Too Big For Stroller

[canuk-gal]

Some of the strollers are huge in small stores and elevators and their drivers always expect the other party to yield the right of way in a narrow aisle. It is sort of like they are pushing a front end loader or something; I notice they don't make eye contact with me, I am just expected to move, and often in am knelt down looking at something on a lower shelf in the store.

Ha yep-it's either move or get run over by a vicious mother or father wielding a giant stroller!

JUST Wait til you have triplets honey!!!

 

[iheartscience]

Some of the strollers are huge in small stores and elevators and their drivers always expect the other party to yield the right of way in a narrow aisle. It is sort of like they are pushing a front end loader or something; I notice they don't make eye contact with me, I am just expected to move, and often in am knelt down looking at something on a lower shelf in the store.

Ha yep-it's either move or get run over by a vicious mother or father wielding a giant stroller!

JUST Wait til you have triplets honey!!!

Hey, I'll gladly stroll them around-I just won't take out innocent bystanders in the process!

ETA I'll gladly stroll them around until they can walk on a harness, that is...and I'm assuming that will be before age 5.

 

[somethingshiny]

I've never run into an impolite stroller weilding parent. I always excuse myself and often push the baby into a rack of clothes just to make way for other people. I've seen lots of others do the same thing.

 

[Izzy03]

ETA I'll gladly stroll them around until they can walk on a harness, that is...and I'm assuming that will be before age 5.

I LOVE those harnesses! I always hear people complaining about how "wrong" it is to use them and I don't see what the problem is. Safety should always be a parent's priority, and I have seen toddlers escape at tops speeds away from very attentive parents.

Hmmm, maybe my view point is skewed by my obsession for dogs. I have some ridiculously pampered pooches, and if harness are good enough for my furry children, why not my hairless children?

 

[somethingshiny]

I hate to see a child on a harness. IMO, the parent either needs to do some more parenting so their child minds, or the parent needs to pay more attention to what's going on. When I see a harness, I immediately think lazy-a$$ parent.

 

[packrat]

We had a stroller for London that she used until she could walk long distances. She used to walk w/mom the days I worked to a house we were remodeling, and it was 2 miles each way and she was not quite 2. Then we had a double stroller that was used..twice maybe. Then a sit and stand that was used a few times. Neither kid wanted to mess w/it. They both like riding in the cart at stores and London's too big but that's b/c I like to run up and down empty aisles and pretend it's a race car. Their mother is also a big kid.

ETA I don't get why it's anyone else's beeswax and why it's so offensive or such a huge deal. They're not out torching and pillaging the town, they're kids, just shut up about it. Sounds to me like a big whine baby pee pants, the person w/the blog. I am more offended by..ohhhh I don't know, gays not being able to marry, than a kid I myself deem too big to ride in a stroller. Whatever, way to stand up and be counted I guess. We all have our niche. Some speak for basic civil rights, others against big kids in strollers.

 

[Izzy03]

I've never run into an impolite stroller weilding parent. I always excuse myself and often push the baby into a rack of clothes just to make way for other people. I've seen lots of others do the same thing.

I do encounter polite parents who excuse themselves and don't expect me to yield to them. I have no problem moving for these polite folks. However, in my area there are plenty of parents to EXPECT the right of way. As a girl who lives in sandals, I can tell you, being run over by those stroller wheels can be painful!!

 

[Circe]

ETA I'll gladly stroll them around until they can walk on a harness, that is...and I'm assuming that will be before age 5.

I LOVE those harnesses! I always hear people complaining about how "wrong" it is to use them and I don't see what the problem is. Safety should always be a parent's priority, and I have seen toddlers escape at tops speeds away from very attentive parents.

Hmmm, maybe my view point is skewed by my obsession for dogs. I have some ridiculously pampered pooches, and if harness are good enough for my furry children, why not my hairless children?

Oh, dude, I LOVED my harness. I was a face-planting child who used to trip and scrape her face open until I "got my feet under me" and really learned to walk, so the harness was a godsend: I could actually run! As fast as I wanted! I have distinct memories of running along at a 45 degree angle to the ground, feeling like I was flying. PRO-harness all the way here!

 

[iheartscience]

I hate to see a child on a harness. IMO, the parent either needs to do some more parenting so their child minds, or the parent needs to pay more attention to what's going on. When I see a harness, I immediately think lazy-a$$ parent.

