This mom is proud to use a stroller for her “big” kids.
“Why would I worry about what other people think?” Nicki Marie, a Massachusetts mom who does not share her last name online, tells TODAY.com.
Marie sold her point in a TikTok video, wherein she pushed a double stroller containing her children, ages 8 and 10. “Moms with grown-a** kids in strollers at Disney,” Marie captioned the video.
The video voiceover stated, “And she gave no f—-.”
Marie recorded the video during a two-week trip to Disney World, an annual vacation that she says is a “milestone” after her 2019 divorce.
“When I got divorced, one of the first things I thought was, ‘How will I do Disney with just me and two kids?’” says Marie.
Enter “Kim,” Marie’s nickname for her double stroller, a “co-parent” since 2016 that she says, now represents her “empowered single mom” identity.
Marie explains that she chose the name “Kim” because, “We all know the stroller isn’t a man.”
According to Marie, no one in public has shamed her for using a stroller for her older kids, however, “I’m making fun of myself before you point it out to me.”
“Kim” is popular on MomTok, as some wrote.
- “I hate when people shame you for using a stroller when you’re walking like, 20 miles a day.”
- “A stroller is sometimes the difference between having an amazing day and having everyone crash way too early. This is PRO behavior.”
- “The stroller is just as much for mom, if not more, than for the kids. I don’t want to hold my drink, carry a backpack or have nowhere to put my snacks. Stroller for the win!”
- “This also helps normalize kiddos that need strollers/mobility devices. My kids do this and this would help them feel more at ease instead of sticking out.”
- “My daughter is about to turn 7 and has low stamina due to having a tethered spinal cord until she was 3.5. Nicki and ‘Kim’ are giving me more confidence in continuing to use our BOB until over 8.”
- “The stroller helps the children not complain but also gives you peace of mind knowing where they are in a sea of people. Imagine always panicking if they walk five feet away.”
When a parent wrote, “Absolutely not. My kids very rarely used a stroller and had no problem walking, including at Disney when they were 3. Hauling a stroller sucked,” the responses included a sarcastic, “Congrats!” and “Great for you!”
Marie doesn’t understand the big deal about strollers.
“Since when is vacation a competition to see how bada– you can be?” Marie tells TODAY.com. “I’m trying to let down my guard so my kids see me having fun. I bring a stroller because I’m anticipating what could go wrong that day.”
Marie says her “very active” kids like resting in the stroller and do not care whether it’s “age appropriate.” Marie relies on the stroller at theme parks, airports, or at home, where she sometimes uses it as a laundry basket.
The children do not use their stroller to traverse the entire theme park. Marie says when they are exhausted from walking or waiting in line, they plop down for a rest, including during Disney’s evening fireworks display.
Marie says the stroller lets her be a present mom and still “shut my brain off,” knowing her kids are safe.
The mom appreciates the TikTok posts in which she is tagged by moms revealing their strollers. “People say, ‘I use a stroller because of you — and I named her Kim,’” says Marie.
Should older kids use strollers?
“If parents can get more out of an experience by using a stroller, it’s not going to ruin anyone’s life,” Deborah Gilboa, a family doctor and resilience expert tells TODAY.com, emphasizing a “more interesting” question: Why do we shame parents at all?
Gilboa says the instinct to meddle precedes thousands of years, when family systems and communities needed to toughen up to survive.
“Matriarchs did it all the time,” says Gilboa. “Now, we do this to strangers … who we will never meet in real life.” Some parents judge, she says, “to take the pressure off themselves by saying, ‘At least I’m not as ‘bad’ as that person.’”
Gilboa adds, “Parents should be strategic and use whatever accommodations exist.”
This article originally appeared on TODAY.com. Read more from TODAY:
