Slingoculture: Pros and Cons

Slings have become so popular in the modern world that literally everyone wears them - both Hollywood stars and ordinary housewives from the province. Are they useful or is it just competent marketing?

Sling is a fabric that is designed to be worn by a baby. Its prototypes are found in the culture of almost all peoples. So, at the opening of the ancient Greek tomb 720 BC. e. archaeologists have discovered a bas-relief depicting children in the band. Prototypes of modern slings are also found in the paintings of Renaissance painters. And in Russia, newborns were often worn in the hem, scarves, even in wicker baskets. Hence the expression "bring in the hem." True, among our ancestors the word “hem” meant not only the lower part of the skirt, but also an apron of a certain kind.

By the 19th century prototypes of modern baby strollers have already begun to appear, which began to supplant the slings. They continued to be actively used only by individual African and Asian tribes, as well as by the Eskimos and Gypsies. By the second half of the 20th century. the situation began to change again. In 1956, the Frenchwoman Marcel Zheber, working in Uganda, published interesting research results: it turned out that in Africa, babies whom their mothers tied to themselves with scarves or pieces of cloth developed faster than children in Europe. The theory was picked up by American pediatricians - and slings became fashionable, and the real sling mania swept the world.

What happens in practice?

Until relatively recently, the so-called “sling moms” had to listen to a lot of criticism from unfamiliar people on the street. The most compassionate passers-by sometimes even offered them money to buy a stroller. However, now slings have become a trend, and already their adherents have begun to point out to the rest of humanity the backwardness.

On the Internet, you can now find a lot of information about the theory and practice of baby bearing. A large number of people consider using slings the only right way to raise healthy, balanced, and happy children. They literally make carrying their life philosophy, sincerely believing that the traditional stroller inflicts psychological trauma on the kids.

There are 3 types of slings: scarves of different widths and lengths, with rings (they are worn obliquely over the shoulder) and may-slings (such have a rectangular shape and webbing at the corners). Each model has its advantages and disadvantages. So, slings with rings are easy to use, but they create a large load on the supporting shoulder, and May-slings, on the contrary, evenly distribute the load, but in them you cannot discreetly feed the baby.

We also read: How to choose a sling? Which one to choose: Sling with rings, Sling-scarf, May-Sling, Sling-backpack, Fast-Sling (pros and cons). Video instructions

Advantages of slings

• Sling really frees my mother’s hands, allowing you to do various things and at the same time devote time to the child;
• It allows you to continue to live an eventful life: to travel in public transport with a baby, go shopping, visit museums, get out to visit and to nature;
• If you follow the correct position of the crumbs in the sling, then the center of gravity will not shift, so that it will become much easier to carry a child than in arms;
• The sling enhances the feeling of closeness between the mother and the baby, and even the mother can respond more quickly to the needs of her baby;
• In a sling-scarf, it is convenient to breastfeed, it can be fixed on two shoulders to carry a heavy child, and even if necessary, it easily turns into a hammock, bedspread, sun awning or swing for the baby;
• A sling with rings is easily adjustable even with one hand, it is great for feeding a baby, and it is easy to put a child asleep in it into a crib, just loosening the rings;
• The May Sling is comfortable to wear on the back, it is perfect for the summer, because it breathes, blows and creates comfortable conditions for the baby;
• For any woman, the sling is also attractive because it is a fashionable attribute that allows you to express your personality. Many mothers have entire collections of slings of different models and colors, which are selected for clothing, mood, eye color. By the way, this helps a lot. deal with postpartum depression.

Disadvantages of slings

• Pediatricians insist that with the onset of slinging, the number of children with a curved spine began to increase sharply. As an example, doctors suggest mothers to imagine what will become of an adult, physically strong person, if you put him in a hammock for a year and a half. The verdict of doctors is categorical: scoliosis can be prevented if you use the sling exclusively to carry the baby, and no more than 40 minutes a day;
• A long stay of the baby in an upright position can be dangerous for him: in case of poor fixation of the canvases that fix the back and head, the child will constantly lean back, which is fraught with circulatory disorders in the brain and breathing problems;
• If the mother does not have sufficient experience using the sling, there is a risk that the baby will fall out of it. To learn how to properly tie such scarves, you need experience and patience, which not all possess;
• Sometimes mothers make a mistake by starting to perceive the sling as a panacea for any dangers. Of course, in reality this is not at all true. A sling cannot replace a child car seat in a car; with a child in it, it is strictly forbidden to ride a bicycle, roller skates, let alone cook food, iron, clean up at home;
• Pediatricians from different countries claim that for newborns it is extremely important to feel the touch of my mother’s skin. That is why immediately after the birth of the baby they put the baby on the mother’s breast, for the same reason, doctors advise feeding babies naked to maintain skin-to-skin contact. This principle is positioned as the main advantage of the sling. Only if mom wraps it over her clothes, the contact “skin to skin” is no longer achieved. In this situation, the sling in its functionality is slightly different from the sling jacket or kangaroo-carrying.

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With all the advantages of slings, the impression is often made that they nevertheless serve more for the convenience of parents than benefit the children, although it still does not work to find out the opinion of the baby. In any case, the main thing is to remember that no fashion accessories and devices reduce the degree of mother’s responsibility for the comfort and safety of her child.

We also read:

• Pros and Cons of Sling: A Man's Look
• Is sling harmful to a child: truth and fiction

Slings. Pros and cons