Kelly Forsyth-Gibson is a mother of 3 and was born and lives in the Scottish city of Aberdeen. In 1998,when Kelly's youngest child was 1 and learning to walk,the toddler fell and bumped her head. A search for a lightweight safety hat that was cute and fun for her child to wear was unsuccessful.
She continued looking for a protective hat that could reduce the severity of the everyday bumps and bruises that children get when becoming more active. There were none,so she invented her own...

Falling over is part of growing up and some accidents can act as an important lesson,such as scraped hands and knees .But the traumatic hospital trip; exposure to the radiation of an X-ray and the worrying 24-hour observation period of a head injury is heart breaking for all the family!
Parents take great care not to let their toddlers fall but you can't keep them glued to your hip all day and accidents do happen. At least now there is an option to reduce the harshness of head injury as well as reduce the workload of many Accident & Emergency Departments.  Kelly's invention is helping reduce the national child accident statistics, making learning to walk in a world of hard surfaces great fun and a lot safer.

HEAD INJURY ADVICE

Symptoms for concern:

• Loss of consciousness (however brief)
• Vomiting  (even once)
• Sleepiness or difficulty in wakening
• Persistent headache despite regular paracetamol
• Altered vision
• Memory loss of the fall
• Bleeding from ears or nose

Some of these symptoms may be difficult to assess in a small child. Should you have any concern about your child following a head injury then you should seek medical advice.

Thudguard may protect your child's head from bumps and bruises but a significant fall could still result in a head injury.  A child who sustains a head injury (whether or not the child is wearing head protection),and has any of the above symptoms,must be seen by a doctor - either your own family doctor or at an Accident & Emergency department.

Early Injury Can Have Long-Term Effects

Although young children with brain injury usually recover their mental abilities quite rapidly,they can have serious problems later. "These kids have incredible learning deficits even when the IQ returns to normal," said Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman,a University of Texas neurologist. She noted that 70% of children's brain injuries affect the frontal cortex.

Because growth in the brain's frontal regions continues throughout young adulthood,early injury there can damage formation of the protective myelin insulation around neurons. This can impair their ability to control emotions and inhibit inappropriate behaviour. These kids have trouble responding to subtle social cues and planning difficult tasks.

How to Identify the Seriousness of a Child's Concussion

All concussions are cause for concern,but not all concussions are the same. Symptoms can include confusion,headache,concentration problems,mood swings,or sleep difficulties.

"Concussions are caused by a blow to the head," says Michael Goodman,M.D.,a clinical assistant professor of Paediatrics and Neurology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University,Philadelphia. "They can occur when a child falls and during any sport that can involve a collision of the head with another object - be it a head,a ball,or the ground."

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After reading a list like this it is tempting to try to protect your child from every situation that might result in an injury.  It is appropriate to use good judgment in deciding which environments are safe for your child,but it is also important to allow him the opportunity to express himself through physical activity. Sometimes growth means taking risks and appropriate risks are worth taking!

N.B. Stair gates for infants and toddlers,car seats,seat belts,and helmets for riding a bicycle or roller-blades prevent many serious head injuries. Make sure your child is properly equipped for his activities.

Stage 1.
Usually the early months when baby is sitting up and/or crawling and especially if there is hard flooring.  Thudguard can be used,(perhaps twice a day) usually after a nap when baby is most alert and wants to explore the ground of a safe allocated room. 

There should be very little resistance at this age to wearing a Thudguard if any at all but short periods are best,and give lots of praise.  Baby will soon associate wearing a Thudguard with good exploring fun.

Stage 2.
It's wonderful!  Baby becomes more energetic and starts to pull himself up against the sofa.  Unfortunately,if he lets go,he can fall face first.  Some time after assisting your baby with learning how to walk (see techniques of learning to walk),he may stop holding on to furniture for support and attempt to cross the floor to another part of the room on his own. 

This is a very proud and exciting time but you may be tempted to stick to him like glue for fear of falls.  Every day,frantic parents rush into hospital after their babies have fallen off a bed,table,or over objects lying around. It happens so quickly!  Babies can fall even with the most careful and attentive parents nearby. 

When babies fall,they usually land head first,since their centres of gravity are in their heads (adults' centres of gravity are in our bottoms). The head hits the floor with a terrible,ripe-melon-like "thud." Thankfully,most of these head injuries are minor. A clear safe area should be created in advance of baby walking with playpen breaks in between. If baby uses the Thudguard in the first stage,then he should be good-natured enough to wear it now.  

Thudguard can be used a few times a day,in short intervals,to allow baby to enjoy his new walking skills.

Stage 3.
Your toddler although walking,may still be less than sure footed so a harness outdoors can be a great help but be prepared for the time when your toddler will insist that you let go and allow him to walk unaided. 

