Do you secretly judge parents by their strollers??

[Anonymous]

Only if they're short. Seriously, having used all those strollers with 4 little wheels over the years, I do not understand how anyone over 5'4" can use them and not be in pain.

[Anonymous]

I own a bugaboo and I don't give a damn if you all judge me. We live in Gtown and it's been great on the bumpy streets. Just had #2 and got the bob double so I guess I am guilty in all your thrifty minds. In fact I also wear quilted jackets as do my children and drive a Tahoe. Also highly educated. So really you can judge away I am happy with my decisions and you can be happy with yours. We probably wouldn't be friends if we met at the park and that's fine too.

[Anonymous]

You ladies will be absolutely shocked to hear I can't remember what brand my stroller was. My youngest is 8.

Trust me, 10 years from now, you won't care either.

[Anonymous]

In the spirit of full, anonymous disclosure, yes I do judge, both "up" ("those suckers paid $1000 for a Bug and didn't even get a bassinet included?") and "down" ("bet that's tough to push over these sidewalks" or "there's no basket under that thing") from my own choice, an Uppa, which was a gift from my entire extended family.

Doesn't mean I can't like or have meaningful friendships with those people; just means I muse that their choice wouldn't work well for our family. Maybe some of them drive more than we do or were adamant about the color of the stroller or needed a deep sunshade less, etc. I guess it's more a form of smug self-congratulation than judgment -- I'm sure they all have their reasons for their choices, with having more or less money than our family chief among them. Hey -- at least I'm owning my behavior!

[Anonymous]

No, but we do usually end up talking to others we see with Uppa Babys.

[Anonymous]

WellI spent $10 on a used one so I guess I am poor because I added the savings to putting in a pool at our beach house that few people know we have because I don't want them leeching off us for a free weekend. Oh well off for a walk with my poor persons stroller

[Anonymous]

15:35 again, and me too, PP. I think there's an unspoken assumption that fellow Uppa drivers somehow share your values, or if that's putting it too grandly, are "in the know" about a good value for our particular set of needs (huge basket, big wheels, long shade, flexible hand thingy, etc.).

It's not that different from talking to someone on the Metro who happens to be wearing your coat or bonding with parents whose kid has the same name as yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:15:35 again, and me too, PP. I think there's an unspoken assumption that fellow Uppa drivers somehow share your values, or if that's putting it too grandly, are "in the know" about a good value for our particular set of needs (huge basket, big wheels, long shade, flexible hand thingy, etc.).

It's not that different from talking to someone on the Metro who happens to be wearing your coat or bonding with parents whose kid has the same name as yours.

"Validate me!! Please, someone validate me!!!"

[Anonymous]

"In fact I also wear quilted jackets as do my children"

How can you do this to your kids?

[Anonymous]

"It's not that different from talking to someone on the Metro who happens to be wearing your coat or bonding with parents whose kid has the same name as yours. "

Oh.my.God.

[Anonymous]

Sure, 15:49, to an extent that's what I'm saying, but it's also a recognition of shared taste. Like I said, not unlike any other cultural signifier that parents bond over on the playground, at school, etc., the way people with the same kind of dog or car or alma mater on their sweatshirt seem to do.

Judgmental? Sure, but I owned that myself. Needy? A little, but less so than you're assuming in the lonely urban jungle...who doesn't want to connect with someone a little like them? Can't a sister get a little vulnerable up in here??

[Anonymous]

When I saw the subject, I had quite the opposite notion of what OP was intending. These are my impressions.

Graco = Practical

Maclaren = Keep up with the Joneses

Bugaboo = Shallow

Why on earth do people want to shell out $1000 for a damn stroller that'll be used 2 years at most. Plus, the Bugaboo umbrella and cover are extra. For $1,000 bucks you should get a year supply of Starbucks to go with the purchase!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WellI spent $10 on a used one so I guess I am poor because I added the savings to putting in a pool at our beach house that few people know we have because I don't want them leeching off us for a free weekend. Oh well off for a walk with my poor persons stroller

I'm with you. I spent $10 bucks on an umbrella stroller at Target and have traveled to Europe and the Caribbean with it. That was a well-spent $10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I own a bugaboo and I don't give a damn if you all judge me. We live in Gtown and it's been great on the bumpy streets. Just had #2 and got the bob double so I guess I am guilty in all your thrifty minds. In fact I also wear quilted jackets as do my children and drive a Tahoe. Also highly educated. So really you can judge away I am happy with my decisions and you can be happy with yours. We probably wouldn't be friends if we met at the park and that's fine too.

Where the hell do you park a Tahoe in G-town?

[Anonymous]

In her private parking space, of course.