Advantages of Baby Wearing
Baby wearing is one of the oldest traditions of parenting around the world.
For centuries baby wearing has given parents a way to meet the diverse
needs of Child, Self, Family and Community. By providing the best
we can for our children, we offer them a chance to reach their full
potential. Strong human bonds and lots of physical contact help form
the secure "world" where the infant learns best.
When a parent wears their baby in a sling or carrier, both the
parent and the baby quickly learn to read each other's cues. Dads
get a new role that's more fun than just diapering: baby slings
and carriers provide a way to comfort your baby or help her drift
off to sleep. Wearing your baby helps harmonize your infant's systems,
because they mirror the caregivers movement, breathing, and heartbeat.
These rhythms reflect the womb experience, easing the transition
into the outside world. Wearing baby in a sling or carrier is the
best way to nurse on the go. Busy mothers can give their child the
best nutrition possible, anywhere. You have the freedom to do virtually
anything while you give your child what they need: You!
Babies really take to slings and carriers because of the closeness,
security and comfort they provide. Within a few days, you and your
baby will work together to discover how baby wearing works best
for the two of you. As you can imagine, each caregiver/child pair
finds a different comfort. One thing is common too all: a deeper
bond between caregiver and child.
Some of the benefits of slinging your baby are:
1. A continuous daily relationship with one primary caregiver (usually
the mother) results in the most intelligent nurture of a young child.
Extended family members also provide a constant and assuring presence.
2. A baby held in-arms, or worn in a sling or carrier, moves as a
unit with the parent. The adult's hands are free to care for older children
and perform other tasks. Baby can calmly indicate when to be put down
instead of crying to be picked up.
3. A baby whose cries are responded to promptly learns to trust. When
children are accustomed to being comforted by people, not things, family
relationships tend to remain simple.
4. Children integrated into the daily life of family and community
have a tremendous educational advantage. Babies in-arms are mostly in
a quiet alert state of consciousness, observing their surroundings from
a secure perch. Older children learn lessons that are relevant and essential
to their well-being.
5. Both parents and babies get their needs met by unhurried communication
and humane interactions. The respect shown to small children by parents
will reflect back on them in later years.
[Adapted from literature provided by Rosado Sling and
Rebozo Way]
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