FabMo Alert!

Are Babygros Damaging your Child’s Self-Esteem?

The thoughtless naming of baby products is undermining our children’s confidence. So says our FabMo Alert research team headed by child expert, Dr Earnest Stern.

Babygros for instance – did the irresponsible manufacturers of these all-in-one outfits think of the consequences when they coined the phrase, Babygro? No, they didn’t.

“Baby! Grow!” That’s how it comes across to our young ones. Impressionable babies all over the country are made to feel it’s imperative that they grow into their clothing. Think of the pressure that places on slower growing infants. Yes, you may assume that the ‘startle response’ is responsible for your baby periodically flinging out its limbs, but in reality it’s your baby's heart-rending attempt to stretch itself.

Baby walkers are another example. A baby who is put in a baby walker knows that it can’t actually walk. Putting it in something called a ‘walker’ is simply rubbing its nose in it. ‘I can’t walk so they have put me in one of these,’ is what the baby’s thinking. And just consider what happens when these children see an elderly person using a Zimmer frame. ‘Oh my God!’ they’ll be saying to themselves, ‘I may never learn!’

And don’t get us started on Baby Gyms! What a concept! All those children assuming their parents think they need to ‘work out.’ And how about when they’re not using their gym and it’s just sitting in the corner of the room – think of the guilt!

Other products can be just as dangerous, even if their names appear benign. The practice of putting young children in highchairs, for example – it may seem a convenient way to feed your baby, but what of the psychological impact? Have you ever thought of that? During every family meal, one innocent member is excluded from the normal seating arrangement and made to sit in a ‘special’ chair, constrained by straps and buckles and separated from their loved ones by an enormous plastic tray. ‘I’m not an equal – they don’t want me,’ is the message this sends. A highchair may be high indeed, but it’s certainly lowering to a baby’s self-esteem.

So Mums, FabMo Alert is here to warn you that, when it comes to choosing baby products, you must be aware of the dangers that slip past the Trading Standards Authority. If you don’t, you could be breeding a future generation of insecure, gym-shy adults who instinctively sit on their own at social functions.