Child Helmets?

MarisaKathleen · August 2012

A girl I went to HS with posted her son's 6mo pictures on FB and in them he's wearing a helmet with his name on it. In a lot of her uploaded pics he isn't wearing it, so I can't tell if it's a part time thing or what.

Call me a stupid FTM, but what issues would necessitate a helmet? Are they even called helmets? This looked like an actual medical piece of equipment, not like a safety bike helmet or something of the sort.

Here I only worried about the obvious things that could be wrong with the baby when she was born and lately I realize there's so many other things that I've never even considered--it's just scary!

kelbel527 · August 2012

I don't know a lot about them - so hopefully a mom with experience will jump in. But basically, it's when your LO's head isn't shaping properly, or they have flat spots. The helmets are to help the head form into a more normal shape.

melody921 · August 2012

I've heard of kids who have flat heads needing to wear helmets.

Manx4 · August 2012

Because of the "back is best" to help combat SIDS, infants are spending more time on their backs, which can cause their heads to become flat on one side or on the back. The helmet is to help correct this problem.

You should encourage tummy time to help prevent flat heads too and to try to get LO to turn their head different directions for naps so they're not always on their left/right - causing the flat headness.

Bookelly · August 2012

Not a stupid question at all! Two of my girlfriends have children who wore helmets at one point. Both babies suffered from positional plagiocephaly (aka a flat head), and it wasn't getting better through tummy time. They wore it most hours of the day for a few months, taking it off for bathtime and occasionally to *air out* their heads when it got too hot. Kids are both in preschool and fine now!

blindvictory · August 2012

I think some kids also wear them when they have issues with stuff like epilepsy or seizures. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) That way if they seize and fall, their little noggins are protected.

noloveintennis · August 2012

My SD and my niece both had helmets for flat spots on their heads. This time SIL and I are both having boys, so it will be interesting to see if it's slightly genetic. Maybe it was something with the girls, or just a coincidence. Who knows.

KellersPrag · August 2012

Manx4:
Because of the "back is best" to help combat SIDS, infants are spending more time on their backs, which can cause their heads to become flat on one side or on the back. The helmet is to help correct this problem.
You should encourage tummy time to help prevent flat heads too and to try to get LO to turn their head different directions for naps so they're not always on their left/right - causing the flat headness.

Spot on.

But this is again why I think a lot of these problems are caused by poor parenting. FFS people, your kid needs to be held, played with, moved off of their back. COMMON SENSE.

HarmsMomma · August 2012

kelbel527:

I don't know a lot about them - so hopefully a mom with experience will jump in. But basically, it's when your LO's head isn't shaping properly, or they have flat spots. The helmets are to help the head form into a more normal shape.

This is why DD had one. It's called "cranial orthotic therapy" -- she wore the helmet for 23 hours a day, from 6 months through almost 9 months. She now has a perfectly shaped little head and no lasting problems.

Manx4:

Because of the "back is best" to help combat SIDS, infants are spending more time on their backs, which can cause their heads to become flat on one side or on the back. The helmet is to help correct this problem.

You should encourage tummy time to help prevent flat heads too and to try to get LO to turn their head different directions for naps so they're not always on their left/right - causing the flat headness.

Manx4 is totally right, a lot of positional plagiocephaly is believe to be from the "Back is Best" sleep campagin. BUT not all cases are -- DD's was from being breech. She was stuck in my ribs, causing a lowered ability to move until she turned head down.

Unfortunately no amount of repositional therapy or physical therapy could correct the problem. We ended up with a helment, and a HUGE a** doctor's bill because not all insurance companies covered the therapy at the time (I do believe a lot of them do now though!)

linzeek44 · August 2012

blindvictory:
I think some kids also wear them when they have issues with stuff like epilepsy or seizures. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) That way if they seize and fall, their little noggins are protected.

I've worked with a few children with special needs who have worn helmets in case of seizures.

I think the flat head thing is more common, but it could be seizure-related as well.

bosha711 · August 2012

KellersPrag:
Manx4:
Because of the "back is best" to help combat SIDS, infants are spending more time on their backs, which can cause their heads to become flat on one side or on the back. The helmet is to help correct this problem.
You should encourage tummy time to help prevent flat heads too and to try to get LO to turn their head different directions for naps so they're not always on their left/right - causing the flat headness.
Spot on.
But this is again why I think a lot of these problems are caused by poor parenting. FFS people, your kid needs to be held, played with, moved off of their back. COMMON SENSE.

Sometimes there's more to it than just common sense. You can be doing all you can do to prevent it, but sometimes there's other issues.

My nephew had torticollis, which caused his head to favor one side. He didn't need a DOC band (which is what it's called actually), but he did have a bad flat spot. One he got PT for the torticollis, the flat spot went away.

My own son didn't even have any other issues, but did just favor one side for a long time. We were hyper aware of the risk of him getting a flat spot, but he still did have a small one that went away on its own as he got stronger & spent more & more time being sat up or on his belly.

hmp1 · August 2012

KellersPrag:
Manx4:
Because of the "back is best" to help combat SIDS, infants are spending more time on their backs, which can cause their heads to become flat on one side or on the back. The helmet is to help correct this problem.
You should encourage tummy time to help prevent flat heads too and to try to get LO to turn their head different directions for naps so they're not always on their left/right - causing the flat headness.
Spot on.
But this is again why I think a lot of these problems are caused by poor parenting. FFS people, your kid needs to be held, played with, moved off of their back. COMMON SENSE.

My kid was held plenty, lots of tummy time, and various different places for him to hang out. He still had a very significant flat head. I was really worried about it but the pedi wanted to wait until he was crawling to see if that helped before going to a specialist. It did, and over time his head has formed nicely.

MarisaKathleen · August 2012

Thanks ladies! My Mom has a flat spot--my Dad teased her about it forever--I'm glad things like that can be corrected now!

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