Say No to Pushchairs....

[hAPpy mum]

When I was pregnant with my DD 6 years ago I made the choice not to purchase a pushchair....I decided instead to carry my wee newborn everywhere and when she was ready, she walked .....for my second pregnancy I needed more hands to hold my preschoolers hand and the shopping and the baby, so I purchased various carriers - a ringsling, a mei tai, a pouch sling, and an Ergo carrier....and they all had their useful moments but nothing bet my babies ability to naturally "hang-on" while i carried them on my hip.

The best part of not having a pushchair was that my little baby was always next to me.....early on he was listening to my breathing and heart and voice and rhythm then later as he got bigger he observed the world from my level which allowed me to talk him through it and interact with him.....he too walked when he was ready which sometimes made outtings slow but then that is part of being a mother....

I have never ever found a situation where I have needed a pushchair....and I despair when I see babies being pushed along under a rain/suncover or groups of mums out on a walk with their kids in the pushchair busily chatting amongs themselves as if the children werent there or frustrated children sitting in pushchairs while their parents shop or preschools still being pushed around when their legs are perfectly good to walk them places......

Pushchairs have a lot to answer for.....they have removed that ability to have close contact/bond with our babies/small children and any ability to interact with them in the outside world.....I personally feel that the pushchair is one of the worst parenting inventions of modern time.....and is just another way to distance a mother from her child and child from its mother.....pushchairs, sleeping babies in separate rooms, bottlefeeding, letting them cry it out, early daycare....what is all this disconnected parenting about???? And can it really be called parenting????

[earthmama]

I love that here people ask/say what they want and its ok, because, boy, if you were to say that anywhere else you would be shut down so fast!!

Yes, I believe that it is still parenting. Parents who parent that way, using some or all of the techniques you mentioned believe it to be best for their child/ren. And it is normal, so most don't question it. I know I didn't with Mia.

If your raising children, then you're a parent, and everyone should be able to raise their children their way, as long as the child has their right to safety etc met.

But, for the pushchairs, I didn't get one with Evelyn, as I had my eyes opened to the idea of the in arms baby. I carried her, mostly in my wrap. We recieved a buggy from Freecycle when she was around 6 months old, and I have used it a handfull of times. It's great when I walk into the shops and need to pick up groceries and library books.
Ha, one of those nana trolly things would be great, then I could have the town weight in that and still wear her comfortably

[HippyMama]

The thing is to me, normal implies "OK" so whilst pushchairs and disconnected parenting might be "normal" I don't feel they're always OK - I'd rather say that they are commonplace, for example. But please forgive me, I am a bit of a pedant when it comes to language sometimes

I definitely used a push chair more with DD1, but have now come to the point that I have sold them all (even a big fancy Phil & Teds that barely got used) and only have a couple of cheap / basic umbrella strollers for when the need (rarely) arises.

I agree actually - one of those trolleys would be excellent, might be the next thing I end up stalking Trade Me for

[Attached mum]

Too true! I quite regularly see mothers out walking the dog and pushing their child in the push chair, and the dog is receiving more interaction and communication from the mother than the child is
I have often wondered if this "encouragement" to stay put in the push chair when the child is a toddler and when walking and activity is fun and new, is also contributing to the increased child obesity numbers....maybe??

[kiwimummy]

right behind you on this one, but i have to confess to being a pushchair user.

i totally agree with everything the posters are saying but physically i cant manage without one. I carry DD2 in the ergo and push DD2 in the stroller.i dont have a double. the bending etc is not something i can manage and i really need something to carry my bags. i just cant manage a stroller, carrier and bags.

however!!!! in my defense i have a stokke xplory, so although DD2 is in a stroller sometimes, she is v high up, so lots of eye contact and interaction with her surroundings and of course, rear facing! we talk, sing and chat the whole time about the day and whats going on around us.

im well aware of the negative qualities of strollers so i try hard to compensate. any help and advice from other mums would be well received!!!!

does anyone have info on that scottish study to hand that showed forward facing strollers could be detrimental to the child??? im in a bit of a rush, will find it later if not.

[bliss]

I really struggle with this issue. Ella struggles to nap during the day, either with me or in a carrier. But the buggy provides movement and scenery that helps her to relax and nod off. I never use it when she is awake and not tired. I find that walking in the Ergo hurts my hips but now that she is older I think I might back carry a bit more. Up till now I have liked her being on my front so I can see her. I wish she went to sleep in the Ergo but she really struggles and the Moby is just not comfortable for a whole nap. I also like that with the buggy we spend less time in the car and can do most errands without it. I get more excercise too.

I think, like many parent decisions, there is no hard and fast rule but the quality of relationship reveals a lot. I don't ever want to spend Ella's alert and waking time with her in the buggy. I want her to have freedom of movement and interaction with me and the world around her. So I guess it is meeting your child's needs that matters, not just doing what is convenient.

[gentle]

I have found I use the push chair most when I need to take a shower, time is tight, and I don't want DD finding trouble while I am soaking, so I strap her in, we play games and I try to wash my hair. That's what it is meant for, right?

[Sarah_88]

Interesting topic! We have a big expensive Mountain Buggy that barely ever gets used, and when it does, Natalie still usually ends up on my back and the buggy gets used to carry the nappy bag/groceries/library books/shopping! I kinda want to sell it and get a cheaper one, that actually fits on buses and through doorways , but it was a gift from DPs grandma who has always bought her grandkids (and great grandkids) prams, that's what she does... but imagine what I could do with $400, think of the carriers I could buy!

I digress. I think they have their place. We certainly used ours A LOT when Natalie was wee and the only places she would sleep during the day were on us (for some reason we didn't discover the joy of the Moby wrap til she was at least 2 months old and the pouch sling I was so excited about using was too big! ) or in the pram whilst out walking. We did an awful lot of walking. But she did an awful lot of sleeping too, which helped with our sanity and hers too probably!

In retrospect, if I had been more clued up on babywearing when she was wee, it would have been so much easier to wear her to sleep than to push her to sleep.

I'd love to hear more about rearward facing prams/buggies. I hate how our one forward faces. Natalie is always craning her head up to look at me through the "baby viewing window"

ETA: Sorry for the nonsensical post. I'm sick and my brain isn't functioning in a logical manner. Random thoughts come to mind and I just type them... but ygwim, right?

[bliss]

My buggy is forward facing but she can see me easily since the hood can push forward and leave a wide space. Now that she is older she wants to see where we are going or is asleep.

[Angela]

Interesting discussion, I was not so confident with baby wearing when I first had my daughter, and we didn't have a push chair for a few months as, they just seemed so expensive!
By the time I did buy one of the umbrella fold ones (we don't have a four wheel drive to lug all our gear and baby equipment in.. he he ) baby was very clear about not wanting to be in it, and I really only attempted to use it a handful of times then too... by then I was all set on the baby wearing and began to loath push chairs and so sold our one near new.
I have also been concerned about all the 'stuff' we buy that we don't need, so much plastic etc, and so cumbersome! Slings are so much more environmentally friendly The world is not made for mums with prams! Also we went nappy free with our little girl and I felt disconnected from her in the push chair, so not good on that front either.
Also, I don't know if anyone else has thought about this (aside from feeling sad when seeing mums pushing babies in prams all over the place, and doing that fast push when baby cries ) what about toddlers?? Sometimes I just want to scream out that if they're able to walk let them!! Surely the whole 'obesity epidemic' is not being helped by parents pushing toddlers and older children (I've seen 3 and 4 year olds being pushed around..) around in parks???
We do a combination of still wearing our 2 year old and just letting her walk with us where ever we go.