*Bang*
That is the sound of me shooting my TV Screen at yet another show that has incorrectly, and dangerously, portrayed a baby being worn in a carrier.
You might be thinking, “Who Cares? The actor is just wearing a creepy doll, no babies were harmed in the making of that film.”
Hollywood makes money because people, millions of them, watch TV, commercials, and movies. And then they buy what the actor is wearing, or eat at the restaurant they talk about, or cut their hair the way that actress did, well, you get the picture.
I’m not underestimating the intelligence of every American, but when you see this on the silver screen, some people might actually think that is the proper way to wear a baby in a sling.
My Idiot Brother: The fact that this movie (My Idiot Brother) was made very recently, after the CPSC issued a warning about the safety of slings and still chose to portray a baby being worn in such a clearly unsafe manner, is just baffling.
I try to put myself on the set during filming. Do no mothers (or people with common sense) work on set? Not a single soul spoke up to the director or actor?
Grey’s Anatomy: Another case of unsafe babywearing was during last season of Grey’s Anatomy. Mark wore newborn Sophia in an Ergo. Yes, this is really awesome because in general most shows depict babies facing out in crotch danglers.
Unfortunately he was wearing a newborn in the Ergo without an insert, the chest clip wasn’t fastened, and she was positioned far too low. This show is seen by over 9 million viewers. What if just one mother thought this was OK and wore her infant this way? And what if that baby slid out from the side or suffocated? That is one baby too many. The previous week Callie wore Sophia in a ring sling but made it look like a full time job by clutching at the bottom for dear life. And I wanted to spread the fabric over her shoulder so bad I couldn’t stand it. {View a clip on Carry Me Away}
Sears: In the “close but no cigar” category is the recent Sears ad that has gotten so much airplay I have seen it at least 5 times, and I don’t get to watch a lot of TV.
A couple is seen shopping for appliances and the mother is seen wearing a small baby (doll) in a STRETCHY WRAP.
#Win for putting a lesser known baby carrier out for the world to see.
#Fail for having the poor baby (doll) incorrectly positioned so that it still seems to be hanging way too low, and the face is smushed into the mother’s chest. Mom is also clutching the baby, likely to hide the fact that it is a doll, but it makes her look uncomfortable with wearing it, as if she thinks the baby will fall out at any moment. {view commercial here}
Breathe.
It is just TV.
I just don’t get why it is so hard to portray babywearing correctly. Real moms do it every day. We put our baby in our carrier the way they should be worn so that they are safe and comfortable. Can’t someone behind the scenes take an extra minute to consult the INTERNET, or hell, even read the instruction manual that came with the carrier being filmed, to keep babies in the real world safe?
And my final thought: Hollywood, please stop glorifying the crotch dangler!!! We babywearing moms love that you are starting to look past the Baby Bjorn to more comfortable carriers…. just do your research before you film the next movie, ok?
Am I overthinking this? I’d also love to hear where else you have seen babywearing on TV or in movies, especially if the baby was worn correctly! I wrote this post for International Babywearing Week because this topic has been nagging me for a long time.
