From a visit to a baby superstore in Vancouver, an education about a problem (plagiocephaly – an asymmetrical distortion of the skull) and a solution (the Lovenest).

The parent-of-baby market seems unique in its (often peer-reinforced) drive to identify new needs and corresponding solutions. This leads to a lot of stuff being produced, some as expensive replacements for existing satisfactory (if generic) solutions, but much of it seemingly innovative. I suppose the work of a parent now includes the emotionally fraught process of trying to sort out the difference.

See more of my Vancouver pictures here.

Tags: baby, children, design, head, innovation, lovenest, marketing, parent, pillow, plagiocephaly

2 Responses to “Lovenest: Help Keep Your Baby’s Head Round”

Ah, yes. The fear of the flat-head. This is actually a need driven not by innnovation so much as changing customs. It used to be that babies were placed to sleep in a variety of positions, but now, because of research showing that sleeping on back leads to less incidence of SIDS, misshapen heads are pretty common. Given that “molding helmet therapy” (not joking!) is pretty expensive, this product could be worthwhile.

Then again, the reason why normal pillows have been banished from the crib along with baby blankets (!) is because of the SIDS risk these items pose themselves….

Comment by Wendy Ju 03.17.09 @ 9:01 pm





Thanks for the extra detail, Wendy. I imagine the “change” thread is an important one for manufacturers to pull on, because it helps educate/persuade that there are new problems, new needs, and therefore, new solutions. I also imagine that manufacturers compete against the very significant hand-me-down behavior and are going to play “change” against that wherever possible?

Comment by Steve Portigal 03.18.09 @ 7:38 am