The other day I saw a post from a new mum asking a question about a baby bouncer. In true ‘social media’ style, the poor mum was bombarded with strong recommendations on why this mum should not put her baby in a baby bouncer, even for a second.
There was advice on tummy time, baby wearing and a multitude of other ‘useful’ advice. There were plenty of common-sense suggestions too, but I did feel sorry for the mum asking the question. I believe most new parents have enough common sense to know that you wouldn’t put a baby in a bouncer, a jolly jumper or a floor seat for hours on end. These products have their time and place. At the end of the day, we only have one pair of hands. If we pop bubs in a bouncer on the bathroom floor while we have a shower, or near the kitchen when we’re cooking dinner or perhaps next to the clothesline when we’re hanging out the washing, it makes life easier, keeps bubs safer and takes away some of the stress involved in caring for a baby.
At the end of the day, if a parent wants to make an informed choice, then some research from a trusted source, rather than Facebook, is always a good idea. The World Health Organisation recommends that babies shouldn’t be in a stroller, seat or strapped to a caregiver’s back for more than an hour at a time, and tummy time and floor-based interactive play are encouraged as part of their day.
Instead of coming down hard on new mums and assuming they have no common sense, I say, let’s ease up on the self-righteous bombardment of ‘useful advice’.
This is coming from a mum who used a Bumbo Floor Seat daily, so she could take a shower and have a (very much) needed break from holding her reflux baby and who is married to a 53-year-old who was a ‘bum-shuffling’ baby and still represents New Zealand in master’s cricket.
