Why don’t parents let their babies sleep outside anymore?

[Busybusybust]

www.:boredomtherapy.com/cold-scandanavian-baby/?as=6d23842735449010537

All my four slept outside in the back garden during the day, suitably clothed for the time of year. I did have a big pram, but today’s prams are just as suitable. So why dont your babies sleep outside?

No garden.
Fear of abduction.

I mean if I were with her, of course I would let her sleep outside.

But not like they used to pop babies in the garden and then stay inside themselves. I'm a bit too paranoid.

Then why do you do it Donny?

For mental pleasure. Obv.

Reasons when my child was a baby or toddler
In winter - They're finally asleep after trip into town, I want and need them to stay asleep. If brought into house they'll be to hot and wake up.
In summer time, they're in shade, nice and cool I can sun tan, hang up washing, garden around them.
I love sleeping outside, as in camping, which requires a certain level of trust anyway so maybe I relaxed a bit more about naps outside because of that. I wonder how many who either napped outside or put children outside go camping
Or a cat nap in summer time whilst tanning im sure I'll get flamed for that but im mixed race and like to keep a certain shade.
Definitely sleep so well in fresh air and yes if it was a city no i wouldn't think the air would be great for them or myself.
Oh and garden always locked to.

Itsbetterinabox
Seriously....,,I gave my reasons...maybe falls asleep, leave outside-stays asleep. Bring inside-wakes. What better reason do you need with a baby. Asleep vs not asleep-have you ever had a baby...?

If you look in books from years ago there's images of lines of babies outside the maternity units ( ground level) in their cots, children who were sickly were sent to the country for the fresh air and sanitariums used to have the patients outside in their beds for an amount of time each day to feel the benefits of the open air. I used to remember leaving my son in his prom under my pil lounge window in the warmer months( while we were in the lounge) when he was asleep ( they did have noisy dogs that liked to bark though) a cat net could be fitted to stop any critters from getting in the prim. I also remember babies in their prams outside shops ( shops were smaller then). Perhaps with fewer cars about the air was less polluted years ago but I think mums walked more too with their prams so the babies were more used to being out in their prams for longer IYSWIM.

Incidentally my mil also swore by a top doctor who wrote books on child rearing ( Dr Spock) and the rules around parenting were pretty strict 1950s one bit of advice she liked to give me when my dcs were young was 'don't pick them up between feeds or cuddle them for too long...they are born artful and it spoils them! Or course I followed her advice to the tee

There was no sids advice when mine were young (they're in their 20s), no being within inches of them when they were under 6 months and sleeping, so mine slept outside close to kitchen door but outside. We also had bumpers, and they both slept on their fronts. That was the norm then.

As for reasons, it's been said more than once... fresh air, not open window type fresh air but proper breezy cool fresh air... lovely. I love sleeping outside too!

Foxes and cats? I let mine sleep outside when I was with them but I would never just shove them in the buggy and leave them out there.

I don't have kids and had never heard of this until I was at a friend's mum's house last year, my friend's baby was in the pram sleeping in the garden and it completely surprised me, I went through to her mum in the other room saying 'omg did you realise Poppy is in the garden!? Is she okay!?' Thinking someone had forgotten her 😂 Her mum was very amused!

My older child used to sleep outside because she slept better in the cold. Busybodies used to give me hassle about it: "Anyone could steal her!" Which was true, as we lived on a main road, but really not very likely.

I didn't bother putting the younger one outdoors to sleep because she was an excellent sleeper who would sleep well anywhere. I usually just put her down near wherever I was. Obviously if she fell asleep while out I would leave her in the buggy outside the front door rather than trying to wrestle it in through the door - and there wasn't really space for the buggy indoors anyway.

No shoving outside and ignoring! When mine were little, kitchen door was just by where I was, feet away. Pram outside, baby close, not ignored. Often I would sit there with a cuppa on the bench whilst baby snoozed contentedly in the fresh air. Or I'd be sat in kitchen and could hear baby snuffling whilst she or he slept. All those who find it odd do like to think we abandoned our babies up the end of the garden and ignored them for hours on end, it wasn't like that.

I'm surprised at how few comments reference being unable to due to being in a flat though. I've never managed to live somewhere with a garden in the decade of being out of my parents house, it's so expensive. It's all been apartments.

DS sleeps better outside. Unfortunately we have monkeys that often visit the garden (not in UK!) so I can't leave him out there unattended.

Both DSs slept outside in my big silver cross pram. GP recommended it as we have asthma in the family.

They were in a secure garden by the patio doors with a cat net. They slept far better outside than on the days I kept them in because of fog or mist.

Didn't realise it wasn't a thing these days, very strange, fresh air is always better than cooking smells etc.

LemonShark same here. Around this way you are bloody lucky to have your own garden. If i had i would have put ds outside but in sight, mind you though he often liked to wake feed and sleep then wake again for more and i wouldnt facing getting out my breast in january to cluster feed!

Another reason for me was that being awake for outside time seemed like a better opportunity for the babies to start to observe and interact with the outside world. There might well be birds flying over, rustling trees, scudding clouds, people talking- why would I bother putting the baby outside to sleep through all that, when we could go for a walk while awake?

We viewed a few nurseries. One kept the babies inside while awake, but put them in prams in an unsecured garden to sleep. Another nursery had the babies and toddlers napping indoors, but at least twice a day all the babies and toddlers went out for long walks around the extensive grounds and woods, with plenty of opportunity to explore their natural environment. We went for the second one.

Engorged Argh cold breast feeding sounds horrible 😓 I guess it's an indicator of the fact that MN generally attracts a more middle class readership tbh, most people seem to have houses with gardens whereas in the rest of society hundreds of thousands of people live in high rises without balconies. I have seen a few mention shared gardens though.

I'm surprised that people feel a net is sufficient against a fox or a determined cat though, I'm not against the practice at all as I reckon the chances of an animal attack are very slim and you'd hopefully be nearby to notice if it happened quickly, but do people really think a net made of fabric will stop an animal with sharp teeth, claws, and hunting instinct? Does it actually prevent it, maybe I'm just envisaging a more flimsy cover but maybe they're special fabric designed to be tear proof?

Oooocrikey
Yeah that makes sense.
That’s not what the op is talking about though. It’s putting babies outside specifically for sleep. Not to avoid waking them after being out by the change.

Donny
It does just make people feel better. But doesn’t actually do anything.
That’s fine though

It was common practice when I was growing up.

Mums would park the pram at the bottom of the garden so they couldn't hear the babies cries.

Both my immediate neighbour and the family opposite went to their babies who were sleeping silently - too silently- and found their babies dead. Happened to both families within the space of a month one winter.

OP would you sleep in a cold garden?

N generally attracts a more middle class readership tbh, most people seem to have houses with gardens whereas in the rest of society hundreds of thousands of people live in high rises without balconies.

That is a refection of city living though. In my area many working class families who live in local authority homes are living in decent houses with gardens.

Layout of the house meant that the pram wouldn't be visible from the most used rooms.

Busy area so noisy outside and I had a light sleeper.

They do/ did. Though unlike my mother they didn't get left there to scream out their colic. So i would do laundy gardening window cleaning. Tends to solve the problems. And i used the moses basket out there.