A Common Worry & Misconception About Baby Slings

"People often express concern that excessive holding or wearing will "spoil" a child, make the child overly dependent on the parent or hinder a child's development. This has not been borne out by research. Research on kangaroo care has shown that premature infants (Feldman, 2002) and newborns (Ferber, 2004) who are held sleep more, cry less, grow faster and get sick less than babies who are given "standard" care with minimal holding.

In addition, a study which specifically examined the effects of increased in-arms and in-carrier time on infants found that babies whose parents increased holding by about 3 hours per day cried significantly less, spent more time in a quiet alert state and fed more often. (Hunziker, 1986)"
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