how odd?or is it?

it certainly sounds odd , on collecting my small DGC from school have never seen this done [or pushchairs] is this in London OP? Could it be a cultural thing?

I think the point, ob, is that the children who get carried aren't running about or at least are not cooperating with walking (possibly because they are just tired, but there are other possibilities). I also think that most small children enjoy being "strapped to mum". It's safe and secure and comfortable.

And if it keep them from frazzling mum, it's probably worth it from the mum's point of view.

I've never had a rucksack play me up like that, baggs.
It sounds fun though.

I think my grandson would quite enjoy me carrying him around.
Mind you, he's ten!

That is also a good point, MissAd. But if the rucksack won't walk and sits down on the pavement and is generally a pain in the butt, picking it up and slinging it on one's back saves a lot of time and energy.

Do childminders carry their small people in slings? or dads? or grans?

Well I certainly couldnt carry much post knackered epidural / section back.

The child is running about with friends and eager to learn. Why on earth would it wish to be strapped to Mum?

Blimey! I can carry a reasonably heavy rucksack for reasonable distances and I have a bad back! So someone half my age....

If I had a rucksack with legs which worked, I would expect it to walk.

Properly tied on, it's no different from carrying a rucksack. The child's weight is distributed very well with the bulk of it being on the carrier's hips, just as witg a well-designed rucksack. Any normally healthy young woman ought to be able to carry a full ruscksack for short distances every day without damaging her back.

I would worry about the Mums back. Also if a child can't walk a short distance to and from school, is that the right place for them to be?

Do poor people do this too?

Good for you!

Good point. I have no wish to police people's thoughts though, only to scorn their stupid ideas when I hear them.

Which is what I've done.

You can't police peoples thoughts.

No, others are not allowed to think it's a bit daft when they know bugger all about the individuals involved.

I guess my daughter, the child piggybacking one, is stronger than average too if piggybacking a kid would be such a big deal for other people.

I object to stupid generalisations about non-vaccination in connection with anything people find novel and a little surprising in their narrow-minded worlds. Women don't come more practical or level-headed than my piggybacking daughter.

Of course they are.
Others are allowed to think its a bit daft.

It is like giving a child a piggyback. DD1 used a long length of cloth for "tying her second son onto her back" until he was well past his fourth birthday, when he was being a drag and a moan and she had to keep up with the older one.

Said second son is now five and an excellent walker both in towns and up hills etc.

I used a buggy for DD2 sometimes when she was four. She has walked miles all her life since then (including lugging her cello to and from school), and still does. She also plays in a women's American Football team.

Kids are allowed to be tired and mums are allowed to do whatever makes the end of the school day (or the start of it) more bearable than it might otherwise be with a whiny child in tow.

It is a trend and goes along with extended breastfeeding, co sleep in their parents bed and very often non vaccination. I have three friends whose grandchildren are being brought up like this. The sling use is allowed until the child no longer wants to use it. Apparently this sort of mother refers to herself as a crunchie mother (not sure why).

I thought it was bad enough seeing children who look about 7 years old in buggies. But using a sling to carry a 5 year old? I'd have put my back out if I'd tried that when my DD was 5!

A few of the mothers at my GCs school used buggies for their 5 and 6 year olds for the same reasons that Jayelld mentions, to be able to dash between two schools to pick up older children. But slings??? Not good for Mum's back or the child. If the child has mobility or health problems then surely a large buggy would be better, or a scooter for the child to ride on. Having said that I have often seen visitors in London carrying even older kids in large framed seats on their backs while doing the tourist trails. A very exhausting holiday I should think!

Like Petunia all my grandchildren have flatly refused to bother with a,pushchair once they could walk . Actually I don't think they bothered with walking, just went straight on to running.

Wheniwasyourage. I know exactly what you mean about using a pram/buggy to carry the shopping. Having 5 children of my own, and also fostering, then childminding, I was a permanent pram-pusher for many years. When I finally retired from minding, due to my mother being ill, I was absolutely lost without my mobile grocery-carrier.
As for carrying school aged children in a sling - well - the mind boggles, unless the child has some kind of mobility problem. Mine were all good walkers. In fact my oldest son begged to be allowed to take part in a charity walk I was going to do. I arranged for someone to collect him when he grew tired. He actually finished the 10 mile walk, at the age of 6, refusing point-blank to give in.

As a nursery nurse I find this interesting. Some of the mothers comin into preschool room still carry them around n? Have they no legs? We are going backwards x

When we lived in Hongkong, it was fairly common to see older children of 3 or 4 still being carried on their mothers’ backs.

I don’t think it’s any more harmful to carry a child on your back than it is to carry a rucksack, in fact it’s probably good for your posture.

What I don’t like to see is very small children being carried on their mothers’ fronts.
That is bad for posture, and the mothers can’t see where they’re putting their feet. One small slip could result in a fall and the baby being crushed.