I read about this a long time ago (the article is five years old) and it always made a lot of sense to me:
African women reject concept of baby strollers
We plan to avoid using a stroller as much as possible. It does seem quite remote, like sticking your baby in a cage and pushing him away from you.
I have also seen, very recently in fact, mothers pushing four- and five-year-old kids around in strollers. What the fuck. What a great way to instill sedentary habits into a person.
Carrying the baby means more physical activity for the parent (weightlifting!) and more bonding time. And encouraging the toddler to walk whenever possible seems pretty important for promoting exercise, independence, and curiosity.
Brian still wants to get a jogger though, because he likes to run. Now that might be a fun activity.
I fullheartedly agree. That said, the jogging stroller is a completely different thing and seems like a lot of fun.
i totally agree! get a bjorn. do not accept imitations, they are not as comfortable to wear. also, get the book or dvd “the happiest baby on the block”. it sounds cheesy but it offers a lot of helpful advice. i believe they discuss the fact that in some cultures babies are carried papoose style by their mothers constantly and those babies are less fussy! i have the baby sling too, but the bjorn is awesome! GOOD LUCK!
thanks!! I actually just read an article in the NYT this week about strollers, same issue, that the baby not being able to see you lessens communication and can impede linguistic and social development. eek!
I’m always surprised by the big kids in strollers and I’m pretty sure things used to be quite different. I started kindergarten at 4 and a half; I don’t ever remember being in a stroller at that age. Nor were any of the other kids in my class. Back then, when kids that age were in strollers, it was because they were disabled. I wonder when things changed so much, and why?