It’s one of the most common ways I see mothers and fathers carrying their babies…in a bucket car seat. I refer to these babies as ‘bucket babies’. Almost everytime I go to the mall, the grocery store, the park, etc. I see babies in buckets. I feel so bad for both the baby in the bucket, as well as the ones who need to carry it.
As I sat at the mall for an entire weekend at a vendor stand, I had the opportunity to talk with many parents who thought that carrying the bucket was the only way to go…when in fact once they realized their were more comfortable and easy to use choices available, they were interested! We heard many reasons as to why people had chosen to keep their baby in a bucket…’she sleeps so well’, ‘it’s convenient’, ‘I don’t need to take her out and put her back in, I can just pop the seat in and out’, ‘I have tried a sling, but they don’t work for me’, ‘I can sit the bucket in the cart’, and so on…
A few of my worries with babies being left in their buckets:
Babies like to be held, and it is good for their development.
Babies deserve to be interacted with, and their interaction is limited while they are nearly covered up and tucked into their carseat, often while it is placed in a shopping cart.
Babies like to change positions, too…it feels good after a long car ride to get out of your seat and stretch out a little…it feels good for babies, too.
Those buckets are heavy! I can’t imagine how carrying those, as well as the weight of the baby, is good for your back, arms, or neck!
They bump into everything, your legs included. There is really no great way to carry one of these things without having it bump into your leg with every step. Not fun!
I have been walking through stores with my baby closely snuggled up in a carrier, with both hands free (well, one hand free…the other one is almost always rubbing my baby’s back!), talking to my baby, knowing she can feel safe…knowing she is warm…knowing she can hear my heartbeat…and wonder why this is what I see:
Mothers struggling to keep their babies from screaming while juggling the carseat, a shopping cart, and toys to try to distract the baby. Sometimes a whole shopping cart is dedicated to carrying a bucket carseat, while another person needs to oush the cart to put groceries in…My guess is most babies would be happier being held, and most mothers would feel less stressed. Isn’t that what we want? I watch those moms and desperately want to take off my sling and put it on them.
I have had the pleasure of teaching many parents about the benefits and convenience of wearing their baby. Our society doesn’t seem to recognize the importance of nurturing our babies. I hear things like “She will never want to walk if you carry her all the time”, “She is going to get spoiled”, “She can’t be comfortable like that” (meanwhile she is contently alseep), “doesn’t that hurt their legs?”, and so on…It is important to hold our babies. Each one of them will grow up. There will come a time when they don’t want to be held. There will come a time when you wish you could still be holding them.
As I sat at the mall for an entire weekend at a vendor stand, I had the opportunity to talk with many parents who thought that carrying the bucket was the only way to go…when in fact once they realized their were more comfortable and easy to use choices available, they were interested! We heard many reasons as to why people had chosen to keep their baby in a bucket…’she sleeps so well’, ‘it’s convenient’, ‘I don’t need to take her out and put her back in, I can just pop the seat in and out’, ‘I have tried a sling, but they don’t work for me’, ‘I can sit the bucket in the cart’, and so on…
A few of my worries with babies being left in their buckets:
Babies like to be held, and it is good for their development.
Babies deserve to be interacted with, and their interaction is limited while they are nearly covered up and tucked into their carseat, often while it is placed in a shopping cart.
Babies like to change positions, too…it feels good after a long car ride to get out of your seat and stretch out a little…it feels good for babies, too.
Those buckets are heavy! I can’t imagine how carrying those, as well as the weight of the baby, is good for your back, arms, or neck!
They bump into everything, your legs included. There is really no great way to carry one of these things without having it bump into your leg with every step. Not fun!
I have been walking through stores with my baby closely snuggled up in a carrier, with both hands free (well, one hand free…the other one is almost always rubbing my baby’s back!), talking to my baby, knowing she can feel safe…knowing she is warm…knowing she can hear my heartbeat…and wonder why this is what I see:
Mothers struggling to keep their babies from screaming while juggling the carseat, a shopping cart, and toys to try to distract the baby. Sometimes a whole shopping cart is dedicated to carrying a bucket carseat, while another person needs to oush the cart to put groceries in…My guess is most babies would be happier being held, and most mothers would feel less stressed. Isn’t that what we want? I watch those moms and desperately want to take off my sling and put it on them.
I have had the pleasure of teaching many parents about the benefits and convenience of wearing their baby. Our society doesn’t seem to recognize the importance of nurturing our babies. I hear things like “She will never want to walk if you carry her all the time”, “She is going to get spoiled”, “She can’t be comfortable like that” (meanwhile she is contently alseep), “doesn’t that hurt their legs?”, and so on…It is important to hold our babies. Each one of them will grow up. There will come a time when they don’t want to be held. There will come a time when you wish you could still be holding them.
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