Stroller

An eye-opening look at strollers and what they reveal about our attitudes toward parenthood and children.

Among the many things expectant parents are told to buy, none is more symbolic of status and parenting philosophy than the stroller. Although its association with wealth dates back to the invention of the first pram in the 1700s, in recent decades, four-figure strollers have become not just status symbols but cultural identifiers.

There are sleek jogging strollers for serious athletes, impossibly compact strollers for parents determined to travel internationally with pre-ambulatory children, and those featuring a ride-on kick board or second, less “babyish” seat, designed with older siblings in mind. Despite the many models available, we are all familiar with the image of a harried mother struggling to use a stroller of any kind in a public space that does not accommodate it. Meanwhile, anti-stroller evangelists fervently preach the gospel of baby wearing and attachment parenting. As Amanda Parrish Morgan shows, opinions about this object reveal deeper attitudes about how we believe parents and children ought to move through the world.

This book is the latest in the Object Lessons series. Published in association with The Atlantic, it explores the hidden lives of ordinary things and what they can teach us about ourselves and the modern world.