Re: we need help with , he was just fitted for a helmet

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Welcome to the group! Believe it or not, you will get used to the

stares. Most people do anyway. I am one of the ones that has not. lol

I would much rather someone ask me what her band is, than to stare at

her like she has 10 heads! All of 's siblings have adjusted

well to her being banded. It bothered the 2 oldest (14 and 8)

somewhat in the beginning. But they are ok with it now. They don't

like when people GAWK at either. The majority of the parents

here do well with people staring. I think it just depends on the

person.

Once again welcome to the group.

> OUR SON MATTHEW WAS JUST FITTED FOR A HELMET AND WE ARE IN NEED OF

> ANY ADVICE. WE HAVE A 2 1/2 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND WE DON'T KNOW

WHAT

> TO SAY OR HOW TO HANDLE PEOPLE STARING AT MATTHEW, HE WILL BE 8

> MONTHS OLD ON THE 12TH. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A TORTICOLLIS AT 2

> MONTHS AND WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SHAPE OF HIS HEAD. WE WENT

TO

> SEE A NEUROSURGEON 2 WEEKS AGO AND WERE TOLD HE HAD POSITIONAL

> PLAGIOCEPHALY.

[Guest guest]

Hi & welcome to our group

Does actually already have his helmet? Or was he jsut casted

for it?

My daughter who is 2 yrs and 9 mos of age, wore her band from age 8 -

15.5 mos (2 different bands). She's the only child, but she has a

cousin who was about 2.5 at teh time Abby got her band. We told her

cousin, that Abby's band was to " help even out her head " , that was

it, her cousin never really asked about it again.

As for stares you may receive from strangers at stores & stuff, they

really never bothered me. The truth is, if you saw a baby with a

helmet on his head & you didn't know what it was for, you'd most

likely stare too, it's human nature to stare as something that's

not " normal " . We did get lots of stares, but as time goes on, you

probably won't even notice them any more. Most members are

pleasantly surprised at how nice others are once in public w/their

helmeted baby. Many people actually know what the band is for, but

of course we've all gotten the " is that to protect her from falls? "

comment *like we're THAT overprotective, hehe*.......it's tough on

the first few trips out, mainly becuz you'll be on edge & notice

every stare and/or whisper about , but it'll get easier, trust

me!!! It's easier for you to deal with the stares now, than for

to deal with mean comments as a teenager had you not done

anything to help him today

You're doing the right thing. Please keep us posted on 's

progress. How's his torticollis doing?

Debbie Abby's mom DOCGrad

MI

> OUR SON MATTHEW WAS JUST FITTED FOR A HELMET AND WE ARE IN NEED OF

> ANY ADVICE. WE HAVE A 2 1/2 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND WE DON'T KNOW

WHAT

> TO SAY OR HOW TO HANDLE PEOPLE STARING AT MATTHEW, HE WILL BE 8

> MONTHS OLD ON THE 12TH. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A TORTICOLLIS AT 2

> MONTHS AND WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SHAPE OF HIS HEAD. WE WENT

TO

> SEE A NEUROSURGEON 2 WEEKS AGO AND WERE TOLD HE HAD POSITIONAL

> PLAGIOCEPHALY.

[Guest guest]

My daughter was almost 2.5 yo when our son got his band. The first

day she asked if she could wear it. She never asked any other

questions after that.

Most people who will ask you questions are curious. Very rarely did

I encounter someone who was purposefully rude (and if I did, boy

were they sorry!). I tried to take it as an opportunity to educate

people on tort and plagio. You will probably get more looks than

you will people actually asking you. I always made it a point to

smile at people who stared. You can say " He's cute, isn't he? " If

someone was really staring, I'd just go up to them and tell them

what it's for. This was usually the case with older people. They

weren't trying to be rude, just were curious and forgot about their

manners!

You get used to it quickly. After Dane was in his band for a few

weeks, we were at the Zoo. DH and I kept wondering why people were

looking at us. When we got to the car we had a good chuckle over

the fact that we forgot about the band. It just became an extension

of Dane's personality.

Decorating makes it a lot less sterile. People will think it's a

football helmet or something!

