It should be obvious that babies benefit mentally, physically and socially from spending time in baby carriers - riding in close contact with their parents' bodies, balancing, bonding, and learning. And research bears this out - children raised with a baby carrier cry less often, are better socialized, and more secure.

Nonetheless, as a culture, we seem to have somehow forgotten this intuitive truth - perhaps blinded by modern convenience. Babies today spend more and more of their crucial early development watching TV and strapped into isolating strollers, and less time in intimate contact with their parents.

Baby Carrier Resources for Human Parents:

What is Attachment Parenting? (Wikipedia)

Benefits of Babywearing (theBabyWearer.com)

10 Reasons to Wear Your Baby (the Natural Child Project)

Baby Carrier Research:

Does Infant Carrying Promote Attachment? An Experimental Study of the Effects of Increased Physical Contact on the Development of Attachment

Increased Carrying Reduces Infant Crying: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Breaking the Intergenerational Cycle of Insecure Attachment:
A Review of the Effects of Attachment-Based Interventions on Maternal Sensitivity and Infant Security (.pdf file)

There can be no doubt that babywearing makes sense - it's found throughout nature because it works! Almost all of our closest relatives - the apes and monkeys - are baby carriers, as are many other mammals. And baby carrying is even found in unexpected parents, like spiders and frogs. The bottom line: babywearing is not a fad - it's an ancient practice that transcends humanity. Get on board!