Pram Direction (again)

In my last post, I was guilty of the type of dishonesty that frequently happens "on the internet": I referred to a document before actually reading it.

Last night, I actually read through What's life in a buggy like. There was a lot more in it than I remember being said on the radio or in the bbc article. One point that lept out at me was this:

Was the parent talking to the awake child?
Buggy away: 11 %
Buggy toward: 25 %
Carried: 46 %
Walking: 47 %

Was the child vocalising?
Buggy away: 12 %
Buggy toward: 17 %
Carried: 31 %
Walking: 50 %

I realised that my daughter frequently "asks" to be taken out of the pram, and when I do, I actually do talk to her a lot more - telling her what my concerns/dilemmas are and pointing out objects or people-doing-activities that I think might be interesting to her. Today, I made a conscious effort to pick her up whenever she was awake and it was safe to do so. I think that we both had a lot of fun this way despite the unforgiving heat!

The direction the pram faces

Soon after my baby daughter was delivered, this story: Buggy direction 'affects child' was all over the news. The paragraph that leaps out of the page at me is:

"Parents with face-to-face prams were more than twice as likely to be talking to their child, however only 22% of all those observed were chatting with their youngster."

At first this kind of statement makes one's jaw drop - life in the pram is very impoverished indeed. But then, I got to thinking...

• Babies spend a lot of time sleeping. Many mothers bung their children in prams to help them to sleep - not just for a break: the child is clearly tired, but seems to require the motion in order to drop off.
• How long could they possibly have observed each mother for? Is it possible that some of the mothers of awake babies had reached a lull in the conversation?
• Observation without the need for constant commentary does have value.

Our pram is face-to-face, and to be honest, I don't always want to talk. Sometimes we are just being contemplative. But then again, sometimes, I forget to talk: so the challenge for tomorrow (and always), is to remember to tell my baby what I am thinking about.


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The researcher heading this study is Suzanne Zeedyk.
Relevant links: National Literacy Trust
Sutton Trust Research and Publications (scroll down to "What's life in a buggy like?")