Creative Disney DISboard Members - any ideas for my babies helmet??

[Kritlyn]

Hi. My 7 month old son has to wear a helmet for 3-4 months to help round out his skull. We are going to Disney World the first week in May. I'd like to decorate his helmet w/ a Disney theme - maybe Mickey Mouse stickers, paint and/or stencils. The helmet outer shell is stark white but can be painted or decorated without harming it. My sister-in-law is an artist and may be able to help me, if I need it. I'd have to mail the helmet to her, though as she lives 6 hours away. Any ideas... suggestions...I need help from any creative Disney Disboard members !!! Thanks..

 

[lynetteSC]

That sounds really neat! You could also get some of those Mickey paint samples at Home Depot (if you have one near you) to use. They are a decent size and really cool! Good Luck with what ever you decide to do!

 

[disneygoof]

Check with the Just for Fun Scrapbooking thread folks. I'm sure they'd have some great ideas.

You may not want to mail away the helmet as the more the child wears it, the more benefit they receive from it.

 

[Mersmom98]

Of course, this is just a suggestion but what about painting it all black and adding some ears to it somehow? Then you could paint the baby's name on the front of it (to resemble the embroidery on the hats you buy) and it would look just like his own mickey hat with ears. Then maybe you could find a white pen for the characters to use to sign it....

 

[HopperFan]

I would buy the paint at the craft store so you can make sure you get paint that is adhesive to plastic since I am guessing that it is. They do have special paints. It would be terrible to go to that trouble and have it peel or run down there. I would be careful with darker colors as a background, it could get hot for him.

 

[all4fun]

In the most recent issue, in the front where people send in their pictures there is one of a woman who is an amputee (sp?) due to cancer. She has a prosthetic leg that she took a disney t-shirt and somehow adhered the design part of it to her leg. I'm not sure how it was done but it looks like it has some kind of plastic overlay to it. Anyway, I just thought I would mention it. It looked really neat.

I think adding some decoration to the helmet is a great idea though. I'm sure your ds will get some extra special attention from the cm's that way. (although all babies do anyway, don't they?)

 

[DisFlan]

Of course, this is just a suggestion but what about painting it all black and adding some ears to it somehow? Then you could paint the baby's name on the front of it (to resemble the embroidery on the hats you buy) and it would look just like his own mickey hat with ears. Then maybe you could find a white pen for the characters to use to sign it....

"Mickey" was my first thought, too! Wouldn't that be CUTE??

DisFlan

 

[Maureenmouse]

I agree. Go for Mickey and see if you can get it autographed by the characters. of course, if he is wearing it and they wont autograph it on him, then just bring along some plain self adhesive address labels and sharpie Markers. Each time you get an autograph, then you can stick it on the helmet.

 

[lynetteSC]

these are such great ideas

 

[Ali]

Don't paint it black!!!!!! Summer sun will melt the baby's brain!!!!!!

Ok - I'm better now. My DS had to wear a helmet too, well, we attempted to have him wear it, and his was light purple and blue with stars. The sweat would pour out of his head when it was on, even in air conditioning. So, whatever you do, do not paint it black or cover up any airholes.


Alicia

 

[disneygoof]

Sorry to be Scrooge McDuck, but I was thinking if you attached anything to the helmet (like ears) it might make it difficult for the baby to sleep.

I totally appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'd check with the doctor before you do anything elaborate.

 

[J. Galt]

My daughter had to wear a helmet too. My husband painted it pink with the Maisy character all over it (sorry, not Disney). There was a picture of a helmet at the therapist's office with Winnie the Pooh on it that was beautiful. The parents had an artist do it. The only problem is that the artist painted it with the helmet upside down, so Pooh was upside down on the kids head. Oh well! Tip number one: make sure when you paint the helmet you are painting it "right side up".

Tip number two: if I remember correctly, you will need to get the helmet on the kid relatively quickly after you receive the helmet. You might only have something like 24 hours to paint the helmet (and then will need to do any touch ups during that "one hour off" each day. Believe me, the "one hour off" goes very quickly because you need to use that time to wash your kids head/hair, scrub out the helmet with rubbing alcohol, dry the helmet, dry your kid's head/hair and kiss your kid's head all over ) so mailing it to your sister will not be an option.

Tip number three: I see that you are going to Disney during the warmer months. Keep in mind that the helmet will make your child's head very, very hot and sweaty. You are going to need to keep your son in the AC/shade as much as possible. My daughter wore her helmet all summer here in Wisconsin and we basically kept her inside during the hottest part of the day. We cranked the AC in the house to keep her comfortable at night. Some kids adapt pretty well and don't have the sweating issues. My kid did not... she would sweat like crazy!

You are really going to need to schedule that "one hour off" while in Disney because your son will need to have his head washed and helmet scrubbed out. You might want to consider bringing a small fan to use for drying the helmet out (due to increased humidity in FL) as it must be perfectly dry before you put it back on his head. You don't want him to develop any funky skin issues due to sweat/bacteria, etc... This can cause major problems with the helmet. My daughter developed a rash on her head at one point. We had to leave the helmet off until it cleared (to prevent skin breakdown). We were lucky that it happened towards the end of her treatment because by the time the rash cleared, the helmet didn't fit anymore. We just ended treatment a little early. Otherwise, we would have had to have a new helmet cast.

The helmet is a pain in the rear... it is a lot of work... but the results are well worth it.

This is probably way more information that you wanted, so if it helps, great, and if it rubs you the wrong way then just ignore my ramblings!

Good luck!

 

[Evil Queen]

Maybe bring along a sharpie and sk for autographs. Or like the other poster said, labels to have them sign and stick on. If they remove easily you can remove them nightly and place them on something like a large poster board (maybe the family member could do some nice art work on there).

I wish my son could had used the helmet, he had to endure reconstructive skull surgery at 18 months old.

 

[Ambassador]

You might try the Chapeau on Main Street for a large hat which may fit over the helmet. Mickey Ears, Wizard hats, Princess tiaras, Goofy ears, Davey Crockett coonskin caps, etc. are all in adult sizes for big, fat heads like mine.