Various methods of transporting children have been used in different cultures and times. These methods include baby carriages (prams in British English),
infant car seats, portable
bassinet
A bassinet, bassinette, or cradle is a bed specifically for babies from birth to about four months. Bassinets are generally designed to work with fixed legs or caster wheels, while cradles are generally designed to provide a rocking or gliding ...
s (carrycots), strollers (pushchairs), slings, backpacks, baskets and bicycle carriers.
The large, heavy prams (short for perambulator), which had become popular during the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
, were replaced by lighter designs during the latter half of the 1900s.
Baskets, slings and backpacks
![Crazy horse travois](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Crazy_horse_travois.jpg)
Infant carrying likely emerged early in human evolution as the emergence of bipedalism would have necessitated some means of carrying babies who could no longer cling to their mothers and/or simply sit on top of their mother's back. On-the-body carriers are designed in various forms such as
baby sling
A baby sling or baby carrier is generally made of soft fabrics that wrap around the chest. They provide comfort and support for the baby and allow the parent or carer to keep their hands free as they go about their everyday tasks.
There are a ...
, backpack carriers, and soft front or hip carriers, with varying materials and degrees of rigidity, decoration, support and confinement of the child. Slings, soft front carriers, and "baby carriages" are typically used for infants who lack the ability to sit or to hold their head up. Frame backpack carriers (a modification of the frame
backpack
A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...
), hip carriers, slings, ''mei tai''s and a variety of other soft carriers are used for older children.
Images of children being carried in slings can be seen in Egyptian artwork dating back to the time of the
Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
s, and have been used in many indigenous cultures. One of the earliest European artworks showing baby wearing is a
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
by
Giotto
Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...
painted in around 1306 AD, which depicts
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
carrying
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
in a sling. Baby wearing in a sling was well known in Europe in medieval times, but was mainly seen as a practice of marginalised groups such as
beggars
Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public place ...
and
gypsies
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
. A
cradleboard
Cradleboards (, se, gietkka, sms, ǩiõtkâm, smn, kietkâm, sje, gietkam) are traditional protective baby-carriers used by many indigenous cultures in North America and throughout northern Scandinavia amongst the Sámi. There are a variety ...
is a
Native American baby carrier used to keep babies secure and comfortable and at the same time allowing the mothers freedom to work and travel. The cradleboards were attached to the mother's back straps from the shoulder or the head. For travel, cradleboards could be hung on a saddle or
travois
A travois (; Canadian French, from French , a frame for restraining horses; also obsolete travoy or travoise) is a historical frame structure that was used by indigenous peoples, notably the Plains Aboriginals of North America, to drag loads ov ...
. Ethnographic tradition indicates that it was common practice to cradleboard newborn children until they were able to walk, although many mothers continued to
swaddle their children well past the first birthday. Bound and wrapped on a cradleboard, a baby can feel safe and secure. Soft materials such as
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.[moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...]
and shredded bark were used for cushioning and diapers. Cradleboards were either cut from flat pieces of wood or woven from flexible twigs like willow and
hazel
The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
, and cushioned with soft, absorbent materials. The design of most cradleboards is a flat surface with the child wrapped tightly to it. It is usually only able to move its head.
On-the-body baby carrying started being known in western countries in the 1960s, with the advent of the structured soft pack in the mid-1960s. Around the same time, the frame backpack quickly became a popular way to carry older babies and toddlers. In the early 1970s, the wrap was reintroduced in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The two ringed sling was invented by Rayner and Fonda Garner in 1981 and popularized by
Dr William Sears starting in around 1985. In the early 1990s, the modern pouch carrier was created in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. While the Chinese ''mei tai'' has been around in one form or another for centuries, it did not become popular in the west until it was modernized with padding and other adjustments. It first became popular and well known in mid-2003.
Portable cradles, including cradleboards, baskets, and
bassinet
A bassinet, bassinette, or cradle is a bed specifically for babies from birth to about four months. Bassinets are generally designed to work with fixed legs or caster wheels, while cradles are generally designed to provide a rocking or gliding ...
s, have been used by many cultures to carry young infants.
Wheeled transport methods
Wheeled devices are generally divided into prams, used for newborn babies in which the infant normally lies down facing the pusher, and the strollers, which are used for the small child up to about three years old in a sitting position facing forward.
