While talking to Ee-bin about baby swings, both she and Grace got excited about a traditional Malaysian baby swing made with sarong. It basically is a crudely made cradle that’s hung about three feet in mid air. Apparently it’s a very common type of swing in Singapore as well.
And then the other day when we had dinner with Hanny, Widodo and Chee-hoi, once again they mentioned it. So I guess it’s pretty common in Indonesia as well. Curious, I wanted to find out if this magical swing made out of sarong was available for purchase somewhere online.
No luck with the sarong swing. But I did find an improved and westernized version of it (Amby and Baby Hammocks). The inventor is an Australian Chinese who admited that he got the idea from “other cultures” in conceiving his design. Because of hammock’s (or swings in general) shape and natural “mid air” movements, experts say that it reminds the infant of the good times back in mommy’s tummy.
Here’s a quick look at the “designs” between the two hammocks….
LEFT — Sarong Swing | RIGHT — Amby Swing
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As cheap as sarong swings may be, they seem to be a health hazzard by Western standards (here and here). As for the Amby cradle swing, parents have sworn by its effectiveness in putting even the most difficult children to sleep. But it ain’t cheap… a basic setup costs $200.
Speaking of sleep, don’t some parents also swear by the Ferber Method?
Continue on with the sarong. It’s also a common practice to make baby carriers out of them. What a multi-purpose low-tech answer to everything! And of course, for everything low-tech, there’s a “designer” Western counterpart to it.
LEFT — Sarong baby carrier | RIGHT — Nojo baby carrier
🙂