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COSTA MESA, Calif. — Watch out, Steven Spielberg. A California couple is giving their 10-month-old son a jumpstart on a filmmaking career in a very nonconventional way.
Little Braydon Wagner crawls around in style with an unusual accessory — a cranial band, or a helmet that helps reshape flat spots on infant heads. His dad, Edward, saw the treatment as a unique opportunity to see the world through his baby’s eyes.
Turns out, the medical helmet makes a pretty great mount for a GoPro camera.
“I put my GoPros on everything, so when I said let’s put a GoPro on the baby, (my wife) thought it would be a great idea,” he told Today Parents. “We’re seeing the world through Braydon’s eyes — seeing what our baby sees.”
The GoPro — which weighs about as much as a box of tissues — joins Braydon on special outings, like trips to the Long Beach Grand Prix, a local fair and a family vacation to New York City.
In my mind, why wouldn't you want to see? There are so many different ways they communicate with you and you learn that, especially with your first kid, every day is a learning experience.
–Edward Warner, Braydon's dad
“It helps you adjust the things you use to help him learn or that entertain him based on what he likes. Like always looking at the sky with airplanes or loving bright lights,” mom Kristin said.
The footage from their baby cam reveals Braydon is an attentive people watcher. On his trip to the fair, the little cameraman focused on all things flashy, including people carrying giant stuffed animal prizes and those wearing bright colors.
“He’ll actually turn his head and watch that person walk by and follow them until they go out of sight,” Edward Warner said.
People love to watch Braydon, too. The Wagners say the setup draws quite a bit of attention, but in a good way. Footage shows people smiling and waving at Braydon — delighted by the adorable baby with a camera on his little helmet. They say it’s helped make the helmet a positive thing instead of something that stands out in an uncomfortable way.
A cranial band is an FDA-approved orthosis, specifically designed to treat deformational plagiocephaly (the flattening or deformation of a baby's head). Treatment is most effective when initiated on babies 4 to 6 months old. (Source: Hanger Clinic)
The Wagners also learned that their baby’s attention span is much longer than they would have guessed. At the car races, he would follow passing cars from start to finish — something that really surprised his dad.
“You end up learning a lot more about your baby,” Kristin Wagner told Today.
So what started as a fun idea turned into a seriously helpful parenting tool, according to the Wagners. Not only have they been able to identify the things that stimulate and interest Braydon the most, they’ve also been able to use the footage to facilitate more meaningful interaction with their son.
“In my mind, why wouldn’t you want to see?” said Edward. “There are so many different ways they communicate with you and you learn that, especially with your first kid, every day is a learning experience.”
The Wagners plan to condense the footage from Braydon’s experiences into one video their son can watch when he’s older. And while Braydon is set to get his helmet off in a month or so, his parents say they have no plans to pack up the GoPro just yet. They’ll turn to safety helmets and chest harnesses to keep that special view of their little boy’s world. Jessica Ivins is a content manager for KSL.com and contributor to the Motherhood Matters section.
