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Straight talking on buggy retailing

1 Feb 2009

When the report of a small-scale research project on buggy direction was released last month in the UK, by independent charity the National Literacy Trust, it sparked a wide debate. The study concentrated particularly on the impact of buggy direction on parent-infant interaction, picking up on the developing trend over recent years to manufacture buggies that face away from the pusher rather than the traditional face-to-face pram. Being the first study to consider the psychological effects of life in a baby buggy, the report received a strong response and raised numerous questions. However, one factor was startlingly clear – infants and parents were twice as likely to be talking when using face-to-face buggies. These findings have significant implications not only for language development, but also for nursery retailers.

The widespread media coverage and debate was met by a lack of knowledge about the issue among parents, retailers and manufacturers. While information on buggy features such as colour, storage, covers or even iPod docks is readily available and staff well-briefed to discuss them, the option of changing the direction of the buggy rarely receives a mention. The scarcity of research on the topic and perceived complexity, or even irrelevance, of discussing children’s language development with parents when buying a buggy means that the feature is almost never discussed and staff poorly equipped to do so. However, the Talk To Your Baby research compels the industry to begin to change these attitudes. Combined with international research showing the long-term effects of poor vocabulary on social mobility, it shows that anyone working within the nursery industry should be well-informed about early language development and the effects of buggies or other equipment.

The study
The pilot research, by the University of Dundee, was funded by the Sutton Trust and commissioned by Talk To Your Baby, the early language campaign at the National Literacy Trust, which encourages parents and carers to communicate more with children from birth to three. The campaign began work amid concerns that increasing numbers of children are starting nursery and school in the UK with poorly developed language and communication skills. Research shows that seventy-five per cent of heads of nurseries and schools admitting three-year-olds are concerned about a significant decline in children’s language competence at entry. There are a number of possible reasons for this perceived decline, but one possible contributor mentioned regularly by health visitors and early years professionals is the time that babies and young children spend in buggies, facing outwards with no interaction or communication with adults.

The aim of the study was to try to detect any systematic links between behavioural patterns and buggy style, which could potentially confirm what UK headteachers and early years professionals had long suspected. A national observational study, conducted on high streets in 54 locations, looked at 2,722 parent-child pairings. Outcomes showed that infants were being spoken to in only 22% of cases (at the time of observation). And while away-facing buggies were by far the most common, the likelihood of being spoken to in them (11%) was half that of face-to-face buggies (25%). If parents were not talking, 86% of the children were silent.

A smaller follow up study, conducted at the university, added to these initial findings. It gave mothers and infants a chance to try both direction of buggies, confirming that behaviours were linked to direction. Conversation was audio-recorded and mothers talked twice as much during the face-to-face journey. They also laughed significantly more - babies laughed more too. Interestingly, 18 of the 20 mothers would recommend to a friend a buggy with the child facing towards them, having enjoyed the experience in the study.

The crucial changes recorded in conversation patterns were in keeping with expectations, while a surprising result of both studies was that infants who were facing their parents were almost twice as likely to be sleeping as were those in away-facing buggies. Moreover, infants’ heart rates fell very slightly when moved into the face-to-face orientation. A cautious interpretation of the sleeping results and heart rate patterns would be that infants are less tense when they face parents, and when parents are emotionally available.

Implications for retailers
These findings, rather than appearing alarming, encourage us to take infants’ experience more seriously and question a form of transport that has become so commonplace. The implications for language development are fascinating, particularly at a time when there is increasing emphasis within the education system on the central importance of developing spoken communication, the key skill that is crucial in its own right but also vital for “learning to read, write, to be numerate and, indeed, to be successful in virtually all of the learning children undertake at school and elsewhere” (Independent Review of Primary Curriculum, December 2008).

Furthermore, neuroscience has helped us to learn how important social interaction during the early years is for children’s brain development and how sociable babies really are. A report such as this, rather than adding to the pressures parents face, is designed to help society and parents to see a simple way to maximize the time they are making face-to-face contact with their new babies and their growing toddlers.

Commentators on the issue worry that by being able to see a parent, babies sacrifice seeing the world around them, as though facing the pusher could block out the passing scenery. In fact, it means that babies and toddlers can make sense of the world they see around them, as the parent mediates that world for them, reassuring them if a dog gets too close, and soothing them when a loud motorbike goes by. Talking and laughing and engaging with the baby makes a much more enjoyable outing for both adult and child.

Yet the greatest worry is far more serious. Parents have the right to both knowledge and choice. While studies such as this can increase knowledge and understanding regarding the importance of language development and the opportunities that baby buggies present, the price inequalities in the market mean that a ‘choice’ of buggies is not available to all parents. There is an economic inequity in the current position, with only those who can afford to buy a two-way facing model being able to take advantage of the benefits for their child.

Time to talk – to children and to customers
Any study that focuses on the minutiae of life for mothers and babies is worthy of close scrutiny, particularly by the nursery industry. Engineers and designers working within the nursery industry must turn their attention to making a range of affordable face-to-face buggies a reality for all babies and young children, so that their moments of comfortable transportation are not turned into wasted opportunities for important interaction that could make a difference to social and emotional development, as well as their future learning. Retailers, in turn, have an incredible opportunity to effect change through educating staff and simply talking about the issue within the industry. The key hurdle to overcome is the widespread lack of awareness about what is essentially a simple issue. Clear communication should also come through marketing, with buggies that have a two-way facing option clearly marked to have this feature, together with an explanation for parents of why this is important.

Though it may sound obvious, the significance of talking to children from birth to three cannot be underestimated and is not widely enough understood in the UK. In order to progress, we all need to talk more, both as retailers communicating important information to consumers and parents speaking more to their babies. By opening up the dialogue we can achieve this understanding and help improve the literacy skills of young children, which in turn will influence their life chances and success.

(Nursery Industry)

Tags: Talk To Your Baby