Carrying your toddler can affect your back! Tips to do it right

New moms are eager to spend a lot of their time carrying their toddlers. Mother often tend to feel a bit left out once their kids start walking around on their own. They seize the very first opportunity to carry their toddlers who are by this stage as heavy as 10 – 15 kilos. Lifting up a toddler with the wrong technique can seriously hurt your back. There is nothing like having a sore back and a naughty toddler running around!

How not to carry your kid

• Lifting while standing upright

Many parents develop the habit of picking up their kids while standing upright. This would work when your baby is an infant but once they are a year old, the weight coupled with their amplified range of moments while picking them up and cause serious damage to your back!

• Lifting while sitting

Do not try to lift up your kid from a sitting posture. This puts all the stress on your back and shoulders rather than the lower half of the body

• Carrying on your hip

Most Indian parents have the habit of holding their kids on their hips. This might take off the weight of the kid but puts a strain on the spine which is bent to accommodate the kid comfortably.

Smarter ways to carry your kid around

• Buy a stroller!

The smartest choice is to invest in a stroller that still accommodates your toddler who is new to walking and gets tired all the time. But always keep motivating your kid to walk more which improves their muscle strength and stamina for the future.

• Bend down on your knees

Transfer the weight of your kid away from your back while picking the toddler up by bending down your entire body a bit. This reduces the strain on the back. You can even bend your knees. The key here is to lift with your body rather than your back.

• Never lock your joints

Be it the arms or the knee joint – never lock them while picking up a heavy object or a kid. Locking a joint puts extra stress on the muscles as well as the joint. Bend your arms and let the muscle do its job. Stretch around a bit before picking your kid up if you are already sore. Let down your kid every once a while to avoid fatigue strains. 

And on a lighter note, if you have the strength, do what Batman does!