Mothers with enormous toddlers in slings...

[CheapSausagesAndSpam]

AIBU to wonder how the feck they manage?

My neighbour has just walked past my window with her son dangling in front of her like a bloody giant in a harness!

He's almost 4! No SEN and very sturdy/capable.

We live in a tiny town/village and she can drive etc....she's probably just going to the shop down the road.

Why??

You know you nay-sayers are basically ASKING to be spammed with ostentatious child-wearing photos, right?

BOOM! DS1 when he was 4yo.

I think most of the negativity towards people that occasionally carry their pre-schoolers on their back come from people who weren't cuddled enough as a kid. "When I was 2 and asked for a hug I was given a sharp smack and a cold shower. Well. Never did me any harm"

It's fab cuddle level green both dd and I love it!.... 8yr old ds is the cuddles in our house. I put it down to being held and carried a lot when younger. He'd love to still be carried haha! But 8 is pushing it!

green we're taking the dc to London for the 1st time on Jan, by train. There's no way I'm going without the sling!

Good idea elph

With 4yr old with dh......

DH carried out four year old on holiday this year. I wouldn't want to do it all the time but it is handy to be able to. He sits in his brothers buggy given half the chance or sits on the hood on the way home from school sometimes if he's tired. 4 year olds still get tired easily!

I’ve often thought the same thing OP, it can look a bit ridiculous but different strokes for different folks as they say!

I think my DS looks far more ridiculous than yours, pooooop, with his great long legs that DH is reFUsing to let him use.

God I've seen it all.

I think it does look weirder on the front, and certainly more cumbersome .
Dd always goes on my back.

poooooooop I love that picture.
Epitomises the best things in life. Walking in beautiful nature with a pooch and cuddles with dc. Add to that holding hands with dh and hot coco in a flask which he is carrying voilà perfect moment.

"I think most of the negativity towards people that occasionally carry their pre-schoolers on their back come from people who weren't cuddled enough as a kid." Mhm, maybe but definitely those who don't walk anywhere.

The thing is....a 4 year old strapped to their Dad's back is NEVER going to look as ridiculous as the woman I saw. She was 5 feet if she was an inch and her child was tall.

And on her front. Like a baby.

Very different aspect from a strapping man carrying a child on his back!

Pooooooop, it's not so much the back that gets damaged, though that is a possibility. It's the pelvic floor. You realise a lot of stuff that seemed convenient and hunky dory when your children were 4 had an effect once you get to 50+.

Speaking as a mother of 5 DCs who had a dislocated hip three years ago and got asked a lot of questions about what hip I used to sit the DCs on while getting on with daily life. It was that hip that finally gave out.

yeah that's why carrying a kid on your hip is not a good idea. You can put your lower back out doing that, walking around all wonky, hence using a proper ergonomic carrier now for decent weight distribution.

OP even if you told her to her face that you thought she looked ridiculous, I bet she still wouldn't give two shits. Why are people so obsessed by what 'looks' right?! Do appearances really preoccupy people that much? I presume she wouldn't have made the choice to do it if it was painful for her!

Probably a good way to burn calories, cheaper than the gym

Thanks lego I agree too that people who walk a lot tend to carry their older dc more.

math I've been a mountain and expedition leader for the past 15yrs, the camping/expedition packs I carry (days at a time) are way heavier than my dd. I work with many older folk (in their 60s/70s) in the same industry who are still carrying heavy expedition packs.

I understand that back and pelvic issues can happen for some, but I think it depends on what you're used to and how you start.... Carrying dc is much easier on your back if you've been doing it from birth, and been constant. Rather than suddenly deciding when they are 2.

But who cares what she looked like?

I dont get it.

Keeping pulling and your judgey pants will be right up your arse.

Yeah I've never carried either dc on my hip. It's been either on front or back, with or without carrier

"a strapping man" what about a strapping women? no pun

If I'd had to work out how to get a wriggly ds strapped to my front and one to the back, we would seriously never have left the house.

Luckily they've always been good walkers or I'd have been stuffed.

Past Well...men are generally taller and wider than women so a four year old on a man's back looks a lot more reasonable than one on a small woman's front!

The woman I saw looked frankly martyred....she was very short and her child was pretty big!

I doubt she cares whether you think it looks silly Sausages.

Mathanxiety, that was kind of my point, a sling worn properly distributing the weight evenly VS no carrier and perched on one hip.
When my kids were young I'd rather the former.

besides, I missed the memo that only women over 5'10" with broad shoulders can do certain things.