Is your child folded into it, knees up to her chin? Do his giant feet skid along the pavement?
If so, it's time to get them upright and walking, says Laura Miller, the blogger behind Too Big for Stroller.
The childless woman started the blog because she thought big kids who can walk look funny crumpled into strollers.
Her posts show children, some appearing to be on the cusp of puberty, being pushed around in strollers and the occasional shopping cart. While their faces are obscured (by a circle that says "walk"), the parents are clearly identifiable in each shot.
Ms. Miller takes the photographs on the sly and also takes submissions - one woman sending many a week appears to work at Disney World, where kids are prone to fatigue-induced whining.
The blog went viral yesterday after a Salon interview.
Here, Ms. Miller argues there's "something fundamentally un-cool about strollers."
"I mean, you could be the world's best businesswoman, but when you're pushing a stroller it just screams: 'I'm a parent, this is all I am.' "
While the project has resonated with a surprising many, others were outraged by what they saw as a parenting diss. The folks at Jezebel were downright incensed:
"At times it seems like having a child just creates a series of opportunities for people to judge you. From what you put in their mouths to what type of diaper you put on their butts, there are endless options and each has vocal critics. Now there's a blog that pokes fun at another one of those choices."
Ms. Miller has responded with a mischievous apologia, posted on her website today:
"i have no doubt you're a great mom. being a mom is hard work. i have a dog, so you know, i get it. just kidding. i don't get it at all. i'm just a kidless twenty-something with a lot of laundry and nothing to eat in my fridge. my point is not to criticize anyone. i'm not really judging you. or your situation. i just happen to think that big kid looks sorta funny in that little stroller."
Salon interviewer Adele Melander-Dayton, also childless, wrote yesterday that the sight "just looks wrong."
"It hits so many cultural hot buttons at once: a sense that we're overindulging a younger generation, the eye-roll-inducing eccentricities of parenting culture, an American tendency to take the escalator rather than the stairs."
Salon commenters weren't so sure.
Wrote one: "It seems like people think it's somehow 'immoral' to not expend energy. Sitting when you could be walking is viewed as a sign of poor character. … Whether someone is disabled, tired, or just finds it easier, how someone gets around is really none of our business."
Another commenter who had lived car-free in Europe says he and his wife happily chauffeured a daughter around until she was seven years old, mostly for speed and so the girl could snooze if Mom and Dad were having a late night out.
What do you think? Is there any excuse for an eight-year-old in a stroller?
Zosia Bielski