Parental debate 3: Swing time?

Question

Who's opinion do you support?

Woman A - From birth till age 1, her child is almost always in the swing, except feeding and crib time. At age 3, he is developmentally were he needs to be (same stages as any other 3 yr old), enjoys alone time, and is very well behaved.

Woman B - From birth till age 1, her child is given 1-2 hours of swing time a day. Otherwise he is given floor time and jumperoo time. At age 3, he is developmentally at the same stages of other child, but adjusts easily to new activities, even alone time.

Woman C - From birth on, her child is never given swing time. He is given floor time and play time, never confined in a play station. At age 3, he is developmentally more advanced than other children his age, but always needs to be active/exploring. He is very social but occasionally acts up out of boredom.

Developmental stages and intelligence is just from my personal observances.
These women are based on REAL woman and how they have raised their children.

Answer 1

Ummm babies should be in arms or carriers. Yes my son had time in his swing when he wanted it and I needed a break. Yes sometimes he hangs out in the jumperoo, exersaucer, etc. But from 0-3 months he spent less than an hour per day not in contact with someone while awake, and maybe 2-3 hours napping alone (we cosleep). From 3-6 months he spent more time playing with his toys with me right beside him and some time with me away doing chores. From 6-9 months he needed a lot of interaction. From 9-11 months (current age) he walks, crawls and plays alone most of the time. Except he climbs in my lap every 15 min, and nurses every 30min for the last month or two. Yes it is annoying and hard to get stuff done, but he needs the dependance in order to have the independance.

My baby never had "floor time", floor time is for swing babies. In arms time counts as "floor time". When he was developmentally ready to play with his floor toys he played with them, usually with me right there. He was never forced to be on his belly.

My son learned to pull himself up, started crawling (he could, he just didn't up until then) and then walking within 2 weeks all at 9ish months. My son will go anywhere with anyone *lol* We were at a fundraiser and the whole three hours all he did was walk around the church basement, flirt with people, try to disassemble things (tables, boxes, etc).

However I don't think that my parenting has much to do with his drive. He is just driven. He always had to be doing. From two months he always had to stand in my lap when I would sit. He held his head up when he was born (not kidding the stuck him in an incubator because they were pissed at me because I transferred from a homebirth). They tried to tell me he was floppy. He had his head up and kept pushing his butt into the air!

I know a woman like Woman A. Except they feed him in the bouncy chair(which is where he is almost all the time). He has a flat spot, he is behind the curve, just learned to sit up at 8 months. He pukes all the time because they feed him what the doctor says even though it makes him puke. Orange veggies and fortified cereals. And she won't give him anything else until fortified cereals and orange veggies stop making him sick.

Sure his son is just more layed back in general. Probably he would be more laid back even if he were my child. He would probably be stronger just because of my carting him around all the time, but he may still behind. But he wouldn't have a flat head. He wouldn't be sick all the time (she tops him up with formula too so he will "sleep better" even though it makes him puke)

Drives me BATTY!


Babies NEED human contact, end of story.

Answer 2

A - Lazy mother! That is just disgusting. Poor baby probably has a bottle propped to his mouth, too.
B - A little too long in the swing, but it is better than A. I say no longer than 1 hour in the swing.
C - Great! Sounds like an active parent nurturing her child to be social, physical, and intelligent. The acting up out of boredom is perfectly natural for highly intelligent children.

Answer 3

I support responding to your baby's needs and preferences.

Forcing a child to be active when they're inclined to relax isn't going to do any good. Nor will confining a child who wants to explore. Some babies would rather watch the world from the safety of a playpen or swing; others want to be in the thick of it. As long as you don't go to the extremes in interpreting your baby's preferences, you're fine, and the baby will be even better.

As long as you're actively interacting with your baby, whether s/he's in a swing or climbing around on the floor, you're doing a good job.

Answer 4

My daughter's liked the swing. But I never left them alone I would play with them and make silly faces. Or if I was cooking I would put them on the swing in the kitchen so I could keep an eye on her. So I would say B. I could not imagine leaving the baby a long time on the swing because it has to be uncomfortable.

Answer 5

You don't note what happens from age 1-3? I don't htink "swing time" makes who a child becomes or doesn't. In woman A, I think that is neglect. A child should not be in a swing all day, nor should it lie on a floor all day, nor in a bed. A child needs continual stimulation. different stimulations. I don't like the q., sorry

Answer 6

Well, of the options, I am picking 'C'. I would prefer my kids to be active, social and exploring.

However, My son did not like a swing at all, for any reason...he like to play on the floor. He would scream until we took him out. He would not fall asleep in a swing like many babies do, but he liked the bouncer and would hang out in it for ever. My daughter loved the swing, and hated the bouncer.

You just gotta find the best balance for each kid...all kids are different, all parents are different. My children act a little different around mom than they do around me.

Answer 7

Is there a reason why you are asking all of these questions????

It totally depends on the child. I had two daughters who liked the swing for minimal amounts of time(generally no more than 30 minutes at a time) and one daughter who HATED the swing and never spent anytime in it. I don't believe the swing has anything to do with how they grow developementally.

Answer 8

Unrealistic terms... you dont know for sure that swing time has any corrilation with social activity when they are 3

So if your child likes the swing let them have the damn swing
If they dont like the swing then dont put them in there

Is this really that complicated for some people?? lol

Answer 9

It has nothing to do with being put in a swing or being put on the floor. It is how much the parents work with the child that makes them more or less developed. If you just leave your child on the floor and don't encourange movement, they probably are just going to sit there and do nothing, but is you encourage them to crawl and turn over they will do that quicker, same thing with being put in a swing.

Answer 10

It is EXTREMELY silly to contribute a child's development and activeness solely on "floor time", so is good behavior being contributed to swing time.

Each child is unique and have different ways that stimulates their learning, you just have to find the best that suits the child.