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Growing up on the dusty cotton soils of Eastlands along Juja Road, we never saw toddlers being rocked to sleep or silence aboard a baby rocker.
Most were rocked kwa mgongo wrapped in a towel or shuka as the frustrated mother, sister, aunt or mboch paced around, inhaling vumbi and humming a tune.
The shuka was wrapped diagonally round the back to the front and over shoulder with a huge knot round the collar bone.
Today, spoil city brats have baby rockers to sooth their egos that are now the size of small pacific islands.
When time came for the toddler to walk, there were no baby walkers along Juja Road. The future voter learnt to walk while fumbling around the house, holding on to the tables and torn seats and falling with a thud in the process until wobbly legs got firm at the knees.
But nephews and nieces in shags were not as lucky. Guka and cucu narrated how to rock a baby, a hole was dug to fit their butt and with a banana leaf for cover, the village toddlers had an innovative baby rocker, ocha style!
