Anti- stroller?

[kindergirl77]

So I've seen quite a bit of these type of comics from this funny lady;

http://www.thecowgoddess.com/?p=582
http://www.thecowgoddess.com/?p=542
http://www.thecowgoddess.com/?p=529


And other ones that seem in general to make fun of stroller-toting mamas.

I am thinking of selling my huge ugly double... I really do not like the idea of strollers, but sometimes they are handy for a big outing like disneyland (although they also are a BIG PITA!!) I end up using the sling all day and pushing an empty stroller...

Are any of you die-hard anti-stroller-ists (and have more than 1 child) ? What do you do when you will be out all day- maybe even by yourself?

[Katheda]

well, I'm not a die hard anti-strollerist but I have never even considered using double and have only used the single less than a handful of times. My youngest are 18 months apart. We go to theme parks every year (thank you Anheuser-Busch: ) and I have NEVER considered even bringing my single stroller to one.
But anyway, if you find that you don't use your stroller, sell it. If you do actually use it and find it valuable on those rare occassions, keep it. I don't think that there is anything wrong with strollers, they have their time and place (I think ).

[spsmom]

i actually use a double jogger everyday (to workout with the kids) but when we go to disneyland having a stroller is almost more trouble. i sometimes will bring a single umbrella to carry our stuff if we go all day but ds1 walks and ds2 is in the ergo!

i say if you use it sometimes and it isn't taking up too much room, just keep it. if it's just collecting dust, get rid of it! i agree with the pp, there really is no right or wrong decision here! just what works for you!

[luvmy2grls]

I admitt I am anti stroller. I have used them before, I am not going to lie.. (I didn't know about BWing till my second dd was 2 months old) But I am horrible now, I catch myself wanting to run over and talk about babywearing to stroller pushers sometimes, I think I tend to look down my nose a little at them which is snobby and wrong, but only cause they look at me like I have 10 heads for wearing my 16 month old on my back all the time.. They also think I'm a wack job for spending money on "fabric" (they asked how much I spent on my malachite NINO wrap once) my husband calls me the BWing millitent (well he has used another word for it but its offensive)

think those are great! lol

I use my stroller as a wheel barrow.

[kindergirl77]

Well I appreciate you admitting it! I am leaning more and more toward being anti-stroller myself as I get more and more firm and confident in my attachment parenting style. I wore my first from when she was 12 months and I didn't know anyone else who did. My family thought I was crazy. Then she was 24 months I was still wearing her on my back when I was 8 months pregnant. People would say things to dd1 like- "Your a big girl! You shouldn't have to make mommy carry you!" I would get really upset. I was the black sheep and odd one out in my church mother's group. I have since left that group for a more AP group and I am happy knowing others that babywear and homebirth. I have seen so many children crying and ignored in their strollers- never leaving the contraption the entire playdate. They are huge, expensive, and are EVERYWHERE anywhere you go.

[LoveBaby]

I'm not necessarily anti-stroller, only because at the zoo/park etc. it sure makes a handy place to keep sippy cups, snacks, picnic basket etc. handy. I do however always feel bad for the mama pushing the stroller full of stuf w/ one hand and desperately trying to hold onto her babe w/ the other while chasing her toddler! : too bad babywearing isn't more mainstream!

I've used a stroller for different reasons in different places w/ all 3 of my kids. Generally I would be wearing the babe in the sling, hauling the "stuff" in the stroller and then if my middle or oldest would get tired, they would hop in the stroller to rest their legs. There is *no* way I can babywear more than 1 child at a time since my youngest was around 25lbs by 5mos old. My then 3 yo was about 36lbs so having a place for them to ride was nice.

[mackysmama]

I use a stroller but always have my sling with me. Sometimes, the older kid (he has some problems with fatigue) is in the stroller while the toddler is in the sling. Othertimes, the stroller is used to carry the stuff while the kid walks and the toddler is worn. I have a single umbrella stroller that I keep the car and a sit-and-stand that we use for family walks or festivals where both kids sometimes ride. I think a stroller can be really helpful sometimes and has it's place.

