how important is parent facing option

[peanutMD]

In your opinion?

Very. IMHO.

Possibly partly a child personality thing too - two of my three had to see me all the time they travelled in a pram til they were around eighteen months, if we faced them outwards they wanted to turn round all the time. Ds2 was into the action and I should have taken it as a warning he liked to see where he was going and take it all in and couldn't have cared less if it was me or any other pushing him (just as long as the wheels didn't stop!)

Depends on the baby. I dutifully went out and bought the parent facing travel system with bassinet for lie flat option. Ds ended up only being happy being outward facing in the car seat. I don't buy into the whole ' 'vital for effective interraction and language development' thing myself, unless the child is spending 8 hours a day in the pushchair but plenty of people do. I'd say it's nice to have the option but it wouldn't be a deal breaker

Not important at all IME.

It's probably not important, but I did love gazing at my adorable babies in our parent facing pram. By the time they are about 18 months, they prefer to be front facing.

I work in childcare and when I fell pregnant I remembered a course I had been on........the lady spoke about having pushchairs that face the parent and it's always stuck with me. She said that a baby doesn't want to be faced with the sky or peoples heads/legs later on, they want to be able to see their mummy/daddy. I made a point of getting one that faced me and DD was in that type of pushchair until she was a year and a half. I loved it, walking along, talking to her, seeing her reactions as she gurgled back. DD also loved it, smiling and chatting away to me. Would always opt for that sort now I've had such an amazing experience of it :)

Depends on the age isn't it? Bushy says by 18mo they prefer front facing. But how about 6mo? Mine was parent facing till about 12/13mo, and then we turn the seat around because she wanted to stare at things. When she was very young, she definitely prefer to look at our faces.

In theory for me it's not important. Young babies tend to be asleep within 5 mins of starting to push. Their eyesight is very limited so begin with so wouldn't see much anyway. After that most babies wouldn't be bothered until maybe 12 months when separation anxiety may or may not kick in. But I have cared for many many children and only literally a couple have wanted to see the adult (my son being one of them but he's now two and has just started to protest if he can't see me). I think if you are out all day every day then it's important for language development, bonding etc but in real life there aren't that many parents who are out with their children in their pushchair all day. My two certainly see more of me at home than in their pushchairs! I personally enjoy the break, the peace etc and I think the Chidren enjoy the change of scene and view. The only other factor for me to choose parent facing would be a sicky baby ie to keep an eye on them.

I like them as you can chat to them easier when older. From the moment they started to talk try would be craning heads and shouting to try and be heard constantly!

At newborn- 6 months I always panic about SIDS happening do like to see them easily

Use a bugaboo here and have never used facing out

Forevergreek I have a bugaboo too. Switched to facing forward when DD became obsess with playing with the brake cable.

I like DD to be parent facing but she isn't really bothered. At 6 months I have her parent facing in her silvercross sleepover but when in town I have a petite star zia+. She loves being nosy and seeing everything going on. Depends on the child I think.

I had both of mind in slings til 3 months, then switched to a 3 month + buggy which was forward facing. They are now 8 and 5 and do not appear to have been harmed by the experience When we stopped we would sit and "chat" face to face, and we'd "chat" about what we could see on the way as well (if they're facing towards you they're not seeing the same things I guess?).

I didn't know parent facing pushchairs even existed when I had dc1. Both have been fine in forward facing, it's not like they are in it for long periods of time. Don't suppose I'll ever know if forward facing has caused any long term damage.

Ds used to fall asleep as soon as he was in the buggy. Also if I'm walking I'm not interacting with a child anyway, and when stopped or on a train etc I can put it so I can see the child, so the direction then makes very little difference. Might make a diff if a child spent hours being pushed on school runs or something, but for most people I don't think it's an issue.

Suspect children might prefer facing the world and waving at people than only getting a view of my legs!

