John Stamos Gets Instagram Flak for Baby Carrier Fail

The ever-popular John Stamos, usually beloved by moms and dads, brought out the Judgy Judgersons of Instagram this week when he posted a sweet picture of himself with his infant son Billy in New York’s Times Square. The photo, showing Stamos wearing Billy in a baby carrier, is captioned: “The Stamos boys take Manhattan.” Cute, right? Well, the internet didn’t think so.

Image: John Stamos via Instagram

Among the 1,100+ comments were a bunch from parents who had issues with the way the Fuller House star was using his baby carrier: Billy, who’s now 3 months old, was facing out instead of toward his dad.

“He needs to be curled up, like in mommy’s belly, for his spine to develop correctly,” one wrote. “Also, he can’t shut out the noise from the streets as easily as if he sat the other way around.”

Another agreed. “This was my first thought as well! He’s too young to comfortably and safely be worn forward-facing! His little hips are not ready!”

More chimed in. “The baby should not be facing forward if he doesn’t have full head control.” “Please don’t face out carry until he’s older!” “The baby must go head to chest with you, that’s the wrong way of carrying him because his back suffers.”

It’s true that baby carrier makers recommend waiting to carry baby in a forward-facing position until he has strong neck muscles and good head control, usually around 5 or 6 months.

But Jennifer Beall Saxton, founder and CEO of The Tot Squad, a baby gear services company, told Today that while baby Billy may technically be a little too young to be facing forward, he’s not at risk, either. She added, “The ‘experts’ of the internet will nitpick people not knowing the comparative risks.”

And boy did they ever. But in a move that warms our hearts, others came to the first-time dad’s defense.

“All you people father shaming him…there is no perfect parent, and there never will be. I know I wasn’t!” one follower wrote.

“Don’t worry Uncle Jesse, ur doing fine!! People are always gonna have something to say, just ignore them and keep on loving that adorable little nugget!!” another fan said.

It seems Instagram shamers are always lurking, and any of us could fall prey. Want to dodge the haters? Check out these quick tips:

• If you’re on Facebook, make sure your posts are set to be viewed only by friends and not the general public.

• If you have particularly judgy friends (you know who they are), use the handy “Friends except…” option to keep them at bay.

• Try to preempt the know-it-alls by deflecting criticism before it starts. If your photo gets snapped moments before you fasten the straps on your daughter’s car seat, say so in your post. If your adorable video makes it look like your kid was wandering around without proper supervision, spell out that he was surrounded by adults just out of camera range.

• If the shamers strike anyway, don’t be afraid to clap back, like this mom blogger whose postpartum photo got critics riled up.