Best Baby Helmet for Crawling

According to Harvard Health Publishing, 9 in 10 of childhood head injuries aren’t severe. However, head trauma in babies, toddlers, and children necessitates thousands of trips to the Emergency Room each year. What’s horrifying is that many children (thousands) lose their innocent lives while others end up with permanent disabilities. While you can’t protect your baby 100% of the time, ensuring that they wear the best baby helmet for crawling or walking offers lots of peace of mind.

Related: Best Baby Knee Pads for Crawling

This post focuses on how to choose the best protective babies helmets and also recommends a couple of great options for you.

6 Great Babies and Toddlers Protective Helmets

Let’s jump in and see how much value each option represents.

1. Thudguard Infant and Toddlers Protective Safety Hat (Best Overall)

When it comes to protecting young melons from sudden bumps and thuds, few options touch the Thudguard Infant Protective Safety Hat.

The producer claims that this cushy helmet comes endorsed by medical and emergency experts after impact testing the product.

 

The manufacturer incorporates a ½” thick impact-tested impact padding that absorbs the severest thuds and bumps.

While this helmet lacks vents, it’s still breathable and comfy thanks to the many circular holes on its exterior. No large air vents means it offers a bit more padding than most, meaning it’s more protective than its competitors.

Also, this safety helmet for crawling babies is super light. It’s soft, too. Your little tot will want to wear it the entire time they’re gliding around the house.

What’s more, it provides more head coverage than most. Thanks to its lacking large airflow vents, it offers adequate cushioning to the sides, top, and back of the head.

Lastly, having adjustable chin straps and a stretchy headband with kiddo graphics on the front makes it a one-size-fits-all option. It should comfortably fit babies in the 7 to 12 months age range.

Buy this if you have a head-banging baby that likes fitting, comfortable wearables with bold, bright colors. Also, choose it if you want your baby to develop early bike helmet-wearing habits. While this option isn’t the cheapest, its price point is much pocket-friendlier than most.

2. Elenker Adjustable Baby Safety Helmet Review

My house has hard flooring (concrete). And the idea of seeing Brian fall and hit the stone-hard surface converted me into some sort of a helicopter parent.

Think whatever you want, but I’ve chosen to help my baby stay safe and protected during this risk-laden crawling and exploration phase.

Unlike the Thudguard reviewed above, the Elenker Adjustable baby safety helmet features three large vents that boost air permeability. Air flows efficiently in and out of the helmet, cooling little melons in hot weather.

The helmet is soft and constructed from 100% cotton. And the filling material is a special mesh (IXPE) that promotes shock absorption. The materials used are non-toxic and odorless. Since it’s 100% cotton, it means less harm to the environment.

One feature you’ll find with the Elenker other options lack is the detachable visor. But it’s not a visor in the exact sense cycling helmets have a visor. The visor in this case is a “magic tape” that loosens automatically, inclining toward the face, cushioning against forward falls.

Built to fit 16.93″ to 22.05″ heads, Elenker says the helmet should fit 8 months to 60 month-old babies. But for most parents, it’s more like 8-18 months. With Velcro on the back and adjustable chin straps, achieving a comfortable snug fit is easy. It’s sold in 5 exciting kid’s colors.

Overall, the Elenkar is a great crawler head protection helmet at a great price. But it’s not the most protective on the market.

3. ESUPPORT Adjustable Crawling Baby Safety Helmet Review

The helmet is designed from 100% cotton fabric produced to acceptable environmental standards. The lining is made using IXPE foam that provides enough impact resistance.

Add 4 airflow vents, and the Esupport adjustable helmet for crawling babies looks good, protects adequately, and cools really well. The non-toxic material used breathes well and absorbs sweat quite effectively because no one likes smelly babies.

This protective baby headgear a Y-type head cap, a design that provides more protection on the back of the head than most. Weighing just 2.29 oz, this product is light enough for young, weak necks even though it cuts a somewhat bulky look.

The helmet somehow slips backward during use, though. Must be some kind of design flaw. If it was my place to re-design this helmet, I’d make the triangle made by the chinstraps on both sides of the wearer’s face a bit wider. I worry that this chinstrap design might end up choking the user. Also, tightening the straps to resolve the issue left marks on my baby’s skin. If you buy this, be extra vigilant so that choking won’t happen.

