Babykeeper

Using a public bathroom with a very small child is a challenge. Thankfully, this new product, called the Babykeeper, allows parents to hang their children safely from the stall door, beyond reach of most bathroom-stall filth. Baby or toddler safely dangles in a five-point harness while mommy or daddy can attend to important business.

I love this product, mainly because of the comedy value, but there are at least a couple practical problems:

(1) It's not something you use to carry your child around, so who wants to carry around another bjorn-sized harness in the diaper bag?

(2) once you're in the bathroom stall, you've got to fish this thing out of your bag (which is balanced precariously on the toilet's edge?), fling it over the door, adjust the harnesses, insert baby, buckle him/her up, then take care of business. With all that hassle, the alternatives don't look that bad.

If this were a bjorn-type sling that quickly and easily converted to a door harness, I'd be all over it. I'd buy two. As it is, I'll pass.

It reminds me, though, of an idea I had when Francis was a few months old: the handle suit. The handle suit would be a five-point harness that a kid could wear all the time. It would be covered with several soft handles that would make it easier to pick up your child with one hand when circumstances demanded. Come to think of it, the handle suit could be easily coupled with the babykeeper to make a more viable bathroom stall option.