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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not understand the obsession so many mums have with pushchairs?

108 replies

SamuelAndOscarsMummy · 07/08/2013 10:30

I probably am as it doesn't actually affect my life at all but I don't get why some mothers feel the need to get 5 or more different pushchairs in the time that their baby needs one or to spend a ridiculous amount that they cannot really afford on a 'designer' pushchair?

It's not really the money side of it, I just genuinely don't understand the appeal of it? it's not like the baby cares? I have had two pushchairs in the time I have had my children, one travel system that converts to a stroller and when I had my second I got a double, as far as I knew the purpose of a pushchair is to transport your baby.

I guess the reason it has wound me up today is seeing them all on those free gifting sites on facebook and seeing people I know who already have a decent pushchair asking for another one when there might be someone who genuinely cannot afford a pushchair or theirs has broken or been stolen or something that needs one, not just because that one is prettier than the one they already have?!

Would be interested to hear what others think about this and whether I am the only one who really doesn't give a fuck what my pushchair looks like or what brand it is as long as my kids are safe and comfortable..

OP posts:
LadyintheRadiator · 07/08/2013 16:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

namechangeforthispost864269 · 07/08/2013 16:32

I have 2 one is a proper push chair the other is a sit up buggy that cost me £50 and is very cheap and cheerful we use the proper one in this country and the other when we go and visit family abroad as we don't mind if it gets damaged in transit plus it folds down to nothing so is great for travel. we are having dc2 later this year dc1 will be 18months but I just cant bring myself to buy a double buggy it seems like such a waste of money so I'm planning on a buggy and a sling. hopefully it will work Grin

HaroldLloyd · 07/08/2013 16:35

I got a double buggy. Or I would never have left the house!

I'm pretty distasteful though as I did spend exactly 600 on a pram.

HaroldLloyd · 07/08/2013 16:36

It did come with a pretty pink hood though and bows up the side. DS loves it.

RaRayRay1 · 07/08/2013 17:04

I had my perfect buggy/ pram that I got second hand for DS, it was amazing to push could fit lots on it and DD who is 3 could stand on the buggy board no problems. Then the chassis snapped !! Shock

I have since got another second hand but its just not as good DS is a big boy and isn't going to be in it long, so now I'm obsessed with finding one that I like I'm always on FB and gumtree hoping the perfect one comes up.

I really wish I had got a double when DS was born, there's no point now though Grin

LazyFaire · 07/08/2013 17:05

I 100% think YANBU

My (skint) SIL has had about 5 prams for her DS (who now doesn't go in one at all at 18 months as he is a little tearaway and wants to run about)

On (the dreaded) facebook selling pages I regularly see the same women asking for prams of a certain make/model/colour and I think 'who the fuck do you think you are? Take one of the 15 other prams on here, wait for one to come up, or pay full price for it if you want to be that specific!'

I have a 3rd hand gifted buggy which is tatty as anything but comfy (I'm guessing, 2.5yo DS still prefers it having walked as far as next door) and waterproof (I did have to get a replacement cover off ebay) and really what more do you need? I might splash out for a new (cheap) one for DC2 if there ever is a DC2.

The amount of waste/landfill is what shocks me, there is SO much to a modern buggy and some people must buy 3 new for one kid and just chuck them Hmm I don't know people with that kind of money though Grin

OctopusWrangler · 07/08/2013 17:56

I have a stokke and a noa. I have had innumerable others over three children/ten years. Some fell apart, some were broken by idiot exes and stupid neighbours other people, some just weren't what I needed. I'm happy now. Big pushchair for at home, compact folder for on trains. It's not unreasonable to be a pram addict, just usually impossible to cure:)

OctopusWrangler · 07/08/2013 17:57

To add, most of mine have been second hand purchases, and I sold or gave away the ones I no longer needed.

