Weekly Trip to the Library for Nannies and Au PairsOver the past few days we have been reviewing our favorite baby carriers.
The term "babywearing" was coined by renowned attachment parenting advocate and pediatrician, Dr. William Sears.
Scientific research has reported that babies who are carried for at least three hours a day cry dramatically less – 43% less during the day and 51% less at night. Babies love the closeness of a carrier as they form with their caregiver.
Babywearing has also been shown to enhance mental development by allowing baby to remain in a calm, "quiet alert" state - the optimal state for learning. Carried babies are exposed to a wide range of experiences and are engaged in the world around them. Infants make eye contact with their parents to learn social cues and learn to assess a situation. This is particularly pertinent while baby is being worn in a "tummy to tummy" position.
Dr. Eveline Kirkilionis, author of A Baby Wants To Be Carried, describes forward facing positions as "overwhelming…In this position the baby cannot make eye contact with his or her parent to evaluate facial expressions, social cues, and so forth to make assessment of the situation."
Babywearing also has benefits for the new mother with reduced incidence of postpartum depression. Although the basis for this is still unknown, it is suspected that both a reduction in baby’s crying and possible hormonal stimulation play a part.
Dr. Bill and Martha Sears -- the doctor-and-nurse, husband-and-wife team who coined the term "attachment parenting" -- describe attachment parenting in The Attachment Parenting Book : A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby
.Attachment parenting is a style of parenting that encourages a strong early attachment, and advocates parental responsiveness to babies' dependency needs. The Attachment Parenting Book : A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby
clearly explains the six "Baby B's" that form the basis of this increasingly popular parenting style: Bonding, Breastfeeding, Babywearing, Bedding close to baby, Belief in the language value of baby's cry, Beware of baby trainers.Stop by tomorrow for a review of a Product Nannies Love and again next Saturday for another Weekly Trip to the Library.
