Well of course it doesn’t. What place wouldn’t it be an incredible annoyance to everyone else there? That doesn’t make it okay for one person to make a trail inhospitable to everyone else using it.
Oh well, if they’re annoying Dooku on the bike trail, it’s one less child screaming in the theater or restaurant where I am.
I understand the disdain for the double-wide strollers-- those things are a pain in the ass. Ditto for the double-long. Know what that says to me? It says you waited too long to have kids so went on fertility treatments, and ended up hitting double-or-nothing.
And people who spend $750+ on a Bugaboo? You’re fucking nuts.
I like my stroller though. Three inflatable wheels, bassinet option, front wheel swivels, comes with its own bicycle pump, rain shield, etc… Reasonably priced too. All it needs is for BabyBarbarian to be born in the next 5 to 7 weeks.
Hey, that’s mine! We got it at Costco because, in addition to fitting two kids, it also can attach to our bikes (sorry Dooku) and has a ton of storage, so it helps with carrying things. It can be a bit bulky, but we try and do our best to keep it out of other people’s ways.
As FaerieBeth points out, assholes are assholes, whether they have kids or not.
No kidding. We take our kids to places simply to annoy the piss out of people. I specifically refuse to wipe my child’s nose and make sure their hands are sticky with candy, and I make them go up to childless strangers and touch them and their things. Ahhh, the fun.
I try to make sure my children are no “inconvenience” to anyone else, but, believe it or not, it’s impossible. On some occassions, my kid will cry in public. On others, I’ll need to change a diaper in the washroom. Still again, I’ll give my child leeway to explore the world more than 2 feet from me. I do apologize if that “inconveniences” you, and I try to keep it to a minimum, but it happens. I don’t expect you to fawn over my children. I don’t expect you to think their the cutest, nicest things in the world, hell, I don’t even think that. All I expect is that you treat them, just as you would treat any other person or even a fucking dog, with a bit of respect and tolerance. If that’s too much for you, and it sounds like it is, I guess that’s too bad.
When I was driving one I was looking where I was going but I had quickly learned that if you don’t get out of the way it’s your problem, so I just didn’t care.
Interestingly I also discovered that it is much easier to walk uphill while pushing a stroller than without one. Anyone else noticed that? I figured it was because you sort of lean forward on the stroller handle.
…and thank you for illustrating the exact type of oversensitive, self-absorbed jackassery we’re talking about.
Hamlet, To be honest, you sound like the exact opposite of the kind of parent that gets on my nerves. You sound as if you are aware of your environment, and the other folks that are sharing it with you and you further sound as if you are aware of where your kids are and what they are doing (and not using the whole world as free-range daycare). I have no beef with folks like that what so ever (even though you may have a slightly greater impact on your environment than folks without kids).
Actually, I think that’s a whoosh there, folks.
Look, life is full of annoyances. If the worst that happens to you during your day is that you have to take an extra two steps to get around a stroller then you’re pretty lucky. You think parents like hauling sixteen pounds of crap around wherever they go?
Yeah, and this tells me that you’re ignorant about the other factors that contribute to people having twins. I’m a father of twins myself, and I was relatively young (30) when I had them–and no fertility treatments here. We’re guessing the reason we had twins is that my wife’s family seems to have twins running in every generation–her sister has twins, her aunt is a twin, her grandfather was a twin…
Oh, and not all double-long/double-wide parents have twins. They may have two kids who are close together in age, but the parents like the convenience of having one stroller (say, the mom needs to run an errand by herself).
But this
I agree with. However, spending lots and lots of money isn’t limited to parents of multiples–you see it happening with parents of singles as well. You want the best for your kids–and sometimes you just go nuts for that one second.
So far I haven’t hit anyone yet with my double-long/double-wide (had 'em both–the double-wide is easier to steer, in my opinion), and I try to wait outside when my wife walks into a small store in the mall. There are times when you can’t, though, and all you can do is try and not knock over things.
Thanks. I remember, perhaps too fondly, what it was like to not have kids. And, even now, I get very annoyed at the parents described above who seemingly have no concern about others. But I also realize now that it is inevitable that kids will intrude on the space/peace of others who may not like it so much. All I can do is offer a quick apology and withstand their withering gaze when it happens to me.
As a person whose changed approximately 3,000 diapers, I have to agree.