But I like that the product is offered in multiple kid-friendly colors. Whether your baby’s favorite color is beige, bright blue, camouflage red, gray, or orange, there’s a color option for them. And if your baby doesn’t want something too plain, you can opt for star blue or star gray. There’s even a flower-type option with apple shapes in different colors.

As for fit, this helmet’s chinstraps come with a soft adjustment buckle so you can have some level of control when securing the helmet on the baby’s noggin. There’s also a Velcro patch and some clip on the back for fit adjustment. It’s meant for heads ranging from 16.9″ to 22″ in circumference or 8 months to 60 month-old babies.

Overall, it’s an affordable option that allows fit adjustability. It cools small melons quite well, too. And you’ll worry less about infant falls thanks to the impact-resistant material.

4. Safehead BABY Soft Baby Safety Helmet Review

Weighing 3.5 oz, this helmet is lightweight.  Well, it’s not the lightest option in this list of baby safety helmet recommendations. But it shouldn’t apply too much pressure on weak, growing necks and heads.

If your baby is a crawler learning to walk and needs a certain level of head protection during this phase, gift them this helmet.

Just like most picks in these reviews, the SafeheadBaby Soft baby safety helmet offers size adjustability. The design incorporates components that expand to accommodate growing heads. The design consists of two cute halves with stretchy pleat-like material along the join. And this expandable material is visible from the outside.

As far as air circulation, this option is similar to Thudguard. Instead of three-dimension ventilation strips, this one features multiple 30 round holes that allow for obstruction-free airflow.

Your baby’s small noggin won’t sweat up a storm no matter how much they amble about the playroom. It’s made for heads in the 15.7″ to 20.5″ size range. The helmet fits babies aged 7 months and 2 years old, which means it’s not for older babies.

The chinstraps don’t form a triangle around the ears as most do.  But I’d say these straps work somewhat better. The right and left straps meet somewhere a little off-center. The left one loops through the right one and then folds back over itself on a Velcro patch. And with 13 vibrant colorways, no parent ever says they couldn’t find something exciting for their little one.

The helmet’s price tag hovers around $45. That’s as much as 100% costlier than some not-so-bad choices. That may be a bummer for price-conscious parents.

Verdict: The SafeheadBaby Soft safety helmet is a good buy that outlasts babyhood. It’s expandable, too, but it won’t fit babies older than 24 months.

5. Huifen Adjustable babies, Toddlers, and Children Safety Helmet Review

The Huifen Adjustable babies, toddlers, and children’s safety helmet is another affordable helmet for protecting against frequent falls. It’s made by the same company that produces E Support, by the way.

If your baby is more active than others of their age and can’t wait to take that first baby step, consider getting them this one.

The helmet reaches farther down the head than others, offering all-around head coverage. But it tends to slide backward, and I guess that’s because the dual straps on either side of the face seem to have trouble staying tight. If and when this option slides upward, it leaves the forehead exposed, and forward falls can cause tons of worry and pain.

Like all the other options reviewed here, this one is created out of soft, washable material. But the manufacturer knows that your baby’s brain tissue is still somewhat fluid inside their cranial cavity. With that knowledge in mind, they use impact-resisting IXPE seismic material that cushions the head against bruises and bumps.

But since the outer material is 100% cotton rather than a hard shell, this one isn’t for the hardest falls your little tot can pull off! But it’s not like baby safety helmets for crawlers are built to protect small melons from the worst falls.

So, please don’t allow your baby to use this helmet as protection when riding a bike. They’ll need enough active brain cells down the road, you know!

Size-wise, this option works best for head circumferences in the 16.93″ to 22.05″ range. And because the pick offers adjustable fitting thanks to the Velcro on the back and chinstraps, the size fits 2-month-olds as well as 5-year-olds.

But be sure to have this helmet’s hook-and-loop closure design work for your little one. Make sure the hook and loop are in perfectly laying atop each other. If the hook and loop aren’t lying symmetrically in perfect alignment, the top of the baby’s helmet becomes uneven. And no baby likes a helmet that feels or looks awkward on their little noggin.