History
William Kent
William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, but ...
developed an early stroller in 1733. In 1733, the
Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has be ...
asked Kent to build a means of transport that would carry his children. Kent obliged by constructing a shell shaped basket on wheels that the children could sit in. This was richly decorated and meant to be pulled by a goat or small pony. Benjamin Potter Crandall sold baby carriages in the US in the 1830s which have been described as the "first baby carriages manufactured in the US" Another early development was
F.A. Whitney Carriage Company. His son,
Jesse Armour Crandall
Jesse Armour Crandall (October 20, 1834 – August 3, 1920) was an American inventor and toy-maker. He had taken out over 150 patents on toys in his 75 years of inventing.''Popular Science'', Volume 47, July 1920, p. 45. Crandall's father, Benjamin ...
was issued a number of patents for improvements and additions to the standard models. These included adding a brake to carriages, a model which folded, designs for parasols and an umbrella hanger. By 1840, the baby carriage became extremely popular.
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
bought three carriages from Hitchings Baby Store.
The carriages of those days were built of wood or
wicker
Wicker is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was first documented in ancient Egypt using pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. ...
and held together by expensive brass joints. These sometimes became heavily ornamented works of art. Models were also named after royalty: Princess and Duchess being popular names, as well as Balmoral and Windsor.
In June 1889, an African American man named William H. Richardson patented his idea of the first reversible stroller. The
bassinet
A bassinet, bassinette, or cradle is a bed specifically for babies from birth to about four months. Bassinets are generally designed to work with fixed legs or caster wheels, while cradles are generally designed to provide a rocking or gliding ...
was designed so it could face out or in towards the parent. He also made structural changes to the carriage. Until then the axle did not allow each wheel to move separately. Richardson's design allowed this, which increased maneuverability of the carriages. As the 1920s began, prams were now available to all families and were becoming safer, with larger wheels, brakes, deeper prams, and lower, sturdier frames.
In 1965,
Owen Maclaren
Owen Finlay Maclaren, MBE (26 May 1906 – 13 April 1978) was the inventor of the lightweight baby buggy with a collapsible support assembly and founder of the Maclaren company.
Early life
He was born in Saffron Walden in Essex to Andrew Maclare ...
, an aeronautical engineer, worked on complaints his daughter made about travelling from England to America with her heavy pram. Using his knowledge of aeroplanes, Maclaren designed a stroller with an aluminium frame and created the first true umbrella stroller. He then went on to found
Maclaren
Maclaren is a manufacturer of baby buggies, strollers and carriers based in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Product range
Strollers based around Owen Maclaren's original design are sold in over 50 countries under the Maclaren brand. These include the Ma ...
, which manufactured and sold his new design. The design took off and soon "strollers" were easier to transport and used everywhere.
In the 1970s, however, the trend was more towards a more basic version, not fully sprung, and with a detachable body known as a "carrycot".
[The modern equivalent—for babies that cannot walk—is a pram with a body that can be detached for carrying or for attaching to a frame to become a car seat (a "travel system").] Now, prams are very rarely used, being large and expensive when compared with "buggies" (see below). One of the longer lived and better known brands in the UK is
Silver Cross, first manufactured in
Hunslet
Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past.
It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...
,
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, in 1877, and later
Guiseley
Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds.
It sits in t ...
from 1936 until 2002 when the factory closed. Silver Cross was then bought by the toy company David Halsall and Sons who relocated the head office to Skipton and expanded into a range of new, modern baby products including pushchairs and "travel systems". They continue to sell the traditional Silver Cross coach prams which are manufactured at a factory in Bingley in Yorkshire.
Since the 1980s, the stroller industry has developed with new features, safer construction and more accessories.
Prams
Larger and heavier prams, or perambulators, had been used since their introduction in the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
; prams were also used for infants, often sitting up. The term carrycot became more common in the UK after the introduction of lighter units with detachable baby carriers in the 1970s.
As they developed through the years
suspension
Suspension or suspended may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Suspension (topology), in mathematics
* Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics
* Suspension of a ring, in mathematics
* Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...
was added, making the ride smoother for both the baby and the person pushing it.
The word ''pram'' is etymologically a shortening of its now less common synonym ''perambulator''.
Strollers
![Mor og datter i Gamla Stan i Stockholm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Mor_og_datter_i_Gamla_Stan_i_Stockholm.JPG)
'Strollers' or 'pushchairs/buggies' (British English), are used for small children up to about three years old in a sitting position facing forward.
