STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

LMonet wrote:

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I agree with DC, shopgirl82, and others who have no problem with an $800 stroller.  Have some of us not spent nearly that on shoes?  Bags?  At least you be positive you'd get your use out of it!  Let's say you'd use your stroller 4 times per week for 3 years .... not bad ... comes out to just $1.28 per use.

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I don't care & it's surely none of my business if you spend $2,000 on a stroller, I am just surprised. Back when we bought one for my sister 6+ years ago, $250 was a bunch, so I was shocked. But I won't spend $300 on a handbag either, so it's certainly personal preference. I just had no clue that $800 strollers even existed. Don't know why i'm surprised, surely i shouldn't be, but i am.

And again, i'm not a parent, so take this with a grain of salt, but as far as safety, my nieces never fell out of their $250 stroller. Nor do i think that you should expect your stroller to save your babies from falling buildings (WTF?) but again we are talking about primarily indoor mall shopping, not a place like NY where people walk a lot - so i don't even know what "safety" issues are solved by a more expensive stroller - although I realize that in a heavily walked city you would probably care more about what happened if a car hit it or something? I honestly don't know. Again, perspective.

-- Edited by laken1 at 18:19, 2005-09-22

I don't think the true issue is the stroller's size or price that is the problem here. My opinion it this: Yes you have kids and yes you do need to get them around. But the same rules of basic courtesy still apply. I think the price is being addressed more as a just cause you are rich doesn't mean I shouldn't be able to walk on a sidewalk cause you want to weave down the middle stopping and going with no regard for anyone else. I have seen people very rude and very polite, it just depends on the "driver". This issue is more about the people than anything. I don't want you to go out of your way to move for me just don't go out of your way not to move (which seems like the case sometimes).

Just a note: I don't think anyone on here has that type of mentality but there are more than just a few people out there who act that way. The "you" in this post refers to the bad stroller people not the good ones.

Oh and I do feel like there are some places strolers do not belong. 1) if it doesn't fit dont force it, we all pay for that one. 2) Strollers and walkways in restraunts do not go together, people are trying to work there despite how unbelieveable important the parents feel they are. 3) less than 1 inch from my heels. If you need aroud just say excues me politely, I will be glad to move  if you don't stop 2 seconds after you go around me.

Ok I feel better now

Some people with strollers annoy me.  I will be shopping and of course their stroller is taking about 4 feet of space and I want to look at something and can't.  They make no effort to even push the cart back close to them even 2 inches and take their time examining everything on purpose just to annoy you. 

Also I have once seen a woman pushing a 5 year old kid in a stroller and they all called it "the baby"!!!!  That is just as bad as people sticking their 5 year old in shopping carts and they barely fit their legs into the hole slots!  Let them walk, no wonder kids are getting so obese!

 

i agree that most times it's just rude people using their monster stollers as a means of being rude.

i do see how people can become a little annoyed by strollers though. many stores and restaurants are so stroller UNfriendly that it's difficult to maneuver them through the racks, aisles and even park them at a table at a restaurant without being cumbersome. sometimes an accidental bump into a chair or another person does occur and it sucks for both parties. i'm just as annoyed by being blocked by a stroller in a store as i am by not being able to push one around freely in a store.

on the subject of older children and stollers though, i'd like to offer a different viewpoint. (although it's a tangent from the original posted article) i think it's a thoughtful parent that brings a stroller along for their young child as an option for them. sometimes parents have to bring their children along with them to run errands all day long. maybe it's the fifth stop of the day? young children get bored and tired a lot faster than adults and some still take naps. offering a child that is tired a ride in their stoller (or the shopping cart) is something thoughtful parents do. it's a parent that forces their child to walk on each and every last errand right before naptime or dinnertime or whenever that is a problem. and the notion that this is contributing to childhood obesity is a bit of a stretch. unless the child in the stroller is clearly obese to begin with i don't think there is any reason to assume that the child or the parent is being lazy. c'mon!

what options are those irene? i'd like to know. as a parent i really don't have too many other options than to bring my child with me on my errands. i'm certainly not going to pay for child care just to run errands and truthfully i'd rather have him in my care than in someone else's. (i'm assuming that's what you mean by other options?) sometimes it's exhausting for both me and him but i try to do it in between meals and naps but it's not a perfect science and doesn't always work out that way. although i do agree that an 8 year old would look pretty silly in a stroller i CAN see a 5 or 6 year old hitching a ride in one wheather or not it looks silly in someone else's eyes. a 5 year old may not even be in kindergarten yet... and a 6 year old may have just started kindergarten... that's still pretty young to expect them to walk everywhere.

Well, you have to think about it. When you were young, did you really enjoy going with mommy or daddy to run their errands. I no I didn't. Now I cannot remember when I was really young, but I can remember going with my mother to do a bunch of her stuff when I was 9. It sucked because yes, kids get tired, hungry, and cranky.

The options I was talking about was yes, leaving the child with either a family member, or even better, having a play date. There is a woman at my job who works here part-time. She is always talking about her sons "play dates" (he is 4 years old). She uses that time to do whatever mundane things she needs to get done because she doesn't like having to bring her child with her because her slows her down. Now this may or may not be an option and that is perfectly ok. But I did say, there are options. I don't think you should hire a "babysitter" in order to run your errands though.

My BIL and his wife drop their kids (ages 5 and 2) off at our house every other Saturday so they can go grocery shopping and other stuff. And they do it so they can get the stuff done faster.

I know these options don't work for everyone, so as parents you do what you can. But it just really bugs me to see people withtheir kids in the hair salon, and other places. I guess I just feel for the kids.

Farrah wrote:

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Irene wrote: But it just really bugs me to see people withtheir kids in the hair salon, and other places. I guess I just feel for the kids. Actually I used to love going to the grocery store and the hair salon with my mom.  It made me feel so grown up to sit and talk with the other ladies:).  I also used to love going to the health club and bowling alley with my mom.  Once again, I just felt like a big girl (I was only 4 or 5 at the time) getting to go to all of those grown up places with my mom.

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i was the same way too. i loved it, especially if it was just the 2 of us and my brothers didn't come along.  my mom just used to pack coloring books and stuff for me in case i got bored, but i really enjoyed errand running.

I too enjoyed spending time with my mom on her errands. I felt like a "big girl" too!

I do NOT support rude stroller-users.  Though, I must say, most of my experience is with rude grocer cart-users!  And if the way they use/drive their grocery carts says anything of their current or future stroller use/driving abilities then I guess we are all in big trouble !

However, I think it's fair to assume that we don't know everything about the stroller usage situation.  I'm a big supporter of doing what works for you and your family, especially when it comes to parenting.  Yes, there are some that abuse their stroller's ability to clear a path.  I'm sure there are some that still push their 7-8-9 year olds, for whatever reason.  But if I had a choice of someone shopping with a 5 year old screaming their bloody little heads off while following their Mom around, and a content 5 year old happily hanging out in their stroller while Mom buys groceries or runs errands, I don't think any one of us would pick the former!  Maybe the ideal situation would be for a parent to leave a child that's prone to screaming and crying in public with someone while they run their errands, but in practice I gather that it would be a whole lot more trouble than it's worth. 

When it comes down to it, some people need strollers.  As long as they are courteous in public and don't use their big or small stroller as a battering ram or a blockade, we don't mind making room, right?  I have no problem giving a nasty look to anyone who uses their stroller for less noble purposes .

-- Edited by LMonet at 12:15, 2005-09-23