In the end, this is a well-made, stylish, and affordable helmet for babies learning to crawl or walk. Older babies can also use this product (not older than 5 years). However, some kids may not like wearing a helmet with a logo and branding placed prominently on it.

6. Newcomdigi Baby Infant & Toddler safety Helmet Review

 Similar to the Elenka in looks and overall design, this product is created from lightweight, highly absorbent cotton whose production doesn’t harm Mother Earth.

Similarly, the lining for the filling is made out of toxin-free, BPA-free multifunctional foaming material called IXPE. This anti-vibration material (IXPE) is also environmentally friendly.

It has no hard outer shell, but the helmet protects. But if you have the hardest tile floor around and your little one keeps falling headfirst, this may not be adequate protection for them. The soft exterior is as protective against hard surfaces as you’d expect a helmet that’s 100% cloth to be. Don’t let your baby use this one for cycling, too.

Additionally, this helmet features four ventilation openings located on the top so young heads can stay safe and cool at once. The exterior looks beautiful with apple decorations in 4 different colors, all of which any kid would love. But there’s also a plain-color version (orange).

But these two helmets can be a choking hazard. Ensure your baby has enough supervision every time they’re wearing this helmet. It’s not hard to imagine a baby crawling underneath some object such as their stroller and having their helmet caught. If the object catching the helmet pulls it over, the chin straps might pull around the neck, choking the baby. So, take the helmet off before leaving your baby momentarily, preferably in the playpen.

Also, there’s a detachable visor so your baby can enjoy enough protection from the potential dangers of falling forward. The helmet also grows with the baby, but I found that the fit wasn’t snug enough. My baby’s helmet needed almost constant adjusting around the ears.

Additionally, some babies can easily undo the Velcro on the back and take off the helmet. But unlike the Elenker, the Newcomdigi baby safety helmet is available in just two colors. It should fit 2-60 months babies (16.9″ to 21.6″), but that depends on the relative size of the baby’s head.

Overall, a decent baby safety helmet that reduces bumps, cuts, and bruises. And, like all the other options reviewed here, it’s not the best bet for protecting your baby’s head while riding a bike.

How to Choose the Best Crawling Baby Safety Helmet

Choosing the wrong baby safety helmet is at times worse than choosing none at all. If the safety helmet is made out of unsafe or poor-quality materials, if it doesn’t fit your little one’s small noggin snugly enough, if it doesn’t offer fit adjustability, it probably isn’t the best bang for your buck.

Here’s a list of factors to keep in mind when shopping for a good baby head safety helmet for crawlers and walking babies.

1. Fit and Overall Comfort of the Baby Safety Helmet

Fit and comfort are critical considerations when it comes to selecting a helmet for crawlers. If the helmet doesn’t fit their small head properly, if they feel uncomfortable when they have it on, they won’t want to wear the helmet that much.

As a new parent, I bought an ill-fitting baby safety helmet for Brian (not intentionally), and the little tyke hated it from day one. He’d cry the crap out of his young weak lungs, and it’s all because he didn’t like the idea of having that uncomfortable thing on his tiny head.

Of course, I returned the purchase.  And the little guy suddenly wanted to wear their helmet all of the time! So, get everything else wrong but not baby safety helmet sizing.

To get safety helmet sizing right, measure your baby’s head circumference from mid-forehead all the way around the head along the widest portion. Usually, a half-inch above the brow is the widest area of the head.

2. Go for an Option with Fit Adjustability

Some protective baby helmet models offer fit adjustability. Such helmets will fit an 18-month baby and still work for a 3-year-old kid. One thing I like about adjustable fit kids’ helmets is that such options grow with the baby. Plus, your baby’s siblings get to use the same helmet down the road, saving you money.

3. Chin Straps Help a Lot

Good-quality chin straps not only help fit but also make sure the kid’s helmet stays secure on the head throughout use. In case of a bad fall from the dresser or crib, proper chin straps promise to keep the helmet securely fastened on the head.

4. Look at the Helmet Material

Good baby safety helmets don’t look cheap. Everything from helmet construction to the material used suggests that the manufacturer went out of its way to produce a high-quality helmet. Safety helmets for crawlers are typically constructed using soft, sponge-like material. This soft spongy material prevents bruises, bumps, and cuts to the head. Additionally, soft helmets don’t scratch walls and furniture.

