These days we are celebrating the International Week of Breeding in Arms, a way to commemorate and give importance to the act of carrying and taking our children in arms for their Benefit, security and happiness.
The portage is spreading more and more and it is no longer striking to see a shrunken baby, tucked into a shoulder bag or a scarf and well attached to his mother's chest. But, What happens when the baby grows? Should we stop porting from a certain age? What benefits does it have for older children to continue porting?
We talked with Alejandra Villaverde about the porting of children over two years. Alejandra is a porting advisor and mother of three children. It is defined as a "passionate about porting," and not only because of her professional training but because, as she explains, "porting provides wonderful moments"
Can a child older than two be ported?
When we talk about "porting", we immediately think of newborns or young babies. But nevertheless, porting has no age limit. When a child who is already autonomous, runs, jumps and plays independently, he asks us to carry him in his arms, Why deny them that need for contact when they need it?
Carrying an older child also has great advantages, in addition to being fun and very practical for those who carry"Of course you can carry a big child! Just bear in mind that, as a weight we carry, you have to do it in the safest way possible, both for the child and for the carrier. If an older child is Tired, sleepy, it's getting late and you can't keep up with it, it will always be better to carry it well than carry it in your arms "- Alejandra explains.
When we talk about older children, do we also talk about ergonomic porting?
He porting is a wonderful way to take our children close, but the baby carrier we use must be safe and beneficial, both for the carrier and for the child. Ergonomic baby carriers respect the physiology and physiognomy of both, ensuring a proper posture for children and adults.
Older children are no exception and also need be carried in ergonomic baby carriers that fit your weight and size needs, and allow the adult to take you without discomfort.
"Ergonomic porting ensures that the child adopts a comfortable and safe posture for proper development and that his weight is distributed evenly in the carrier, so that he can carry it without pain and discomfort. The older children have already developed enough to be able to adopt for themselves a comfortable and correct posture, but you will have to look for the baby carrier that suits your real needs for size and weight "- Alejandra points out.
Do you carry front, back or hip?
One of the questions that may arise when we think about carrying an older child is where to locate. If we have carried our child since we were a baby, taking him ahead has surely been our preferred option. But there comes a time when the height of the child makes it impossible to carry forward and you have to resort to porting behind your back.
"A child older than 2 years old is large and occupies a considerable space. It can make it difficult for us to walk if we carry it in front, since its size limits the visual field and can prevent us from carrying out our march safely. As soon as the baby's head exceeds our chin is convenient to pass it to the hip or back, where we will carry it conveniently and with our front space completely free "
"If it is for a short journey or a punctual moment, we can carry it to the hip without problems; if the march requires more time it is better to carry on the back, because its weight will be better distributed between the two shoulders, all our back and hip" - We advise the porter.
Alejandra also warns us that if we have never ported our son, doing it when they are older should take time to prepare; carry on short journeys and times and train little by little so that our back does not resent carrying so much weight.
If, on the contrary, we have carried our son from birth, our back will have become accustomed to his weight in a gradual way and our muscles will be prepared to continue carrying until the child and carrier want.
What should we keep in mind when carrying older children?
The consultant advises us that when choosing a baby carrier for children over two years of age, we should consider the following:
Have a good support for your weight
That guarantees a comfortable and safe posture
That distributes the weight in a balanced way in the carrier
The baby carrier sufficiently holds the child's back and covers it as far as possible from hamstring to ensure the frog position
What baby carrier to use over two years?
Following these criteria, there is a wide range of baby carriers that we can use to take our son when he exceeds two years. Alejandra advises us the following:
- Bandolier: Alejandra advises us to choose a scarf fabric to achieve greater support and firmness. If, in addition, we opt for a medium-high thickness, we will offer greater comfort to the child and will better cushion the weight in the carrier.
"But beware! Being an asymmetric baby carrier it is recommended to use it in short distances or for specific moments, since carrying the weight of a large child on one shoulder for a continuous time can bother us or harm us" - warns the advisor.
- He scarf thick fabric Made of fabrics such as linen or hemp, it is a strong and resistant baby carrier for carrying older children. Among the immense variety of knots offered by the scarf, it is advisable to make them at least two layers, so that a good support is guaranteed.
"My recommendation is to opt for knots such as the backpack or the double hacama on the back, because they are the ones that offer more support and better distribution of the weight in the carrier" - Alejandra advises us.
- He mei tai It is one of the most used baby carriers for carrying large children, given the extension of the width of its base and the height of its backrest. The mei tais are made of strong, resistant and good support fabrics such as canvas and scarf.
"To carry in mei tai I recommend that the straps be padded, so that the weight rests better on the shoulders of the carrier" - points out the advisor.
- Ergonomic backpack: Alejandra points out that the fact that the backpacks have a wide and rigid belt and padded shoulder straps, greatly facilitates the moment of porting. In addition, most ergonomic backpacks usually support perfectly up to 15 or 20 kilos of weight, so they are suitable for carrying large children.
"However, I find a disadvantage and it is that the bridge is usually small, not covering the hamstring and distorting the position of frog to some extent. Therefore, it is important to opt for wide-panel backpacks with stirrups, so that the child can hold the feet and raise their knees above the hip "- emphasizes the advisor.
So, there is no reason to stop porting our son when he has already reached a certain age, because porting will always provide us closeness, physical contact, warmth and love, regardless of the years our little one has.
To want is power, and it is only a matter of finding the right baby carrier to the new stage of porting that we begin and that brings us as much comfort as possible to both.Acknowledgments Alejandra Villaverde, porter advisor at Brazos y Abrazos
In Babies and More Interlaced: International Week of Breeding in Arms 2017, Benefits of porting: why use a baby carrier ?, Ergonomic porting finally reaches health professionals through the university, Eleven compelling reasons to choose the Parenting, Types of Baby Carrier
