A “panda” chair, an adjustable chair for children, is mounted on a permobil electric wheelchair (X850).
DESCRIPTION
A permobil X850 wheelchair is modified with a child seat on the front so that the child can ride with the parent. The child seat, is a panda chair that was originally designed for children with disabilities. It is fitted with waist belt and a belt for the upper body. The child seat can be replaced as the child grows. The speed is restricted to 10 km/h for the safety of the child. The modification was made by the assistive technology center in Borlänge and made available to several parents with disabilities.
PRODUCT
Seat from a Panda chair for children with disabilities mounted on permobil x850.
PURCHASED
Modification carried out by the assistive technology center in Borlänge
A lightweight elastic belt is threaded through the front belt loops on the parent’s trousers and serves as a safety belt for a child on lap.
DESCRIPTION
The user sewed Velcro onto the ends of a 40 cm long elastic band. The band is threaded through the two front belt loops on the user’s trousers and pulled around the baby to hold him/her firmly on lap. When the baby was small and lying down on the user’s lap the band was fastened around the baby’s chest; when the baby was a little bigger and could sit the belt was placed around the baby’s waist.
TIPSTER’S COMMENTS:
I found that it worked better to slide the belt through the front loops of my trousers and pull it around my daughter’s waist. She was more stable when sitting that way than if I had pulled a long belt around both of us. When my daughter had the belt around her I didn’t have to worry that she would fall off my lap when we rolled over bumps or curbs, or when she reached for the exciting things we rolled past. However, my daughter learned to open the belt when she was just over a year old; I could have put a buckle on the ends instead, but never got around to it. I used the belt from the time when my daughter was a few weeks old until she was about 2 years old.
PRODUCT
Homemade belt
EDITOR’S COMMENTS
Other parents have used variations of this tip, such as a soft corset pulled around both the parent and the child, an airplane seat belt, an ordinary scarf or a weightlifting belt.
Slightly older children of parents who use wheelchairs can sit on a lap unassisted.
TIPSTER’S COMMENTS:
From about 1 year of age the user’s three children have been able to sit freely on his lap without a harness. Before that age, they wore a harness, see related tip.
When the children were really small, they could be suspended in the baby carrier facing the user. This solution worked until they were about 8 months old and too large for their legs to fit. Once the children are old enough to sit by themselves, usually nothing is needed when the children ride along.
The user built a small platform on the back of his hand bike and mounted a children’s bike seat on it.
DESCRIPTION
The user built a platform of planks on the back of his hand bike on which a child’s bike seat is mounted. The seat is screwed directly into the wood without the holder that is usually mounted onto the frame of an ordinary bike. This solution allows the child to accompany the user on bicycle outings.
TIPSTER’S COMMENTS:
This is a prototype that I plan to further develop. For example, the solution needs wheel guards to protect small children’s fingers.
PRODUCT
Home-made
The user attached a bicycle trailer to her AddSeat Segway to transport her children.
DESCRIPTION
The attachment for an ordinary bicycle trailer for children is attached to the load bar of an AddSeat Segway. The user can pull the bike trailer behind the Segway when the family is out. The bike trailer can easily be detached from the Segway when it is not in use.
PRODUCT
Ordinary bike trailer attached to AddSeat Segway
PURCHASED
Bike trailer purchased at an ordinary bicycle shop or a store where baby carriages/prams are sold. Segway with seat purchased from AddMovement
EDITOR’S COMMENTS
See also https://vimeo.com/39255227