Stroller (Object Lessons)

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Among the many things expectant parents are told to buy, none is a more visible symbol of status and parenting philosophy than a 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, the baby-gear version of a carbon-fiber bicycle. There are impossibly compact travel strollers for parents determined to make international travel with pre-ambulatory children easy. There are strollers designed with older siblings in mind, featuring a ride-on kick board or second, less “babyish” seat. We’re all familiar with the caricature of a harried mother taking up the entire train carriage with a stroller she can’t collapse. There are anti-stroller evangelists, fervently preaching the gospel of baby wearing and attachment parenting. All of these attitudes, seemingly about an object, are also revealing of our attitudes about how we believe parents and children ought to move through the world. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic. "Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Among the many things expectant parents are told to buy, none is a more visible symbol of status and parenting philosophy than a 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, the baby-gear version of a carbon-fiber bicycle. There are impossibly compact travel strollers for parents determined to make international travel with pre-ambulatory children easy. There are strollers designed with older siblings in mind, featuring a ride-on kick board or second, less "babyish" seat. We're all familiar with the caricature of a harried mother taking up the entire train carriage with a stroller she can't collapse. There are anti-stroller evangelists, fervently preaching the gospel of baby wearing and attachment parenting. All of these attitudes, seemingly about an object, are also revealing of our attitudes about the ways in which we believe parents and children ought to move through the world. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic."-- The Best Books of 2022, The New Yorker Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Among the many things expectant parents are told to buy, none is a more visible symbol of status and parenting philosophy than a 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. There are anti-stroller evangelists, fervently preaching the gospel of baby wearing and attachment parenting. All of these attitudes, seemingly about an object, are also revealing of how we believe parents and children ought to move through the world. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Among the many things expectant parents are told to buy, none is a more visible symbol of status and parenting philosophy than a 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. There are anti-stroller evangelists, fervently preaching the gospel of baby wearing and attachment parenting. All of these attitudes, seemingly about an object, are also revealing of how we believe parents and children ought to move through the world. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

The Object Lessons series achieves something very close to magic: the books take ordinary-even banal-objects and animate them with a rich history of invention, political struggle, science, and popular mythology. Filled with fascinating details and conveyed in sharp, accessible prose, the books make the everyday world come to life. Be warned: once you've read a few of these, you'll start walking around your house, picking up random objects, and musing aloud: 'I wonder what the story is behind this thing?'" Steven Johnson, author of Where Good Ideas Come From and How We Got to Now ## " Object Lessons describes themselves as 'short, beautiful books, ' and to that, I'll say, amen. . . . If you read enough Object Lessons books, you'll fill your head with plenty of trivia to amaze and annoy your friends and loved onescaution recommended on pontificating on the objects surrounding you. More importantly, though. . . they inspire us to take a second look at parts of the everyday that we've taken for granted. These are not so much lessons about the objects themselves, but opportunities for self-reflection and storytelling. They remind us that we are surrounded by a wondrous world, as long as we care to look. Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Figures A Taxonomy of Strollers Chapter 1: What to Expect Chapter 2: Baby Products and Babies as Products Chapter 3: Child-Friendly and Child-Centric Chapter 4: Carry the Baby Chapter 5: The Pram in the Hall Chapter 6: Prams of Good and Evil Chapter 7: My Years of Magical Worrying Chapter 8: Get Your Body Back Chapter 9: Strolling A Taxonomy of Stroller as Metaphor Works Cited Acknowledgments Index "Through memoir, historical research, and cultural criticism, Stroller explores what this ubiquitous baby equipment reveals about our attitudes toward parenthood and children"-- Provided by publisher