I'm not anti-stroller and I definately don't judge people for using one. Who am I to judge another mother? I do think it is a little crazy, though, to haul a stroller someplace that is kind of in and out, like the drugstore. Or, when I pick up my son from school, we have to park and then go to the classroom to get the kids. I always have my dd in the sling (or walking) but SO many of the moms put the younger kids in the stroller just to walk from the parking lot to the classroom to get the bigger kid. Now that seems like a lot of unnecessary work.

[Quindin]

Strollers have their place IMO

I personally think that with tiny babies, strollers are cubersome and a PITA. Before BW, I often found myself pushing empty strollers while holding a baby in my arms. I also always see other women doing the same. Having said that, I find strollers life savers with heavy toddlers, if you have many things to carry or if you need somewhere to place the baby when out (for example, when you are shopping and trying clothes)

I have a good three-wheeler stroller and it is great!

[weliveintheforest]

I'm pro-babywearing, but not anti stroller. I do talk up slings whenever I get the chance, because I honestly think it would make moe women's lives easier to have a good carrier.

[Snowdrift]

I only have one baby, and when I have my day-care babe over and we leave the house, we do use a (single) stroller, so take my comments with a grain of salt.

I am not entirely anti-stroller. I own one (it was a gift) and I've used it on those few occasions when I was taking two babies (both under a year) out of the house. I am, however, anti-rude people and entitlement thinkers and many of the stroller moms I meet seem to fit that descriptions. Several times last summer when I was in busier areas (shopping, touristy stuff, things like that) I had stroller moms demand that I get out of their way and even ram the stroller into me--while I was wearing my newborn! (And, yeah, I'll make way for someone who needs to get by--I mean loudly, rudely, demandingly--not a simple "excuse me" or even slowing down to give me time to move.) I've not really received negative comments about BW but I have had far more stroller moms behave aggressively toward me since I started BW.

I think for some people, the big stroller serves the same function as the big SUV--to be loud and noticed and big and aggressive and in everyone else's face. And I am against that attitude.

Otoh, I have to admit to being a bit of a BW snob. I own a *lot* of carriers and they are my pride and joy. And I may frequently be seen with a delighted smile because I am so pleased at how great we look and feel in our gorgeous, comfy wrap. So maybe my smugness is just passive-aggressiveness to counter their open aggression.

[snanna]

I do sometimes wonder what the Hathor writer's lifestyle is like, that she can be so wholeheartedly anti-stroller... I suppose, like everything else, the way you use a stroller depends on other factors going on in your life.

I personally never understood why people needed strollers until my daughter got heavy enough that my joints were affected on long walks (we walk as much as we can, to the grocery store, etc.). Slinging a 25-lb toddler is just too much stress on my knees and hips-- it remains comfortable otherwise. The stroller has also proved to be a wonderful way for me to get some exercise. Walking slowly with a toddler on my back isn't that strenuous, really (except to my knee joints), and I can get my heart rate up nicely while pushing the stroller.

Now that I am pregnant, I appreciate the stroller even more. My busy daughter loves to ride and sing and snack, and we can go much further than we would be able to if I was expending the calories to carry her. I would just hate to think of Hathor seeing me and saying to herself, "well there's another one of those detachment parents!" Especially once this baby is born... I highly doubt I'll be slinging both kids at once. The distances we walk are just too great.

If the choice is using the stroller and walking VS. driving there in the car and then putting dd in the Ergo, I think walking wins, don't you?

On the other hand, I didn't start using the stroller at all until dd was almost two and 24 lbs. so I am obviously a late convert. I can't imagine not slinging a smaller baby all the time. But I don't make fun of people who use strollers with smaller babies, or suggest slings. I had my two years of wearing her everywhere and getting lots of questions and compliments and opportunities to give out web addresses, and I think that's how people get converted to using slings over strollers, not by being mocked. Personally.

[NamastePlatypus]

I am

It is funny because I thought I HAD to hae a stroller, NEVER used the thing. I LOVE wearing my babies as much as they love being held. I always feel bad for those lil ones strapped in and just sitting there
But I do know that I am blessed with a good back and youth and fitness on my side. I know for some they have a place, I just wish more people would look into carried their babes, that is all.

