This is my daughter swinging away with me when she was about eight months old. Plenty old enough to enjoy the baby swings, but by that age she had long since moved on to the adult swings (with accompaniment, of course). What you don't see is a picture of her at three months old flying high in the baby swing, laughing her head off in the bright sun.
That's because after my son was born and we were hanging out at the park I started second guessing letting my daughter swing at such an early age. Even though my baby boy looked strong, his head was still a bit floppy. I wondered if my daughter's neck had been that, um, flexible and if she had been hurt in any way. But she did seem to be having a really, really good time.
Those, and many more mistakes were made in my daughter's first year of life. So I waited to take my son to the swings for the first time at nine months. But first, I thought to do some research to find out when, exactly, is the best age to take your baby to the playground swing.
It turns out, everybody has a different opinion but the general consensus is when he's able to hold his head up and it seems like the little whipper snapper is having a good time. So, way before nine months.
At this point we're just going to have to make up for lost time and hit the swings daily. And my daughter might have to go to the chiropractor a little bit early (kidding, she's perfectly fine – I swear!). Either way, I know these certainly won't be the last missteps I make as a mom.
When did you let your child go in the baby swing at the playground?
