If you are on the market for a new stroller you may want to think about one that faces you. A new study shows that babies pushed in strollers that face towards the parent/pusher and allow for eye contact have great advantages that impact a child’s language development, relaxation response and happiness.
Previous studies of babies who spend significant time being worn in baby carriers have shown that being at conversational level increases babies communication skills. This new study indicates:
– Parents are two times as likely to talk to their child when the child is facing them.
- Children in front facing strollers are significantly less likely to laugh with their parents.
– Babies heart rates are measurably lower when facing their parent.
– Children are more likely to fall asleep in strollers that face their parents.
Of course more studies need to be done on this subject but initial findings were collected in two studies one with over 2,000 children and another with only 20 children. Suzanne Zeedyk of Dundee University’s school of psychology in the UK concluded that, “At an age when the brain is developing more than it ever will again then this (facing away) has to impact negatively on their development.”