Saturday, December 22, 2007

There's a time, a place, and a conference for everything

Did you know there's a babywearing conference? Yep. It's four days long. And I'm a little baffled by the whole thing. Who goes to a babywearing conference? Maybe I could see it if you sell items for babywearing. But how many people fall into that category?

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for carrying your baby in a sling/pouch/mei tai/soft carrier type thing. And I get that having your child close to you is great bonding, etc., but I really don't understand how the subject merits an entire conference.

Granted, there are several workshops on the schedule that don't seem to be babywearing-specific (i.e. "Website 101," "Intro to Cloth Diapers," and "Mom and Baby Yoga") and several more on businessy things (like "Legal Considerations for BW Vendors" and "Owning a Bricks [sic] and Mortar Store"). There are, however, plenty of workshops just about babywearing, and that's what confounds me the most. How much knowledge does one need in order to wear a baby? Am I missing something here?

3 comments:

  1. There is a pretty tight-knit group of "babywearers" online and I think camaraderie is a huge factor in attending this conference.

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  2. And some people think it is strange - so the baby wearers get together to bond and encourage one another. I can imagine they talk about the benefits of babywearing - which are myriad. I love to see Heather (or any of us - even Tom) wearing the babies! Tom was an early baby wearer - he took the girls in the back pack everywhere!

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