toddler fall a few times or maybe get a few bumps and bruises....that's how we learn what NOT to do as we get older!!

Anyway......

[AOII Angel]

Yeah, that'd only be necessary if you raised a baby in a house covered in boobie traps.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by badgeguy

(Excluding those children who may be born with or develop a condition where injuries to the head by the slightest touch could be very harmful). If such a thing exists.

There are medical conditions that require a helmet for a time period. My nephew's skull sutures were closing too fast so he had surgery to open them up so his brain had room to grow. He has to wear a helmet 23 hours a day for about a year.

However, you did exclude that type of situation. I agree that we go too far with some of these things. I sometimes wonder how any of us are alive. There are things that I padded (like the sharp edges of the fireplace hearth) as part of "babyproofing" the house when they were learning to walk.

[shirley1929]

This made me laugh and remember a story. When my oldest was 9mos old, we had to take him to the ER for some breathing issues. It was scary, of course, but then I got REALLY scared...we were waiting for the doc to come in and I noticed all the bruises on his forehead! He was in the midst of learning to walk/crawl and was bumping into EVERYTHING.

So, at that point, I was sure they were going to call Child Protective Services on me while I was there & I would be off to the big house for child abuse. Thankfully, the doc came in, took one look at his forehead (in the midst of listening to his chest) and says "looks like someone's learning to walk!".

Yeah, head bruises just come with the job of being a toddler...

[MaggieXi]

As a parent of a child who wore a helmet for real health issue this sounds like a terrible idea. Children who wear helmets do so for REAL reasons. The helmets have to be constantly adjusted for shape and growth of a babies head - which develops rapidly and grows at an incredible rate. Forcing a child to wear a helmet for "safety reasons" could potentially impact their health and development. Further, children who wear helmets for real reasons often have their gross motor skills delayed a bit because they have this big clunky thing on their head that they have to counter balance. The health benefits outways the delay. They do catch up.
My daughter is out of her helmet now. She is a little gross motor delayed with walking and crawling - but I would rather her get a little bump on her head from trying to learn to walk then have her in a helmet all day/every day.
Plus, a little parent supervision goes a long way.