MiaowTheCat · 07/08/2013 18:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

VinegarDrinker · 07/08/2013 18:23

People with multiple slings have already been mentioned at least twice on this thread!

TokenGirl1 · 07/08/2013 18:30

I've been obsessed with pushchair since I was a little girl. We had a second hand pram and buggy for dc1. We also bought a Quinny Zapp to transport the car seat on as the pram was so old it didn't come with car seat attachments. The Quinny was therefore useful if she was asleep in her car seat and we didn't wantvto disturb her.
Then dc2 came along before dc 1 was walking or even out of the infant carrier so we bought a double that fitted 2 infant carriers and came with a carry cot and seats for toddlers. We also bought a double buggy for use when we visited the grandparents or went away on hols as the big double would not fit in the boot with all the luggage.
We've recently bought a single 3 wheeler as dc 1 can use a buggy board now and have got rid of the original single pram and smaller double.
Therefore we now have 4 pushchairs left all useful for different purposes. Will be childminding my nephew soon so they will certainly get used.
Total cost for all 6 prams £700 of which £500 was for the big double that we're still using 3 years on. How cool the pram is didn't matter to us, it was wether it did the job at the time.

spotscotch · 07/08/2013 18:35

I do agree that some people seem to have almost an addiction to pushchairs. I know someone who must have bought 6 or 7 since her dd was born 2 years ago.

However, at the other end of the scale you get people who claim to be ooh soo laid back about pushchairs. Such as the poster on here a few weeks ago who claimed that she cared so little about pushchair status that she didn't even know what make hers was. Bollocks!

The comment about spending 600 quid on a pushchair when others can't afford it and we are in a recession is, obviously, ridiculous. Hmm

Bunbaker · 07/08/2013 18:39

I don't get it either. I had a second hand pram donated from my sister, and when DD was 7 months I got a MacLaren pushchair because it had the longest handles as OH and I are tall. Job done.

MrsFlorrick · 07/08/2013 18:39

Well you have all got me thinking about strollers again and I am now eyeing up the Bugaboo Buffalo and the Micralite Twofold.

I don't need either for a two year old and a four year old but it would really like both. Settle for one though Wink

I honestly don't know why some of you are being all sniffy and saying its distasteful. It's no different to have tons of clothes or Mulberry handbags or Jimmy Choos. Besides a decent stroller is the same price as one measely mulberry handbag these days.

So feel free to judge my stroller obsession and while you're at it why don't you have a quick judgepants at my collection of 26 mulberry handbags.

I earned the money to pay for the handbags (when i worked pre DC) and ditto for the strollers.

On the other hand I almost never eat out and hardly ever drink (maybe two glasses a week mostly less). I don't smoke and I don't buy designer clothes. Or do expensive weekends away. And DH and I share one car (to DHs distaste but we don't need two).

If you all spend thousands every year on designer jeans how is that different?

Bunbaker · 07/08/2013 18:41

TBH I wasn't even aware there was "pushchair status". Is this a recent thing?

Indith · 07/08/2013 18:42

"Such as the poster on here a few weeks ago who claimed that she cared so little about pushchair status that she didn't even know what make hers was. Bollocks!"

My last pushchair cost me £20 second hand. It said Graco on it so I know it was a Graco but that's it. Current one was given to me by a friend when my £20 bit the dust. It says petite star on it or something which is the only reason I have any kind of clue what it is. I am honestly not bothered about the things.

Talk to me about slings however, I know exactly what my slings are Grin.

We all have our loves and obsessions. For some they are small, for others big. Some love books, others posh shoes. Some have a cupboard full of lovely teas. Some focus their energy onto child related things when they are small and buy pushchairs or pretty nappies or slings.

I wish I had the money to go mad over slings but even I have done a bit of swapping and selling over the years and have owned around 8 different ones which is nothing compared to other stashes!

spotscotch · 07/08/2013 18:52

So you know that you had a graco and a petite star then, Indith!

