Baby Swings over the Decades
As evidenced by the song, “Rock-a-Bye Baby,” which first appeared in the book “Mother Goose’s Melody” in 1765, it’s long been known throughout human history that babies love being rocked. Rhythmic movement has an instant soothing effect on even the fussiest babies because it mimics the movement they experienced in the womb. But, busy mothers don’t always have the time to sit in a rocking chair for extended periods of time or to sit rocking a cradle. In fact, it was this fact that led to the invention of the best baby swing of 1955.
An engineer for the Graco Metal Company spotted his wife rocking their baby in a cradle with a string tied to it, and the idea for the Graco Swyngomatic was born. The swing was the result of 18 months of research and featured a wind-up function to allow the swing to sway back and forth on its own while a baby reclined in it.
In the decades since the first automatic baby swing was invented, thousands of babies have been soothed by the best automatic baby swings, and during those decades great improvements have been made in these essential mother’s helpers.
Early Baby Swings
While those first automatic baby swings were greeted with much joy by tired mothers worldwide, they had their drawbacks. The first baby swings featured a reclined seat hung on two rods from a horizontal bar on four legs. These early baby swings had to be wound up by hand with a crank that was typically located on the top bar of the swing. The winding feature was both lengthy and noisy. The swing would rock with a loud ticking sound and most of the best baby swings would rock for about twenty minutes when fully wound. When the swing wound down, many sleeping babies would wake up. To avoid this, moms found themselves struggling to quietly wind the swing back up while the baby was still asleep, but this was difficult due to the noisy winding mechanism which often woke the baby.
Fortunately, over time, baby swing technology improved.
The Best Baby Swings Get Power
One of the biggest leaps in the convenience of baby swings came when they became powered by batteries and electricity. Finally, a baby’s nap was no longer interrupted by a swing running down and requiring a loud winding.
Battery-powered swings give the advantage of portability, they can be used away from a power source, and can be more easily transported. The negative side of a battery-powered swing is—of course—having to frequently change the batteries, as well as battery cost. Most battery-powered baby swings require large, expensive D-cell batteries.
Many of the best baby swings come with the option of using electricity with a plug, or running on battery backup. This gives parents the choice of being able to plug the swing into an outlet for long-term use, or easily move the swing from room to room or outdoors by using the battery options.
Other Features That Make Today’s Best Baby Swings a Mother’s New Best Friend
Today’s best baby swings feature not only the swinging function, but are often included with the option to switch from front-to-back swinging to side-to-side swinging. They also often come with multiple speed levels so you can personalize the swing speed to your baby’s preference or the speed can be increased as a baby grows.
Most of the best baby swings also feature musical options with lullabies and melodies, or even nature sounds or white noise options—all to help soothe a fussy baby, ease a sleep-resistant baby into nap time, or keep a baby comfortable and entertained while a parent cooks dinner or folds laundry.
All baby swings feature harnesses to keep the baby safely buckled into the swing, and most feature multiple levels of recline to accommodate babies from early infancy to older babies who sit upright. Many baby swings also now come with mobiles or rotating stuffed animals to keep babies visually stimulated as well.
Benefits and Risks of Today’s Best Baby Swings
Baby swings are ideal mother’s helpers. They can soothe even colicky babies, and lull even the worst sleepers into a doze. The music features and dangling stuffed animals can keep a baby entertained while they enjoy the soothing swinging motion. Mothers can recharge their own batteries by being hands-free for a time, to work on household chores, or to rest and relax.
Experts, however, warn us that a swing is not a safe sleep environment for an infant. While it’s fine to let your baby doze, or even nap in a swing, a parent’s supervision is required. Babies should never sleep in a swing overnight while parents sleep. Infants can slump forward while sleeping in a swing and their airway may become compromised.
Also, babies who spend too many hours per day in infant seats, swings, and carseats can experience plagiocephaly, or flattening of the back of the head. Additionally, too much time in an infant swing can cause hip dysplasia and can keep the spine in a C-curve for longer than advisable.
In short, the best baby swings make wonderful helpers for parents, but a baby’s time in a swing should be supervised and limited.
Resources— PregnancyDiary.org, WebMd, MomLovesBest, Care.com
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