Are baby slings safe? Are they a more natural way to carry your child? I am really confused, because when I see a sling they look very precarious, can anyone give me any feedback, and if you think its a good purchase what slings would you recommend purchasing?
Baby Slings...
- Thread starter asm88
- Start date
More natural than what?
I think they are an alternative that many people love. We never used one, it didn't seem to fit us and we preferred to either stroll our kids or carry them in our arms, but that was just us.
There are a variety of slightly different designs, I think some are safer than others, and it also depends on what you're doing, I would jog or play rugby with one, but it would probably be perfectly safe for a walk down the street or a day in the park, when used properly. I think the danger is when people become lax about how they use them and no product is safe if you aren't paying attention to the proper degree.
I think they are an alternative that many people love. We never used one, it didn't seem to fit us and we preferred to either stroll our kids or carry them in our arms, but that was just us.
There are a variety of slightly different designs, I think some are safer than others, and it also depends on what you're doing, I would jog or play rugby with one, but it would probably be perfectly safe for a walk down the street or a day in the park, when used properly. I think the danger is when people become lax about how they use them and no product is safe if you aren't paying attention to the proper degree.
There are many types of slings out there, as IADad said it really depends on what you are looking to use them for.
Ive never used one, I guess if you want to be "natural" you would carry the kid in your arms... because that dosent involve any 'device'. All of mine were in strollers.
I have nothing against most of them, there are two styles though that I often wonder why theyre sold,
I cringe when I see these ones:
1. most of the kids face is buried on cloth
2. parent's back and shoulder, thats way too much pressure there and once you damage your back and shoulder, youre stuffed for life, basically
Someone bought me one of these when I had Sasha, I tried it for shits and giggles, it seriously makes a little baby feel like the weight of a 5yr old.
And these
Not all "baby backpacks" but the high sitting ones, where the child's head is higher than the parents, only because a very tall man came into our store once with his son in one, and the little baby's head smacked against the door frame, the poor kid, it was a real thunk, blood and tears galore. Of course, it was our fault for having a door frame.
I have nothing against most of them, there are two styles though that I often wonder why theyre sold,
I cringe when I see these ones:
1. most of the kids face is buried on cloth
2. parent's back and shoulder, thats way too much pressure there and once you damage your back and shoulder, youre stuffed for life, basically
Someone bought me one of these when I had Sasha, I tried it for shits and giggles, it seriously makes a little baby feel like the weight of a 5yr old.
And these
Not all "baby backpacks" but the high sitting ones, where the child's head is higher than the parents, only because a very tall man came into our store once with his son in one, and the little baby's head smacked against the door frame, the poor kid, it was a real thunk, blood and tears galore. Of course, it was our fault for having a door frame.
I actually have both of those. The first one is really good for being hands free, especially if you have little kids, but mainly for when they are little and they are great for colder climate. The other one we have is used for hiking/camping. The weight is distributed around the hips which is nice cause for a lot of people the other styles carry the weight on their shoulders and that can be very painful.cybele said:Ive never used one, I guess if you want to be "natural" you would carry the kid in your arms... because that dosent involve any 'device'. All of mine were in strollers.
I have nothing against most of them, there are two styles though that I often wonder why theyre sold,
I cringe when I see these ones:
1. most of the kids face is buried on cloth
2. parent's back and shoulder, thats way too much pressure there and once you damage your back and shoulder, youre stuffed for life, basically
Someone bought me one of these when I had Sasha, I tried it for shits and giggles, it seriously makes a little baby feel like the weight of a 5yr old.
And these
Not all "baby backpacks" but the high sitting ones, where the child's head is higher than the parents, only because a very tall man came into our store once with his son in one, and the little baby's head smacked against the door frame, the poor kid, it was a real thunk, blood and tears galore. Of course, it was our fault for having a door frame.
i have never used them personally but they seem safe enough, i just find it simple enough to use a pram or carry the baby, it would possibly be easier for when your doing shopping etc so you have your hands free and don't have a huge annoying pram to push around everywhere and constantly re assemble and disassemble lol
We have used both a sling and this type of carrier off and on. But for a sleeping baby that likes to be snuggled and swaddled the sling worked much better. You don't have to worry about legs, arms, and a head flopping around while you do what you need to do.Xero said:Slings are nice. Safe enough, I don't know what would be unsafe about them. I use a Beco Butterfly carrier myself. I LOVE it, feels like my 23 pounder weighs nothing at all.
Holding the baby in your arms for an extended period of time will also hurt your back and shoulders as you are still holding the baby in front of your body and you don't have use of your arms. Strollers work fine if you don't like to hold your baby, but are far too much trouble when trying to navigate through crowds/public.cybele said:Ive never used one, I guess if you want to be "natural" you would carry the kid in your arms... because that dosent involve any 'device'. All of mine were in strollers.
I have nothing against most of them, there are two styles though that I often wonder why theyre sold,
I cringe when I see these ones:
1. most of the kids face is buried on cloth
2. parent's back and shoulder, thats way too much pressure there and once you damage your back and shoulder, youre stuffed for life, basically
Someone bought me one of these when I had Sasha, I tried it for shits and giggles, it seriously makes a little baby feel like the weight of a 5yr old.
Something that I use is called a Flying Falcon and have enjoyed it with the last two kids. Rather than carrying a carseat on your arm or by hand it is a strap that like the sling goes over your shoulder so your back/shoulder bear more of the weight than your arm/shoulder. Also keeps the baby right in front of you so you can play with/comfort the baby. I get asked about it a handful of times each time I am in public with it.
JB