Kinder Koalas promotes babywearing and bonding with new South Hills store

Benjamin Tydeman was serving in Afghanistan when his first child was born. Six months later, he returned to his wife Jessica and daughter Genievieve in Germany and held his infant for the first time.

In that short but crucial time, Benjamin had missed bonding with Genievieve, and that’s how the family’s need for babywearing began.

Babywearing is simply keeping a baby or child in physical contact with a parent or caregiver by using a wrap or carrier, explains Jessica Tydeman.

“We needed to find ways to help them bond together … and we also noticed a lot of our friends and family with [post-traumatic stress disorder], amputations or other issues had trouble bonding with their families,” says Jessica.

Five years later, the Tydemans have turned their passion for family bonding into the Kinder Koalas business.

Kinder Koalas provides organic, eco-friendly and recycled material products for ages 0-5 and specializes in babywearing items like carriers and wraps.

Benjamin, 30, and Jessica, 26, opened the shop in South Hills Village on April 30, a year after settling in Mt. Lebanon to be close to family.

Proponents say babywearing helps to decrease crying and increase parents’ confidence in knowing their babies’ physical and emotional cues.

“You can easily get more done,” Jessica adds. “You can clean your house and not wait for the baby to take a nap to clean your kitchen or make dinner. Most babies really enjoy staying close to their parents, riding around and having fun being close.”

After Jessica finished her business degree and they both left the military, the Tydemans returned stateside and opened the Kinder Koalas online store in 2015 and a brick-and-mortar location a year later.

“Our store is a little bit different than a traditional store,” says Jessica.

Kinder Koalas features a relaxed, open setting with toys, a breastfeeding safe zone, a lounge area and a baby changing station.

The shop name combines “kinder,” which means “child” in German, and Jessica’s favorite animal, known for cuddling their jelly bean-sized babies.

“Ever since my kids were born, I called them all my koalas,” she says of Genievieve, now 6, and son, Beckett, 1.

The Tydemans focus on limited-edition styles and conduct extensive research on their products, including verifying companies’ adherence to fair-trade laws.

Mainstays include Tula soft structure carriers, Lenny Lamb woven wrap carriers and DIDYMOS wraps from Germany. Prices vary from $130 to $280 depending on materials and complexity, says Jessica.

Kinder Koalas focuses on organic materials because the Tydemans believe they are safer and eco-friendly, but the couple welcomes all parenting perspectives.

“We support whatever is healthiest for mom and baby. There is no judgment in our space,” says Jessica.

Kinder Koalas also provides in-house prenatal yoga and babywearing classes, as well as parenting resources from doula services to newborn photography.

“We can either help them directly or get them the resources they need while they’re in the store,” says Jessica, who is studying to become a doula and a pediatrician.