Ha, see I think walking with a kid in a harness is way less lazy than pushing a 5 year old kid around in a stroller! Plus if the kid gets tired you can always just drag it...

 

[iheartscience]

I've never run into an impolite stroller weilding parent. I always excuse myself and often push the baby into a rack of clothes just to make way for other people. I've seen lots of others do the same thing.

I do encounter polite parents who excuse themselves and don't expect me to yield to them. I have no problem moving for these polite folks. However, in my area there are plenty of parents to EXPECT the right of way. As a girl who lives in sandals, I can tell you, being run over by those stroller wheels can be painful!!

Ditto! Just yesterday at the mall I almost got taken out by a double wide stroller. *That's* a parent not paying attention.

 

[MonkeyPie]

ETA I'll gladly stroll them around until they can walk on a harness, that is...and I'm assuming that will be before age 5.

I LOVE those harnesses! I always hear people complaining about how "wrong" it is to use them and I don't see what the problem is. Safety should always be a parent's priority, and I have seen toddlers escape at tops speeds away from very attentive parents.

Hmmm, maybe my view point is skewed by my obsession for dogs. I have some ridiculously pampered pooches, and if harness are good enough for my furry children, why not my hairless children?

Oh, dude, I LOVED my harness. I was a face-planting child who used to trip and scrape her face open until I "got my feet under me" and really learned to walk, so the harness was a godsend: I could actually run! As fast as I wanted! I have distinct memories of running along at a 45 degree angle to the ground, feeling like I was flying. PRO-harness all the way here!

LOL! Omg, I can just picture that. Hilarious!
And I like the harness for small kids that don't understand how to check for traffic or what "no" means. Like Micah. LOL.

 

[iheartscience]

We had a stroller for London that she used until she could walk long distances. She used to walk w/mom the days I worked to a house we were remodeling, and it was 2 miles each way and she was not quite 2. Then we had a double stroller that was used..twice maybe. Then a sit and stand that was used a few times. Neither kid wanted to mess w/it. They both like riding in the cart at stores and London's too big but that's b/c I like to run up and down empty aisles and pretend it's a race car. Their mother is also a big kid.

ETA I don't get why it's anyone else's beeswax and why it's so offensive or such a huge deal. They're not out torching and pillaging the town, they're kids, just shut up about it. Sounds to me like a big whine baby pee pants, the person w/the blog. I am more offended by..ohhhh I don't know, gays not being able to marry, than a kid I myself deem too big to ride in a stroller. Whatever, way to stand up and be counted I guess. We all have our niche. Some speak for basic civil rights, others against big kids in strollers.

I think the blog is amusing but I certainly don't stay up nights thinking about big kids in strollers. I guess everyone has their pet peeves, though!

I do think it's indicative of how a lot of parents tend to coddle their kids, though. I just can't imagine my parents pushing one of us around at age 6, whether we were at Disneyworld or not!

 

[Izzy03]

Oh, dude, I LOVED my harness. I was a face-planting child who used to trip and scrape her face open until I "got my feet under me" and really learned to walk, so the harness was a godsend: I could actually run! As fast as I wanted! I have distinct memories of running along at a 45 degree angle to the ground, feeling like I was flying. PRO-harness all the way here!

Will someone please put ME on a harness so I can do this? That sounds like too much fun!

 

[packrat]

Thing, no dispute over the fact that it's amusing! Some of those kids are so old I can't imagine what their friends would think/say. I would point and laugh.

 

[iheartscience]

Thing, no dispute over the fact that it's amusing! Some of those kids are so old I can't imagine what their friends would think/say. I would point and laugh.

Ha, right?! I forgot about peer pressure!

Oh well, to each their own, I suppose. I know you should never say never, but if I have a healthy kid I can guarantee you it will not be riding in a stroller at age 6! THERE I SAID IT.

 

[monarch64]

Holy cow...I had no idea about this kids too big for their strollers phenomenon. I always thought kids couldn't wait to get out of their strollers? Here's an opposite extreme for you: my niece was 2 when she got her first motorized vehicle (a pink Jeep) and started driving it. In the past year she has graduated to a toddler-sized 4-wheeler and most recently she tried out a Yamaha 50cc kiddie motorcycle complete with training wheels. (She turned 3 in February.) That kid won't have anything to do with a stroller. She did wear a harness at one point, though, out of necessity/sake of her parents' sanity.

