Taking the baby out in a stroller is one of the exciting parts of early parenting. Moving around in a stroller with your little one gives you a chance to escape the whirlpool of parenthood chores, relax and refresh your mind, and also gives your baby a chance to see the world around under the security of your safe company.
But how should you go about it?
Should the baby face the parent or face forward in a stroller?
To be honest, there is no established time or age at which the baby can face forward in a stroller. It surely is a matter of personal preferences and choices.
Let us weigh down and compare the benefits of taking the baby in a parent or a rear-facing stroller with the forward-facing one. That will help us coin a specific age range in which a baby can face forward in a stroller.
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Benefits of a Parent Facing Stroller:
- Enhancing Emotional Contact: Strolling with your baby in a rear-facing stroller gives you a chance to invest in that special bond by baby talking and chatting with him, interacting with him through warm, reassuring eye contact. That encourages strong emotional contact between you and your baby.
- Social and Physical Growth: Development experts say babies need and want their parents to be around them from two to six months. They desire and try to communicate and socially interact with them through their babbling and facial expressions. They get their feedback through parents’ facial expressions, which is usually positive. But this is all possible in a rear-facing buggy.
- Safe and Secure: Before your baby reaches six months, he cannot support and hold his head and neck. Before he’s strong enough to support it, he cannot and should not face forward in his stroller. At this time, a rear-facing stroller is a sensible choice which provides this needed support and comfort, and you can keep an eye on the baby for his security.
- Nap and Relax: In a parent-facing stroller, your baby can see your familiar face. And this would give him a sense of security and help him relax and even enjoy a better and long nap during the ride.
But once your baby passes the 6th month, you’ll start observing abrupt developmental changes. For example, you will notice that the little one is getting restless, demanding and curious with every passing day. It means that this is the right time to make an adjustment and switch to a stroller from parent facing to the forward facing one… even if it is for a small part of the strolling time.
Benefits of a Forward Facing Stroller:
- Widens Observation and Exposure: As your baby passes from the sixth to the ninth month, you will notice that your baby has started controlling his head and neck and needs little support, becoming restless and wanting to look around a lot. At this time, if your baby faces forward, it would expose him to the surroundings and help him use his observational skills, which have just started developing.
- Improved Social Interaction and Language Skills: When your baby faces forward in a stroller, he sees and observes people around him, notices their expressions and catches new words. Oh, Lord! Too much for the little soul. But all of this helps him improve his social interaction and language skills.
- Boosts Confidence: When you stroll around with your baby in a forward-facing pushchair, although he knows you are with him, your baby faces the world without you in the immediate picture or the same frame. But at the same time, he knows that you are with him all the time. That creates a strong sense of self-confidence, a strongly desired trait of a socially acceptable and successful personality. However, it will take some time before he gets used to it and starts showing positive changes.
When Can Your Baby Face Forward in a Stroller:
After comparing the benefits associated with a rear facing stroller and a forward facing stroller, we can create a big picture out of it and can safely conclude that:
- From the age of two to six months, parent-facing strollers are recommended.
- But as the baby advances from sixth to the ninth month, your baby can face forward in a stroller more often.
- From nine months onwards, forward-facing strollers should be used for an actively balanced development of a healthy child.
For Special Cases and Individual Differences:
No two babies are alike in their developmental patterns, needs, requirements, likes and dislikes. There always are and will always be some individual differences. These differences might sometimes be too naive to be noticed, and at others, they might be too strong to create a striking comparison and require a different dealing than usual.
For instance, if your baby is physically weak, hasn’t developed strong neck muscles, and can’t hold his head without support even after six months. Then, it would be best if you did not choose a forward-facing stroller to avert any unforeseeable accident.
But on the other hand, if your 6+ is too hyperactive and unpredictable in his motor reactions, then you should cut down on time your baby faces forward in the stroller to keep it safe. In such a case, you’ll have to opt for a reversible stroller that can be used both as a rear-facing buggy and a forward-facing stroller.
But please keep checking on your baby when he’s facing forward during the stroll…Even if it has been quite some time, you have switched from a parent-facing stroller to a street-facing pushchair. Of course, your baby might not be feeling okay, stressed out or not be in a mood to look at things or people other than mommy and daddy. Whatever the case is, you can always revert and adjust the seat for your child to face you… if you’re using the reversible stroller.
Concluding Remarks:
After going through this account, I’m sure it will be easier for you to decide when your baby can face forward in a stroller… right?
Once your baby passes the 6th month, he can face forward in his buggy when you go for a stroll. But initially, it should be for a shorter time and then keep increasing this time until the little one crosses the 9th month. At this time, he’d be able to hold his head and neck and sit upright without support.
Yeah,
Your little soul is ready to explore the world with his own eyes and ears!
So what are you waiting for?
Let your baby explore his new world.
Get…Set…Go!
Happy parenting!
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