Toddlers love to run free and develop their newfound mobility and grass is usually a good soft landing.   There will be times when there are concrete,patios,and garden furniture or play park equipment that you may be concerned about but cant avoid. 

Thudguard can give great peace of mind in this situation and your toddler will benefit from wearing this cute protective hat as an alternative safety measure.

In 1997,to make the concept of an infants safety hat work,experts said the following:

"The hat would have to be lightweight,comfortable,attractive,protective and available in one size to cover the age group of approximately 7 months to 2+ years as parents would not value having to overspend on different sizes."

One of the many reasons that Thudguard was granted its patent was because of the design eliminating the need for small,medium and large head sizing for a pre determined age group.  A child's head grows faster in the first few years than in any other time of life so Thudguard accommodates for this by stretching,or growing with the child a full 10 centimetres while still giving tested and certified impact protection.  Thudguard is the only expandable head guard in the world that can claim this making this revolutionary new product truly unique. Thudguard complies with the Department of Trade & Industry's' Personal Protective Equipment Directive,Category II.

The only similarity between Thudguard and the traditional cycle helmet is the outlining shape.  There have been many different attempts at safety hat design but the most popular has always been the full head protection form.  With this in mind,Thudguard began with this traditional and accepted appearance.

Thudguard is for babies and toddlers who are learning to walk in a world of hard surfaces and protects by acting as a cushion between the baby's head and danger,usually when they fall over.  The cycle helmet is hard,heavier and would not be suitable for this.

Thudguard is made from incredibly advanced lightweight foam that gives maximum impact protection around a baby's head in the early years when the fontanelle or soft spot,can be vulnerable. Thudguard is not a hard helmet and it won't slide around; shifting weight and adding danger like hard,heavy helmets. Thudguard eliminates the weight and discomfort of leather,plastic and vinyl-covered latex headgear,and all the reasons why children refuse to wear protective headgear.

Quite the opposite! 
Research has shown that "over protective parents" tend to dread and avoid the "learning to walk" phase as much as possible.   By their own admission,"over protective parents" claim that they have literally kept their babies in a bubble and may have involuntarily hindered their children as a result of their paranoia,causing them to become late developers in an attempt to evade the pain of their child falling over.  Source: ILA independent questionnaire survey/Yahoo/Health/Parenting Health Centre.

Until you have a toddler of your own,other people's stories about how traumatic it was chasing their little wobblers around sound just a tad hysterical. I mean really,how hard can it be to keep up with a tiny person whom any grown-up can outrun in a race? It's when you become the warden of a toddler yourself that you realise speed isn't the issue; it's the length of the race and the unpredictability of the terrain.

If your baby walks across the room unsteadily and looks like he is about to stumble and fall,your instinct will be to catch him regardless if he is wearing head protection or not.  After all,you wouldn't be lulled into a false sense of security and let your pre-school child cycle on the road just because he is wearing a cycle helmet!  Just like you would teach your child how to safely cycle,ice skate or swim,you will set safe boundaries for your baby to learn how to walk.  You may have a lot more peace of mind when your child is wearing a Thudguard but the fact that you are safety conscience enough to get a Thudguard in the first place,suggests that your not a parent to take risks.

Risk Compensation Factor.
We have all heard the argument that forcing drivers to wear seatbelts will lead to reckless driving due to the increased feeling of safety.  This old argument is completely ridiculous and not grounded in fact.  Whilst there is no strong evidence that the wearing of seatbelts have significantly reduced the number of deaths from road traffic accidents,there is no doubt that they have significantly reduced the severity of the injuries sustained by individuals involved in such accidents.

When a new safety product comes on the market it is common for attention to focus on whether or not this product will actually save lives.  This is to miss the point.  Thudguard does not claim to significantly have an effect on very serious head injuries but,as stated,may significantly reduce the number of minor head injuries which occur.  This may not only reduce discomfort associated with such injuries amongst the patients but also have an impact on the workload of the emergency services with regards these injuries.

• Thudguard complies with the Department of Trade & Industry Directive - Personal Protective Equipment (DTI PPE Category II (89/686/EEC).  See information about our impact test below.
• Thudguard complies with SGS Testing (BSEN71 / 2 & 3) for:
  Chemical Test
  Flammability Test
  Antibacterial Test
  
  

Thudguard® is the only baby head guard that complies with a specially written impact test specification.  For example,we have all seen the television adverts where the crash test dummies in a car are put through rigorous impact testing. 

Thudguard® is the only one of its kind in the world which has a specially written British Test Specification developed that simulates the smashing of the product against; radiators in the home,anvils to create the corners of tables and concrete patio flooring and furniture to make sure we have allowed for all little accidents in and out of the home.