ETA: might as well post pics...I haven't posted any of here here for awhile anyway and they're pretty funny.
ETA: oops, they posted in reverse order. Well, you get the idea.

 

[iheartscience]

Okay your niece is ADORABLE, monnie! She looks like such a little tomboy-I love it!

 

[monarch64]

Haha, thanks Thing! She is a tomboy whose favorite color is pink...I call that well-rounded, am I right? I think she'll be driving a car by the time she's 5 at this rate. Maybe they'll get her a SmartCar next.

 

[iheartscience]

Haha, thanks Thing! She is a tomboy whose favorite color is pink...I call that well-rounded, am I right? I think she'll be driving a car by the time she's 5 at this rate. Maybe they'll get her a SmartCar next.

Hey, best of both worlds! And a SmartCar does seem to be the next logical step...maybe she can get a pink one!

 

[y2kitty]

No opinion on strollers except when parents brandish the stroller and child like a human shield that entitles them to do anything they want no matter how dangerous or illegal it is and expect me to yield.

 

[Pandora II]

I hate to see a child on a harness. IMO, the parent either needs to do some more parenting so their child minds, or the parent needs to pay more attention to what's going on. When I see a harness, I immediately think lazy-a$$ parent.

Sorry but I find that really, really offensive. Have you any idea just how hard it can be to be the parent of a challenging child? If you have a kid who does what they are told, happily sits in their stroller or holds your hand then lucky, lucky you. I have to put 3 sets of reins on just to keep my kid in the stroller - and then they will happily scream the place down for 20+ minutes - and then I have to deal with some ignorant person who tells me that a) I'm a crap parent, b) socially irresponsible, c) have a f***ing spoilt brat, d) shouldn't go out if my child can't behave...

I work extremely hard at trying to deal with my child's rebellious streak to the extent of even seeing child psychologists (and I live in the UK so this is very much not the norm) and even they are basically saying that there is nothing I can really do that I don't already and it is just the child I have got who is extremely determined.

Exactly how do you suggest I MAKE my child hold my hand or walk next to me? I would LOVE someone to give me a solution. Should I beat her if she doesn't? Bribery and threats don't often work with younger children who have no concept of this. Borrow my child for a day and you will be begging for a set of reins. At least that way I know she can't run into the road and get killed.

Re the OP, my stroller takes children up to the age of 4. Daisy is tiny and I'm happy to keep her in there as long as I possibly can!

 

[suchende]

I hate to see a child on a harness. IMO, the parent either needs to do some more parenting so their child minds, or the parent needs to pay more attention to what's going on. When I see a harness, I immediately think lazy-a$$ parent.

Sorry but I find that really, really offensive. Have you any idea just how hard it can be to be the parent of a challenging child? If you have a kid who does what they are told, happily sits in their stroller or holds your hand then lucky, lucky you. I have to put 3 sets of reins on just to keep my kid in the stroller - and then they will happily scream the place down for 20+ minutes - and then I have to deal with some ignorant person who tells me that a) I'm a crap parent, b) socially irresponsible, c) have a f***ing spoilt brat, d) shouldn't go out if my child can't behave...

I work extremely hard at trying to deal with my child's rebellious streak to the extent of even seeing child psychologists (and I live in the UK so this is very much not the norm) and even they are basically saying that there is nothing I can really do that I don't already and it is just the child I have got who is extremely determined.

Exactly how do you suggest I MAKE my child hold my hand or walk next to me? I would LOVE someone to give me a solution. Should I beat her if she doesn't? Bribery and threats don't often work with younger children who have no concept of this. Borrow my child for a day and you will be begging for a set of reins. At least that way I know she can't run into the road and get killed.

Re the OP, my stroller takes children up to the age of 4. Daisy is tiny and I'm happy to keep her in there as long as I possibly can!

Your child sounds a lot like my little brother (he's 15 years younger than me). Everyone has a freaking opinion... well, he's a strong-willed child. My parents raised me and I was a very mild, easy-going child. He isn't. My mom didn't become a terrible parent in the interim. It's bad enough when other parents get haughty about it, but I just cannot stand when my childless 20-something friends have all these hard rules about how one should parent. It's easy to be the perfect parent in the hypothetical!

