All slings considered
Baby carriers, when chosen well and used correctly, can make travel with children easier, writes Angela Baura
When Naomi Tempany moved to Hong Kong three months ago, she struggled to explore the city with three children in tow and a baby in a stroller.
After a particularly frustrating MTR journey, she found a more convenient way of getting around town with her young family.
"I now carry my six-month-old son in a baby carrier, which means I can easily go wherever I want and keep my hands free to care for my older children," Tempany says.
While hi-tech strollers are favoured by many parents, a growing number find they prefer the intimacy and ease of having their child in a sling or carrier. A traditional practice in societies the world over, carrying babies has enjoyed a revival among urban sophisticates in the past two decades.
Gillian Anderson, a stay-at-home mother of two, uses a baby carrier to comfort her baby while she carries out chores at home. "Baby wearing allows me to hold my five-month-old close to me while I work. Carrying her also allows me to get around Hong Kong efficiently."
Baby wearing - the simple act of holding or carrying a child using a baby carrier - is a rising trend in Hong Kong and across Asia, according to Alexandra Dickson Leach, founder of Bloom & Grow, a distributor of maternity, baby and children's products. "Baby wearing offers parents convenience and freedom. It allows parents, grandparents and helpers to bond with baby, and carried babies are known to cry less."
