I'm Lindsay Ferrier, a Nashville writer with a passion for family travel, exploring Tennessee, and raising kids without losing my mind in the process. This is where I share my discoveries, along with occasional deep thoughts, pop culture tangents and a sprinkling of snark. Want to get in touch? Use the CONTACT form at the top of the page.
November 29, 2005
There’s something of a stroller prejudice in our society. Most everyone seems a bit annoyed by the space they take up on sidewalks, in elevators and in store aisles.
Even in a children’s clothing store, the racks are way too close together for a stroller-pushing mama to even think about getting through. I’ve been forced to lug entire seasonal collections out of the way just to make my path around a shop, much to the dismay of the sales staff.
And yet, despite the hardships and discrimination I am forced to endure because of my stroller, I love the thing. It is an incredibly useful gadget to have around, generally speaking (I say generally because one time I lost a wheel on the soccer field and it was every bit as awkward and painful of an experience as it would’ve been to lose a heel off your favorite Jimmy Choos [ha ha! Who are we kidding? We don’t have Jimmy Choos!], and then have to walk a mile to your Bentley [I might as well continue in this hypothetical vein of impossibility]).
My stroller has saved my slight, waifish, frame (I’m on a roll here with the hyperbole) a thousand times from bearing the weight of a squirmy 26-pounder. It has protected Baby from the sun, given her a fairly comfy spot for a nap on the go, and offered me a place to put packages and thus shop longer and with more spending abandon than I would have otherwise (Hmmm, should I or shouldn’t I buy a J. Crew car coat in all three colors??? Three seems extravagant… but wait a second. I have the stroller! I don’t have to carry any of them to the car. Sold!).
Best of all, in a world where men no longer offer their seats or open the damn door, my stroller has taken their place as a champion and defender.
Case in point: A few days ago, my stroller and I were making our way through a somewhat posh store, innocently looking for a holiday party outfit. In this particular instance, it wasn’t a rack of clothes blocking our way, but an impossibly thin, impossibly botoxed, expensively-clad, middle-aged “blonde”.
“Excuse me,” I said politely.
Silence.
“Excuse me,” I said again.
The haughty dame looked at me, glanced down at my stroller, then sort of shifted her weight from one foot to another without actually moving.
Sighing, I tried to maneuver my stroller around her leather bootie-encased foot.
“OUCH!” she shrieked.
I had nicked her precious heel with my stroller.
“Sorry,” I sang out as she angrily backed away.
I hadn’t done it on purpose. Really, I hadn’t. But I was wanting to let out a vindictive giggle so badly that I felt like it was intentional.
To be honest, I’ve only used my stroller as a weapon once.
My husband and I were at a high school football game, trying to get from one side of the stands to the other. The walkway was packed with chatting teenagers, including a large group of ruffians. All-out hoods. Miscreants. These guys were too tough to get out of the way of a stroller-pushing mama. At least one of them was.
I said “Excuse me” a few times. I tapped him on the shoulder. I tapped him on the shoulder again. I was met with obnoxious defiance. This kid wasn’t moving for me.
So I took my stroller and I pushed it right over the tops of his feet. And yes, I admit, I even kind of, um, bore down, too.
His face froze into a stoic mask of not-gonna-whimper. I looked him in the eye as I passed and saw fear. Good. Junior here finally got it. My stroller and I were not to be trifled with. Score one for mommies everywhere.
The fact is, my stroller’s gotten me out of so many jams that I may continue pushing it long after Baby’s outgrown it. Yeah. That’ll go over like a lead balloon.
In the meantime, I will do my damnedest to eliminate the barriers of stroller prejudice in our world. Join me as we push our rights over the toes of all those who try to stop us.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
>Lucinda, you have hit on one of my all time pet peeves! What is it with people and their stoller prejudice?? Would these shopkeepers rather I let my toddler run wild thru their store? (I know, the answer is that they would rather I leave him at home, but that is not an option sometimes!) Especially in children’s stores, it makes no sense!But I do love my stroller. A couple of times I have taken it into the mall for a big shopping expedition even when I had no children with me. It’s just that handy. I will be the lady with teenagers who still has a stroller in her trunk. Just in case
>I loved my stroller, until I got the double stroller for the twins. It was like pushing a freighter through the store. And I could never quite grab the door handle from 6 feet away.But I respect all strollers, even the ones holding big 4 years olds. A mom has got to do what a mom has got to do!
