at what age did you let your children babywear their siblings?

[ryleeee]

my son haye REALLY wants to be able to wear the baby for short periods of time, maybe a walk around the block or something. he'll be 5 years and 8 months old when the baby comes. we have an ergo and haye is 70 lbs and almost 4 feet tall. i think that physically he would be able to carry the baby. am i crazy to think that with guidance and supervision he could carry her/him? 

[chel]

i don't let my 10yr dd use a carrier, but she often holds/walks with dd2.  babies are just so spastic and i only have a ring sling.  so i worry the baby would slip out.  i rarely use a backback carrier that is 10yrs old and doesn't have any straps to hold the baby in.

i think if i had a carrier that could securely hold the baby i would.

[TheSlingMama]

I honestly feel that in that particular set up you could.  If you can get the Ergo to properly fit him and you place the baby in for him and tighten I see no reason he couldn't carry the baby for short periods of time!  I actually think it's a phenomenal idea!  Could you maybe get him a toy ergo to put a doll in so he can practice?  That is the only thing that keeps me from being super depressed about still not having #2 - the farther apart they are the more likely my DD will be able to and enjoy helping!

[MoonStarFalling]

My son was a large 5 year old when we had our DD. He really wanted to wear her and he did on a couple of occasions just for 5 mins or so. I didn't feel that he could safely do it for a walk around the block or anything. I felt he'd likely end up tripping, walking into something, jerking about etc because he wasn't careful enough and self aware. We have a new baby now , he's 8.5 and I think maybe he could do it for a short walk.

[mamalex23]

I let my 7 (almost 8) y/o niece carry ds in a mei tai. She was born in West Africa where it is common for young children to cary babies on their backs in a cloth. She remembers this and has been begging to carry him for months. I do a rucksac-type carry on her, putting the baby up high on her back and doing a tibetan tie in the front. She loves it and so does the babe, but I ask frequently if she is tired and don't let her carry him too long.

[WindyCityMom]

Originally Posted by mamalex23 

I let my 7 (almost 8) y/o niece carry ds in a mei tai. She was born in West Africa where it is common for young children to cary babies on their backs in a cloth. She remembers this and has been begging to carry him for months. I do a rucksac-type carry on her, putting the baby up high on her back and doing a tibetan tie in the front. She loves it and so does the babe, but I ask frequently if she is tired and don't let her carry him too long.

 How cool!

OP, I think it definately depends on

a) the carrier being able to fit your child

and

b) the maturity of the individual child

If the carrier fits, and the child understands that they cannot be jumping about and must be careful because the safety of their sibling rests on them, then I'd go for it.