And if they run over you they are Juggernauts.
I saw one of those double-wide strollers just the other day in Robinsons May. I had to go another way to get out because this thing was taking up the whole aisle and the pusher [bad joke] seemed oblivious to everything.
Maybe they should make them vertical instead. Baby Segways.
Maybe not.
Can I get in on this? I’ve been reading this thread with a lot of interest.
I have 12-month-old triplets. And yes, we have a triple stroller (actually we have three different kinds: a mall stroller, a stroller that carseats can snap into, and a big huge RunAbout stroller). I also have a 4-year-old. We tried for three years to have child number 2, and got children numbers 2-4. It happens.
Anyhoo, I am one of the good stroller moms; I can say I honestly try to stay out of people’s way and my husband is a panicky stroller dad; he is so worried about getting in people’s way that it occasionally is annoying. I think the worst that has happened is a bump into someone that decided to stop dead in the middle of the mall to chat or something. I apologized, but frankly they deserved it.
I agree with whoever said that I will take all the care I can, but I am not a second or third class citizen because I have a stroller and pre-walking kids. My kids need to get out of the house, I need to get out of the house, and with children who can’t walk yet, the options are limited. When we go to the mall/grocery store/park we will be considerate of you, to the best of our abilities. In exchange, please do not:
- TOUCH THE BABIES. Yes, triplets are interesting. Don’t touch them. You wouldn’t (well, hopefully) touch a stranger’s singleton baby, what makes you think you can run over, ignore me, and start trying to PICK UP my kids and then call me a b*tch for telling you to stop?
- Stop dead in traffic and cause a major holdup so that you can stare at me and the babies, causing everyone who is being heldup to blame me.
- If I am standing at a crosswalk, in a parking lot or in a street, STOP YOUR GODDAMN CAR. It is the law. There is a GOOD REASON it’s the law. I have actually had people SPEED UP when they see me waiting.
- I will try to stay as close to the right in the BJ’s/Costco’s parking lot as I can. I will not hug the cars as I do not want to be suddenly surprised by a pair of reversing rear lights suddenly flashing on as a car backs out, unable to see us. In exchange, you will drive SLOWLY through the parking lot. You will not race down the aisles, and you will not BACKUP as fast as you can when you see a space open up, especially without consulting your rear view mirror.
- Please keep your mobile children away from my stroller. Don’t let the little germy critters near my kids. In exchange I will not set my very mobile and usually germy 4-year-old on yours. We have enough colds. While we’re at it, keep your own germs away from us as well.
- Yes, they are triplets. No, they are not identical (the fact that one is a girl and one boy is 10 pounds heavier than the other should give that away). It is none of your business if they “are natural or if I used drugs” - I didn’t ask you about your sex life. Yes, they have their own personalities. Please do not inform me which is the cutest; they are beginning to understand things and do not need to receive this kind of information.
- Please be understanding when I have to fit into the elevator. I can’t help that the stroller is big. I will wait patiently but I have a right to be there too, as do my children.
- In a mall, please do NOT use the handicapped/stroller ramps if you are not handicapped or in a stroller (or with someone who is). I can’t count the times I’ve been trudging along pushing 3 babies and a 50-pound stroller up a ramp only to encounter a slackjawed group of women heading down it who stand like cows gaping at me and seem unable to move. The ramp is there for those who need it; for everyone else, go up/down the two fricking steps. This happened when I was very very pregnant and had to use a wheelchair to get around too.
Sorry. I got carried away. I have encountered my fair share of crappy stroller behavior/bad parenting but please don’t lump everyone together into a “They’re all full of this sense of entitlement.” I have a sensitive spot especially when it comes to older kids in cars/strollers; my older child is very large for his age; when he was 3 he looked 5-6. He was a wanderer and needed those cars in order to be safe; when I was pregnant I couldn’t chase him very well. The kid who looks old may just be big; my son used to always get odd looks when he acted like a 2-year-old and looked like a 4-year-old, etc., like he was retarded or badly brought up. I wish people wouldn’t assume.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Karen