Quoted: Jill Boissonnault, an associate professor in the doctor of physical therapy program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said she doesn’t have a problem with parents balancing babies on their hips — so long as it’s only for a short period of time and they’re paying attention to their spines and posture while they’re doing it. They should focus on keeping their spines in a neutral position rather than bending to one side, forward or backward, she said.