‘Bewildered’ trolls criticize my second-hand stroller, but I’m just thankful it was free
A mum who was given a £260 pushchair for free has defended herself against “bewildered” internet trolls.
Emma explained that she needed a stroller for her two children. When she saw someone giving away their Joie EvaLite DUO, she jumped at the chance to get it.
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And as an extra, the stroller was completely free.
But after sharing videos of the stroller on TikTok, Emma was soon attacked by people who said she should have gotten one for free.
“I think you should have bought a new one, honestly – it’s dirty and broken,” one person wrote.
Emma then responded in another video, saying, “Okay, how can that stroller be dirty?
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“The hoods are faded and stroller hoods are notorious for fading, but I’m going to paint them and make the stroller look brand new again, like it was free.
“We live in a society where it seems like hoods are faded, let’s just throw them away and buy new ones.
“No, I’m going to make that stroller look like new again and I’m going to paint the hood. There are a few scratches on the frame. I’m going to scratch them off with a black marker.
“So no, the stroller is not dirty, not broken and perfect for my babies.”
“But there was mold all over the back of the seat and in the hood?” someone else noted.
“How can you put your kids in a stroller you got for free and it’s not even clean?” wrote another.
“Really strange, because it could have been in a barn with mold/rats?”
“There’s nothing wrong with free food, but it’s covered in mold. You need to clean it,” someone else agreed.
“The white stuff is mold, I cleaned that first,” wrote another.
“It’s a third or fourth hand stroller, it gives me the creeps.”
Emma replied that she had not seen the mold on the stroller and that she had cleaned it thoroughly before her children sat in it.
“I didn’t know that, but FYI, it’s all clean now,” Emma said.
Five Smart Mom Tricks to Save a Fortune
EVERY parent knows how expensive it can be to feed the kids – especially if they’re a fan of expensive brand-name products. But there are a few tricks that can save you money, as mum-of-two and Fabulous Digital Senior Reporter Sarah Bull explained:
Batch cooking
This is a trick that many moms, including myself, swear by. I like to batch cook tomato sauce, hiding a load of veggies including carrots, peppers, and onions. Once it’s cooled, transfer it to an ice cube tray and freeze it. Then you can pop out the portions and put them in a bag, ready to use for everything from pasta sauce to pizza crust.
Home Fine meal
You’d be hard-pressed to find a child who doesn’t love McDonald’s. But with Happy Meals now costing £3.89 each, buying them for your kids can be pricey – especially if you have more than two. But why not give them a try yourself? Save the packaging from your last McDonald’s visit and air fry some chicken nuggets and fries. Pop a budget toy in a baggie and serve with a Fruit Shoot for a budget-friendly Happy Meal to make at home.
Make use of leftovers
If you’re smart enough to plan ahead, you can use leftovers to keep your kids eating for another day. For example, if you’re making pizza, why not make enough for lunch the next day? Many kids prefer their pizza cold, and it’s especially helpful if you pack lunches for them.
Get the children involved
Not exactly a budget trick, but one that always encourages kids to try things they haven’t tried before. I’ve made things like fajitas and put the ingredients in different bowls before letting the kids make their own. While I put their favorites, like chicken, cheese, and cucumber, I also put peppers and lettuce in a bowl. And to my delight, they tasted both of those in their fajitas. What a score!
Leave the brands alone
One thing that can make shopping a lot more expensive than it needs to be is buying branded products. We used to be a family that swore by Heinz ketchup and refused to buy anything else, but now that the price has skyrocketed we’ve switched to the supermarket’s own brand ketchup and have saved a lot – especially considering how much we eat. If your kids aren’t keen on making the switch, why not put the generic product in the branded packaging and see if they can tell the difference?
She also planned to paint the hoods black to hide the fading and touch up the scratches with a black Sharpie pen.
Another troll questioned why Emma was “complaining” if she got the stroller for free, to which she replied: “I am NOT complaining.
“I’m so thankful I have that stroller because I’ve wanted that Joie stroller for a long time.
“And I’m so glad I have it, but I just asked for advice. Like if I can wash and paint the hoods. And if the seat normally sits like that on those strollers.
“Like I was just asking for advice, so I’m not going to whine about it.”
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