"Pushchair" was the popularly used term in the UK between its invention and the early 1980s, when a more compact design known as a "buggy" became the trend, popularised by the conveniently collapsible aluminium-framed
Maclaren
Maclaren is a manufacturer of baby buggies, strollers and carriers based in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Product range
Strollers based around Owen Maclaren's original design are sold in over 50 countries under the Maclaren brand. These include the Ma ...
buggy designed and patented by the British aeronautical designer
Owen Maclaren
Owen Finlay Maclaren, MBE (26 May 1906 – 13 April 1978) was the inventor of the lightweight baby buggy with a collapsible support assembly and founder of the Maclaren company.
Early life
He was born in Saffron Walden in Essex to Andrew Maclare ...
in 1965. "Buggy" is the usual term in the UK (sometimes "pushchair"); in American English, buggy usually refers to a four-wheeled vehicle known as a quad or quad bike in the UK. "Stroller" is the usual term in the USA. Newer versions can be configured to carry a baby lying down like a low pram and then be reconfigured to carry the child in the forward-facing position.
A variety of twin pushchairs are manufactured, some designed for babies of a similar age (such as
twin
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
s) and some for those with a small age gap. Triple pushchairs are a fairly recent addition, due to the number of
multiple birth
A multiple birth is the culmination of one multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such bir ...
s being on the increase. Safety guidelines for standard pushchairs apply. Most triple buggies have a weight limit of 50 kg and recommended use for children up to the age of 4 years.
A travel system is typically a set consisting of a chassis with a detachable baby seat and/or carrycot. Thus a travel system can be switched between a pushchair and a pram. Another benefit of a travel system is that the detached chassis (generally an umbrella closing chassis) when folded will usually be smaller than other types, to transport it in a
car trunk or boot. Also, the baby seat will snap into a base meant to stay in an automobile, becoming a car seat. This allows undisturbed movement of the baby into or out of a car and a reduced chance of waking a sleeping baby.
Another modern design showcases a stroller that includes the possibility for the lower body to be elongated, thereby transforming the stroller into a
kick scooter
A kick scooter (also referred to as a push-scooter or scooter) is a human-powered street vehicle with a handlebar, deck, and wheels propelled by a rider pushing off the ground with their leg. Today the most common scooters are made of aluminum, ...
. Steering occurs by leaning towards either side. Depending on the model, it can be equipped with a foot- and/or handbrake. Speeds up to can be reached. The first stroller of this kind was the so-called "Roller Buggy", developed by industrial designer Valentin Vodev in 2005. In 2012 the manufacturer Quinny became interested in the concept and teamed up with a Belgian studio to design another model.
The modern
infant car seat
A child safety seat, sometimes called an infant safety seat, child restraint system, child seat, baby seat, car seat, or a booster seat, is a seat designed specifically to protect children from injury or death during vehicle collisions. Most c ...
is a relative latecomer. It is used to carry a child within a car. Such car seats are required by law in many countries to safely transport young children.
In contemporary culture with four-figure systems or sleek jogging strollers common in some circles, strollers often serve as not only an infant transport device but also a highly visible symbol of everything from class to parenting philosophy.
Others
Bicycles can be fitted with a
bicycle trailer
A bicycle trailer is a motorless wheeled frame with a hitch system for transporting cargo by bicycle. It can greatly increase a bike's cargo capacity, allowing point-to-point haulage of objects up to 4 cubic yards (3 cubic metres) in volu ...
or a
children's bicycle seat
A Children's bicycle seat is a saddle that is designed to be put on a bicycle for children to be transported in. The most common place for child bicycle seat
A bicycle seat, unlike a bicycle saddle, is designed to support the rider's buttocks ...
to carry small children. An older child can ride on a one-wheel
trailer bike
A trailer bike (also known as a trailer cycle, and trademarked names such as Trailerbike, Trail-a-bike, Half wheeler or Tagalong) is a one-wheeled, or sometimes two-wheeled, bicycle trailer designed to carry one or more children in positions tha ...
with an integrated seat and handle bars.
A "travel system" includes a car seat base, an infant car seat, and a baby stroller. The car seat base is installed in a car. The infant car seat snaps into the car seat base when traveling with a baby. From the car, the infant car seat can be hand carried and snapped onto the stroller.
Gallery
File:Docile-husband-corrected.jpg, An 1847 stroller from the John Leech Archives
File:Kimball BostonDirectory 1868.png, An advertisement for an early perambulator in the 1868 Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
Directory
File:Barnvagnar - Nordiska museet - NMA.0097403.jpg, Baby carriages for sale in Stockholm, Sweden in 1931.
