mavericks

Maverick Park Slope Moms Refuse to React to Stroller Recall

When Maclaren announced a voluntary recall of its strollers on Monday after twelve children had their fingers chopped off by the hinges on its foldable model, everyone knew that the epicenter of panic would be Park Slope, where the human-to-stroller ratio is approximately 2 to 1. And that’s pretty much been the case, according to the Times:


“This is an alarmist neighborhood, so people are going to be anti-Maclaren until they fix the problem,” said Ms. Kass, who said she had received countless frantic calls and e-mail messages from friends and relatives warning her about the recall….

By Tuesday afternoon, not a single parent interviewed was unaware of the recall.

But surprisingly, despite everyone knowing about the problem, not everyone seems to care.

But surprisingly, despite everyone knowing about the problem, not everyone seems to care.

You might expect many parents, especially Park Slope parents — with a reputation for being “neurotic” and “prone to worry” — to react to the recall by either (a) getting a different stroller, or (b) ordering the easy-to-use hinge covers that Maclaren has made available. But apparently there are some parents who are breaking the mold, in a bad way.

Naturally, these renegade parents prefer to keep their devil-may-care attitudes a secret, lest they be shunned by the neighborhood.


Of course there’s one way for them to ensure that their reputations remain intact: Order the freaking hinge cover! It’ll be a lot easier than coming up with a believable story for why Dakota is suddenly missing a pinky.

Stroller Recall Stirs Unease in Park Slope [City Room/NYT]

Maverick Park Slope Moms Refuse to React to Stroller Recall