Portable cradles, including cradleboards, baskets, and bassinets, have been used by many cultures to carry young infants. It first became popular and well known in mid-2003. While the Chinese mei tai has been around in one form or another for centuries, it did not become popular in the west until it was modernized with padding and other adjustments. In the early 1990s, the modern pouch carrier was created in Hawaii. The two ringed sling was invented by Rayner and Fonda Garner in 1981 and popularized by Dr William Sears starting in around 1985. In the early 1970s, the wrap was reintroduced in Germany. Around the same time, the frame backpack quickly became a popular way to carry older babies and toddlers. On-the-body baby carrying started being known in western countries in the 1960s, with the advent of the structured soft pack in the mid-1960s. It is usually only able to move its head. The design of most cradleboards is a flat surface with the child wrapped tightly to it. Cradleboards were either cut from flat pieces of wood or woven from flexible twigs like willow and hazel, and cushioned with soft, absorbent materials. Soft materials such as lichens, moss and shredded bark were used for cushioning and diapers. Bound and wrapped on a cradleboard, a baby can feel safe and secure. Ethnographic tradition indicates that it was common practice to cradleboard newborn children until they were able to walk, although many mothers continued to swaddle their children well past the first birthday. For travel, cradleboards could be hung on a saddle or travois. The cradleboards were attached to the mother's back straps from the shoulder or the head. A cradleboard is a Native American baby carrier used to keep babies secure and comfortable and at the same time allowing the mothers freedom to work and travel. Baby wearing in a sling was well known in Europe in medieval times, but was mainly seen as a practice of marginalised groups such as beggars and Romani people. One of the earliest European artworks showing baby wearing is a fresco by Giotto painted in around 1306 AD, which depicts Mary carrying Jesus in a sling. Images of children being carried in slings can be seen in Egyptian artwork dating back to the time of the Pharaohs, and have been used in many indigenous cultures.
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