The Struggle is Real: Electric Baby Strollers are About to Happen
By: Tal Ditye
Tags: Stroller, Baby, Innovation, Parenting, Baby Products

As the editor-in-chief of Mommyhood101, I get the amazing opportunity to test hundreds of baby products every month.

Strollers, baby monitors, car seats; you name it, we test it. And we’ve been doing this for over 10 years.

We get to see all the trends, good and bad. Snot-sucking tubes, fake hands that pat your baby’s back to help them fall asleep, poop-emoji-everything, and high heels for newborns. Yes, a manufacturer sent us those for testing. Let us know when you figure out how to “test” high heels on a baby who can’t even roll-over, never mind walking.

And don’t get me started on the baby bottles that look like beer and whiskey bottles.

Ridiculous baby products are nothing new. Each year brings its own wonky assortment of products that are unique at best and completely useless at worst.

Alongside the ridiculous products are some over-engineered baby products that were well-intentioned but also wholly unnecessary. Call it first-world problems, boujee, extra, or whatever you want.

The point is that some baby products are slowly transitioning from making a parent’s life easier to taking the “ing” out of parenting altogether.

Parenting is Hard

Parenting should be hard. You should cry, laugh, yell, sweat, and maybe even momentarily regret having a child (or getting married) in the first place. Not for long, and you likely won’t tell anyone. Just a fleeting thought

The parenting experiences that bring out such a complex range of emotions are truly unique, and will build your identity as a mom or dad. They are only yours, and nobody can take them away from you. They are the things you’ll remember, and the stories you’ll tell.

And your child will see you experiencing emotions that are real, raw, and honest. Kids need to see that, it helps them relate to others socially and emotionally, and helps them ground their own emotions.

Bring on the Electric Stroller

That’s why when we think about the prospect of an electric jogging stroller coming to market in the upcoming months, we get a little anxious. Not because it isn’t a cool new direction for baby gear to go. And not because we want to stifle innovation or prevent the new e-whatever trend from starting.

But rather, because baby gear like this slowly strips away the negative emotions you should feel during parenting. Pushing the stroller up a hill in 85-degree weather while your baby screams and you question yourself for ever leaving the house? That’s parenting. Uphill both ways? Bring it on!

The Cybex e-PRIAM has not been officially released as of this writing, but it promises to be the first e-stroller in the world. It’s the newest idea in Cybex’s growing lineup of digitally-savvy baby gear, which includes their impressive convertible car seat that links to an App that can warn you when you might have forgotten your baby in the car. That’s serious business and happens more often than we’d like to acknowledge, so we appreciate the innovation.

But the Cybex e-PRIAM promises to go where no stroller has gone before: it will help assist you pushing your baby up hills, and slow you down going down hills.

It does this by virtue of a battery pack (it looks like a laptop battery) that attaches to the handlebar, and a small electric motor positioned behind the storage basket near the rear wheels. Push one button and that motor kicks into gear and helps you climb a hill. Push another button and that motor can help you slow down the stroller when heading downhill. Cool concept.

The Struggle is Real — Who Needs Such a Thing?

If you live in San Francisco, Seattle, or Pittsburgh and have to deal with those hills on a daily basis, you should definitely consider investing in an e-stroller — not just for convenience, but also for safety. And if you have limited mobility from one reason or another, definitely check it out, it could make a major difference in your life. Your struggle actually is real, and this type of stroller could be life-changing for you and your baby.

But for everyone else? The moms and dads that may encounter a hill once in a while? We say keep the “ing” in Parenting and burn the extra 20 calories. Curse under your breath. Sweat through your leggings. Feel the burn on your thighs.

And don’t forget that this is what you signed up for.