Good luck with the fitting and welcome to the group

Dane's mom DOC Grad

[Guest guest]

My son Ozzy had a Star Band for 3 months. Since The Osbourne's are

sooo popular now we put an OZZY sticker on his helmet. A lot of

people stared but they were just curious. It's obvious if your child

isn't delayed, people kind of assume it's a new safety device for

kids learning to walk! I really didn't have a problem with the

stares, in fact it started many conversations. I feel I've educated

almost everyone in town! But oddly enough, since he's out of the

helmet I kinda miss it, he was so cute in it! Good luck,

Karissa

> OUR SON MATTHEW WAS JUST FITTED FOR A HELMET AND WE ARE IN NEED OF

> ANY ADVICE. WE HAVE A 2 1/2 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND WE DON'T KNOW

WHAT

> TO SAY OR HOW TO HANDLE PEOPLE STARING AT MATTHEW, HE WILL BE 8

> MONTHS OLD ON THE 12TH. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A TORTICOLLIS AT 2

> MONTHS AND WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SHAPE OF HIS HEAD. WE WENT

TO

> SEE A NEUROSURGEON 2 WEEKS AGO AND WERE TOLD HE HAD POSITIONAL

> PLAGIOCEPHALY.

[Guest guest]

Karissa.

What a cool idea! I would of loved it being a big Ozzy fan since high

school. I've seen him in concert a few times.

Wow Ozzy graduated! That is awesome. Are you happy with the amount of

correction he got?

> > OUR SON MATTHEW WAS JUST FITTED FOR A HELMET AND WE ARE IN NEED

OF

> > ANY ADVICE. WE HAVE A 2 1/2 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND WE DON'T KNOW

> WHAT

> > TO SAY OR HOW TO HANDLE PEOPLE STARING AT MATTHEW, HE WILL BE 8

> > MONTHS OLD ON THE 12TH. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A TORTICOLLIS AT 2

> > MONTHS AND WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SHAPE OF HIS HEAD. WE

WENT

> TO

> > SEE A NEUROSURGEON 2 WEEKS AGO AND WERE TOLD HE HAD POSITIONAL

> > PLAGIOCEPHALY.

[Guest guest]

Hello and welcome. I would imagine that your 2 year old will take

it all in stride. My stepson was 5 years old when got her

helmet and after we told him that she had it to help her head get

rounder that was it. He never gave it a second thought. As for

stares - those I ignored as much as possible. When people

asked about it I tried to educate as much as I could. Comparing

the helmet to braces for you teeth was always a good way to

explain. The helmet straightens the head just like braces

straighten the teeth. Most people could relate to and understand

this angle.

Best wishes and we look forward to hearing more about

.

Marci (Mom to )

Oklahoma

> OUR SON MATTHEW WAS JUST FITTED FOR A HELMET AND

WE ARE IN NEED OF

> ANY ADVICE. WE HAVE A 2 1/2 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT

> TO SAY OR HOW TO HANDLE PEOPLE STARING AT

MATTHEW, HE WILL BE 8

> MONTHS OLD ON THE 12TH. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A

TORTICOLLIS AT 2

> MONTHS AND WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SHAPE

OF HIS HEAD. WE WENT TO

> SEE A NEUROSURGEON 2 WEEKS AGO AND WERE TOLD

HE HAD POSITIONAL

> PLAGIOCEPHALY.

[Guest guest]

karissa you have got to post pictures of that!

beck

[Guest guest]

Hi

My son has been in his helmet for almost 4 months now. In our

experience, yes most people stare...gawk, ect... Alot of people think

Wyatt has a football helmet on, some people have made comments, (when

Ive have Wyatt in his stroller, people have come up to me and said "

you must be a really bad driver if he has to wear a crash helmet "

or " why do you have that poor child in that thing? " )and then there

were a few people who have come up to us and have actually known why

he wears a helmet. Some people are curious, and some people are flat

out rude. At first we took it personally, but now we just dont care.

Whatever it takes to make our babies better right? My husband and

I have learned so much from this experience, along with patience

we're definately not as quick to judge or label people with

differences or problems.

As for your older child...just tell them that has to wear a

helmet for a few months to make his head all better.

Hope this helps out a little

Mandy