"I am against
putting very young children in forward-facing buggies. Up
to the age of one the brain is at its most flexible, its
most plastic. Being in a forward-facing buggy at this age
is over-stimulating in the wrong way. Babies have an instinctive
fear of 'looming'. By being pushed forwards, babies are
experiencing a constant rush of the world 'looming' at them.
They are deprived from looking at their mother and they
are exposed to traffic fumes. I think mothers are affected
too, because they can't talk to their babies as they walk
along, so they switch off."
Robin Balbernie, consultant
child psychotherapist
(Extracted from Nursery World,
02.03.06)
"Realistically,
I am not sure how much these slings will be used. It might
be ok when you are pottering about at home, but when you
have to lug the shopping back from the supermarket or take
children to school it is easier to put the baby in the buggy.
What is important is to have a buggy where the baby faces
you, so you can talk to your baby."
Professor Tina Bruce,
Roehampton University
(Extracted from Nursery World,
02.03.06)
"There is overwhelming
evidence on the value of talk/conversation on human development.
Forward-facing buggies impede rather than support conversation
especially with the very young child. This is clearly not
advantageous to baby development. I see kids in buggies
for whole mornings on shopping expeditions so my estimate
is that we are talking about large lost opportunities for
talk. If we are persuaded of the importance of talk, and
it is massive, then the forward-facing buggy is unconscionable."
Professor Charles Desforges,
University of Exeter
"The increasing
popularity of forward-facing pushchairs makes it more difficult
for parents to talk to young children."
Richard Garner, Education
Editor, The Independent
(Extracted from The Independent,
03.04.06)
"Although most
parents would like a buggy where the child faces towards
them, enabling talking, singing and funny-face-pulling,
manufacturers of all but the most expensive buggies have
designed them so that the child sits facing forwards, cut
off from human interaction."
Julian Grenier, head
of Kate Greenaway Nursery School and Children's Centre
(Extracted from Nursery World,
06.07.06)
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