Forward-facing strollers slow babies' development: study
'Life in a buggy is emotionally impoverished,' says researcher
Last Updated: Friday, November 21, 2008 | 10:42 AM ET
CBC News
Children pushed in forward-facing baby carriages are less likely to talk, laugh and interact, suggests a British study published Friday.
Researchers say children who are put in a position where they are not face to face with their parents or caregivers could suffer emotional and language problems down the road.
Dr. Suzanne Zeedyk of Dundee University in Scotland conducted the research — believed to be the first of its kind — in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust charity as part of its Talk To Your Baby campaign.
Her findings are based on a study of 2,722 parents and babies, and an experiment where 20 babies were wheeled in strollers for a mile, facing their parents for half the journey and facing away for the other half.
Parents using face-to-face baby carriages were twice as likely to talk to their children. In addition, their babies' heart rates fell and were twice as likely to fall asleep, an indicator that they were feeling relaxed and safe. Only one baby out of the 20 studied laughed while sitting in an away-facing carriage.
"Our data suggests that for many babies today, life in a buggy is emotionally impoverished and possibly stressful," said developmental psychologist Zeedyk. "Stressed babies grow into anxious adults."
The study found that 62 per cent of all children observed travelled in away-facing prams, rising to 86 per cent between the ages of one and two.
Zeedyk said it would harm babies' development if they spent a long time in a carriage that undermined their ability to communicate with a parent at a time when their brains were developing rapidly.
With files from Reuters
