There are so many reasons to judge other parents -- the "junk" they feed their children, the coats they "forget" to fasten on the coldest days -- but according to the New York Times, there is a new, hotter reason for judgment: the stroller.
According to the Times, many parents are eschewing the stroller in favor of any number of baby carriers with some subtly suggesting that pushing our children away from us in strollers is traumatizing them.
"Baby wearing" is nothing new. I carried my daughter in a sling from birth and she is nearly four, but the sheer breadth of carriers now available are starting to supplant Bugaboos and Phil & Ted's on city streets.
Baby carriers are more convenient. My son lived in our Ergo (plus infant insert in the beginning) for the first year of his life and I am quite certain I would have gone insane without it. It is what allowed me to still take my older child to the park everyday. I am a proud baby wearer, but I also love our fleet of seven (yes, seven) strollers, too.
For some, however, strollers are bad indeed.
I love my babies, says Maggie Gyllenhaal's character in Away We Go (a 2009 movie). Why would I want to push them away from me?
Baby gear, like anything else, goes in and out fashion and for some, certain pieces of gear were superfluous from the beginning. The exersaucer that worked so well for one family are called "circles of neglect" by another. The swing that saved one family's life is horrifying to another who prefers the cradle and hold her baby while he sleeps.
Neither are "wrong," perse and it is troubling how many people seem to think one has to be wrong for the other to be right. You can love your babies and also "stroll" them, just as you can be a not-so-hot mama and carry them in a mei-tei.
The safety issue with slings is a whole other post, but for the sake of the argument, we will assume that parents are following the directions and using carriers safely. A "carrier" can mean so many things -- ring slings, mei-teis, Ergos, Moby wraps, Baby Bjorns and more. Each baby wearing mama has the one she swears by. I could never figure the Moby or the mei-tei out, but the moms who love them really do.
And yet, I cannot discount the convenience of the stroller. I "wore" my babies for the better part of the first year of each of their lives, but popping them in the stroller was always appealing as well and I never once felt as though I were "pushing them away from me."
Baby wearing is wonderful and it is great that mainstream movies and newspapers are noticing it, but it is not the only "loving" way to transport a baby.
Do you think strollers are bad?
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Comments 24
I loved my Graco...We lived close to a grocery store-we could take a family walk,get groceries,load up the bottom of the stroller-my daughter enjoyed her stroller. I used a baby harness when I would take our daughters on walks-but in honesty-she preferred the stroller.
This is ludacris. My 8 month old loves loves loves to go for walks and looks around and is quiet and content.
I love wearing my baby. My now 15 month old has been in one since birth for at least 90% of his outings. Department stores, marketplaces, festivals, and other places where room is tight. . .it's the only way to go, in my opinion. Strollers can be so freaking cumbersome in those situations.
But strollers do have their place in my home. I love my jogging stroller. It serves as an extra seat when high chairs aren't available. Our local zoo doesn't have highchairs in their cafe area, but the little one is too small to sit (and stay seated) on the picnic-style benches. Unless I want my ring-slinged son digging into my food while I try to eat, a stroller it is. They're also good for grandmas and grandpas that don't want to wear your sling.
I did not have a stroller until the first one was almost 9 months old then I bought a jogging stroller. Now with two, the older one usually walks but has an umbrella stroller for long walks or the like and I did not get a double stroller until the baby was about 6 months old and again it was a jogging stroller.
I had a baby sling- absolutely loved it! I also had a stroller- loved it too! I physically could not have carried my babies everywhere I needed to take them in the first year in the sling- I think I would have ended up needing a chiropractor. My technique was to use the stroller at first, and if they baby got fussy or cranky, I would move them to the sling instead.
I don't think there is anything wrong with strollers. I wish I had know more about baby wearing when my son was little, but honestly, with my back/neck issues, I would not have been able to carry him all the time anyway. I only used the stroller if we were going somewhere to do a lot of walking and also so I could pack food, drinks, and be able to carry things that were purchased under the stroller.
I don't think there is anything wrong with using strollers; I 3 strollers and an Ergo; I use each for different things. There are days that I don't feel like dragging the double stroller so I put my youngest on the Ergo and oldest in the stroller. He still takes naps and if am going to be out with them all day by myself I need a stroller there is no way I can carry two kids by myself. I also take care of my niece during the day and if I want to take all 3 kids to the park, the carrier frees up my hands; my youngest goes on my back, my 3 yr old goes down by himself and I carry my niece.