Only the Best for Baby

It all starts with the hand-painted mural in the nursery and the Dutch-designed oval crib. Next comes, “We considered the Bugaboo stroller, but decided to go with the Stokke Xplory since we felt it was important for her ride higher, where she could really see eye to eye with people and develop her observation skills.” Parents can relentlessly rationalize why they paid the price of a family sedan in India for their stroller, crib or high chair. And they do. Usually its European, “safer” and “more functional,” with some special feature that none of the other products have. Whatever it is, it is not available at Babies-R-Us or Walmart. Never mind that it will be outgrown or out-dated before the rationalizing parents finish their explanation. Never mind that recounting consumer purchasing decisions rivals C-SPAN for entertainment value. These parents want to let you know that, really they’re not the kind of people who just throw it around. Really, its important to have these things. But is it? Of course not. Nevertheless, some of us have been known to occasionally dress our children in rarified “hand-wash-only” clothing or even enjoyed the sleek design and smooth rolling of an expensive Dutch stroller, but lets just admit we like the ergonomic designs and chic color schemes. Then we can try to keep those splurges to a minimum and remember to pass them on to a “good home” when we are done.