With that title, you may believe this is a post about your Bugaboo, Maclaren, Graco, Stoke, etc stroller, but you would be mistaken. Let’s focus on the mini-sized strollers that our toddlers push around the city streets and local playgrounds.
Recently, we have been playground hopping on the Upper East Side. Even though each playground is unique, one common theme you will notice is the abundance of toddlers pushing around their pint sized strollers. Why are they so fascinated with these strollers? Maybe they want to emulate their parents because we spend so much time pushing them around in a stroller.
My son has been “borrowing” these strollers from his friends for quite some time now so I recently made a trip to the local children’s toy store and bought him his own. There were three choices – a blue & white checkered model with no brand name ($16), a pink model with no brand name ($16). and a red Maclaren ($30). My son selected the blue one.
This $16 investment has been a savior for me in confronting the concept of sharing and taking turns. Most of the time, my son is content pushing, carrying, or pulling around his own stroller. However, when he decides to borrow another child’s stroller, we have something to trade with.
This week, I was asked by two different moms (thanks Michelle for inspiring this post) about how I feel about my son pushing around a stroller. I was surprised by the question, but didn’t mind sharing the answer. I said that he enjoys playing with the stroller – if it puts a smile on his face, then it makes me happy. I am quite confident walking around with my boy pushing around a stroller…sometimes, he even decides to put a baby in the seat. Pictured above is my son proudly engaging with a stroller he “borrowed” on a local playground. Yup, it’s bright pink. Sometimes, after an exhausting day, I wonder how nice it would be if my son could push me around in the stroller…
I would be interested to hear a few other dads pitch in with their comments.
I see these strollers all over the UES too, Lance. No strollers for me yet, but very soon I am sure…one for my son and one for my daughter. They both have dolls, too, which did surprise some people. Makes sense to me that they both have dolls and will both have strollers.
Keep rollin J!