AwSnappity, that was a nice touch, wasn’t it?
Oh, we still have them! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been whapped in the back of the knees with those things!
Where do you live so I can move there?
Mum asked me to take her shopping at the mall here yesterday, and we borrowed a wheelchair for her (she is exhausted easily because of a blood disorder). Now my mum and I get on like a house afire – we can be having a ‘heated discussion’ in a store, and literally have a ‘OOOh, shiny!’ sidetrack. It drives my dad nuts.
So we’re messing about, me steering her around as if I were driving my car, parallel parking her by the fountain so she could read her book whilst I dashed into a tiny shop (or the one time she said, 'oh just leave me outside the store while you get your stuff, and I parked her facing a blank wall. It’s those times when she reminds me what my full name is.) (yes she can turn around, and crikey No! I wouldn’t have put/left her in such a situation if she couldn’t have, no worries.)
Meanwhile, I was doing my best not to take up room, or run over people, excusing ourselves, and you know, people were really kind and made way, or ran to hold doors, etc. Until we came down one of those wide aisles in the main mall, and coming towards us was a couple with a massively larger, double stroller – with the tiny ones lagging along and beside them on short, tired legs, because mum and dad had the stroller piled high with boxes and bags. Poor wee beasties could barely keep up with their parents, and said parents were slowly strolling along, oblivious to everyone else they were bumping in to and blocking, let alone their tired kids…
It looked to me like they were dragging a bunch of toddler stuff plus their luggage. Sorry folks, if you’re making the quota with your baby stuff, you need to check your luggage; I don’t care how small it is. There have been times where I was traveling overnight for business and checked my luggage anyway since I had to carry on some work-related stuff.
Not only that, but of all the carriages I saw the other day, maybe about 40% were unoccupied by any sort of toddler or baby. I know it’s nice to have something to carry your purchases in, but the damn malls are crowded enough as it is.
In a close second, if not tied for first, are those car-shaped carts. They’re wide as hell and impossible to pass.
Robin
Exhausted from pushing a 28-year-old around in a giant stroller?
Agreed. I realize the store managers are trying to get kids used to the stores so that they too can become shoppers, but come on!
One more stroller rant: Whenever I’m at the farmers markets, invariably some idiot with a stroller will be right behind me so that when I’m finishing at a booth, I will turn around and practically fall over the stroller. Leave some space, folks, for your kid’s sake and for mine!
Here in Waikiki, they decided to remove all roadside parking. One of the reasons was that a serious amount of people would jaywalk by pushing their baby carriages into the road before checking the traffic. And these weren’t the Japanese tourists.
sniff
But the only way to take two little ones up to Cub is to rely on their car-shaped cart. Only Costco has carts with two seats up front & sometimes you need some things they don’t sell.
Geez.
Even though I try to be a considerate person, I might at some point run over a toe. Or I could be distracted by a fussy child and not notice that I’ve bumped into you. I’m not an expert at this, just doing my best.
If you’ll forgive me for that, I’ll forgive you for racing me to the door, cutting me off in the parking lot, asking inappropriate questions (all children are “natural”), and not being aware that there are other people nearby who have agendas different than your own.
Those kids who are walking while the stroller fills with packages? There’s a reasonable chance some of them pitched a fit about being in the stroller and INSISTED on walking. Or those could be parents who are trying to fit a month’s worth of errands into a single afternoon because they’re struggling to keep up with the housework. The older kids in the strollers could be wanderers who would get lost if they weren’t strapped in.
Sometimes speed is not the most important thing. For some of us, it’s not even an option any more.
Knows she should’ve just skipped this thread
I can understand that too. The example I gave really surprised me though. She wasn’t strapped in, she could easily have gotten out at any time (it was one of those big strollers) and she was draped over the top of the tray, not strapped in, with her skirt hiked up almost above her waist (if she had no underwear on she would’ve been flashing everyone)… Really there was no apparent reason she should be in there except she wanted to be while her mother tried to push her around and carry a small baby in her arms as well.
I haven’t been to the L.A. Zoo lately, but the last time I was I noticed that they have strollers for rent that are shaped like hippopotami, and have about a foot of extra length in front to represent the hippo’s head. So, the parents with these strollers crowd around the popular exhibits like the elephants and the chimps, so there’s like this ‘vacuum’ about three people deep around the enclosures, because these hippo strollers are so darn long.
And most of the kids in them are probably too young to be interested in zoo animals anyway.
There there, hon. You’ve got twins? I can’t even imagine. I thought having my one was going to nearly rob me of my sanity. I salute you for being able to leave the house at all.
I strongly suspect that the behaviors being complained about here aren’t things you are guilty of. I think the target of these rants are inconsiderate parents, not parents in general.
Can I get you a cup of tea? Do 5-6 loads of laundry for you?
Pittsburgh. Haven’t seen them at a single Dirty Bird (aka Giant Eagle) in the past year or so.
Those suck too. I don’t mind the ones with the big-ass two kid seat attached to the push-side because at least those aren’t as wide as the car-carts.
Not so much a problem if you park the car-cart to the side of the aisle so that other people can get past. If you park in the middle of the aisle, oblivious to all who are also shopping, that’s different.
The people I’m talking about aren’t distracted (not by their kids, anyway), they’re completely oblivious to their surroundings.
I didn’t mention kids. The ones I was refering doing didn’t have any kids nearby, from what I could see. Although I could’ve easily missed them in the chaos. Regardless, as long as they watch where they’re going (like I do) I don’t have any beef with them one way or the other.
I’ll just assume that “you” applies to other people and not me, since I don’t cut off, race, or ask dumb questions like that (and I totally agree–no one has any business asking where the kid came from–it’s a stupid inquiry and no one’s business anyway).
What is Cub?
I was speaking here specifically of Albertson’s. I really have no experience with the big bulk stores like CostCo or others. I should have clarified.
It’s not that there aren’t a lot of inconsiderate turd burglars out there. There are. What always irritated me were the parents who thought the world was their child’s field trip & we should all provide a narrative for their educational enlightenment. But then once you’ve crossed over into Parentville, things look a lot different.
Cranky you made me laugh. You’re right, just getting out of the house is a major accomplishment.
Spectre the point of the zoo (at least in Chicago) has very little to do with the animals. It has to do with the numerous benches, handy snackbars, and wide, easily accessible lawns where one can change a diaper at a moment’s notice.
Cub Foods is a grocery store, probably comparable to Albertson’s. Though I wouldn’t know, because in my entire life of living in the Midwest (Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota) I’ve never seen an Albertson’s. Or a Kroeger’s.
And did you see this bit from the story?
Fuck that shit.
We’ve got to start getting tough on people who either can’t drive, or are too fucking selfish to pay attention to anything on the road.
A TRAFFIC TICKET???!!
That’s all she might get for running over two children? That’s insane!
We call the big ones, Dreadnaughts, after the battleship.