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?

I think it's fine if you are (able to be) vigilant, so no talking on the phone, no large dogs, not forgetting they're up there, not going on a escalator fgs... all of the above scenarios are dangerous, or at least situations which require vigilance, with a walking child or toddler, surely?

Everything carries a risk and I am all for mitigating those day to day risks but I agree with a PP that it's a rite of passage and I won't stop doing it with my DDs.

I had no idea this was judged. My husband frequently carries our youngest (3) on his shoulders. She has never liked the pushchair (and manages to escape from it) but hates holding hands and if let loose will go off fearlessly in the wrong direction. She loves riding "Daddy horse" and is the quickest way from A to B and we can fill the pushchair with shopping, coats etc
I wish I could do the same but I have terrible balance and just don't feel safe. If I'm on my own and she gets tired I carry her on my hip and my back is terrible the next day!

I always carry dd on my shoulders. She's 2. I've been doing it from a few months old.

But then I also swing her round by her ankles and drive her places and let her climb climbing frames and go down slides and play with some toys that are for 3+ (because seriously everything is!). Al of those things could cause her injury.

Interestingly what has caused her injury was the dining room chair. She toddled into it and got a big bruise on her forehead. So, you know, if she's going to get black and blue in my dining room I'm not going to worry about carrying her.

She is in a sling a fair bit still now. But prefers shoulders as she can see better. And it is easier to put her up and down from shoulders when she is ready to walk for a bit.