When nursing in public, many moms have to use cumbersome blankets that cover their babies. But nursing is a time of bonding, a great opportunity for eye contact and communication. A New York mom of four developed a patented nursing product called BabyBond that covers mom, but not baby.

In 2007, Missy Reder launched Slurp & Burp, which is adding a third line of BabyBond products this month. The newest product can be worn like a sash or belly band, and is different than others on the market because it is adjustable and can accommodate the mom’s changing body after giving birth.

The key features of the BabyBond products include:

• Mom is always covered and baby is never covered
• They securely fit around mom for complete coverage without the risk of falling off
• They don’t need to be tucked or clipped
• You no longer need to bother with uncomfortable blankets
• Moms don’t need to wear unflattering nursing tops
• They are very compact and easily fit into purses or diaper bags

BabyBond product are receiving national attention by the media and parenting blogs.

Press

This is the story, published yesterday in the Schenectady Daily Gazette, of a man whose 13-year-old son was out of control. Stealing, fighting, bullying, hitting girls… lots of really awful stuff.  This kid was going down the wrong road.  His parents are divorced, and the boy was suspended for stealing things out of teachers’ purses and attacking another boy with a ruler. 

So, when the boy was suspended, the dad picked him up from school and spanked him with a belt.

“I was just trying to be a parent,” Fisher said. “He’s 13 now. I’m trying to raise him to be a man. I couldn’t just sit back and watch him going down the wrong road.”

Four hours later, after the boy was returned to his mother’s house, the police came and arrested Fisher.

Of course, the anti-spanking crowd is horrified by this.  “When kids are spanked, they learn to resolve their problems by hitting,” these folks say.  But it sounds like this kid already knew how to hit all on his own.

The crux of the problem is the fact that the boy got his hide tanned with a belt, not just with an open palm.  Parents will almost never get arrested or charged for infrequent, open palm spanking. 

We do spank our kids occasionally, though only for one offense (lying), and only a few swats with an open palm.  It happens very seldom, but when it does, it makes an impression on them.  But I’ve also seen what happens when spanking is a first resort, not a last one, and that’s no good, either.  Those kids get so inured to it that they still do whatever the heck they want.

Americans are very conflicted about spanking as discipline.  It seems to me that if it is rare and it is a spelled out consequence, it can be effective.  But using a belt seems over the top to me.  Belts, brushes, wooden spoons, or other objects, hurt far more than a hand, and they humiliate more, too.  It’s hard to imagine a good outcome for that situation.