Baby was laying on concert venue floor

[_19disnA]

The fact it was a T. Swift concert seemed to have made the issue a bigger deal that results in more attention than it would have otherwise gotten. As others have pointed out, what is common practice is some countries may seem inappropriate in other places. Context is also important to know if the picture was staged to cause some sort of 'outrage' on social media as seems to happen quite often.

 

[Genie+]

That baby will have bragging rights someday

 

[mjkacmom]

Yeah - I suspect this is not happening so much anymore - most of Europe is not what it was even 10 years ago

That said I can recall in the late 80s women bringing babies in a carriage into pubs at 10 or 11 o'clock at night.
Lots of drinking and smoking and noise - very famous busy pubs in Dublin city center.
Back in those days pubs were packed solid as well so its not like there was any space for it.
Really stupid IMO, but at least the kid was in a carriage - on the floor at a concert - even Taylor Swift - not so smart.

Back in the day most of us were subjected to cigarette smoke in our homes, cars, theaters, airplanes, banks, grocery stores…

 

[Genie+]

 

[SteveH]

Not my monkey, not my circus.

 

[ford family]

Personally…..my babies were never on the floor anywhere in public. Putting my feelings to the side, the pictures shows that the baby is on a blanket with people standing around the baby to protect it, so it’s probably not anything irresponsible. Why the baby is there? Who knows - maybe a babysitter canceled and they had no choice and didn’t want to waste the ticket.

It’s tough for me to judge people about something like this without knowing the full story. I know people judged me because my oldest DD, when she was little, was in a stroller all the time and on a leash, because she’d run away and she was super fast. So for her protection, I did what I had to do, despite the crappy looks I’d get from people. It was either put her on a leash or have her get run over by a car - definitely a no brainer for me. But others looked at me like I was a horrible mom.

We too used a leash quite often when our girls were toddlers, as you say, they could be surprisingly fleet of foot!
We are in Spain just now and yesterday we were out walking. Coming towards us was a woman with a pushchair and a toddler on a leash. As they passed by we looked down to see the baby but, instead, it was a small dog enjoying the ride!!
Role reversal at such a young age!

ford family

 

[nancipants]

It's absolutely a longstanding part of the culture there -- not just while parents dine, but also when they go into a shop or simply for babies to nap outdoors in the fresh air. No doubt people there are very used to the idea and also to looking out for some type of emergency situation with the babies.

Cecilia Blomdahl, a woman who lives on Svalbard, has a YouTube channel about life in the Arctic and she often talks about Scandinavian sleep habits, one of them being babies napping outside, even while in daycare/school. She did a video with friends who have young kids, and the baby slept outside while they ate at a restaurant.

 

[Genie+]

Cecilia Blomdahl, a woman who lives on Svalbard, has a YouTube channel about life in the Arctic and she often talks about Scandinavian sleep habits, one of them being babies napping outside, even while in daycare/school. She did a video with friends who have young kids, and the baby slept outside while they ate at a restaurant.

I’m a fall baby and 3 generations of my family all did the same thing: From 1 month old, at night I was feed a bottle of milk with cereal in it, wrapped snug, put in the carriage and out onto the unheated porch to sleep. My mother said from one month I slept at least 9 hours straight each night. This was handed down to her from my Swedish great-grandparents. Same porch, 3 generations. It wasn’t freezing out there but chilly.

 

[cabanafrau]

Not my monkey, not my circus.

There's many times in life where that's a philosophy I adhere to. In situations where you're dealing with someone as completely vulnerable as an infant, I don't tend to stand on that philosophy quite so firmly.

If I'm at a stadium concert and someone has brought their babe in arms along and proceeds to spread out a blanket and lay the baby down in the pit I will be the cranky old bitty insisting the baby gets picked up immediately. loudly and persistently. If it's for the purpose of changing baby, take baby to the restroom or a bench to change baby. If leaving the pit means no readmittance it's a clear indication the situation isn't appropriate for an infant. Period.