parents

Finger amputation is not high on my list of Desirable Pram Features.

You? This morning I did my regular What’s Making News segment on Today and one of the stories we spoke about was that Maclaren in the US have recalled millions of prams after 12 children had parts of their fingers sliced off in the hinges. Hello panic.

Yahoo7 reports:

About a million Maclaren prams sold in the US have been recalled after 12 reports of children having their fingertips amputated by a hinge mechanism.

The recall includes all nine models of single and double umbrella Maclaren strollers. The strollers are available in Australia but the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said there is currently no recall here.

If you have concerns over your Maclaren stroller, the ACCC’s advice was to contact the local supplier.

For more information on product recalls, visit www.recalls.gov.au.

The amputation risk occurs when a child’s finger is placed in the hinge mechanism of a stroller while it is being unfolded. When the opened stroller locks into place, it can cut off the tip of the child’s finger. The recall includes the following models: Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller. They have been sold since 1999.

I didn’t actually panic when I heard this – even though I think I have one of those prams. Do you know what I ACTUALLY thought?

“I wonder if I could use this as an excuse to sneak in One More Pram”

This would be in flagrant opposition to my husband’s pronouncement that We Will Buy No More New Prams Ever. He laid down this rule many years ago and obviously I ignored it. The hunt for The Magic Pram is the holy grail of motherhood, yes it is. They don’t tell you this in the hospital when you give birth. They don’t cover it during pre-natal classes. Nobody tells you that you will become consumed with a fruitless quest to find a pram that, frankly, doesn’t exist.

Lord knows, I’ve tried to find it. FOR 12 YEARS I’VE TRIED. Many times I thought I DID find it. Well, close enough to fork over hundreds of dollars. And then hundreds more when I realised that actually, no, my pram is not perfect, not even close. I’ve bought small prams, I’ve bought big prams. I’ve even bought a double pram. I’ve never bought a three wheeler because….well, I don’t know why. Maybe that is the Magic Pram I’ve been looking for.

When Coco was born and we took her out for the first time, it was a stinking hot day and Jason turned on the engine to let the air conditioning cool her down in the car while I tried to collapse the new and rather large fancy pram I’d bought because hey, if Gwyneth had one? It must be good [insert cringe here]. As I stood behind the car, nearly gagging in the exhaust fumes, unable to work out how to collapse the damn thing, Jason came and watched. And laughed.

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I always justify my pram purchases by giving my old prams to charity so there’s that. Eventually, around baby #3, I accepted that I will never find The Magic Pram although every time I’m in a baby shop, I find myself wandering over to the pram display and gazing at all the new-fangled ones, transfixed by their features and colours.

Somehow, I subconsciously believe that the right pram is the key to unlocking all my inadequacies as a mother and magically making them disappear. That’s true, right? Or am I just a hopelessly addicted and gullible victim of consumerism?

Sometimes, I’m tempted to have another baby just to allow me to have another crack at finding The Magic Pram. Whatever it takes.

Can you relate to my pram fixation? Have you found the Magic Pram?

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