Observation: Tess goes to the Botanical Gardens

Subjects:Tess & Dale (parents)Rainer (3 yo)

• Walter (21 mos)

Baby carrying devices:Phil & Ted's stroller

• Inglesina stroller
• Ergo baby carrier

Devices and their basic usage:Phil & Ted's stroller: For everyday errands around the neighborhood - too big for the subway

• Inglesina stroller: Used for the subway and bus - Tess and Dale don't use umbrella strollers
• Ergo baby carrier: Both kids are basically too old for this but Dale and Tess used it for subway excursions and even brought Rainer along on a camping trip on the Appalachian trail a couple of years ago

ObservationTess and her two sons allowed us to join them on their trip to the botanical garden. We watched as Tess dealt with a number of challenges during the trip. We took the bus which has some significant challenges since parents absolutely must collapse their stroller when boarding* - at least in NYC. For Tess that doesn't pose a huge problem since she does this all the time. Note that her stroller balances on end after collapsing.

Also a big issue for Tess and her family is that her husband Dale is nearly 7 feet tall and his stride is so long that he can't walk behind either of their strollers. I interviewed Dale about this and learned that due to the necessity for him to walk to the side of strollers, he has jammed his little toe (on both feet) so much that he has gone up a shoe size!

Tess's stride clearances on their strollers...

Tess, like Peter below, also has some issues with one-handed stuff. Because her stroller needs two hands she has trouble talking on the phone. The reason is that her stroller has separated handles rather than a continuous a one that circles around in front of her. That requires the use of both hands to maneuver...

*See the "Rules and regulations" posting for info on other regulations parents need to be aware of.