Kids are kids. Small forming minds, seething in anarchy, voracious for new experience with the entire world before them unexplored. Naturally they will have a greater impact on their environment than a min thirties Binarydrone who has been down this road before, and knows exactly where it leads and exactly how many steps it will take to get there.
Half of what pisses me off is probably that I am writhing in envy that I can no longer see the world through the eyes of a child.
The other half of what pisses me off could just as well be a generic rant about people that pay little or no attention to their surroundings and take no steps to minimize their impact on those around them. It could be the person that gets on the bus with an armful of boxes and pays no attention to where they are going, or the group of people walking on the sidewalk that are more intent on their chatting than the fact that someone is trying to get past them. It could be the person swimming slowly in the fast lane of the public pool that is making it difficult for me to get a decent workout. At the end of the day, I just get annoyed at people that don’t pay attention.
I’m sorry. Did you say something?
There is one kind of “stroller behavior” which I think ought to be grounds for taking the kid away. Pedestrians who push the stroller in between two parked cars (of course, not at a crossing), all the way onto the part of the pavement where cars are actually moving, and who then stick their head out veeeeeeery carefully.
Anybody who protects his own life with that of his baby should *at the very least * lose the kid :mad:
Yep, my mom had my brother and me one year apart and didn’t drive. To go anywhere (rain, shine, snow) she had to load us up in a duplexy carriage. No wonder she stopped at two!!
I don’t have kids, so I’m not sure when this happened, but when did strollers turn into SUVs?
I saw a monstrosity of a stroller on the street the other day - could’ve sworn the thing had Mickey Thompson off-road tires on it. WTF? Was the mom pushing it afraid she was going to get stuck in a 10-foot deep mud bog or something?
Is this just the latest incarnation of yuppie one-uppery?
I figure that strollers with motors can’t be far behind. Preferably with shitty mileage and no emissions control.
Not defending the huge strollers, but if you’re like me and don’t drive at all, the bigger tires come in handy in the winter when you’re trying to slog to wherever over sidewalks that haven’t been shoveled or crossing streets.
The Bugaboo’s are pretty nice though. I admit I wanted one when I first saw it, but I could never afford it. It really is very versatile, and anyone I’ve heard of who has it loves it. Compared to this I think it’s a pretty reasonable cost.
I saw one a couple months ago! Apparently it was designed for the folks who believe that pushing around nearly 25 pounds of baby and related stuff is too much effort.
Oh, really.
Well, how’s about a big fuck you to all the inconsiderate, selfish, Lance Armstrong-wannabees who think their precious time trials are being disrupted by people using PUBLIC PARKS for purposes that do not involve high-speed travel?
Or the assholes who …
Wait, I really can’t think of any more. I don’t run into assholes. The truth is, when I’m out with my twins in my double-wide-fuck-you-stroller I meet person after person who smiles, helps me with a package, grabs a door. The other day a nice young lady noticed that I’d forgotten something at Home Depot and went back in to get it for me, rather than watching as I put my babies back into my double-wide-fuck-you-stroller to go get it myself.
I wouldn’t presume to demand the assistance of strangers, and maybe that’s where some people go wrong, but I think it’s perfectly appropriate that people offer it.
And why is that?
Well, you may have noticed that we live in what is called a society in which we are all members (though some are more “memberish” than others). Some of us, at any given point in time, are in a position of having more resources than we need, while others are just a bit short on some want or another. So if you’re in the nail polish aisle with empty arms and time to spare while someone else is struggling, you damn well ought to offer your assistance.
And why is that?
Because back when you were still sucking on your mom’s tit, you can bet your ass people helped her with a door, a package. People looked the other way when your drippy diapered butt impeded their travel. People smiled with understanding when you screamed like in the grocery store. How soon we forget that we were all once dependents, and will be once again. It won’t be long before you’re drooling and wearing diapers again, only this time you’ll be complaining about inconsiderate young’uns who move too fast for you.
And I can tell you for fucking sure that raising kids is the hardest job most people will ever encounter. If you haven’t done it and don’t want to, fine, but don’t be such a harsh judge of those who do. It’s nowhere near as easy as it looks.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go fix lunch.
That’s it. I’m quitting my job to start a new business - aftermarket parts for SUV strollers.
We introduce our 4" body lift kit next month.
I’m in talks with MacPherson to provide struts and coil-over springs.
Powder-coated rims and bumper kits are on deck.
See our ad in Dub Magazine next month!
<Sigh>. Figures.