Caution! Orlando Bloom had better stay out of Frankston!

I am proud to live in Frankston but there are times when I hang my head in shame to have any association with it.

Today is one of those days.

You see, apparently you can now get questioned by police for the act of - male baby-wearing. Like this:

My favourite elf, Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom, wearing baby Flynn

A friend's partner was today stopped by police for the crime of carrying his daughter in a baby sling. In Frankston:

Beach street, Frankston. 2 police cars stopped, 3 police got out and interrogated this Dad for wearing this 12 month old baby in this Olives and Applesauce soft structured baby carrier while she slept (with the hood on). They had received a call from someone saying a man was suffocating his baby while walking down the street.
After 1 officer stuck her head into the sling to see the baby, noted that they baby was fine and said so, they lectured this man about parenting, informing him that it was too hot to wear the baby (under 30 degrees with a cool breeze in a suburb by the sea), that it was unsafe to have her on his back, apparently having her on the front would "give her more room to breathe". They told him that his baby was at risk of dying of SIDS and requested he remove the sling and carry the baby home, which he refused to do because it would wake the child. 1 officer reached their hand into the sling and removed a small toy the child was holding in her sleep and stated "now there will be better airflow so she won't get so hot". 1 police officer loosened the hood which was supporting the sleeping baby's head.

After all this 1 cop asked why the was getting frustrated. The Dad was told to use a pram from now on.
We are very disappointed at this harassment from three individuals who clearly have no information about babywearing.

To say I am astonished is to put it mildly - baby-wearing is currently seeing a resurgence in popularity around the world and if those same officers had been at the Frankston Waterfront Festival last weekend, they could have seen dozens of parents - fathers as well as mothers - using slings instead of prams. For goodness sake, I was carrying my babies like this back in the 1980s in Frankston!!!

This Dad is no bogan, he has a degree with honours in criminology! His wife is well-known in parenting circles for her promotion and use of baby slings and teaches at workshops on using them! Their first child, now 4 was also worn in a variety of slings from birth and these parents are well-aware of safe baby-wearing practices.

So how is this ancient way of carrying infants now suddenly a criminal offence? And who trained police officers to know what is safe and unsafe when it comes to baby-sling use?

 

You know, I was so pleased with how our local police responded when we were broken into last year. Now I am sad they will be justly ridiculed around the world for their ignorance. The media will love this. Awareness demonstrations are being planned for next week:

Join us out the front of the Cinemas in Wells st for a public babywearing info session where passers-by can learn about safe babywearing and try out a wide range of slings for themselves and meet babywearing parents.

And now Miranda Kerr and her husband Orlando Bloom can't come to Frankston, because they might be arrested for their shared-parenting practices :(