VERY. I hated it with my twins as I only had the option of forward facing, would have loved rear facing. They had severe speech delays. With my next DC I bought a forward and rear facer and loved it. He stayed facing me till 16 months and we chatted all the time, his speech is very advanced. I think for the first year it is a real bonus.

I always thought it was so that the new parent could gaze lovingly at their new arrival

As soon as new arrival is old enough to realise, it wants to look at more interesting things

Nice option, not important.
DC1 was RF only until ?6months & never had speech delay.
DC2 was RF until ?12m & had mild speech delay.
DC3 was RF until ?12m & has moderate speech delay.
DC4 was RF until nearly ?2yo & has mild speech delay.

I just am not a chatty person, & when I'm walking miles I end up concentrating on a million other things, not carrying on a babble conversation with an infant. Also, you can't really maintain eye contact while walking with pram unless you want to crash into things. & it's eye contact & slow clear speech from parent that is supposed to make the difference.

I selfishly love having DS face me - he is now 11 months and I have never had him FF. I am pretty sure he would be fine FF but I fall into the 'wanting to gaze lovingly' category - plus I enjoy inane conversations and giggles (again, pretty sure DS could take or leave them )

I am interested in the 'can see more' argument of being FF (and I mean interested, I am not trying to be argumentative or patronising ). I have an Uppababy Vista and whilst I am DS's main view he can see around me etc and where we have been - I can't see that he would get a whole lot more FF (apart from the mummy shaped object no longer being there!)

I also watch with interest as I am keen on moving to a Maclaren.

I would always recommend having a choice. DS1 was desperate to face forwards from quite early; DS2 will only consent to face forwards at the zoo.

That meant replacing our forward facer with a rear/forward facer. Replacing prams is potentially expensive and annoying.

It's nice being able to see them and it's much easier if they want to chat, but for me my main consideration was being able to get on and off a bus without the stress of it causing me to have a coronary. DS2 rode around in a rf pushchair only a handful of times, yet he was talking at 8 months and even now at 4.5 has amazing language development for his age and speaks like a much older child. DS3, on the other hand, rode rf much more, but his language is not nearly as advanced. He did have a dummy addiction though, which might have had something to do with it :)

I agree with having a choice. I am about to sell most of my non rear facing pushchairs as my now 2 year old is making it very clear he wants to see me. It was never ever an issue with DD1 or him as a younger baby.

All my children faced outwards. All had advanced speech. Probably because I was more than capable of talking to them whilst they looked at the world around them.

I think 12-18 months was the time my DD most seemed to want to see me (she'd constantly be turning round and shouting "mummy" when forward facing), but at 22 months I still much prefer her parent facing. I don't think she's all that fussed most of the time, but I like knowing what she's looking at, what she's saying etc. It just makes for a more pleasant experience for us both IMO. She is quite advanced in her speech but I don't think being parent facing has much to do with it as she rarely spends long periods in the pushchair.

I thought it was very important when buying our first travel system, so we got one where we could switch the seat almost at a click of a button (although DH was rather taken with the Mothercare Spin, which is literally at the swivel of the handle, although I couldn't see the point of that). I loved the fact that I could see my DD at all times.

However, at about 9 or 10mths, she,started craning around the hood & trying to see where she's going, so we switched it. It isn't recommended/safety approved, but we switched it easily enough with her in it and found that really handy (think blizzard going into the hood etc). Sometimes I would like her parent facing even at 2.3yo just so I can hear her properly & talk about what we're doing, but I think she prefers seeing where we're going.

Now I'm buying a double/tandem, I really want the newborn seat/carrycot parent facing, just so I know whether they're ok etc. Maybe it isn't essential all the time, but for me, its an important factor.

Dealbreaker for me. I got a pushchair that will face either way, so at times when he wants to see where he is going we do that or face each other. Depends on our mood. I want the choice though. I agree it makes it nicer for me when out with pushchair to be able to talk to DS, otherwise it is less fun!