When a mother leaving a baby in a stroller outside of a restaurant for 10 minutes makes the news and babywearing is a growing trend, where’s the middle ground for being watchful of your child without being overprotective, indulgent, or selfish?
Parents may never know, but a child health expert out of Australia gave them another facet to worry about: carrying children forward. So, what’s the big deal? According to Professor Catherine Fowler, sourced in a Daily Mail piece, a child “suffers” in such a position and may later turn into an anxious adult:
“Imagine if you were strapped to someone’s chest with your legs and arms flailing, heading with no control into a busy shopping center – it would be terrifying. Outward-facing baby carriers and prams give babies a bombardment of stimulus, creating a very stressful situation. In not considering our baby’s perspective, we are inadvertently quite cruel to children.”
Who knew that such a slight action could scar a child into adulthood? But not everyone is impressed. In fact, other experts cited in the Daily Mail’s piece are incredulous to Fowler’s statements and, rather, think that a child facing its mother all the time gets bored.
Parents may never find the fine line between suffering and boredom for their children, but some are getting on board with the theory that a child close to and facing its mother bonds well. Babywearing is the result. Profiled in a piece in The Lufkin Times, babywearing allows a child to be close to its mother at all times, helping with bonding, and her hands are free to do ordinary tasks. Additional supposed assets of babywearing include calming fussy or colicky babies, less crying, and a more restful child.
Regardless of which experts you agree with, there are many options for baby carriers, including wraps, slings, and even strollers, that allow a child to face forward or backward.
