I was talking to my Daughter about taking her newborn out for a walk so she can have a nap. She said something like she would like him to be a bit older first. Completely understand that. I then went on to tell her about when I was a girl, maybe about 9 or 10 we would go down our street and knock on a neighbours door who we knew to have a baby, and they would happily wrap it up, stick it in a pram and let us take it out for as long as we wanted. I can’t remember them asking where we were going or how long we would be. My Daughter could not believe this happened in the early ‘70’s she thinks I have imagined it. Do any of you remember doing this?
When I was 15 I used to babysit for this couple who had a baby of 1 month and a toddler age 2. When the baby got to about 6 months old they went away for a weekend and left me to look after both the children. We survived. Don’t think I could have done that with any of mine though.
I never knocked on other people’s doors but I remember pushing my own sister in a pram round the block to give my mum some peace and I was only 7 then, this was in the early 60 s and I used to babysit from about 10 yrs old. My mum worked nights and I used to cook Sunday dinner from age 12 while my dad went to the pub and she slept ?
I'm 59 and my youngest son is 32 a friend of mines daughter used to ask to take my son out in the pram and I did let her but only on our estate. I got my ironing done as quick as I could in that precious half hour!!!
When I was about 8 and my baby brother was a toddler we would be put on the grass in Regency Square Brighton. He was in a playpen and I was ,in theory, looking after him.
Yes use to take babies out in prams and babysat from about the age of 12. My daughter use to put my sons action man in a pram and he would go mad, its a man not a baby.
I’m 73 and it was not unknown for girls to knock on doors to take baby out in its pram, when my girls were babies we used to put them out in the garden even when it was cold, as long as it wasn’t raining. You wouldn’t be able to do either of those things now, you might find your baby has been taken. What a world we live in today....you don’t know who you can trust anymore!
I was 10 when my niece was born and yes, I used to take her out in the pram with a time to be back, usually a meal time! Crossed roads, went to park, absolutely no concerns. Apoplectic fit comes to mind nowadays.
@Scentia yes! let my neighbours kids take my Son to the school sand pit when he was about 18 months old they were out for about 15 minutes- the worst 15 minutes of my life! It was my (ex)husbands idea he is an idiot-
My first child was born in 1972. I would never have allowed anyone to turn up at the door and just take her off for a walk in the pram! As for other children being responsible for a small baby! Never!
Mine wouldn’t have liked being parked in the pram outside once they could crawl. It would have been too boring. I used to see the neighbour’s older child strapped in her pram and feel sorry for her. In the Summer mine crawled on the grass while I kept an eye on them. They didn’t need clothes so long as the sun wasn’t burning them.
I remember doing the same. We thought it was wonderful to take a baby out in its pram so the mum could rest. We always had permission from the parent . My husband and I didn't get to take our grandson out for a walk until he was 14 months old! Son and D in Law couldn't understand why we wanted to take the baby out! That's a story that broke our hearts and wasn't easy to fix, but with time things are improving and we now have our the little darling who is 20 months old now one day a week, and! We take him out !
Those were the days You could leave your pram parked outside Sainsbury’s whilst you shopped inside Left pram with my napping twins in the front garden in all weathers Would be considered very unsafe nowadays !
My friends & i always had neighbours babies to push around, we were probably about 10/12 yrs old. We didn't take them out of the prams & took them home if they cried. Happy memories
Yes, same here, as soon as there was a new baby in the street there was a queue of us young girls asking to take the baby for a walk, I was born in '52 so early 60's for me.