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Stroller Struggles

Tips for Alleviating Stress When Out and About

By Shannon McKelden

So Russell took her daughter stroller shopping. "We looked at several strollers together," she says. "I asked her opinion about which one she liked. Of course she was far more interested in pushing them than she was in sitting in them, until we came to a double stroller where the seats could flip to either both face forward or to face each other. She loved the backward-facing seat! She could look at one brother while the other brother rode on a standing platform on the side, like an outrider. It was all the change we needed to make using a stroller a pleasant experience once again."

When asked about reasons for stroller aversion, Dr. Carol L. Steltenkamp, associate professor of pediatrics at Kentucky Children's Hospital, University of Kentucky, initially was reminded of adults who refuse to wear seatbelts while driving. "The toddler is bright enough to realize that they cannot experience the world quite as well from the seat of a stroller," Dr. Steltenkamp says.

Toddlers are reaching for independence and may see a stroler as taking away that independence. "Parents control essentially everything that a toddler does, wears, where they go, etc.," says Dr. Steltenkamp, who is also the mother of three children herself. "Refusal to get in the stroller may have little to do with the stroller as opposed to just the basic refusal to cooperate – seeking that independence." Solutions to this problem may be more difficult than for physical discomfort or separation anxiety.

Want to see more?

• Stroller Safety: Selecting the Stroller That's Right for You
• Walk This Way: Buying a Stroller That Fits the Bill
• The Ups and Downs of Escalators: How to Avoid Injuries with Babies and Toddlers
• Check out our Article Library.
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