In this day and age when you have to maneuver yourself through a flotilla of McClaren strollers manned by an army of nannies and stay-at-home-moms just to place an order at the supermarket deli counter, it’s quite a sight to see that 60 years ago baby strollers were casually left outside while mama did her shopping.
Today, leaving a baby unattended in a car for more than 5 minutes while Mom does a quick errand warrants a quick call to social services.
But apparently, not so long ago it was more than okay.
Whats Wrong With this Picture
As this 1950 advertisement for A&P supermarkets shows, you could consider the walkway outside the busy suburban supermarket your own personal day care center. while Mom loads up on frozen TV dinners inside, 5 year old Susie with undiagnosed ADD keeps a watchful eye on baby brother in his buggy.
“Its a pretty good sign when you see a pram parade lined up outside a store, that mothers are inside doing a smart bit of shopping,” the ad copy boasts.”And we blush with pride because so many of these mothers choose A&P as the place to stretch those slim, just-getting-started-household budgets.”
Apparently having grown up with the fear of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping had no effect on these young mis-centuryMoms.
Go figure.
Envisioning The American Dream 
baby stroller
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How ridiculous.
Just because a scenario appears in an ad doesn’t mean it happened. This bit of glittering fantasy is no different than ads produced today. (Lysol kills germs that escape the toilet and end up on the kitchen sink – stupid.) I wish people stopped assuming or believing or even inventing conclusions of history from old ads aimed to sell products.
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