# Have you heard the term "cruising" (referring to young kids)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 20, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429 "2015-01-20T23:44:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/1 "2015-01-20T23:44:36Z")
A British\* friend of mine wrote in her blog that her young son enjoys “cruising.” I asked her what that meant, and she explained that it meant walking along while holding onto furniture. I have tried googling “cruising children” but all I got were pages offering advice on taking kids on cruise ships. So, have any of you heard the term “cruising” referring to a young child’s way of walking? \*My friend is from England and now lives in Scotland. I don’t know if “cruising” is an English or Scottish term, or maybe a very local term. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/2 "2015-01-20T23:48:24Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > A British\* friend of mine wrote in her blog that her young son enjoys “cruising.” I asked her what that meant, and she explained that it meant walking along while holding onto furniture. > > I have tried googling “cruising children” but all I got were pages offering advice on taking kids on cruise ships. > > So, have any of you heard the term “cruising” referring to a young child’s way of walking? > > \*My friend is from England and now lives in Scotland. I don’t know if “cruising” is an English or Scottish term, or maybe a very local term. I’m in Maryland and have heard the term used that way. If you google “cruising toddler” you get the right kinds of links (and some about cruise ships) [When Do Babies Start Walking?](http://www.parents.com/advice/babies/baby-development/when-will-my-baby-start-cruising/) ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/3 "2015-01-20T23:50:19Z")
I’ve never heard the term used that way, and you should probably count yourself luck that all you got were pages offering advice on taking kids on cruise ships when you googled “cruising children”. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/4 "2015-01-20T23:55:11Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I’ve never heard the term used that way, and you should probably count yourself luck that all you got were pages offering advice on taking kids on cruise ships when you googled “cruising children”. :eek: No kidding! Safe Search: ON! ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/5 "2015-01-20T23:55:16Z")
Yes, one of the disposable diaper brands even has a type labeled as cruisers. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/6 "2015-01-20T23:58:01Z")
Sure. As a parent that’s the term we used. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/7 "2015-01-21T00:51:55Z")
Those kids are cruising for a bruising. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/8 "2015-01-21T01:05:55Z")
Yep. Grew up mostly in Missouri and I wouldn’t think of it as a regional thing or anything. It’s just what it’s called when a kid who can’t yet walk on their own walks around while holding onto furniture and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/9 "2015-01-21T01:07:25Z")
Yep, that’s the term I heard and used when my kids were in that mobile-skill-learning-curve phase. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/10 "2015-01-21T01:18:53Z")
Yes, all the time. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/11 "2015-01-21T01:24:47Z")
We used to cruise during our teenage years. However, we were in cars hoping to get a girl to hang onto, rather than furniture, even though both have legs. I am so old… ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/12 "2015-01-21T01:26:31Z")
The only time I’ve heard of “cruising” was in a legal sense. In Milwaukee there’s a certain strip of road that get’s very congested on the weekends. It’s just teens driving for a few mile in one direction to the other, making a U-Turn and going back. It got so bad that cops cracked down on it, if they saw your car/plate three times, you’d get a ticket for ‘cruising’ (I’m not sure what the official charge was). Checking around online (not that it applies to the OP, I was just curios) the cops are actually cracking down on tinted windows, drag racing, bringing out drug dogs more readily and watching for cars that pass through a ‘check point’ more than twice in a two hour time period. Basically, like cracking down on prostitution or drugs, making people say 'hey, lets not go up there this weekend, I really don’t want to get my car towed. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/13 "2015-01-21T01:34:07Z")
Oh, so maybe it’s a parenting term. I’m not a parent, and I don’t do a lot of babysitting, so I hadn’t heard it before. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/14 "2015-01-21T01:40:32Z")
Yes, I have, and I think I heard it just a couple years after my daughter was that age, so maybe 25 years ago, or so. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/15 "2015-01-21T01:46:10Z")
I never heard it until I had a baby and began to read parenting websites. It’s all over those. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/16 "2015-01-21T01:47:34Z")
It’s a standard parenting term. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/17 "2015-01-21T01:52:36Z")
I’ve heard it for toddlers doing the assisted walking thing. And I never even had kids. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/18 "2015-01-21T03:29:49Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > A British\* friend of mine wrote in her blog that her young son enjoys “cruising.” I asked her what that meant, and she explained that it meant walking along while holding onto furniture. > > I have tried googling “cruising children” but all I got were pages offering advice on taking kids on cruise ships. > > So, have any of you heard the term “cruising” referring to a young child’s way of walking? > > \*My friend is from England and now lives in Scotland. I don’t know if “cruising” is an English or Scottish term, or maybe a very local term. It’s a common term to me. I remember reading it in baby books and using it myself and hearing my friends use it. This was in the US over the past few decades. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/19 "2015-01-21T03:37:29Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > Yes, one of the disposable diaper brands even has a type labeled as cruisers. That’s where I’ve heard it! Pennsylvania, USA, Earth. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/20 "2015-01-21T03:40:05Z")
Agreed that it’s a common parenting term, but I probably would have never heard it if I didn’t have a kid. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429.md?page=2)