Author: Dorina Erlenmaier - certified babywearing consultant
Am I spoiling my child if I constantly carry it in a baby carrier?
Perhaps you've asked yourself this question many times but haven't dared to say it out loud. But honestly, deep down you want to hold your baby in your arms around the clock, cuddle them, kiss them, and simply have them close to you. And you know what? This impulse is absolutely right and good for your child! Here are a few reasons why babywearing is so valuable for both you and your baby:
Carrying strengthens the bond
I personally try to raise my children using attachment parenting. But when does attachment parenting begin? When your child can walk and talk? No, it begins with building, nurturing, and strengthening the bond and relationship with your child. And believe me, the older your child gets and the more they develop their individual personality, the more grateful you will be that every conflict you will have (and yes, they will come) is based on a close bond and relationship.
Wearing strengthens development
Babywearing strengthens not only your bond but also your child's development. It's long been known that attachment helps your child develop healthily, learn naturally, and navigate life with confidence. You don't need to overthink it or read books to understand how to build a bond and closeness with your child. Simply by carrying them close to you, you create a bond and thus support your child's development.
Bonding doesn't begin only when your child is born and you start cuddling and carrying them. It starts during pregnancy. Your child naturally picks up on everything that's on your mind, not just physically, but emotionally as well. Even during this time, you build a bond with your baby, and your baby with you. So, when you carry your child a lot after they're born, you're primarily continuing what they already know from the womb. You're giving them security and comfort.
Wearing provides security
You protect your child from unfiltered environmental influences. It's protected from prying eyes (because you should never carry your baby facing forward!), as well as from things or people that might unsettle it. It's close to you and your heartbeat. It senses whether you're relaxed or tense. And even if you are tense, its closeness to you provides it with security, as it's not alone. No one can simply put their head in the stroller, touch your child, or speak to them. You are the one who makes the decisions, thus giving your child clarity, guidance, and security.
Wearing promotes perception
As a trained occupational therapist, another valuable point for me is that babywearing promotes sensory perception. When carried, your baby naturally experiences everything you do. Sensory integration means receiving and processing all sensory stimuli. When your child learns to receive, filter, and process sensory stimuli, they have an important foundation for all further physical and mental development.
Every movement, whether active or passive, requires a certain amount of sensory input and processing. When you carry your child close to your body, they constantly make small reactions and adjustments to these stimuli without much effort. Especially at the level of proprioception, which is crucial for gross and fine motor development, your child receives important, tangible feedback. The close support of your baby carrier or sling provides a wealth of physical impulses and, equally effortlessly, requires adjustment and reaction to them. This allows your baby to repeatedly and intensely feel and perceive themselves. Perception, in turn, is key to many developmental milestones your child will reach.
Wearing it is simply practical.
A logical and obvious positive aspect of babywearing: it's incredibly practical. Sometimes it can be tiring and difficult, but that's where a babywearing consultation comes in. There, you can learn how to use variations in carrying positions that distribute and relieve pressure on your back in different ways. This is much better for you and your posture than simply carrying your child in your arms or on your hip.
In everyday life, you can get some household chores done much more easily when you have your child in a carrier, whether on your back or in front (please never cook anything on the stove when carrying your child in front). If a sibling wants to be held for a moment, it's incredibly valuable to have your hands free. Or if your child can't fall asleep alone – how incredibly practical a baby carrier is then! And it's so much quicker to pack away than a stroller and takes up hardly any storage space (of course, strollers still have their place).
Wearing – maybe something for you?
There are many other points in favor of babywearing, such as the fact that babies are designed and made to be carried, or that strollers were once considered luxury items. Today, I've chosen the points that are personally important to me. To return to the beginning: Yes, this craze is justified, and no, you're not spoiling your child at all. On the contrary, you're doing something very good for both yourself and your child.
I'm thrilled that there are baby carrier manufacturers like Rookie who are making babywearing attractive again. Who wouldn't want to carry their child and have a beautiful accessory at the same time, looking twice as good?
Perhaps you'll "only" start carrying your child in a carrier because you have a cool babywearing accessory from Rookie, but you'll realize how good it is for both you and your child. At least, that's what I hope!
Your Dorina
Babywearing consultant at Children of the King
PS: Are you unsure which baby carrier is right for you? Then feel free to contact me for a short phone consultation: https://trageberatung.kinderdeskoenigs.de
