Swedish parenting rule #1: The bigger the stroller the better

In Sweden the approach to parenting infants and toddlers is quite different from the US. There is a lot less emphasis on the 'stuff' and a lot more emphasis on time spent with the baby. Many of my Swedish friends, when having kids, didn't run out and buy a house, or a bigger apartment. They stuck around in their one bedroom apartments. 'Babies don't take up a lot of space' they kept insisting. 'They don't need space, but what about all their stuff' I countered. This got a lot of strange looks – 'what stuff?' They asked. And these babies are now a bit older, and they seem to be doing OK.

However, the one thing all of my friends did do was go out and by a crazy stroller. I mean a giant SUV of a contraption. None of them folded down to conveniently fit in a car with the push of one hand. Instead they seemed to be built to take up the most space possible. And they all came with a $1000 price tag.

I used to laugh at these contraptions, until I took my friend's daughter out for a walk in an umbrella stroller in February. Let me tell you, little strollers and cobblestone streets do NOT mix. I was terrified that my friend's child would end up catapulting into the street with every single bump.

So when it was time for me to buy a stroller, what can I say, I followed the masses and bought the absolute biggest stroller you ever did see. And you know what? I love it. I was out with my kids in the middle of blizzards, after blizzards, off-road, - my stroller is like a Jeep Wrangler. Those $1000 were the only big ticket item my kids got and man – it is worth every penny (or ore!)