Daily Dose of Common Sense

People pushing strollers get a pretty bad rap as far as pedestrians are concerned. I’ve heard occasional complaints from friends who grouse about the size of strollers and/or the speed at which they travel. I’m a mom with two small kids, and, although I always try to be polite in transit, I’ve received the occasional dirty look from someone while out pushing my kids. It’s time for the madness to end. We need to give strollers–and the people pushing them–a break. Here’s why:

1. We’re late, we’re late, for a very important…EVERYTHING.
I hate being late. It’s rude. But, since having kids, I usually run about ten or fifteen minutes late for everything. This isn’t for a lack of trying to get out of the house on time. Kids have a way of making sure you can’t find the sippy cup, snacks, keys, cell phone, or wallet when it’s time to leave. Or, one child suddenly needs a diaper change. So, people out pushing kids in strollers are generally running late and in a hurry. Which leads to….

2. Move quickly or get out of the way.
If you’re walking slowly, we need to maneuver around you. We need you to walk on the right-hand side of the sidewalk–not the middle. We’ll try to be polite about it, but we don’t always have patience for slowpokes who won’t move over. And, if you’re rocking out to your iPod with headphones, we will be annoyed that you didn’t hear us say, “Excuse me.” You know who you are, you dawdlers without kids in tow and not a care in the world. You might be out for a leisurely stroll by yourself or with a friend. But, we’re not bitter (usually). We’re just late. So, please let us pass without comment.

3. We’re pushing a heavy load.
A stroller generally weighs around 20 lbs. Add to that the weight of the kid(s), and you’ve got quite a torpedo. My kids are 40 lbs and 22 lbs, while my stroller weighs around 25 lbs. So, that’s close to 90 lbs I’m pushing around. Yes, I realize momentum and gravity do some of the work, but it’s still not easy to stop on a dime or get through doorways. We’ll do our best to accommodate other pedestrians, but sometimes it’s like steering a battleship.

4. We’re so tired.
Most parents don’t get a lot of sleep. We’re sleep-deprived and can be cranky on occasion. Sometimes, this perpetual tiredness can impair our judgement or make us lose our patience too quickly. Perhaps we aren’t as nice or courteous as we should be. We’re sorry. When we’re well-rested, we promise we’re a LOT nicer.

I’m not saying there aren’t obnoxious stroller-wielding parents and caretakers out there. I have seen my fair share. Most of us, however, do try to be courteous and respectful. We don’t want to run over people or play chicken with pedestrians. We just need to get where we’re going before our kids go into full meltdown mode. So, the next time you feel anger building toward some stroller-pushing parent, feel some compassion for them instead.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: Payton Chung

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 12:26 pm and is filed under Common Courtesy, Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.