File:Boy in baby buggy, 1935.JPG, A baby in a buggy, USA, 1935
File:Odessastepsbaby.jpg, A pram in the 'Odessa Steps scene' from the 1926 film, ''Battleship Potemkin
'' Battleship Potemkin'' (russian: Бронено́сец «Потёмкин», ''Bronenosets Potyomkin''), sometimes rendered as ''Battleship Potyomkin'', is a 1925 Soviet silent
drama film produced by Mosfilm. Directed and co-written by S ...
''
File:Green Travel Day 22 September 2010 Jersey 8.jpg, A child in a bicycle carrier
File:Babycarseat.jpg, A car seat for infants
File:Carrinho.JPG, A shopping cart
A shopping cart (American English), trolley (British English, Australian English), or buggy (Southern American English, Appalachian English), also known by a variety of other names, is a wheeled cart supplied by a shop or store, especially ...
with space for a small child
File:Pram.JPG, A 3-in-1 travel system
File:Tezaswinee Saikia.jpg, A baby sitting in a stroller with a doll above her head
File:Baby on stroller safely held by belt.jpg, A baby in a stroller with belts holding her in place
File:Daddy baby trike Park Av 30 jeh.jpg, A jogging stroller on Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
, New York City, 2010
File:Roller Buggy.jpg, A roller buggy, 2005
File:East Berlin childminders, with children and strollers, seated on a wall, 1984.jpg, East Berlin
East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...
child minder
A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...
s, with multiple-seat prams in 1984
File:Barnevogn2.jpg, A perambulator
File:Anna Rihacek with mother Magdelena - DPLA - f0ea2df8be817d8578e65b6d4045b6e6 (cropped).jpg, Wicker baby buggy from 1908
File:Portrait of Mildred Bailey, daughter of Morton Bailey in 1894 - DPLA - 9f1117c9cfbed673f3b12b14c41dc71f.jpg, alt=Portrait of child in wicker stroller, 1894. , Portrait of child in wicker stroller, 1894.
See also
*
Baby sling
A baby sling or baby carrier is generally made of soft fabrics that wrap around the chest. They provide comfort and support for the baby and allow the parent or carer to keep their hands free as they go about their everyday tasks.
There are a ...
*
Baby walker
A baby walker is a device that can be used by infants who cannot walk on their own to move from one place to another. Modern baby walkers are also for toddlers. They have a base made of hard plastic sitting on top of wheels and a suspended fabri ...
*
Babywearing
Babywearing is the practice of wearing or carrying a baby in a sling or in another form of carrier. Babywearing has been practiced for centuries around the world. Babywearing is a form of baby transport which can be used for as long as mutually ...
*
Doll pram
Silver Cross is a British nursery brand and manufacturer of baby transport and other baby-related products founded in 1877. The company, based in Skipton, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom, and is best known for the production of baby prams and pus ...
*
Shopping cart
A shopping cart (American English), trolley (British English, Australian English), or buggy (Southern American English, Appalachian English), also known by a variety of other names, is a wheeled cart supplied by a shop or store, especially ...
*
Travel cot
A travel cot is a bed for use by a baby or young child that collapses or folds into a bag for easy carriage. Travel cots are typically much lighter than a standard cot, with soft sides to provide comfort to the baby when sleeping.
Benefits
The Un ...
*
Bassinet
A bassinet, bassinette, or cradle is a bed specifically for babies from birth to about four months. Bassinets are generally designed to work with fixed legs or caster wheels, while cradles are generally designed to provide a rocking or gliding ...
*
Moses basket
A bassinet, bassinette, or cradle is a bed specifically for babies from birth to about four months. Bassinets are generally designed to work with fixed legs or caster wheels, while cradles are generally designed to provide a rocking or gliding ...
*
Bedside sleeper
A bedside sleeper, also referred to as a sidecar sleeper or bedside bassinet, is a bassinet or baby cot that attaches to the parents' bed, allowing newborns to sleep next to their parents safely. This is a form of safe co-sleeping, and has little ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
* van Hout, I.C. (1993). Beloved Burdens. Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen.
*
External links
Bushwalkers' pram (1930s)at the National Museum of Australia.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baby Transport
Baby products
Babycare
Carriages
Child safety
Infancy