Putting a helmet on a child who is starting to walk? This is a big no

Yes, it’s true, a child is fragile. Well yes, it is, but not that much. Of course, you don’t throw it from close-up to see if it rebounds, but you shouldn’t panic at the first fall either, especially at the very beginning of acquiring walking, a very important stage in its development. . And if you thought that putting a protective helmet on his head would help him, well no, indeed.

Safety helmet for children is not recommended

Many childcare stores sell them like pancakes to panicked, tired and worried parents who don’t want to see their little heir break his chest while he learns to walk.

Yet this is how we learn: by falling. Falling also means encouraging your protective reflexes during all of your next moves. Falling is learning from mistakes, understanding the world, discovering and learning. Yes, falling is as important as walking (almost).

So obviously, as a parent, you don’t like to see your precious child eating grass because they have tangled feet, that’s true. But as long as his environment is at least protected, with corner protectors on the particularly salient corners of the furniture, barriers at the top and bottom of the stairs to prevent Jean-Eudes from descending all the steps on his buttocks, it is sufficient.

A protective helmet, in addition to being expensive and useless, can also alter your child’s perception of uprightness, and would not really help them to move forward and learn. Not to mention, these things are heavy, and your baby’s head is already heavy enough, in proportion to their total weight. No need to load it, just.

Of course, everyone does as they please, and these helmets absolutely do not concern those used in the case of plagiocephaly – flat head syndrome – because these require the medical opinion of a health professional. But when it comes to protective helmets for walking beginners, saving really is better.

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