to hate the term 'babywearing'?

[ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight]

You aren't 'wearing' the baby, you are carrying it. It's a sensible and practical way to get from a-b, or to keep the baby quiet/out of trouble while you are relaxing doing housework.

It is not a way of life, or even really a parenting choice, at least it shouldn't be, and if it is, you are overthinking things.

The reason that women in developing countries 'wear' their babies more is that they are far busier than we tend to be, housework takes longer when you don't have mod cons and safety measures like stairgates are not available also they don't get cebeebies

I think there are too many parents who take a method of doing something and turn it into a 'position', when it really isn't.

YANBU I hate it too. She is my baby not an accessory.

kat, I am so totally with you on this one, makes my teeth itch, the phrase "babywearing". And, yes, I have carried all of mine in various contraptions for my convenience and to soothe them.

However, there is a whole 'philosophy' that goes with 'babywearing' such as Attachment Parenting which again in principle I think is a lovely way of parenting, but as with all 'methods' a lot of its followers become quite blinkered fanatical about their chosen way of looking after their children.

I am more of the 'making it up as I go along' ilk which must be immensely irritating to those of a more methological way of organising their and their childrens lives .

I agree. It's like baby led weaning- takes the perfectly reasonable principle that ideally you shouldn't force feed your baby by ramming mush down his/her throat willy nilly but instead let the baby set the pace and claims it's a whole new art form.

It's a new one on me. Never heard baby wearing before - must get out more. .

I used to carry my DS in a sling until he became over 16lbs. I never "wore" him though.

Someone linked to a forum once where prams were described as 'mobile baby prisons'. Clearly that's an extreme but...

Never heard of that phrase TBH but having seen OP I don't like it either. YANBU.

Roffle @ "mobile baby prisons".

I've never liked the term either. You're only carrying them, ffs. It's like anything parenting-related, there's always an evangelist

LOL I don't have a pram...but I still carry her rather than wearing her

Mobile baby prisons! I think Sears describes cots as baby gaol too, doesn't he?

I can see the babywearing thing - if I'm carrying my daughter, my arms are involved. If she's in the sling, my arms are free, so I am sort of wearing her. I guess, do you carry a backpack, or wear a backpack? If it's the latter, then you wear the baby, too.

But I totally agree about it being a parenting position if you're overthinking things. Me, I tend towards "what method will allow me to get the dishes done/board the bus safely/go for an hour long walk" and transport the child accordingly.

YANBU. I've found people seem to use it as a marker of difference as in 'oh, woe, where are all the lovely hippy mummies with their slings, I am so different and alone, woe woe woe' rather than just another way to carry their child. I knpw people who have stopped going to certain baby/toddler groups because the other parents there don't share their 'philosphy'.

(Owner of a babasling, wilkinet and 3 buggies... woe, I am so alone etc etc)

It is the same use of the word wear as in that ad for "water you wear".

It amuses me that Coca-Cola and baby-wearers both mix up wearing and carrying in the same way.

I carried mine for most of their babyhoods and beyond if I was in London or somewhere with lots of steps, but I never "wore" them (the term irritates me too).

I found the term "baby-led weaning" useful, just to explain to family and friends and acquaintances that we were neither deliberately starving our daughter or risk he to choke, but that it's actually ok to do it that way, and there's even a book.

Agree about babywearing and think Sears is evil.

Anyone following a "methodological system" eventually hits brick walls. Plato discovered this long long ago when he had to invent unknowable "forms" to keep his vision of the world coherent (ish). People who like attachment parenting eventually face a situation where little Saskia steps way out of line and they find themselves longing to say very firmly "No Saskia, deliberately biting your brother till he bleeds is horrible and wrong and if you do that again I will carry you screaming from the room/put you in time out/ban cbeebies for a year." People who feel that babies can only thrive on never deviated from routine eventually realise that they haven't seen any of their mates for yonks and can't get to toddler group.

Toddlers get too heavy for slings, yogurt is hard to eat with a pincer grip, sex is difficult with a 4 year old lying in between you and your partner. Children can get hooked on praise and seek to please too much, they can refuse to cooperate unless a star chart prize is on offer, they may be over criticised/punished in an attempt to get them to comply. There are downsides to every theory (and upsides too, of course). Making it up as you go along (aka listeniong and thinking carefully about what your child needs and how it suits you to offer that) is no bad thing, imo.

YANBU. I am not familiar with the term, but it does sound a bit 'worthy'.

Having said that, I do sometimes say 'No, it's OK, I will wear him' when my husband suggests taking the baby out in the pram.

I don't understand the bile reserved for the term 'Baby-led weaning' on this board. It's just easier to say than 'Not spoon-feeding, but letting children get the hang of feeding themselves'.

No bile here, ml, just amused that it's such a big deal these days as getting a baby to feed itself and enjoy a variety of yummy foods has been the norm for generations.

Mama, I think it's more that it's become a 'movement' whereas, as Skegness says, it's just the norm really. But it sells books!

Skegness - you are a voice of reason - write a book about your non theory and make a mint. Call it 'Sensible parenting - the middle of the road approach'.

I "put the baby in the sling" and "give her food".

"I guess, do you carry a backpack, or wear a backpack? If it's the latter, then you wear the baby, too."

You're wearing the backpack, but you're carrying the contents of the backpack. Ergo, surely you wear a sling, but carry the baby!

YANBU at all, I also hate the word 'babywearing'. Like so many things to do with method-parenting, it so often becomes a statement - and 'wearing' your baby like an accessory is a horrible way of phrasing it. Not to mention being completely focused on the experience of the parent rather than the baby - "I'm babywearing" as opposed to "DC is carried in a sling." It just makes me want to scream through gritted teeth.

I did not realise BLW was a 'movement'. But I am rather new to this lark. I thought the norm was to spoon-feed!

I think this is a pretty harmless expression and it is OP who is "overthinking things" to be arsed to post about it

YANBU.

I have a few slings - we had a soft wrap Moby when he was a wee tiny newborn to calm and soothe him and now a semi-structured carrier for trips into town when we couldn't be faffed with the pram. I have a dodgy back and I like the weight distribution.

The problem I have with the term is that it associates you with a certain parenting style and leaves you open to unnecessary judgement from idiots who think that using a sling means something about you. I hate having to justify using a piece of equipment that I use to make my life easier.

See this, from another forum:
"I agree with you its not getting attached to your parent thats the problem its the clingy whingy underdeveloped baby that you dont want from them hanging out of you, when you cant do anything around the house without them around your neck. Rediculous if you ask me!! DD is very cuddly and loves giving me and her dad kisses and hugs, but she will sit happily and independently playing on the floor and is so determined to do things for herself, we put it down to her not having someone sit under her 24/7. She's been getting regular floor time since about 6 weeks and is crawling since 7mts and is now cruising - I doubt very much she would be so advanced had we stuck her in a pouch/sling around our neck all day!! Cant be good for them at all for many reasons. "

Gaga, I can see that works. I don't wear my water bottle and paperback, after all!

good post skegness