>I agree with the no space problem, but I hate strollers. We did not even use them for children 2 and 3 (probably because we had given up due to the issues you listed with having strollers). When we really need something we have a baby jogger. I don’t recommend taking the joggers anywhere inside, ever.
>Amen!!! I no longer need one but I used to freaking hate it when I could not get around properly because of rude people or narrow isles. I have used mine as a weapon as well and would again if I needed to. Stroller power!
>You just reminded me we have to buy a stroller. How could I forget that?
>I cheered for you as I read your incidents of running over toes. Stroller POWER!Choosing the right stroller is hard too. I recently ditched the mammouth 4-in-1 stroller and gave up on the cheapie umbrella style and went for a mid-range. Life has been SWEET ever since! I couldn’t live without mine, I just hope Miss Kitty doesn’t go on strike. She’s become quite the don’t-help-me-I’ll-do-it-myself type of kid. UGH.
>So true…I like strollers ‘cuz in a pinch it keeps the kids contained without worry. The downside, after getting a double umbrella stroller, I dread doorways. Sure you can just make it through, but it’s a workout, involving enough speed and flexibility to make even Jane Fonda proud.
>Stroller: the best-ever kid-control device, along with the shopping cart. I have two strollers; one is a deluxe (with shock absorbers!) and the other is an umbrella model. The latter is great for maneuvering through narrow aisles, and also worked well when my then-shorter son wanted to push the stroller himself; he could see over it, and thus avoid running up on people’s heels. But running over toes…I’ve never had the pleasure, and I do believe I’m envious. ;^)
>I do not miss strollers. They always took up half the trunk, so you didn’t have room for whatever you bought shopping.
>Strollers don’t bother me. I’d much prefer a kid in a stroller to one that is left alone to run or crawl the store aisles!I almost got smashed by a woman wielding a shopping cart the day before Thanksgiving, however. The grocery was packed, of course, and this one wasn’t letting anything or anyone stand in her way to the eggs. She nearly took my bum off, and I said (not so quietly) as she pushed her way by me…”I would be glad to get out of your way if you’d only ask”. She “harumphed” her way down the aisle and didn’t even look back at me.
>What goes around comes around. Down at the Walmart’s near our St. Petersburg home old people (older than me) drive those damnable electric carts around the store, ram into your heels or kneecap you and as you squeal and tumble to the floor they ask, “Dearie, do you work here?” Yeesh!When I was your age, darling, I had a 15.00 umbrella stroller and I LOVED it. Canvas sling on plastic PVC- we took it on planes, to stores, around the block…it was the Chevy Neon of strollers! Later, with my second we graduated to the premium stroller du jour and I loved that, too but it wasn’t nearly as convenient.
>Okay, now I want a stroller. Maybe I’ll dress up my dog and stick her in one and go to the mall. LOVE what you did to that little hoodlum. You rock.
>hey, you forgot too, when your toddler is happily walking, you can put all sorts of stuff in it so you don’t have to carry everything!! score!!!
>And it is a great way to meet men too.. You just stand at the top of a flight of steps and look helpless.. They come flocking to help you down them..but I guess the baby is a bit of a passion killer…Oh well..Minerva
>And why is it that when a woman with a stroller is struggling to manage a set of double doors that opens the wrong way, it is almost always another woman who leaps up to help her? ‘Cuz we’ve been there, sister!
>Dude, screw the stroller. I’m totally getting leashes for my kids. (And, if I can find one, for my husband, too.) Watch those hooligans get out of my way when I’m walking my whole damn family like a litter of poodles.
>Stoller mommas of the world unite! I used mine a time or two in similar manners. Kind of hard to push a 7 year old in a stroller though. 🙁 Now she just runs everywhere. Knocking people out of the way as I dash after her with an apologetic look on my face.