Originally Posted by evergrn

You make a good point, and I agree there're cultural differences that make this more than a simple right-or-wrong issue. But when you really think about it, the right thing is to allow parents with babies the same access to public transport as everybody else. And believe me, having to stand in a train for 30min with your baby in Bjorn and a couple of bags (all the baby stuff alone easily takes up a single small backpack) just doesn't work and is not safe. Yes, there're cultural differences, but Jpn people's attitude has to change on this. JR and even the Jpn government also agree. It's not just US vs Japan. People are just as kind and baby-friendly in Hong Kong as they are in the US. (sorry, my train experiences with babies are limited to Jpn, US and HKG... don't know how it is in Europe).

But of course there needs to be a give-and-take, and stroller-pushing moms need to take care to minimize inconvenience to others. If you're going to take a stroller, try not to ride during rush hours and try to occupy the area of the train that's minimally obstructive. This is the same thing as babies on planes. People need to deal with crying babies on planes, but at the same time the baby's parent needs to try their best to keep the disturbance to a minimum.