Hmm
DuelingFanjo · 07/08/2013 18:52

I did research on pushchairs and then bought one that did the job. Just one. I think most people do that, don't they?

I also have one woven wrap. I would love to have the money to buy some of the beautiful wraps out there, just for the fun of it, but I have one.

I have been on a bus once with my push-chair, the whole idea fills me with dread.

spotscotch · 07/08/2013 18:53

Eek sorry that was supposed to be a Smile Indith!

God I am obviously so used to being sceptical!

Xihha · 07/08/2013 19:16

I've had 6, but for 2 children.
For DS i had
1 super comfortable one where ds could face me which was a little bit like a tank but i loved
a double pushchair as mum had a baby the same age and we used to babysit for each other a lot.
1 lightweight easy to fold up one when he was bigger so i could get on the bus/train easier.

I gave DSs away as I didn't have anywhere to sore them and wasn't planning anymore kids at the time

DD had a pram we were given, which DHs friend now has.
A lightweight buggy, which broke when we were on holiday, DS, then 6, had sprained his ankle on a cliff path 3 miles from the nearest road so we'd had to put him in it as he was too heavy to carry and it never pushed properly after that.
A second lightweight buggy to replace the one we broke, which sadly also broke but DD was big enough to walk by then.

My friend is permanently looking for new pushchairs though, she's had 7 in the past year, weirdest bit is she drives practically everywhere and puts the kid in a trolley when she's shopping so hardly even uses a pushchair anyway!

Loupee · 07/08/2013 19:28

I spent over £600 on my buggy over a year a go. It cost more than our car at the time, however the car was traded in before we had it year, the buggy is still as good as new, having been used every day.
Sure it is just a receptacle for getting baby from A to B and the end of the day, but why should I be judged for paying extra to increase comfort for my self and baby. My buggy is a dream to push, I love it and I'm proud of it, because I made the right decision at the right time.
I would never dream of spending hundreds of pounds on a handbag, but I know others do, and to be honest I don't care. I don't even understand why this is a conversation anyone cares enough about to have?!

Abra1d · 07/08/2013 19:33

I did actually have three at one stage, two of which were secondhand.

Proper (secondhand) pram. Much more comfortable than anything else for a small baby to sleep in and useful for wheeling into the garden so they could sleep in the fresh air.

Single (£40) Maclaren for walks when the baby was in a sling or when the toddler wanted to walk or scoot.

Double (secondhand) Maclaren for when both wanted to sit--long walks or shopping trips.

Both Maclarens, including the double, were small enough to fit in the boot of my Corsa. I could manage to fold them up myself on the bus.

OctopusWrangler · 07/08/2013 21:17

Slings! Had a moby, a cunning thing for a poorly Klingon, had a manduca, had an oki kai before the washer broke and I have a firespiral on the way. Yeah. I have ishooooooos:o

Maggietess · 07/08/2013 22:48

In my quest to find the perfect place buggy I've had three... First one too bulky, second one no where to out nay shopping and two large pieces in boot, third one I really like, perhaps just still a bit bulky folded.

I've borrowed a double and a travel maclaren.

BUT key bit is I've bought them all on ebay and sold them all on ebay and gumtree. I've looked into second hand values before ive paid out. And at the end I will have spent net c£450 ie the price of my first one.

So it's win win fine for me. Fine if you're not bothered but don't assume we've all more money than sense, I've thought it all through and it works for me.

(Ps I don't do handbags and shoes as a thing so saving a few bob there Wink)

Pascha · 08/08/2013 07:51

I've had 4 pushchairs for 4 different stages so far. I can see at least one more being useful before w outgrow them. I have 3 slings too.

So what? It's my money and it pleases me. If it was my husband and his minor obsession with racing Minis no-one would bat an eye would they?

I think the killjoys on this thread are the snobs. Why shouldn't anyone have anything they damn well want whenever they damn well please and spend whatever they damn well can?