One for the rear facing buggy lovers.... not recommended for fwd facing buggy users

[TheBlonde]

Babies could be left "emotionally impoverished" by being placed in buggies that face away from their mothers, research claims.

Obviously the researchers didn't look into the practical reasons why most buggies are forward facing

loola, small as most umbrella folds, rearfacing and good prices on ebay. i have one for gp appointments, bfeeding clinic, baby clinc, swimming, anywhere i cant take my pram into. main pram is more expensive so dont like leaving it unattended. saying that, thats based on rrp not what i paid for it on ebay.

i do believe rearfacing is better imo. but thats just because i will do anything possible to avoid a repeat of dd2 speech issues and 2yrs+ of SALT.

You know, even a Loola doesnt fit my space wagon LOL! Mothercare only stocked one that did.

But in all honesty little terror (in the nicest way) wont go in any buggy more thanten minutes anyhow, surely that cant hurt him!

lol no it wont. sophie doesnt like the pram much atm. prefers to be carried.

Ah its lovely when they're newborn- he's seven months now though and I am geting biceps I tell ya!

(really can recommend the ella roo mei tei hip sling afte 6 months, works a treat).

is he really! blimey thats gone quick

Oh I know, he's crawling and pulling himself up now

I am most displeased, I never told him he was allowed to grow up

The thing about this is that they are assuming the fact that their heartbeats were faster in a froward faing buggy means they are anxious when it could be that they're so excited at being able to see the world!

I had rear facing with each of mine, and they all created merry hell until they turned round (they clearly thought me naff company), and I have a bunch of chatterboxes!!

I am now pondering just how much MORE chatterboxery they would be had I insisted on them facing me.............nope, I think I might have needed to GAG them!!!

I had one that can be turned out or in.
I don't believe for a second it makes any odds whatsoever.
YET ANOTHER EXCUSE TO JUDGE MOTHERS.
Just what we need, eh?

Roffle.

Wadda load shit.

During the time that my three were of buggy age, I had a McClaren superdreamer that could face both backwards and forwards, a Silver Cross double buggy that could only face forwards and were the baby was at the front, and two umbrella folding buggies - one double (impossible to use as was far too wide, so never used) and a single forward facing one.

When the boys were little babies, I had them facing backwards in the McClaren and forwards in the silver cross, and they seemed to like either position equally. I certainly never noticed any difference in whether they were happy or not or whether they slept or stayed awake - and all three are now gregarious, happy and well socialised (well, ds1 is as well socialised as a teenager can be - grins).

What these studies fail to take into account is that every baby is different, and so is every mother. For example, a baby facing forwards whose mother points things out to him/her is likely to be far happier than one facing backwards whose mum is ignoring him/her. Some babies will fall asleep the minute they start moving, whichever way they are facing, and others will not.

I have a FFacing buggy - I hate it. I can't even see DS in it, never mind have a meaningful conversation with him. Also have a rearfacing (forty quid on Ebay so they don't always have to be a dear option) but never really used it. I have other issues with buggies - I can't steer them, have to look for lifts instead of stairs, fill your hall and boot, child slumps or slips unless exactly the right size for it etc. etc. so have always used a sling.

That said, the "research" looked pretty flimsy - this is something the Literacy Trust banged on about way before they had any kind of "research evidence" to back it up.

It's a bugbear of mine, but I can't think it makes that much difference to the average child.

Maybe if you take a baby who normally faces mum and put him/her facing forward it is distressing. Why did they not take into account what that baby is used to. I think this could be more about routine and less about seeing mum (or whomever).

Aaaahhh! Now I know why ds is SOOOO talkative. He was in a front facing buggy from 3wks - but I would be singing and talking to him all the way on the walk unless he was asleep... I did get some peculiar looks but it clearly hasn't resulted in any 'emotional impoverishment' - and meant that we could both see where we were going, and how fast the dog chased her frisbee

What a crock of shit. More "research" to make mums feel crap about themselves.

TBH you could say the same about car seats and prams and buggies in general. Babies are probably designed to be carried in slings all day. (no, I didn't use a sling as I have a bad back.)

How long is a baby in a buggy for anyway?

omg i am sooo glad i have a rear facing buggy lol

although ds and dd do not seem emotionally damaged fromtheir maclarens!!!!!!!!!!

they just keep coming up with more and more ridiculous shite

this 'report' came in the same 'news' section as the announcement that giving your child too much praise could be dertrimental!! FFS - if I listened to all this crap I would have given up long ago and decided whatever I do, my children are bound to be emotionally scarred for life and develomentally hindered. Can't believe this stuff makes headline news

ROFL. Am with psychomum here. My dd1 is superchatty - thank God I put her in a ff buggy from birth otherwise my ears would have fallen off by now

The child I know who is the best talker for her age had a forward facing buggy, the one with speech problems had a rear facing. IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. It's down to the individual child, assuming they are loved and the parents talk to them around the home. Children enjoy seeing the world around them and you can still talk to them when they're not facing you.

Having said that dd2 HATED the P&T when it was in newborn mode and screamed the place down whenever we put her in it. So we used the ff Maclaren and a buggy board instead and she too at 18 months seems to be developing a talkative streak despite my attempts to foil it

What they found in this study was that with forward facing buggies, babies were talked to less than babies in backward facing buggies. They did observational stuff in a High Street, but also some stuff 'in the lab'. I heard the woman on the news this morning saying that there needed to be more research. Really, what it seemed to boil down to was that it probably doesn't matter much, especially if you make the effort to talk to your forward facing kid.

Ah lovely! Something else to bash parents with

Actually I would have rather liked a 'facing me' type buggy buy couldn't find one at the time, only prams.

The only thing that I've ever really considered a 'must' for a buggy (apart from it being safe and comfortable) is swivel-wheels at the front. This isn't a big issue when the baby is tiny, but as they get bigger and heavier, having to push down on the handle to lift the front wheels every time you want to turn a corner can become tiring and annoying.

DS had a FF buggy - he loves being able to look around and I always make a point of stopping the buggy and peering around to talk to him and show him things he likes - i.e big truck going by or whatever so he still gets the interaction. He's never in it that long and I very rarely do town shopping with him as I don't think its fair on him

Sadly though, there are parents who do think taking their kids with them while they shop all day is a 'day out' for them...but a rear facing probably wouldn't make much difference as they wouldn't think to interact much anyway!

Buggar me - something else we're doing wrong.
Must add it to my list. Shit - no room.
Seriously in a week when several children have not left the news headlines you'd think something as daft as this wouldn't see the light of day.
Needs more coffee - you always make me laugh.

Does this mean that we now have to drive facing our children in order for them to become emotionally enriched?

Yes, a sample of 20 mothers is going to provide accurate results

And RF buggies are like rocking horse shit.