‘Momfluencers’ force children into ‘correction helmets’ that reshape their skulls

Anxious parents in Singapore are forcing their young children to wear helmets and sleep with their mouths taped shut in order to mould their heads into a “desirable” shape, according to reports.

The trend came initially from China but has spread abroad, with many Chinese “momfluencers” extolling the benefits of “correction helmets” and other cosmetic measures.

Many parents in China and neighbouring parts of Asia believe the only proper shape for a baby’s head is round and are obsessed with the fear that their children will grow up with less attractive “flat heads”.

“We started wearing the helmet a little bit late, but at least we still made some changes,” said one Chinese online influencer who made her daughter wear the device. “If you are anxious about the shape of your child’s head and it’s still very young, go and get a free custom measurement,” she added.

Since the skull can only be moulded by a helmet while the child is very young, the videos play on a sense of time-limited anxiety.

Another concern stoked by social media influencers is around children who breathe through the mouth rather than the nose while sleeping.

Some believe they are more likely to develop facial structures that are long, narrow, have less prominent jaws and a retracted chin. Influencers claim this can be cured with special tape that keeps the mouth shut while the child is asleep.

“If you discover that your child is breathing through their mouth, you must take action quickly,” said a promotional video in a web listing for “mouth-closing correction tape” on a Taiwanese internet shopping site.

“This is because the golden period for development is while they are young and it would not be possible to correct the effects of mouth-breathing later.”

The highly competitive nature of Chinese society means parents try to gain every advantage they can for their child, including via cosmetic fixes, said a mother interviewed by the Shanghai-based magazine Sixth Tone.

“Parents want to give their kids a better future. They want to make sure they don’t lose at the starting line,” said the woman surnamed Li.

Doctors in China, Taiwan and Singapore have called on parents to avoid using the devices, calling them unnecessary and possibly dangerous.

“It’s risky because some children may breathe through the mouth because they have sinus issues that obstruct their nasal airways. So it’s very important to be able to breathe through the mouth,” said Dr Louis Tan, a general practitioner at StarMed Specialist Centre.