You don't need expensive gear and high-end design to be a good parent, but a good pair of socks helps | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

Everyone in North London has the same stroller. Exaggerating a bit, but not much: the Babyzen YoYo, a compact stroller that folds up small enough to fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane, is a phenomenon. On the pavements, in the library, outside the children's center - they're everywhere.
At around £400 they're not the cheapest, but j I've observed that their ownership transcends the kind of wealthy millennial parents who work at Google and own large townhouses in these neighborhoods. They are used by all kinds of families. If you were to name a bit of parenting kit that defines my generation of parents - at least those who live in the city, even though friends in the countryside have hired them to go on vacation - it would probably be a good example, designed as it is with travel, flexibility and mobility in mind.
Although an earthly (grand)mother might say everything you need for a baby is a scarf, a pair of boobs and a drawer, baby products are big business. According to a 2022 report, the average amount new parents spend on baby equipment is £6,000. A 2019 study found that 90% of parents felt they spent too much on baby gear. And you can see why: not only is social media marketing relentless, but many companies make big promises, usually related to sleep.
Guilt and fear can be intense, and, as a recent article in this journal pointed out, might even make us more paranoid. Like the mother in this article who spent money trying to fix her baby's windy problem, I've sometimes been fooled by claims that claim to be the solution at whatever stage the baby is in. , with mixed results.
On the other hand, product design has never been more important than it has been in parenting. The book and social media account Designing Motherhood (the first published by MIT with the subtitle Things that Make and Break Our Births) highlights the designs that have helped define the relationship between parents and their babies over the course of from the last century, from the BabyBjörn baby carrier (of which I am a big fan), to the incubator (also: I had a premature baby), to the breast pump.
Advances in breast pump design alone have been transformative and liberating. The Elvie Portable Breast Pump is so far removed from the industrial milking machines of the past, and I'll never forget how it helped me establish breastfeeding after my son was in intensive care. Likewise, I could cry in gratitude to the genius Ewan the Dream Sheep, who helped him learn to sleep through the night (listening to an old episode of Parenting Hell, I discovered that Josh Widdicombe is also part legions of Ewan fans).
Of course, all babies are different, and there's no guarantee that what will work for one parent will work for another, but some classics of the design have stood the test of time. The Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair, for example, turns 50 this year and has revolutionized the way generations of children eat - a friend of mine says her family still sits on those she and her siblings and sisters had when they were babies. Maybe that's why we're likely to be a little sentimental about some baby gear: the best examples are part of family life, which makes things a little easier.
When I realized my son was frustrated with how he felt constrained by his baby sleeping bag, a late night Google search turned up the BugBag, which has split legs and allows him to sleep in his favorite starfish position. The Little Sock Company makes miraculous socks that don't come off even when he rubs his feet in the pram. The Rockit pram rocker does exactly what it says on the tin, free...

Lifestyle Feb 21, 2023 0 19 Add to Reading List

You don't need expensive gear and high-end design to be a good parent, but a good pair of socks helps | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

Everyone in North London has the same stroller. Exaggerating a bit, but not much: the Babyzen YoYo, a compact stroller that folds up small enough to fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane, is a phenomenon. On the pavements, in the library, outside the children's center - they're everywhere.

At around £400 they're not the cheapest, but j I've observed that their ownership transcends the kind of wealthy millennial parents who work at Google and own large townhouses in these neighborhoods. They are used by all kinds of families. If you were to name a bit of parenting kit that defines my generation of parents - at least those who live in the city, even though friends in the countryside have hired them to go on vacation - it would probably be a good example, designed as it is with travel, flexibility and mobility in mind.

Although an earthly (grand)mother might say everything you need for a baby is a scarf, a pair of boobs and a drawer, baby products are big business. According to a 2022 report, the average amount new parents spend on baby equipment is £6,000. A 2019 study found that 90% of parents felt they spent too much on baby gear. And you can see why: not only is social media marketing relentless, but many companies make big promises, usually related to sleep.

Guilt and fear can be intense, and, as a recent article in this journal pointed out, might even make us more paranoid. Like the mother in this article who spent money trying to fix her baby's windy problem, I've sometimes been fooled by claims that claim to be the solution at whatever stage the baby is in. , with mixed results.

On the other hand, product design has never been more important than it has been in parenting. The book and social media account Designing Motherhood (the first published by MIT with the subtitle Things that Make and Break Our Births) highlights the designs that have helped define the relationship between parents and their babies over the course of from the last century, from the BabyBjörn baby carrier (of which I am a big fan), to the incubator (also: I had a premature baby), to the breast pump.

Advances in breast pump design alone have been transformative and liberating. The Elvie Portable Breast Pump is so far removed from the industrial milking machines of the past, and I'll never forget how it helped me establish breastfeeding after my son was in intensive care. Likewise, I could cry in gratitude to the genius Ewan the Dream Sheep, who helped him learn to sleep through the night (listening to an old episode of Parenting Hell, I discovered that Josh Widdicombe is also part legions of Ewan fans).

Of course, all babies are different, and there's no guarantee that what will work for one parent will work for another, but some classics of the design have stood the test of time. The Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair, for example, turns 50 this year and has revolutionized the way generations of children eat - a friend of mine says her family still sits on those she and her siblings and sisters had when they were babies. Maybe that's why we're likely to be a little sentimental about some baby gear: the best examples are part of family life, which makes things a little easier.

When I realized my son was frustrated with how he felt constrained by his baby sleeping bag, a late night Google search turned up the BugBag, which has split legs and allows him to sleep in his favorite starfish position. The Little Sock Company makes miraculous socks that don't come off even when he rubs his feet in the pram. The Rockit pram rocker does exactly what it says on the tin, free...