Did you know which way a baby faces in their stroller matters? A stroller where your baby faces you benefits both of you. A parent-facing stroller helps keep you and your baby connected, encouraging more parent-baby interaction. A stroller where your baby faces you is also developmentally better and physically safer for your baby while providing you peace of mind because you can keep a close eye on your little one.
SHOP ERGOBABY Compact Strollers
Your Baby Benefits in a Stroller Where They Face You
Provides emotional comfort.
In a rear-facing stroller, your baby sees your face, as well as sees you talking to him. Seeing your familiar face comforts him emotionally and helps him feel safe.
Good for baby’s development.
Developmentally, when a baby is between 2-6 months old, he needs and likes seeing his parents’ faces. He craves social exchanges with you. Babies also start learning the rules of social interaction and basing their reactions on your facial expressions during their first few months of life. And in a rear-facing baby stroller, you can more easily give your baby this kind of stimulation that he needs for development.
Offers more support and protection.
The main reasons to keep your baby in a rear-facing car seat is because it provides the best support and protection for their little head and body—the same is true with rear-facing strollers. Before your baby is strong enough to support his own head, he needs extra head and neck support that most strollers that face you offer. Just think if you accidentally ran into the curb or a fire hydrant while walking. If your infant was facing forward, his head would jerk forward from the impact. But when he’s facing you, the impact won’t throw his head forward or cause any harm to his head or neck.
Can help them nap better.
A study from 2008 that observed more than 2,700 babies and their parents found that these babies were twice as likely to sleep when they were in a rear-facing stroller. Some attribute this to luck, while others believe it’s because infants feel safer and more relaxed when looking at a familiar face so they more easily fall asleep.
You Benefit When Your Baby Faces You in a Stroller
Easily monitor your baby.
When your baby is facing you, it’s so much easier to keep an eye on him. With a simple glance down, as often as you want, you can make sure he’s comfortable, make sure his hat hasn’t fallen over his eyes, make sure the wind isn’t blowing in his face, etc.
Gives you peace of mind.
Seeing and knowing your baby is safe and comfortable allows you to relax and actually enjoy this time with your son.
Makes it easier to bond with your baby.
That study I mentioned above also found that when the observed babies were facing their parents in a stroller that the parents were twice as likely to talk to their babies and the babies were more likely to laugh. When your baby is right in front of you, you’re prone to make more eye contact, talk more to and laugh more with your baby. Plus, you just get to see more of your adorable little one, and what parent doesn’t want to just stare at their baby? Soon he’ll be more interested in the outside world, so take it from a fellow mama and soak in those baby stares as long as you can.
A stroller is an expensive but necessary purchase, as are those neat stroller accessories. And while there are numerous benefits to having a stroller where your baby faces you, when your little guy’s development starts changing between 6-9 months, he’ll become more interested in what’s happening around him. At this point, you’ll want to start having him face forward in a stroller. But there’s no need to spend money on two strollers. Get a reversible seat stroller that offers rear-facing and forward-facing positions. That way you can easily switch between the stroller facing you and facing outward based on your baby’s developmental level and his preference.
SHOP ERGOBABY Stroller Accessories
Updated Note*
Our 180 stroller is no longer distributed. The Metro+ and Metro+ Deluxe Stroller is our feature stroller and can support your family from newborn and beyond! To get all the benefits of parent-facing strollers, you can also babywear! Babywearing provides similar benefits to parent-facing strollers and the added benefits of skin-to-skin contact and bonding. Learn more here.
