# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/21 "2015-01-21T05:03:06Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Those kids are cruising for a bruising. Itchin for a bitchin Hankerin for a spankerin Floatin for a slit throatin ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/22 "2015-01-21T05:24:27Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Itchin for a bitchin > > Hankerin for a spankerin > > Floatin for a slit throatin Jonesin for a bonesin as in “breaking one’s bones.” Get your mind out of the gutter. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/23 "2015-01-21T05:30:03Z")
No children, but I’ve seen the term used that way before. I vaguely recall that I came across it by chance while looking for something else, probably on Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/24 "2015-01-21T07:07:38Z")
Only heard it in terms of looking for (usually gay) sex partners, or teens driving around. Never would have associated it with toddlers! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/25 "2015-01-21T08:30:18Z")
I am in Denver and yes, I heard it used that way. But only when I had children of the age to be doing that. Not before, and not since (until now). ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/26 "2015-01-21T09:03:47Z")
Yes, I heard “cruising” as referring to near-toddlers walking while holding on to furniture around 30 years ago. I didn’t realize it wasn’t a common use among parents now. ---
**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 21, 2015, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/27 "2015-01-21T10:29:24Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Yes, I heard “cruising” as referring to near-toddlers walking while holding on to furniture around 30 years ago. I didn’t realize it wasn’t a common use among parents now. What? It is common, as we’ve all stated. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/28 "2015-01-21T10:54:14Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Only heard it in terms of looking for (usually gay) sex partners, or teens driving around. Never would have associated it with toddlers! :eek: Ditto – I’m in the south of England, and know of no ‘cruising’ tots, but I’ve not been to every part of Portsmouth, admittedly. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/29 "2015-01-21T11:08:45Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Only heard it in terms of looking for (usually gay) sex partners, or teens driving around. Never would have associated it with toddlers! :eek: There is even a movie starring Al Pachino called Cruising, he is a cop posing as a gay man to infiltrate a gay club and catch a serial killer targeting the patrons! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/30 "2015-01-21T12:08:22Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > So, have any of you heard the term “cruising” referring to a young child’s way of walking? Yes, even before we had kids. > [@](#): > > I have tried googling “cruising children” but all I got were pages offering advice on taking kids on cruise ships.[…] > \*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. Nope - the term is used here in SA too. And with millions of hits on Google if you use the right search terms. I think if you [specify baby](https://www.google.com/search?num=30&safe=off&q=baby+cruising+-ship+-liner+-boat+-sailing+-%22baby+cruising+love%22&oq=baby+cruising+-ship+-liner+-boat+-sailing+-%22baby+cruising+love%22&gs_l=serp.12...27231.38772.0.41438.22.22.0.0.0.0.284.2535.2-10.10.0.msedr...0...1c.1.61.serp..22.0.0.kN_QqtD_0M8) or [toddler](https://www.google.com/search?num=30&safe=off&q=toddler+cruising+-ship+-liner+-boat+-sailing+-%22baby+cruising+love%22&oq=toddler+cruising+-ship+-liner+-boat+-sailing+-%22baby+cruising+love%22&gs_l=serp.12...74135.75450.0.77216.7.7.0.0.0.1.639.1022.3-1j0j1.2.0.msedr...0...1c.1.61.serp..7.0.0.K06PhcBqUW0) and exclude boats, ships and sailing, you get much better results. ---
**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, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/31 "2015-01-21T12:12:34Z")
> [@grude](#): > > There is even a movie starring Al Pachino called Cruising, he is a cop posing as a gay man to infiltrate a gay club and catch a serial killer targeting the patrons! I knew that, yet the song from **Midnight Cowboy** is what I thought of initially. ---
**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, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/32 "2015-01-21T12:54:23Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Yes, I heard “cruising” as referring to near-toddlers walking while holding on to furniture around 30 years ago. I didn’t realize it wasn’t a common use among parents now. Now? My oldest is 20 and it was common already then. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/33 "2015-01-21T14:49:36Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > No kidding! > > Safe Search: ON! Its a movie with Al Pacino. It has nothing at all to do with his later work, ‘_Scent of a Woman_’… ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/34 "2015-01-21T15:01:52Z")
Was a common term 30 years ago when my two kids were learning to walk, and still is today. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/35 "2015-01-21T15:08:01Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > 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. Highway 100! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/36 "2015-01-21T15:12:13Z")
> [@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’d never heard the term myself. I got a totally different impression. I’m picturing two kids walking down the street with a chair in their hand, or maybe two kids with a small couch or table between them. It didn’t make sense, but then, kids have always done things that don’t make sense. Why did we all walk around college with our Converse All-star laces untied? I have no idea! Kids walking around with furniture would just make me go “Ho-kay”. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/37 "2015-01-21T17:04:47Z")
I have a four year old and never heard of the term although I don’t read parenting websites or mommy-blogs either. I always called/thought of it as “assisted walking” and he was out of the phase soon enough that I never needed any other term. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/38 "2015-01-21T17:42:50Z")
Never heard it before now. I don’t have kids, but have never heard the term used by my friends and family who do. Seems like an odd term to use for that behavior. I wonder how it came into use. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/39 "2015-01-21T17:54:43Z")
I have heard it. Definitely heard it roughly 5 years ago (southern US) from a parent-friend. I think I already knew what it meant then, though. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429/40 "2015-01-21T18:02:07Z")
Non-parent in Texas, and that’s the term I’ve heard for that style of walking among young toddlers. Helps with their balance, reduces the amount of falling/bleeding/screeeeeeeeeeeaming. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-cruising-referring-to-young-kids/710429.md?page=3)