My daughter turned four a couple weeks ago. She is an active and strong little girl, capable of jogging the half mile to our neighborhood park. She very rarely needs a lift in her strollers these days and very soon will be done with it.
And I’m completely not ready!
Call it laziness or resourcefulness, but here are my reasons I’m not ready to get rid of the stroller…
- Drink Holder :: Whenever we venture out to the zoo or local park, I try to bring along beverages for the both of us. It never fails that we both end up thirsty. Who wants to carry a Buc-ee’s tea on an entire trip? Or juggle my drink plus hers? No, thanks. That drink holder also works great for coffee on early morning outings. Or midday. Ya’ know.
- Purse/Backpack Storage :: Kids don’t pack light. Sunscreen, snack bags, bug spray, her favorite stuffed kitty that just *has* to go everywhere with us…and the list goes on. I need a place to store all of this, plus MY stuff. The basket underneath our stroller is a lifesaver – and I frequently store the more common necessities there full time.
- Speed & Efficiency :: When we visited the Rodeo last month, my daughter was quickly sliding into the hangry zone while her daddy and I still wanted to browse the booths for shopping. Well, guess what? The stroller is a mobile snack station. We grabbed her some grub and proceeded to continue our shopping. Two birds, one stone. Thank you, stroller.
- Mobile Nap Station :: Along the same lines, sometimes naps just can’t happen at home. The sleepies can hit at the weirdest times, and going home isn’t always an option. We’ve more than once laid the stroller seat down for a nap on the go.
- Confinement :: This one isn’t as big of an issue now that my daughter is older, but the stroller is wonderful for kid confinement when in a crowded venue or a store full of breakables. Clip those straps, hand the kid a snack/book/toy, and let’s roll without worrying about a little one wandering off.
When consulting with friends on this topic, I was shocked to find some that were so ready to get rid of the stroller while I’m holding on tight to ours. I didn’t pay a fortune for ours, but I still feel like I need to get our money’s worth out of it, on top of all of the above reasons. Maybe I’ll start pushing the dog in it instead?!?!
I will happily write a check for a picture of Hank in the stroller
He may be slightly over the stroller’s weight limit…
I’m in the same boat. Thinking about getting a collapsible wagon to carry all our stuff plus a tired kid or two.