Every day is an adventure full of treasures to behold. When I’m daring and brave like a scuba diver from the days of old.

Hi! My name is Allison Michele Horwath, my friends call me Alli. I’m Reed’s mom and this is a book that I wrote directly from my heart to my baby son going through an experience like none other! As a mother you want what is best for your child. You want them to know that they are loved and supported, and you want them to feel confident and accepted. And above all you want them to feel understood, and that's what this book is truly all about: understanding that even with our differences, we can be supportive and understanding of one another and what were going through.

This story is an opportunity for someone's child, brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle, grandparent, friend or coworker to also understand that kids may end up in a helmet but it doesn't define their childhood, even if they're wearing it for 23 hours a day, like Reed was. And when you see a kiddo wearing one, you can know what it's all about and be supportive of the child and their family going through it the process. 

Years before I was a mother, my husband Ryan and I were at breakfast and we saw a baby in her carrier wearing a helmet. We thought that the baby had maybe survived an accident or sustained trauma of some kind to her head, but we had no idea that flat spots occur from infants having soft heads or that cranial bands are used to reshape them. After going through our experience with Reed's helmet, I became very aware of head shapes all around me and what I noticed is that heads do come in all shapes and sizes! No head is perfect! Nor is wearing a cranial band isn't about vanity or achieving the perfect head shape. 

I want this book not just to teach but to inspire. I want kids to know that no matter what their circumstance, whether it be a helmet, a cast, crutches, a wheelchair, a prosthetic, an illness, or anything else, that they can continue to be themselves and that the illness they have or device that they use does not define who they are or their future, they define themselves.

In turn, I wanted to write a book to promote awareness, self-love, and self-confidence. So next time people see a kid in a helmet, they can understand and be supportive of them and just simply say, "hi!"

I remember beginning the journey with Reed's helmet thinking I am his mom, it's my duty to make this something that we can look back on in a positive way and remember fondly and not be scared of. Something we can tell Reed and his siblings and cousins all about in a positive way. I went online and found the materials to decorate his helmet and make it a fun piece rather than a piece of plastic he was sentenced to during his first year. I looked high and low for a fun book to read to him and that my husband and I could relate to. So many times children's books are also written from the parents perspective to enjoy reading with their child. I couldn't find one so I thought, isn't it time for a book like that? I think the world is ready.

The conversations that we have are important. Not only is it important to discuss plagiocephaly with your kids and it's important to shine awareness on issues in the public and create materials that others can identify with.

Conversations let us know that we are not alone in the things that we go through. It is the human condition and there is always someone else who you just might inspire with your story. And that inspiration is a beautiful thing, an empowering thing for yourself and someone else. Even celebrities like Chrissy Teigen have been spotted in the news with their little ones in helmets.