Baby Carrying in America

In America, the practice of carrying babies on the mother or fathers body, is a relatively new concept, but it has been practiced in other cultures for many hundreds of years. In fact, there are records that date back to the time of the Ancient Egyptians showing children being carried by their parents. Today, the practice of using a sling or baby backpack is growing in popularity and many parents use these devices to carry their children.




While the practice of carrying a baby on a persons body has long been used by those in China and the East, they did not gain popularity until the sixties here in the West. There have, however, been many devices throughout our history, which were designed to make it easier to pick up a child. This includes things like baby baskets, movable cradles, and cradleboards.



The popularity of the baby backpack came about during the sixties, as a result of the increased popularity of structured soft backpacks. There were also several popular frame baby backpacks as well. The baby backpack is still popular today, but more and more parents are using baby slings.



A baby sling is made out of a soft cloth and allows the baby to be supported, in part by the parents body. These devices do not use any straps to hold the baby, but instead are held tightly in place by gravity. They are very safe for everyday use, but you would not want to go jogging wearing one.



There are several different kinds of slings available. The ring sling, is a type of sling that is made out of cloth and some metal or nylon rings. The cloth is wrapped around the parents body, starting at the shoulder, moving to the opposite hip, and back to the shoulder. It is then secured to the ring. Oonce it has been set-up, the ring sling can be removed, without having to re-thread it. Often these slings will have a padded shoulder and possibly padding around the edges of the cloth as well.



Another type of sling is the pouch sling, or tube sling, which is basically made out of a very wide piece of fabric. The fabric, forms a tube-like shape and is worn over the body, similarly to a sash. These can be used for children up until they reach toddlerhood. One advantage to this type of lift is that the child can quickly and easily be taken into and out of the sling. Many have been designed to include reinforced for the part that holds the baby and to make it more ergonomic on the parents back.



A third type of baby carrier, called the wrap, is also popular. Wraps usually consist of a fairly long piece of fabric, sometimes in excess of 20 feet, which is wrapped around both the parent and the baby, then tied. The length of the wrap will determine how it is worn, because there are several different ways to hold the baby. They can be carried on the back, front, or hip of the parent.



There are many other types of baby carriers that allow the baby to be worn on the parent. These have been used for many thousands of years by people all over the world.