In 2003 an expert was commissioned to develop a technical specification stating the impact testing requirements that an infant safety hat would have to pass to gain the recognised CE marking and to comply with a known directive.

The procedure of gathering the information required was similar to that of the testing criteria of the bicycle helmet.  Various standards were sited and a harmonised collaboration of essential criteria needed was developed.   The impact levels that were set for existing headgear was modified and applied to Thudguard to represent the impact levels of protection that babies and toddlers would need when falling over while learning to walk.

Thudguard was independently tested,passed and certified by a leading international test house where various simulated impacts against anvils representing radiators,door edges,patio slabs,sharp corners pavement kerbs etc.,where carried out. 

Children have been recorded as starting to walk as early as 7 months old. With this in mind Thudguard was designed to accommodate a small head size of 40cm circumference but may cover the child’s eyes if not positioned correctly. This is easily put right by resting the hat further back on the head to allow a clear view.

The chinstrap will keep it in this position. Keep checking that the hat has not been knocked forward or that the child has not pulled it forward. Always make sure that the child can see where she is going.

It is best to introduce your baby to Thudguard at an early age,as it will be more readily accepted. (The acceptance of a Thudguard will also help promote the wearing of a cycle helmet when that time comes.) If however,you present Thudguard to an older toddler,there may be some resistance,as most children don’t like to wear hats at the best of times.

It is easier to try putting on a Thudguard to your child when he is preoccupied with playing or just before leaving the house or going out to the garden. Sometimes if its all done fast with excitement,there is no time for the toddler to realise he has had the hat put on! If it doesn’t work first time,don’t let it ruin your child’s fun,after all,it’s more important to develop emotional skills than motor skills. Try again another time with gentle perseverance and praise. It will work eventually.

A ready reference graph from Paediatrics shows that,the average child’s head,aged between 7 months and 2+ years,measures from approximately 40cm to 50cm circumference. Naturally,this can vary and some children in this age range have been recorded as having up to a 53cm head circumference.
As the Thudguard design is based on the elastic around the front and back panels stretching,some tension may cause closer skin contact leaving a red mark or imprint similar to socks or clothing with elastic waistbands.
This can also happen if the child has a lot of hair or due to over heating,(see user instructions in hot weather). These marks have been shown to fade within 5 – 10 minutes but do not resume with Thudguard if there is noticeable discomfort to the child due to tension of the band.

Yes,as long as there is no obvious damage from a previous impact injury or damage due to storage or misuse of the Thudguard as this may affect the level of protection performance.

This shouldn’t happen,as the materials used in Thudguard are very resilient. Always refer to your user leaflet or website to refresh on conditions of use.

Younger children spend more time at home than in any other environment and home is where they are most likely to be the victims of accidents and injuries,especially as the result of falls.

Statistics published by the National SAFEKIDS Coalition show that more than 80 % of fall-related injuries among children ages 4 and under occur in the home. Falls can cause many kinds of injuries including abrasions,lacerations and fractures of bones in the arms and legs. But the most serious consequence of falls,and the reason for a large number of urgent calls to emergency rooms and paediatricians' offices,involves injuries to the head as a result of new found mobility in and outdoors.

Infants

Among infants under the age of 12 months head injuries are most often associated with falls onto hard surfaces,from furniture,changing tables or counter-tops and with falls down a flight of stairs. Many accidents in which an infant falls down stairs occur when a baby in a mobile walker inadvertently goes over the top step and tumbles down headfirst.

Toddlers

Because of their increased mobility and restless curiosity toddlers are more vulnerable to injury than children in any other age group. In addition to falling down stairs,they often fall after climbing onto chairs,counter-tops and against household appliances. Even more serious injury may result when a toddler climbs up into an open window and falls out.  Improved motor abilities place them at greater risk for falling outdoors. Many injuries occur to children in this age group while they are using playground equipment such as seesaws,swings and slides.

No.
True,it can make some rare accidents more dangerous (direct penetrating trauma to that spot by protruding or sharp areas),but for the most common falls experienced by all babies,the soft spot cushions and protects..

Thudguard is a protected and patented product.   Thudguard has taken nearly 10 years to complete because of the extensive research and development to make it the best and safest infant protective hat possible.  Over the years,Thudguard has been fortunate enough to have had the top safety and medical experts involved with its progress,ensuring babies and toddlers were delivered its promise to protect.

Thudguard has accomplished the following;

1. Recognised safety regulations
2. Impact testing to a new British Technical Specification
3. Design that gives ventilation whilst still maintaining maximum head coverage for protection
4. Ten years research

5. Complies with the current standards for:-
   Chemical Testing
   Flammability Testing
   Antibacterial Testing