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Original poster

babies put to sleep on a BALCONY!!!!!

24 replies

bubblepop · 08/03/2006 10:43

IM SO SHOCKED! my sis has been to look at a nursery for her 14month dd. she was horrified to discover that they put all the babies to sleep(under the age of one)in a pram on a first floor outdoor balcony.they put the raincovers on the prams to protect from the weather, and they go out there for their sleep. i know they need fresh air and all that lot...but somehow it doesnt seem quite right in this day and age....and what about when its freezing, icy winds?am i being a mardy arse or what??

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oliveoil · 08/03/2006 10:45

mardy arse. But in the nicest possible way of course.

My inlaws leave dd2 in the pram outside if she has fallen asleep, wrapped up.

Icy winds wouldn't get through the rain cover imo.

DelGirl · 08/03/2006 10:50

I wouldn't be happy with that, does an adult stay there with them?

compo · 08/03/2006 10:52

At my sister's nursery they were out to sleep in their pushchairs in a garage over hang thingy. Think it was lack of space - no room for individual cots etc but I thought it sounded really odd

pepperrabbit · 08/03/2006 11:18

My SIL is a diligent Gina follower and religiously puts her babies to sleep outside for two hours a day in rain, snow, hurricane - even if we're out for a family lunch - the baby will be in the carpark.
Most of the family think this is a bit extreme and it's certainly not my choice - DS has only slept outside on temperate days when it suits me! (I'll join the mardy arse gang!)

Papillon · 08/03/2006 11:19

sounds like overhang from Truby King days

parents would have to agree to this surely?? supppose its quieter at the very least!

moondog · 08/03/2006 11:21

i HAVE A MAD baby book from the 30s,which shows how tenements were built in some places with a little grilled box sticking out of the kitchen wall to put the baby in for an airing.

Bonkers eh??
Grin

harpsichordcarrier · 08/03/2006 11:25

mardy arse Smile
but then I grew up in a house where it was pretty much always warmer outside than in
didn't do me any harm [old fart emoticon]
so I now bask in tropical warmth in the house of course

Flamesparrow · 08/03/2006 11:26

Sounds good to me - as long as they are bundled up, fresh air is probably good for em. I'm a windows open mid winter girl anyway though.

nailpolish · 08/03/2006 11:27

i think its fine as long as they are seen and heard easily, and wrapped up to the max.

madmarchhare · 08/03/2006 11:27

a bit weird putting them in the carpark pepperrabbit!

Marina · 08/03/2006 11:28

Truby King definitely. I think she needs to enquire very closely why they do this. If it is because the owners really do believe that fresh air settles babies and they benefit from it, then if your sis is happy with that ethos, fine. I have often left mine out in cold but settled weather in a porch, well wrapped up and with the hood up.
If they are doing it because they do not have a quiet room with enough cots to go round then I would give the nursery a wide berth.

Marina · 08/03/2006 11:29

Nurseries often unbelievably stuffy and hot IMO. I'm a windows open stick em outside sort of person too...

Original poster
bubblepop · 08/03/2006 11:36

hang on...im all for fresh air and all that.....but what about if a gust of wind comes and blows the prams over..over the side of the balcony!!!or what if some weirdo comes and climbs up a ladder and steals one of them!!! Shock o dear, my minds workin overtime now!!!

OP posts:
madmarchhare · 08/03/2006 11:38

or a really big owl or something...

mummycan · 08/03/2006 11:42

I think it is very common in scandinavian countries. Had a Danish friend who brought her 2/3 month old over - when it was naptime she put her outside - all wrapped up an a big proper pram - she'd always done it and both of her children are fine and lovely. Mind you I never did it but each to their own eh?

Flamesparrow · 08/03/2006 11:46

pmsl @ the owl! Grin

brimfull · 08/03/2006 11:47

completely fine imo

Used to leave ds outside on nice days,great cause you can't hear them when they wake upWink

oliveoil · 08/03/2006 11:47

lol at mmh and her big owl

But I must admit, when we went to the inlaws to collect the girls on Sunday, dd2 was in the pram in the front whilst they were eating their lunch inside.

Which I didn't like as I was imagining mad axe men/owls swooping in and taking her.

But dh reminded me of the huge windows overlooking the pram that would have alerted them....but still, ahem, I have been known to let my mind run away.

zippitippitoes · 08/03/2006 11:53

No different from pushing them out on a walk in cold weather as far as baby is concerned really is it, I was definitely a sticke them out of earshot outside one

but it is a bit different if the nursery is cramped

don't think a balcony is necessarily evil though, sounds quite nice but not as nice as a verandah Smile

harpsichordcarrier · 08/03/2006 11:53

owls???
this is definitely first time mother territory now,
maybe you were thinking of a vulture?
or a magpie, if your baby was particularly shiny.
or made of twigs.

Marina · 08/03/2006 11:56

ROFL at the owl mmh :)

madmarchhare · 08/03/2006 11:58

No definately owls harpsie, or maybe even a gigantic .

Original poster
bubblepop · 08/03/2006 12:09

lol, owl!!! unfortunately, im not a first time mum, those where the easy days..

OP posts:
madchad · 09/03/2006 16:01

No problem for me about the fresh air, same as taking them for a walk, which I used to do with my December firstborn.
Is it in Sonning by any chance?-the baby room there is on the first floor, and there is a balcony outside. They also have an indoor cot room.
The more fresh air they get the better. I am sure they're not out when it's -5C.

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