Born to be held
July 20th, 2010 | 
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Snug as a bug
Modern babies are held as little as 20% of the day due to parents having various gadgets to ‘help’ – we shift them from cot to pram to bouncer to swing-chair to car-seat. No need to take them from the car-seat, simply take it with!
All of these devices are perceived as making a parent’s life more convenient but what about the baby? Is it as beneficial to the baby?
Babies have an instinctive need to be in-arms. Human babies are born virtually helpless and so they rely totally on their caregiver to meet all their needs. They know that the safest place to be is close to their mother/carer. They are designed to crave close human contact as this is what ensured their survival over the centuries. Although the environment that most babies are born into today is a lot safer than 100’s of years ago babies are still programmed to want this contact.
Not only does being close to the parent ensure their survival but they also instinctively know that the best place for them to watch, listen and learn about what their species and their behaviour.
Baby wearing creates a strong bond between caregiver and baby, this attachment in the baby years can boost a child’s confidence in themselves and there relationship with their parents for years to come. Dr Sear’s an American Paediatrician and advocate of attachment parenting says “With the high-touch parenting style called attachment parenting, you can build and strengthen this connection between you and your child, laying the foundation for discipline.” ( to read more visit www.askdrsears.com )
So while all these modern gadgets may be convenient for us parents, we need to consider their impact on our babies who need this vital contact. Should we not learn from non-western communities and consider the benefits of Baby Wearing?
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I’m from a non-western community, I guess, where we still wear babies, and it’s very comforting for both the baby and the mother. For my Baby and I, it was a good way for us to bond, as she was not my biological child. And it was a good way for us to get to know each other better – we ‘talked’ about a lot of stuff while I was wearing her throughout the day, and she watched me work through a lot of daily tasks. As a result, seeing me work from home has always been normal for her, and she knew when to be quiet and when to make her demands known:-)
I only stopped wearing her when she grew too heavy for me.
I wear my 4-month old all over the place, and find it so convenient as he is happy, we have less stuff to schelp around and I love having him so close. I just can’t believe how many people keep asking if I don’t what to put him down or if he is comfortable! They are outnumbered only by those commenting on how contented he looks – sometimes the same people.
LOL Jersey funny how they can contradict themselves. I loved the snugglyness of a sleeping baby in a sling – so much nicer than a wriggly one haha.
Damaria I find it rather sad that we are having to learn ‘like it is new research’ what other cultures have always known and done. We have become too dependant on the book says so mentality instead of following what comes naturally to us.