The "Baby Gear Maximalism" Trap

dr. Kristijan Musek Lešnik
Oct 18, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Oct 21, 2025

Buying 14 types of strollers when your baby mostly wants your arms

“Babies don’t remember Bluetooth strollers. They remember cuddles.”

Modern parents are drowning in stuff. Every aisle, website, and Instagram ad insists you must have the newest swing, bassinet, or stroller designed by NASA engineers. Before you know it, your living room looks like a cross between a daycare and a tech startup and an obstacle course designed by ninja warrior. The irony? Your baby usually prefers your arms, a cardboard box, or the TV remote.

Mistake: Believing every gadget, contraption, and “must-have” product is essential for good parenting.

Consequence: A stroller for jogging, one for travel, one for city sidewalks, one for country lanes… all for a baby who just wants to be carried.

Reality check: Babies need far less gear than marketers want us to believe — and parents need more space (and sanity) than clutter allows.

THE ISSUE

Parenting once required a crib, a stroller, and maybe a playpen with corners that gave safety inspectors nightmares.

Today? The baby aisle looks like a NASA showroom: smart cribs that email sleep reports, jogging strollers with cupholders and price tags bigger than your first car, wipe warmers, oxygen-tracking monitors, and 17 types of carriers.

Soon your house is crammed with contraptions — while your baby chews happily on a wooden spoon or the tv remote they’ve somehow hacked to change the channel.

WHY PARENTS DO THIS

We don’t max out our homes with baby gear because babies demand it. We do it because:

FOMO. Ads whisper, “Other parents have this — don’t fall behind” as if Harvard is checking your registry.
“Just in case.” What if we jog? Travel? Move to the mountains? (You don’t jog. Your shoes are still in the box.)
Comparison pressure. Playdates double as product expos with side-eye judging for anything under $500.
Optimization myth. Maybe the right swing will buy you time for a quick shower.
Retail therapy. Clicking “Buy Now” feels like preparation.
Influencer culture. Spotless nurseries online make your basic bouncer feel criminal punishable by banishment from instagram.

At its core, it is just anxiety disguised as preparation.

HOW THIS HARMS BABIES (AND PARENTS)

The wallet wound. You’ve spent their college fund on gadgets they outgrow in six months or before they even figure out how to sit in them.
Clutter chaos. Every corner is booby-trapped with swings, strollers, and bassinets.
False promises. “Guaranteed naps!” “One-hand fold!” Spoiler: your baby didn’t read the manual.
Baby-as-consumer. When love = products, kids learn early that happiness comes from stuff.
Missed simplicity. Babies thrive on arms, floor time, and voices — not wipe warmers or a $300 “ergonomic” spoon.
Parental burnout. Managing, cleaning, and storing gear becomes a full-time job without the pay or vacation days.

AVOIDING THE TRAP

You don’t have to live gear-free. You just don’t need the baby aisle exploding in your living room.

Stick to essentials. Safe sleep space. Car seat. Stroller or carrier. Feeding supplies. Diapers. That’s it. Everything else is just expensive laundry obstacles.
Borrow before buying. That $400 swing might be your baby’s dream… or their nemesis. Test-drive first.
One stroller rule. Pick one versatile model. You’re not outfitting for the Paris marathon and your baby isn’t training for it either.
Buy for reality, not fantasy. You’re going to a daytrip, not the Andes.
Rotate, don’t accumulate. Babies love novelty — moving the bouncer to another room counts.
Floor > gadgets. A blanket builds more skills than a $200 play seat or a toy that needs software updates.
Declutter without guilt. Selling unused gear is wisdom, not failure.
Quarantine impulse buys. Want that wipe warmer? Wait a week. (You won’t.)
Laugh at marketing. “Scientifically proven naps” = “We know you’re desperate.”
Invest in experiences. Instead of stroller #14, buy takeout, a family photo, or sleep.

THE PAYOFF

When you escape Baby Gear Maximalism, you win:

More space. No more tripping over unused gadgets at 3 a.m. or cursing at a half-folded stroller.
More money. Savings for things that matter (education, therapy, pizza and maybe a vacation without 47 suitcases).
More connection. Babies don’t remember Bluetooth strollers. They remember cuddles and your face when you’re actually looking at them, not the assembly instructions

The best gear your baby will ever have? You. Free, portable, and snuggle-approved.

So donate the wipe warmer. Skip stroller #14. And hold your baby. They’re not crying for leather trim — they’re crying for your arms.