5. Choose Baby-Friendly Colors and Designs

Color psychology research reveals that colors to a significant extent affect people’s behavior. I’ve occasionally caught my husband ogling at women in red-fitting dresses haha. He denied it every time, of course, but we both knew the truth. I still love him, OK? I do. Studies show that men find females clad in red more attractive than those in other colors for some reason. That’s why I have lots of red dresses, skirts, and pants. Because I like feeling beautiful and attractive.

But what does all this have to do with selecting the best baby safety helmet? Your baby, like everyone else, is affected by color. It’s important that you choose a helmet design and color that’s perfectly in tune with their interests, with who they are. If you get the color wrong, your baby might dread wearing it.

Pastels for Girls; Bold, Bright Colors for Boys

For crawling girls, pastels seem to work best. Brighter colors tend to cause a little anxiety for girls. If you want your baby girl to wear their helmet more, consider going with a softer color palette. But not every female baby will like pastels. Some, just like their male counterparts, like brighter, bolder hues better. And no, the best color for girl helmets isn’t always pink. While girls may find pink fantastic at first, their interest may sometimes decline down the road. So, know your baby girl and what colors she likes best.

In contrast, baby boys almost always favor brighter, bolder colors. But it’s not uncommon for some young boys to prefer pastels. You know your baby better than anybody else, and no one knows what helmet hues would work best for them.

6. Breathable Safety Helmets Are Best

Babies, toddlers, and older children all over the world regardless of race or gender prioritize play. That means these young ones sweat a lot. For that reason, you’ll want to choose baby safety helmet options that breathe reasonably well.

The best options have large vents (usually 6-8 vents) that help keep your baby noggins cool especially during warmer months. Not to mention that helmets with large air circulation vents also tend to be lightweight.

7. Helmet Weight

Be sure to pick up a baby safety helmet young heads and necks can carry without a problem. The worst protective kids’ helmets apply excessive pressure on neck nerves. And when that happens, babies and toddlers become fussy when it’s time to wear their helmet.

8. Helmet Type

While you may buy a bike helmet and gift it to your baby, understand that these aren’t the best bets for head protection from injuries including falls and seizures. Bike helmets look great and offer lots of comfort, but they don’t provide sufficient coverage on head sides and in the back.

And when it comes to forward falls, bike helmets offer little face protection. Additionally, biking baby safety helmets tend to move a bit too much if they’ve not been adjusted properly. Plus, these types of kids’ helmets aren’t the most durable. They don’t hold up that well to repeated hard falls — they’re highly likely to crack.

Football helmets protect the head sufficiently, but they tend to be too large and aren’t super comfortable. As for boxing helmets, they are comfortable since they’re typically designed from soft leather. However, boxing safety helmets offer minimal protection and don’t offer nearly enough ventilation.

The same goes for baseball batting baby helmets. These ones have a pretty loose fit and usually lack chin straps. That means they don’t promise to stay on the head of the baby takes a hard fall.

Good crawling baby head safety helmets look like bike helmets, but they’re different in a few ways. Unlike bike helmets that are usually made out of hard materials, safety helmets for infants and babies are designed using soft, spongy material.

The thick, cushy padding inside safety helmets for crawlers keeps bumps and bruises at bay. And since these helmets are so soft, they never leave scratches on walls and furniture if your child runs headfirst into them.

9. Baby Safety Helmet Pricing

Good news for you, dear parent! Even the finest baby safety helmets on the planet aren’t prohibitively expensive. I’ve seen pretty decent protective baby buckets retailing for as low as $20. In fact, I’ve come across a few best-selling crawling baby head protectors at that price point.

But the cheapest baby helmet for a crawler isn’t always the best quality. Nor is the priciest deal always the best bet as far as protecting a baby’s small melon. Since you’re here, I encourage you to head to the top of this post and spend a few minutes reading my best baby safety helmet reviews.

I’ve spent quite a few hours researching for this post. And I believe you’ll find at least one recommendation that matches your baby’s needs.

