Why Dads Babywear

By Jess Williamson (Babywearing with Jess)

Slings and carriers can be a fantastic tool for parents of small children. The reasons fathers use these tools may be the same as many mothers; it can help comfort our children and give them a sense of security, carried babies tend to cry less and settle more quickly, it can help with reflux and other digestive issues and it saves your back; carrying a child in an ergonomic, well fitted carrier is much better for your posture and spine.

For dads specifically, carriers can help them share the load of a new baby in their family. It can facilitate bonding and it can be really helpful for them to feel the same sense of closeness as that the mother may have felt during pregnancy. Oxytocin, the love hormone, is important for all of us and carrying our children close gives our bodies a big surge of it, which is so critical for bonding. Carriers can provide a sense of freedom and act as practical resource in the parenting tool kit, which can really help minimise the chance of postnatal distress or depression. It is important to remember that it is not just mothers who can suffer from this and it can be just as difficult and debilitating in some cases for dads, even if it is commonly expressed differently.

In the process of trying to decipher some of the specific reasons dads may babywear, I developed a list of my own that I thought might be relevant to men and showed it to my husband, pretty proudly thinking what a great effort I had made. His response was to state, “hmm”. When prodded he said to me, “Don’t you think these dads you’re trying to empower might get enough of being told what to do by other women? Maybe if you truly want to empower them you should use dad’s own words?”

From him opening up my eyes in that profound comment, the Why Dads Babywear project was born. Using the quotes and photos of fathers from around the world, a series of images online, a project group and subsequent print book is currently in the works.

From the humorous to the heartwarming there are over 100 reasons, and more shared regularly on our instagram account @whydadsbabywear. Join the conversation and share your own photos on the Facebook group www.facebook.com/ groups/whydadsbabywear