Life In 19x19

I don't have any actual experience, but when a baby is strapped to your back, I don't believe it can actually see the tasks you are performing, unless it has x-ray vision...in which case, it probably has more exciting options in life than getting an early start in housework skills.

Inkwolf wrote:I don't have any actual experience, but when a baby is strapped to your back, I don't believe it can actually see the tasks you are performing, unless it has x-ray vision...in which case, it probably has more exciting options in life than getting an early start in housework skills.

Carrying the baby high on your back allows her to see over your shoulder. Also, just the body movements that the parent uses to do tasks around the house tend to hold the baby's attention. More than that, however, being physically close to the parent is perhaps the most important benefit of baby-wearing; many mothers practicing it report less crying and fussiness in their little ones. An important emotional need is satisfied and so, instead of spending energy signaling to the parent that the need has not been met (i.e., crying and fussiness), the baby can calmly observe the world around her and learn.

I often carry my 9-month old nephew on my back in a mei-tai (Chinese style baby carrier) and I hardly ever get a fuss from him, except maybe when he is hungry. I have suggested to the mother, my younger sister, that she wear her son on her back, but she is still unaccustomed to the idea

I imagine that, since in pre-industrial societies parents generally take their babies and toddlers with them almost everywhere, thus exposing them to the daily lives of adults, learning daily tasks comes as less of a shock to children in these societies than to those growing up in industrial and post-industrial societies.