 

[lbbaber]

I hate to see a child on a harness. IMO, the parent either needs to do some more parenting so their child minds, or the parent needs to pay more attention to what's going on. When I see a harness, I immediately think lazy-a$$ parent.

Sorry but I find that really, really offensive. Have you any idea just how hard it can be to be the parent of a challenging child? If you have a kid who does what they are told, happily sits in their stroller or holds your hand then lucky, lucky you. I have to put 3 sets of reins on just to keep my kid in the stroller - and then they will happily scream the place down for 20+ minutes - and then I have to deal with some ignorant person who tells me that a) I'm a crap parent, b) socially irresponsible, c) have a f***ing spoilt brat, d) shouldn't go out if my child can't behave...

I work extremely hard at trying to deal with my child's rebellious streak to the extent of even seeing child psychologists (and I live in the UK so this is very much not the norm) and even they are basically saying that there is nothing I can really do that I don't already and it is just the child I have got who is extremely determined.

Exactly how do you suggest I MAKE my child hold my hand or walk next to me? I would LOVE someone to give me a solution. Should I beat her if she doesn't? Bribery and threats don't often work with younger children who have no concept of this. Borrow my child for a day and you will be begging for a set of reins. At least that way I know she can't run into the road and get killed.

Re the OP, my stroller takes children up to the age of 4. Daisy is tiny and I'm happy to keep her in there as long as I possibly can!

I agree with you Pandora. Sometimes a harness is the ONLY way an autistic child can be out in public safely...and NO you cannot tell a child is autistic just by looking at him. Not to mention all the other special needs children that are out there today. I am amazed at how judgemental people can be about children they have never met. Until you walk a mile in their parents' shoes one has NO IDEA why the parents do what they do.

 

[somethingshiny]

thing~ the dragging it made me chuckle. That's what I always picture is the next step when a kid is on the harness. Like the parents are going to be walking too fast and the kid is skidding along in their wake.

Monnie~ THAT is what I'm talkin about! JT was out of a stroller as soon as he could jump on something he could steer. Heather is so dang cute!!

 

[nfowife]

Every kid is different. My oldest (now 6) was fine walking beside me. She wasn't/isn't a runner and she doesn't tire easily. My middle one (4) is a complainer and he tires easily, though he is a ball of energy most of the time. But at the zoo, for example, he will complain after walking from the parking lot to the entrance! And he can be excruciatingly s-l-o-w. I usually have both the older ones walking and the baby (5 months) in the stroller. After about 30-45 minutes she's had it with the stroller so I put her in the baby carrier and then he can hop in if he wants. For everyday shopping and errands he walks just fine. But for longer more intense things out in the heat he likes to ride a bit too. Who cares?

We lived in Italy for 2 years (moved back to the US last summer). We saw like 6-7-8+ kids in strollers there, with pacifiers, etc. They coddle/baby children there BIG time. Like nothing I've seen in the US.

 

[pixies]

Holy cow...I had no idea about this kids too big for their strollers phenomenon. I always thought kids couldn't wait to get out of their strollers? Here's an opposite extreme for you: my niece was 2 when she got her first motorized vehicle (a pink Jeep) and started driving it. In the past year she has graduated to a toddler-sized 4-wheeler and most recently she tried out a Yamaha 50cc kiddie motorcycle complete with training wheels. (She turned 3 in February.) That kid won't have anything to do with a stroller. She did wear a harness at one point, though, out of necessity/sake of her parents' sanity.

ETA: might as well post pics...I haven't posted any of here here for awhile anyway and they're pretty funny.
ETA: oops, they posted in reverse order. Well, you get the idea.

Baby fender bender!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Holy cow...I had no idea about this kids too big for their strollers phenomenon. I always thought kids couldn't wait to get out of their strollers? Here's an opposite extreme for you: my niece was 2 when she got her first motorized vehicle (a pink Jeep) and started driving it. In the past year she has graduated to a toddler-sized 4-wheeler and most recently she tried out a Yamaha 50cc kiddie motorcycle complete with training wheels. (She turned 3 in February.) That kid won't have anything to do with a stroller. She did wear a harness at one point, though, out of necessity/sake of her parents' sanity.

ETA: might as well post pics...I haven't posted any of here here for awhile anyway and they're pretty funny.
ETA: oops, they posted in reverse order. Well, you get the idea.

Baby fender bender!

Haha, I was just thinking that!