Originally Posted by
Eclipsepearl
I disagree with your perspective on front packs; the Baby Bjorn was the easiest, most comfortable way to carry my son from birth until he was walking, which was 9 months.
We didn't even get to 6 months with ours'! By contrast, the ring sling, worn correctly, was used to age 3. The Bjorn basically hangs the baby by the adults' shoulders, why it can't be used for very long. It's a very unnatural position. If you're going to pay $90 for a baby carrier of any sort, it better last at least 2 years!!!
That reasoning makes no sense to me. There are very few baby products that are as appropriate for a newborn as they are for a 3 year old. For starters, newborns need head support, 3 year olds don't. Newborns benefit from the body contact and shared heat of being held directly against a parent's chest, 3 year olds do not have the same needs. The Baby Bjorn isn't meant to last 3 years, because it is designed for carrying very young infants. Also, saying that it is a "a very unnatural position" - it's almost the same position that a wrap creates for the child, without the tight pressure on the parent's torso.
And if you could persuade a 3 year old to ride in a sling, well, that's impressive, because mine was on his feet and on the go before he was a year old. We ended up using a harness and leading strings for quite a while when he just wouldn't ride in anything.
Originally Posted by
Eclipsepearl
That's the sort of thing that can get parents labeled "selfish" "rude" or "inconsiderate" because you just can't judge how far that thing extends beyond your body and you tend to bang into other people. At the farmer's market there always seems to be someone clearing a swath through the crowd with one of those, banging into people and knocking things off the tables.
Granted that is a valid point but I really didn't find it a problem with either the backpack or the wrap. The backpack holds the child up high enough that they really can't reach most things (sure, there are exceptions...) If I'm in a crowd, I much prefer giving room to a parent with a carrier than having to move for a stroller. I live in one of the Christmas Market towns and wow, like last Saturday evening, what a nightmare those strollers cause trying to get through!!
It's rare that hitting other people would be a problem in an airport. You can keep your distance standing in line and most have open designs that don't result in Christmas Marketesque throngs of people packed in together.
Airports don't have throngs of people packed together?
All the ones I've been in this year certainly did.
You say you didn't find banging into people with the backpack to be a problem, but what did other people think of it? That's really my point - the person wearing the pack can not determine its impact on the people around them. This applies to people with kid packs, regular backpacks, oversized purses that extend way out, laptop bags on the shoulder, etc. If you're wearing it behind you, it has no nerve endings so you really don't know what it comes into contact with.
Originally Posted by azepine00
f you go outside US/Canada stroller becomes a headache not a benefit.
Been there, done that, didn't have a problem.