With a budget of between $25 and $50, finding a good helmet for your crawling or walking baby shouldn’t be extremely challenging.

Quick Baby and Baby Falls Statistics

Your child will fall — they all do and no baby is immune to childhood falls. Baby growth and development experts know that falls especially shortfalls are a pretty common occurrence in a baby’s developmental journey. Here are a few baby fall facts you may want to know:

1. Falls in infants are a common occurrence.
2. About 78 percent of infants sustain no falls while 22 percent do.
3. Falls from beds and sofas are the most common types of falls in infants and babies.
4. The vast majority of falls from greater heights (than beds and sofas) happen from chairs, tables, and worktops.
5. 12 percent of falls in babies and infants happen when they drop out of the arms of a caregiver.

Stats Source:[BMJ Journals]

Home Safety Tips to Prevent Baby Falls

Here are a few tips to protect your adorable baby from preventable falls:

Make sure to install your home’s safety gates properly. Properly installed safety gates are anchored to the wall at the bottom and top stairs.

Avoid gate-types that pose a high strangulation risk to your baby’s head such as accordion-style gates.

Ensure above-first-floor windows have properly working window guards and proper locks. Properly functioning window guards ensure that high windows don’t open more than 4 inches. That’s because some small heads can fit through 5-inch openings.

Stop thinking that window screens are 100% safe for your playful baby. According to the U.S. Department of Health, window screens help, but they may not always prevent falls out windows.

Position furniture as far away from windows as possible. Crawling babies are known to lean on furniture near windows only to end up falling out the window.

Falls in and outside the crib are pretty common. For that reason, be sure to keep crib sides up the whole time the baby is in there sleeping or just relaxing.

Use baby safety gear including safety belts wherever and whenever you should use such devices. Safety belts ensure that babies never fall out of the car seat while traveling. And to prevent your baby from having things that might fall out of drawers and fridges, use adjustable strap locks.

Baby Safety Helmet FAQs

1. Do Babies Really Need Helmets?

If your baby has hemophilia, if they have epilepsy, or if they have Flat Head Syndrome and your pediatrician recommends using a helmet, if they experience seizures or balance disorders, then your baby probably needs a helmet.

But head-shaping helmets and those used for medical needs aren’t the only reason your little tot may need a helmet. As they amble about the house, they may bump their head against sharp corners and get hurt. Or they may fall and hit the floor hard as they attempt to stand. In all these instances, a baby may need a helmet.

2. How Can I Protect My Baby’s Head from Crawling?

Childproofing your home is probably the best way to protect your baby from crawling-related potential mishaps. So, be sure to use padding or guards to cover sharp corners. Also, having them wear a soft, protective toddler helmet helps.

Will I be Judged If My Baby Wears a Safety Helmet?

Yes, you’ll be judged. Your lovely little baby will always get funny smiles from adults, but very few babies ever become self-conscious from that. Usually, people who judge parents whose babies wear a safety helmet didn’t ever buy a safety helmet for their baby or toddler. Such people think everyone should be like them and honestly believe you’re being overprotective.

Here’s what to do about people who think safety helmets for crawlers somewhat suppresses natural growth and development. Grow a thick skin and just ignore those judgmental folks. You’re the person that knows your baby best. And if buying a thickly padded safety helmet is what it takes to prevent your child from constantly hitting their head, so be it.

4. What Are the Most Common Baby Falls?

According to one study (the ALSPAC study) published in BMJ Journals, fully 53 percent of baby falls are from beds and sofas. And 12 percent of falls happen due to babies slipping off the hands of caregivers. While falls in pre-mobile infants are pretty common, they don’t usually result in injuries.

Pediatric injuries are infrequent, and when they do happen, they tend to be minor. Additionally, injuries in active crawlers almost always affect the head. And, falls from beds and sofas while being quite common are rarely complex. And bed and sofa baby falls almost never result in skull fractures.

5. How Do I Prevent My Baby Falling Down Stairs?

Installing safety gates to block the bottom and top of stairways is the best approach as far as preventing baby falls down stairways. Also, avoid having large toys between these two gates as babies can use them to climb over the gate and fall over. Additionally, ensure the gate at the top of the stairways doesn’t swing out.