baby pulling to standing and cruising at 6 months. helmet?

[honeytea]

Ds is just 7 months, he has been pulling himself up on furniture and "cursing" along for the past 2 weeks. we have been on holiday at my mum's house for the last 3 weeks, she has a carpeted lounge so he hasn't hurt himself when he falls. We are going home today and our home ( and everyone we know) has wooden, tiled floors, I am concerned that ds will really damage himself.

Dp's family all seem to walk early, dp's cousin has a son who recently started walking at 9 months so they bought a helmet for him, it was like a soft padded helmet. I went looking for a helmet for ds but shop keepers seemed to think it was a bad idea.

I will ask dp's cousin where she bought the helmet, am I being very pfb and will some bumps multiple clonks every day not harm him? Should I just stand behind him and catch him when he falls? Any other ideas?

[ChunkyPickle]

We lived in a flat with solid floors, DS was independently walking at 8.5 months and it never occurred to me to get him a helmet - I don't remember any awful falls myself (although I do remember him slipping over after I mopped once)

I did keep him away from the corners of the coffee table/bed but not much else - when he fell he tended to just crumple down like demolished block of flats rather than sweep over like a falling tree though.

[Tee2072]

You do not need a helmet. Children are very resilient. Just let him go for it.

[Thurlow]

I would just put protectors on the corners of tables etc. They tend to fall down onto their bum rather than pitch headfirst. We have wood floors anywhere, and even from when she was just rolling around, I realised that DD actually put her head down quite carefully, certainly more carefully than friends' babies who had carpet everywhere, so she was obviously aware that floor = painful! The bad falls we've had have been recently now she can run.

[sewingandcakes]

I think a helmet is a bit OTT, I've had two babies who were cruising at that general age, and didn't consider needing one. All babies have to make mistakes in order to learn, and they're tougher than you might think! Just make sure corners are covered and stairs are blocked and enjoy this stage before he moves on to walking and climbing!

[honeytea]

I'm glad I don't need a helmet! Thanks for the reassurance, I think I still see him as a fragile newborn when really he is more like a robust toddler.

[Goldmandra]

Even newborns aren't that fragile. They are far more robust than you'd imagine. Children only need helmets if they're travelling fast without restraint or at risk of falling from a significant height.

It is generally a good idea to cover any sharp solid corners like edges of hearths or metal corners on tables but, apart from that, they are very unlikely to hurt themselves when moving under their own steam.

[TimothyClaypoleLover]

You do not need a helmet. A cruising helmet is one of the most over the top pieces of baby equipment I have ever come across. I think you were told it's a bad idea because if you constantly try to protect your kids from what is essentially normal developmental behaviour they never learn to risk assess and are much more likely to have a more serious accident/injury later on.

[MrsMongoose]

Very pfb with the helmet!

Bumps are a natural part of life. He won't be falling at speed or from great heights.. nothing much is going to happen to him at all.

[ChippingInHopHopHop]

Glad you have realised you don't need a helmet. Most kids walk sooner or later, they all go through the same thing :)