s/o Standing room only--baby strollers

[Rohanna]

Not to mention you're stuck carrying the diaper bag- and at 5'9 and 6'1 between us, it means a lot of making sure the unwieldy bag doesn't smack people. The cheap ones are often way to short for tall people. You can't put babies without head control in them either.

[Shoo]

And umbrella strollers are not really recommended for babies who are too young to hold their heads up on their own.  Those kind of strollers have virtually no support in them.

[chigrrl1]

A stroller is only a need for you due to your life choices.

Riding the bus is also only a need for you due to your life choices.  The implication here is that the individuals using strollers somehow made a poor life choice and should be consequently scrutinized if perceived to be an inconvenience to anyone.  Seems like a rather ungenerous assumption considering that many people (including people with strollers) make the "life choice" to use public transportation for a myriad of reasons, including environmental conservation which is for the good of all.

[Wordgeek]

And the above is why debating "life choices" is pointless.

Discussion is more productive when it centers on practical suggestions on how to be courteous, given the circumstances.

[HermioneGranger]

You know, it is strange though.  I remember when my sisters were little most people used smaller strollers than you see today.  A lot of people used umprella strollers.  I am sure parents had to take their kids on busses and trains then but they somehow managed with smaller scale equipment.

That was the advice a good friend (who had had four children) gave me when we asked her about pushchairs. Get the smallest, cheapest, lightest pushchair you can. I don't know how people cope with those massive strollers. The only time I didn't use an umbrella stroller was either when they were too small for them, or when they had to go in a tandem- and you can get even more compact "double decker" type strollers these days.

I tried an umbrella stroller first for my son.  They're very affordable and convenient.  Then I used it.

*shudder*

I could not walk with that thing.  I took my son around the block and by the time we got home I was ready to wallop it against the pavement like a rock star with a guitar.  I'm 5'8" and I felt completely hunched over and my big feet kept tripping on the wheel-bar.  I was walking around like a drunken Clydesdale with a bad back. On top of that, I tried to walk to the park over the mulch pathway and the stroller wouldn't budge. 

It just wasn't meant to be!

I can't use one either.  Our stroller doesn't take up that much space when collapsed, but there's no way in heck that I can use a cheapo umbrella stroller without a visit to the chiropractor afterward.  Not to mention that they usually don't have any storage underneath the seat, and we needed one with room for my diaper bag. 

[Wordgeek]

Hermione, I may be misreading your post, but I don't see any practical suggestions on how to be courteous.  Do you have any productive comments to make?

[hobish]

I hate those big SUV strollers as much as the next person who has been smashed from behind by one; but banning them just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I don’t think bikes should be, either. I know very few people who choose to take public transportation for the giggles; people need to get around. Someone having a bike or a stroller with them probably makes things 10 times more convenient for them than it does inconvenient for me. That said, I know some of the lines around here have express trains during peak hours and some of them don’t allow bikes or strollers of any kind. People are still able to take the train, just not the express line. It seems to work.

[TootsNYC]

I guess I took Hermione's comments to be, essentially, "there are some serious practical reasons by people don't choose the smaller umbrella strollers, so don't get too upset about that."

[strangetimes]

Having spent many years using strollers, here's my take:

Umbrella strollers are cheap and lightweight, but don't roll well. Besides the hunched back of the mom and the fact that they're not good for babies under 6 months (lack of back support), they are very hard to push. As the child gets older and heavier, they also get heavier and harder to work with. They're very useful if you have a car and can keep one folded in your trunk- they take up very little space and are easier to push on inside surfaces, like in the mall.

The reason you see parents with SUV type strollers is because they are really easy to push- they are built with rolling easily and on different types of surfaces in mind. They're great for jogging, etc.

Having lived in a major city without a car, I (and most of my friends) didn't use either of those. If you need to get around with your child, SUV type strollers are a real pain. Lots of them don't fold easily, take up more space than is often available on the sidewalk, get in the way while shopping, etc. They're really not convenient in the city. There are mid-level strollers that combine decent suspension with a more moderate size and those work the best. They're not too heavy to bump down the stairs, roll nicely most of the time, have some storage for shlepping and don't get in the way as much.

Also- in my city, the rule was strollers get folded unless you pay an extra fare. When it was too hard for me to fold the stroller, (sleeping baby, too many bags, too short a ride, squirmy kid) I was happy to pay an extra fare and not have the hassle.

[Wordgeek]

Thread closed, because it has gone off-topic from relevant, etiquette-related discussion.