[blparent] Pulling Strollers

[Steve Jacobson]

Yes, the one we had had a reversable handle.  Also, one could lock the wheels so they did not pivot which made pulling easier.  Unfortunately, I don't 
remember the brand, but it was one commonly used back in the 1990's.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 15:40:06 -0600, Veronica Smith wrote:

>Steve, did you have a stroller with a reversable handle?

>-----Original Message-----
>From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Steve
>Jacobson
>Sent: Friday, July 19, 2013 9:50 AM
>To: Blind Parents Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [blparent] Pulling Strollers

>Melissa,

>Your mother is thinking only in terms of what she can't see.  She is not
>taking into account that you will be just as aware of what is happening
>behind you as you are with what is happening in front of you.  You do need
>to be aware of people taking more than a casual interest in your kids
>whether they are behind or in front of you, but this is true of sighted
>parents as well.  

>I pulled two kids in strollers and amazingly they have survived and are both
>grown up now.  A more likely problem than someone removing them from the
>stroller was that occasionally one of my kids would remove her shoes and
>throw them out of the stroller.  
>Again, that would have been just as big a problem whether I was pushing or
>pulling, though.  <smile>

>You know, when it comes to parenting, there are simply a lot of things to
>worry about.  You hear about kids being stolen, for example, and there
>probably isn't a parent who doesn't think about it happening to them.  The
>question really becomes whether it is more likely to happen to you as a
>blind parent.  I am not aware of anything like that happening to a blind
>parent, though, and there are reasons for that which your mother is probably
>not considering.  What your mother is likely doing is closing her eyes and
>thinking of all the things she can't do.  This just is not an accurate way
>to view the situation.  Let's just try to look at the big picture for a
>moment.  There are things we as blind parents do routinely.  We try to make
>sure that our kids have close that make some noise so we know what our kids
>are doing.  We are probably more careful about making sure that our kids are
>securely buckled into the stroler.  We try to learn our kids tendencies.  If
>we have a child who is likely to learn to unbuckle the safety belt, we'll
>take steps to make it more secure.  We learn to sense by the vibrations
>transmitted to the handle of a stroller whether are child is moving around
>some, is wrestless or maybe up to no good.  <smile>  Your mother isn't
>thinking of all this when she closes her eyes, but all of these things taken
>together means that it would be pretty difficult for someone to take your
>child.  In addition, your child is probably more protected when being
>pulled.  When you push a child, there is very little in front.  When you
>pull a child, you are in front and the handle is somewhat of an obstacle.
>The back is higher than the front so it provides some protection from
>behind.  Most of the time strollers have an umbrella or other covering, and
>this makes it more difficult to get access to your child.  Finally, if you
>are pulling a child, this implies you are in motion.  To somehow remove a
>child with all of the above being considered while you are moving without
>you being aware of something just is not likely.  If there is some worry
>that this is a concern, there are additional steps that could be taken as a
>parent, and we could talk about some, but I feel you are dealing with a more
>general problem here of someone picturing parenting with their eyes closed
>without the benefit of your alternative techniques and experience.

>Still, a question like this isn't all bad.  As responsible parents, we can't
>just assume that we have thought of everything.  
>Analyzing how we approach situations is a necessary part of being a good
>parent.  We have to be careful, though, not to constantly second guess
>ourselves.  People tend to forget that accidents happen to kids of sighted
>parents, that sighted parents sometimes loose focus, that while there might
>conceiveably be cases where we will miss something that someone with vision
>would see, there are also cases where we might observe something that might
>not be visible.  mostly, though, we're going to observe in different ways
>those things that a sighted parent will observe visually.

>Best regards,

>Steve Jacobson
>be
>On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 08:27:13 -0400, Melissa Treaster wrote:

>>Hi,
>>As some of you know I have a baby on the way. My mother this morning 
>>told me that she thinks that if I would to pull the stroller
>behind me would make my baby at risk. Meaning I guess someone could come up
>and take them. It's makes me feel like I am going to have to fear people
>come up to me. In some ways question can I do this? My husband however has
>no problem with me doing what I need to take are child to and from places on
>my own. Oh mom did ask if there any training for O&M for blind parents.
>Sorry had to vent after being upset this morning. 
>>Thanks guys!
>>Melissa

>>Sent from my iPhone
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