By Mike Ford, Alexandria
(File Photo)

To the editor:

I think it’s about time that people begin dialing back this stroller issue a little. Everywhere I go, I see parents wheeling around children that are clearly old enough to walk, taking up entirely too much space with Humvee-sized strollers.

They block the sidewalks, aisles and doorways in stores and in restaurants, the Market Square and so on. And they have no shame about taking up more than their fair share of the planet, either.

I was in a Mexican restaurant and the parents just parked their giant stroller right in the passageway, wedging it between two tables, effectively cutting off access to the restrooms. In a coffee shop, a woman did the same thing before sitting her toddler, in diapers, on the table. She acted like everyone liked to eat off a table where a dirty diaper had been sitting.

I know that there are a lot of rude people in Old Town, but this is pushing the limit. Didn’t First Lady Michelle Obama say children are too fat and need exercise? Ditch the stroller and make them walk like mankind has been doing for centuries.

Exercise some good manners and let the rest of us get around you without having to turn sideways, bump into the stroller (which earns us dirty looks), bump into you, and generally be hassled just because you are teaching your children to be lazy. You can always take them to a late-night movie later where they will scream and cry if you want to be inconsiderate and rude.