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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Mothers with enormous toddlers in slings...

725 replies

CheapSausagesAndSpam · 06/12/2017 00:15

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??

OP posts:
Thread gallery
15
HuskyMcClusky · 06/12/2017 06:25

Eliza, probably a fair point. Just at 4 seems a bit much! That’s a child, not a ‘toddler’.

CuppaSarah · 06/12/2017 07:08

I used to occasionally carry my dd when she was 3. Ds was still a baby, so she was feeling insecure due to this, he was often carried so she got jealous. So sometimes I'd pop her in my big carrier on my back. It was comfy, allowed her to feel safe and secure and kept my hands free to push the buggy. It was fab, but she stopped wanting to be carried before long, I miss it.

SoupDragon · 06/12/2017 07:10

she can drive etc....she's probably just going to the shop down the road.

You think she should drive to the shop down the road?

Original poster
CheapSausagesAndSpam · 06/12/2017 07:12

Soup what are you blathering on about? Where did I say she should drive!?

I didn't.

I said that to stop people saying "Well maybe she's got a long walk ahead of her and can't drive"

Or something. As people on here are in the habit of picking apart sentences....and finding shite in them that's simply not there. Hmm

OP posts:
NapQueen · 06/12/2017 07:13

My 5yo is only 25cms shorter than me so it wpuld be an impossibility to lug her around in a sling

Wellandtrulyoutnumbered · 06/12/2017 07:14

You're an ignorant judgemental person those of us who wear our toddlers cope quite well thank you and doesn't hurt our backs.

stopfuckingshoutingatme · 06/12/2017 07:15

That must HURT

Wellandtrulyoutnumbered · 06/12/2017 07:19

Nope not if wearing a decent sling or wrap properly. Carried my then seven year old once for fun as he was curious .

BrutusMcDogface · 06/12/2017 07:23

I used my preschool Tula as a kind of aide to a piggy back on the school run, when my 3 yo was in the process of dropping naps. She loved it and actually, so did I!

thewisestoldelf · 06/12/2017 07:27

My DS is 3.6 and I don't think I could carry him more than 10m in a sling

Original poster
CheapSausagesAndSpam · 06/12/2017 07:28

Outnumbered...I'm ignorant and you can't use one comma? Grin Ha ha! Ok then.

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 06/12/2017 07:28

Soup what are you blathering on about? Where did I say she should drive!?

Oh, FFS calm down.

Why mention she can drive? That is irrelevant if you aren't implying she should have driven.

randomsabreuse · 06/12/2017 07:29

I think of the sling as an assisted piggy back - which leaves my hands free. I find it much more comfortable than the rucksack carrier which we use for adventurous walks (rucksack has "rollover" protection and storage) because she's in closer.

Most often I use the sling when she's in toddler tantrum mode and I need to get somewhere on foot - because it's way better for my back than carrying a kicking, thrashing grumpy beasties in my arms. Helps that at 2.5 years she's under 12kg of solid muscle so it is purely as a solution to "no"!

silenceisadistantmemory · 06/12/2017 07:30

Well you have come out with some pretty definitive shite on this thread, OP.

Do you judge those who push four year olds to school in buggies? Is that better or worse than a sling?

Little legs get tired. So what.

FindoGask · 06/12/2017 07:30

I used to hoik my then four year old up on my shoulders all the time. She was always complaining about having to walk anywhere so it was just easier, as I have limited patience for cajoling... but obviously it did lengthen the moaning-about-walking phase because she knew the shoulder-ride was an option.

mamahanji · 06/12/2017 07:32

The op is right. Every almost 4 year old worries if random nosy people think they look silly...🙄🙄

My almost 4 year old still goes in the sling. We do a lot of walking and it's bloody easier than my bus of a double pushchair. She can walk quite a few miles, but sometimes she struggles.

MiaowTheCat · 06/12/2017 07:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Oblomov17 · 06/12/2017 07:35

Goodness, I'm surprised anyone could carry a 4 year old for any length of time, other than for an emergency/scraped knee back home etc. Both of my two weighed a tonne at 4, and I could only just give them a short piggy-back when we were playing.

MentholBreeze · 06/12/2017 07:37

I used to hoik my then four year old up on my shoulders all the time

Shoulders for me too - back carry with my meitai just took too long to muck about with compared to chucking them up on my shoulders.

DS1 could walk to town, but when we got to the hill on the way back he'd just start walking slower and slower, so carrying was the best alternative. And DS2 had to go to school and back every day from when he was 1, so if we were late, or I had to hurrry home, straight up he went (I can't stand pushchairs - for myself - they just require too much steering around things and bumping up and down curbs and such)

Anatidae · 06/12/2017 07:37

I never used a sling. My back and hips weren’t capable of it and ds hated it and frankly I hated it too. Also dangerous walking on ice. I have been judged mightily by the Sling Mafia for not doing so.

But frankly, if you can use one, you’re ok with it and the kid is, crack on, who cares? Aren’t we all just doing what works for us ?

Camomila · 06/12/2017 07:38

I miss carrying DS, was so much more practical then lugging the pushchair about (too tall now though at 20m he's a smidge over half my height Shock )

I can't see how the proper backpack carriers hurt your back more than carrying a big rucksack ( my cousins hike a lot and the mum usually has the rucksack and the dad the piggy back carrier with 3 year old)

Oblomov17 · 06/12/2017 07:39

Errr, so yes, I too will bite. 2.5 year old in a sling is totally different to a 4 year old. Unless exceptional circumstances, no need for a 4 year old to be in a sling.

Sarahh2014 · 06/12/2017 07:40

My 4 year old walks with me .If whiny and tired he still walks with me.what message is it sending to the child if they get carried around at that age?.ridiculous imo

HotelEuphoria · 06/12/2017 07:41

Four??? That's not a bloody toddler, he should walking. DS was only just four when he started school, I can just imagine the school run with lots of small kids being carried. Hilarious.

Zoomaa · 06/12/2017 07:42

I'd be judging a 4.5 yr old (presuming no SN) in a buggy so I'd also be judging one in a sling. Plus it looks daft and is bad for your back.

Mine were walking everywhere at 2.5 including on a city break - we walked miles!

The only time we've used a pushchair since then was Disney when we were walking 12 hours a day.

Childhood obesity epidemic? Get your children bloody moving!