Wellington, 3 October 2013

Babywearing Wellington joins in celebrations of New Zealand Babywearing Week

Babywearers across New Zealand are all set to celebrate and share the benefits of babywearing. Volunteers from Kerikeri to Dunedin have organised a myriad of events to coincide with International Babywearing Week from 7-13 October.

Babywearing Wellington’s main event for the week is the 4th which will take place on Sunday 13 October at 10am from Frank Kitts Park. "Getting a bunch of babywearing families together and walking through the central city creates great camaraderie amongst Wellington babywearers," says Hester Hamilton, one of the organisers, "it also raises awareness of babywearing amongst the wider Wellington community."

The first 50 families to register for the Slingwalk will receive a goodie bag filled to the brim with products and vouchers. Every participating family will also go into the prize draw for some fabulous spot prizes from the New Zealand Babywearing Week Sponsors. Products and prizes for the Wellington event have been supplied by My Natural Baby, Hoopla Kids, Ecostore, The Natural Parent Magazine, Organic Baby, Good Magazine, Tui Bee Balms, Lelu Design and Gift Store, Nature Baby and Sakura Bloom. "The goodie bags and prizes help to make the Slingwalk super fun," says Sarah Hopkinson, another Babywearing Wellington volunteer, "We’ve been blown away by the generosity of our supporters."

Registrations open at 9.30am at Frank Kitts Park. In the event of wet weather, registration will take place in the Te Papa foyer. Updates and information in the lead-up to the Wellington event will be shared on babywearingwellington.org.nz and on the Babywearing Wellington Facebook page.

Although many people believe that babywearing is a new concept, New Zealand families, like families around the world, have a long tradition of ‘wearing’ their babies and toddlers securely in baby carriers and slings. Babywearing is a valuable parenting tool which has many benefits for young children including: decreasing crying by up to 50%; enhancing brain development, nurturing baby’s sense of security and meeting their need to be held. Babywearing also benefits parents and caregivers - allowing them to more easily and comfortably care for their children, while keeping their hands free to attend to the tasks of everyday living.
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