As the warmer weather keeps coming and the rain dies down I wanted to post about something that is very near and dear to my heart - piggybacks. I loved receiving them (still do) and giving them.
As my profession is working with children these types of rides are often in demand and so I wanted to speak about piggybacks and the all-important concept of consent. I love the posts that are going around that share the obvious fact that a person owns their body regardless of age and any type of touching should be made clear too both parties.
In my own experience there are three types of piggybacks you can do providing the weight, skill (yes, there is a skill component on the child’s end) and duration of the ride.
The first being that the child has their foot in your hand much like a stirrup and arms around your neck – this one I fondly call “The Horse”.
Secondly, the “classic” that your arms around looped up around the thighs and the child hold onto you
Thirdly “the seat” where by you create a seat with your hands behind your back where they sit on it. The last one generally provides more comfort to the child due to higher security and less fatigue for you as the back portion of the piggy.
With each of these please make sure you ask the child which one the child wants and reconfirm if they are comfortable with where your hands are. We hold a lot of power over little ones and we want them to have a safe, enjoyable and consent filled happy ride on their own personal giant.