Eva Longoria mum-shamed for putting newborn son in baby chair

Since welcoming her first baby, Santiago, back in June, Eva Longoria has been busy charting her first few months of motherhood on social media.

And boy is it a cuteness overload.

Just yesterday she took to Instagram to share an image of baby Santi sitting in a baby chair at the office on her first day back at work after maternity leave.

“First day back to work and look who is my assistant director! Has a desk and everything,” she wrote alongside the sweet snap.

But while many fans rushed to comment about how adorable the image was and praise the actress for sharing the realities of working parenthood, others took the opportunity to shame the new mum for putting her child in the seat.

“He’s adorable. But please read about hips and spine problems of babies, who were put too fast in such chairs. It should only be allowed amd [sic] used when baby is able to sit on his own,” one user wrote.

“Be careful not to force a child to sit until his muscles are ready and he does not do it on his own. He is still so small,” another added.

“Beautiful! But, isn’t he too young to be sitting upright?” yet another commented.

It wasn’t all one way trolling from the parenting police, however, as some fans were keen to jump to the defence of the working mum.

“Why don’t people stop bitching about her baby being in the chair at his age,” one user wrote. “Do you honestly think she’s bought it and just dumped her kid in there? If you go online and search for it, it saying ‘Suitable from when baby can hold their head up unaided’ which I am pretty sure he can. Leave the women alone!”

“The seat is suitable from when baby can hold their head up unaided, which he can!” agreed another.

When you can put your baby in an upright seat or bouncer is something of a grey area.

While there is no set age, Dr Tamara Bugembe, a paediatrician, and the founder of Helper Bees recommends parents only use baby bouncers when their baby is able to lift their head up if they are lying on their tummy, usually at around three months of age.

“Unlike a car seat, supported seats and baby bouncers do not provide adequate head support,” she explains. “This means the baby’s head can drop and block their airway when they fall asleep. That is why we recommend that these seats should only be used when your baby is awake.”

Dr Bugembe also suggests that babies aren’t kept in the seats for too long.

“They should only be used for short periods of time 30 -60 minutes and always strap the child in; even if you do not plan to move around with the child in the baby bouncer,” she recommends.

“Most injuries we see related to baby bouncers occur when someone picks up the bouncer assuming the child is strapped in, causing the baby to fall out.”

Another common cause of injury is when the bouncer is placed on a high surface and the bouncing baby slowly manages to nudge the seat over the edge, Dr Bugembe continues.

“Ideally bouncers should have an adjustable tilt so you can adjust the angle according to your baby’s ability to hold their head up,” she adds.

Eva Longoria isn’t the only celebrity to face the wrath of the mum-shamers of late.

Last month, new mum Khloe Kardashian was criticised for the way she was holding her baby.

Back in June Jessica Simpson was berated by the ‘parent police’ for letting her injured son play in the pool with a broken bone.

And earlier this year, Holly Willoughby was called out by the shamers for daring to have a night out.

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