New Study Suggests Stroller Direction Affects Baby

I wanted to make sure that all of you heard about BBC's recent article on stroller direction. More than 2,700 parent-infant pairs were observed across the UK as well as in a smaller study conducted in Dundee, Scotland. It was run by Dr Suzanne Zeedyk from Dundee University, in collaboration with the charity the National Literacy Trust.

The study found that babies facing towards the parent were more likely to laugh. They also tended to have lower heart rates, suggesting that they were more relaxed when their parent was in sight. Parents facing their children were more than twice as likely to be talking with their children than parents with forward facing strollers.

Dr. Zeedyk summarized her findings, saying, "Our data suggests that for many babies today, life in a buggy is emotionally impoverished and possibly stressful. Stressed babies grow into anxious adults." She is calling for a more in depth study to follow.

It makes sense to me that the more communication you have with your baby the better. What really surprised me was that 62% of all the children observed in the study were travelling in away-facing strollers. Which way do you prefer, and why? And should we really be concerned that stroller direction can hinder our childrens' development?