A BABYWEARING HISTORY
At least a couple of times a week, I have people coming up to me in public and saying something along the lines of "I love your baby carrier / pouch / wrap - is this a new thing?" and every time my response is the same:
"Thank you so much. Actually it's not new, people have been carrying their babies in fabric carriers for centuries, but it's recently regaining popularity in the US"
At Poppet we firmly believe in giving credit where credit is due and the honest truth is that babywearing is not a new invention, in fact it's been practiced for centuries - we could even say it's as old as time. In those days it didn't have a fancy name, or fancy materials - it was just an everyday part of life.
With the introduction of strollers, babywearing became stigmatized and was thought of as something only practiced by the poor, or people of color. It was the rise of what we call Attachment Parenting in the latter part of the last century which brought about a resurgence of babywearing and then it filtered into the mainstream.
We fully support all parents and caregivers wearing their babies - the benefits are incredible and the convenience can't be matched but let's take a moment to remember its origins and honor those who came before us and inspired us to do better and hold our babies close.
If you are interested to learn more about the history of babywearing around the world, the internet has so many valuable resources. Here are some of our favorites below:
Further Reading:
- Slingbabies - The History of Babywearing and "Modern" Slings
- Gentle Parenting - The History of Babywearing
- Evolution of Babywearing
- Race and the Babywearing Community
- Cultural Appropriation and the Babywearing Community