[summerbabe]

I have a jogging stroller which I use ONLY for my Stroller Strides exercise class. However, I just went to BRU and sprung for a Maclaren umbrella stroller. The only reason is, I am taking the baby alone on an airplane trip and I had a sprained ankle which is still splinted and not fully healed, so I am afraid to have the extra weight of him with all that airport walking. It is so annoying, though, because I have traveled with him before and babywearing is SO ideal for travel, plus having no free hands I will have to check everything which I hate. Oh well. I guess my point is, I use strollers very little, but for specific purposes they can be handy.

ETA: if a babywearer sees me in the airport, they will think I am a typical stroller mama, and little do they know...I will not even admit how many carriers I have and when I am not nursing an ankle sprain, my son is worn several hours a day, and I would NEVER be using a stroller while traveling if it weren't for this stupid ankle. Just a reminder to me and others that you never know about people....

[the_lissa]

I never used a stroller with my first. Now that I have two, I take a double stroller because it is too far for them to walk, and I can't carry them both, but I very rarely use it, and never at crowded places.

If my partner is with me, we don't need it because we can each wear one kid.

But yeah I still don't really like strollers. They are generally more trouble than they are worth.

[talk de jour]

I think that the Hathor writer is very privileged to have the time, ability, freedom, and lack of back problems to be able to wear her baby basically 24/7, and very judgmental to not realize that strollers have their place and time.

As a non-mother with a bad back, who sometimes gets horrible pain just from wearing a PURSE, I will never, ever judge a stroller-using mama. Just sayin'.

[hubris]

I don't see Hathor as necessarily "making fun" of strollers, so much as challenging the pro-stroller comments that people often hear. She's showing the other side of things. How often have I heard people say how complicated slings are, while navigating a huge bulky travel system through a crowded place? Some stroller-lovin' mamas express their disbelief that anybody could possibly live without a stroller. Hathor is just pointing out that some people feel the same way about slings. To me, it's nice to see somebody pointing out the ridiculousness of some of the "OMG, you MUST own a stroller" hype.

The first comic you linked reminds me of us at Disneyland. I purposefully did NOT bring our stroller on that trip and didn't rent one. Instead we brought a backpack and a gauze wrap. My 11-month-old spent most of the day in the wrap and my DH carried the back pack. If our 3 y/o needed to be carried, DH carried him on his shoulders. Everywhere we went, it was a stroller parking lot. I was happy not to have to negotiate the crowds with a stroller and also happy not to have to find parking for it or find it after getting off rides. It felt free. That said, if somebody else WANTS to bring a stroller, hey, that's their deal.

[the_lissa]

Originally Posted by talk de jour

I think that the Hathor writer is very privileged to have the time, ability, freedom, and lack of back problems to be able to wear her baby basically 24/7, and very judgmental to not realize that strollers have their place and time.

As a non-mother with a bad back, who sometimes gets horrible pain just from wearing a PURSE, I will never, ever judge a stroller-using mama. Just sayin'.

I would never judge someone either, but I also have scoliosis and have trouble things, but can still wear my baby, so you never know what will happen.

[bethwl]

As someone else said, I am pro-bw but not anti-stroller. I have owned four, in fact (sold one)--a Maclaren umbrella, a Peg Perego midweight stroller, and a three-wheel jogger. And I've used them all plenty. But my son, born in January, has yet to sit in a one. I tended to use them when my daughter, now 3.5 would only take naps when out for walks and I wanted to be able to walk to the coffeeshop and then sit and read while she slept. Or any number of other times when I wanted the flexibility of putting her down if she was amenable in case I was hot and sweaty/feeling tired of carrying her/had a lot of other stuff to bring with us/whatever--as others have said, they have a useful place in many a parent's life.

I think some of the AP "antistroller" sentiment derives from the general feeling that you MUST own a stroller (yet a baby carrier is optional) and some parents' insistence on using them even when it is inconvenient for not only themselves but those around them.

[KathinJapan]

here is an interesting article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2004May17.html

[the_lissa]

Are we addicted to strollers?

http://www.todaysparent.com/toddler/...50_3240&page=1