To carry my toddler on my shoulders sometimes?

[Kokapetl]

Because I get lots of funny looks and am wondering if this is wrong?

DD will be 2 in a few months and walks quite well so I try to encourage her to walk as much as possible but she does get tired and asks for a pick up. Carrying her on my shoulders is so much easier than on my hip, particularly as my hips are not fully recovered from pregnancy.

Pushing the buggy and walking with her is very tricky especially when I also have older DC. Our little town has a historic centre which is very buggy unfriendly (think tiny shops, steep cobbled roads, alleys with steps being the most direct route). So I prefer not to use it.

She is safe and happy riding on my shoulders. I see men carrying kids this way quite a bit. What am I missing?

Im really surprised anyone has a problem with this. If you're holding on to them and find it comfy then it's fine

I do it/did it all the time with dc.

And being 5'2 they get far too heavy to lift waaay before they get tall enough to hit a door frame

It makes me cringe.

In Scarborough a few years ago a woman was crossing a road carrying a child on her shoulders. She was on a zebra crossing, we were in a car waiting for them to cross. The woman tripped forward and both her and the toddler smacked their faces into the pavement. The toddlers face was a mess and an ambulance had to be called.

Still makes me cringe when i think about it. Its not something i would do and it does make me a bit nervous when i see others doing it.

Dropping straight forward on to your face from the height of higher than the adult, can cause loads of damage. It is, imo, very different than if you were carrying the child in your arms

This is an absolutely routine way of DC transport in our family!

They are now three and four and encouraged to walk as much as possible. But if tired, or if wanting to see something better, up they go. We always hold their legs and mind their heads. I tend to take the four year old who is both lighter and longer limbed so easier to carry.

Dropping straight forward on to your face from the height of higher than the adult, can cause loads of damage - I worry too about the weight of the adult falling backwards onto the child. I did just Google about this thinking although I've seen one occasion of the child hitting the frame I'd not ever heard anything else.
Then I found a DM article (with a horrific video) about a poor little girl who was carried up an escalator on her fathers shoulders but fell off ... critical condition, massive internal bleeding, cracked skull - I doubt she survived but don't want to Google. Obviously I would think most people wouldn't do such a thing (combine shoulder carrying with escalator) but I can see how accidents could easily occur with shoulder carrying.

I know 3 people now who tripped up carrying their child on their shoulders. One child had a broken arm, another a broken nose and the other a lot of cuts and bruises. Dad also got broken nose. So it's a definite don't do it from me.

Yanbu. I loved doing it with mine. So easy when I was nipping out for a couple of things.

Sorry this makes me uncomfortable as well. Friends husband slipped with their son on his shoulders and little boy hit the concrete head first from quite a height. He was very young at the time and later was diagnosed with learning difficulties which they blamed themselves for. Obviously no way of knowing if he would have had problems without the blow to the head but not worth the risk imho. Also reminds me of the time I saw a dad bend over the balcony of the top floor of a shopping centre to look the three floors down with a tiny child on their shoulders. The poor baby's face. It still makes me go cold thinking about it now!

I used to love giving my kids a piggy back until I tripped once and me and my 2 year old fell. I clung on to my child and he fell ony back and thank God was in hurt but I hit the tarmac withy face and knocked myself out and took a trip to hospital for an MRI, x-ray and had gravel cleaned out of my face with a toothbrush.

I never, ever would do it again!

Thank God wasn't hurt

Do you mean on your shoulders like legs either side of your neck or do you mean over your shoulder like a fireman's lift whilst singing Bonnie Tyler in your head?

I agree with those who worry about this and for exactly the same reason I never used a sling. After all, if a tiny baby is strapped to you and you trip, the baby is going to be crushed under your weight.

With a sling at least your arms are free but I never used one

I can still remember the thrill of being carried on my dad's shoulders! So high and dangerous but I also always felt safe

I do it all the time, just need to be wary about low hanging branches. DS loves it, I've got strong arms, shoulders and abs from doing it.

On the top of a mountain and a friend was carrying one of our two-year-old twins. (We have toddler Tulas which are great but the DTs wanted shoulders).

DT2 fell asleep and slumped back - thankfully our friend had her by the ankles so she didn't fall. It gave him such a fright though!

We still carry them this way from time to time, and they get the giggles about falling asleep.

Dangerous and irresponsible

I guess if you're the kind of person who is always tripping over and falling then it might not be a great idea. I've carried my son on shoulder loads, without a worry. But then I honestly can't remember the last time I ever fell or tripped. As long as you're careful it's no more dangerous than many other activities, like crossing the road! My son also loves sitting on his crossbar mounted bike seat and coming for rides with me. I'm. Sure some would see this as dangerous, but you just have to be sensible like everything else in life.

I spent years carrying children in Babybjorns while walking big strong dogs, and now carrying son on shoulders. Most of the time it is on pavement so not exactly dangerous terrain. Judge me all you like but I would rather that than not walk with DS at all, because he gets bored walking quickly, or try and carry a heavy three year old any other way.
You'd be distressed to hear him giggle when I tickle his chubby thighs or when he uses his steering system (grabbing my head and turning it in the direction he wants to go).

Just don't do it when they are 13 years old! I put one of my very short teenagers on my shoulders at a concert recently and my back and neck hurt for a week afterwards

I've done this loads, he loves it! Never tripped as I am more careful at watching my step. Not sure why you're getting looks.. Just don't look at anyone else

It's really dangerous. Don't do it.

It's fine as long as you are holding onto the child :)

My DH and I do this frequently with our two. We always hold on tightly and check the local area we are walking for doorways or low level trees that may cause an issue.
The kind of people that think this is dangerous probably also don't have trampolines in the garden.... some people are just too risk averse.