In the USA, the 1960s marked the beginning of the triumph of the lightweight, foldable stroller over the bulkier carriage or pram of former times. As North American families became more mobile, and 'Sunday drives' gave way to increasing dependence on the automobile, leisurely and relaxing daily walks with baby gave way to a more mobile lifestyle for most parents.

This era probably marked the beginning of a dichotomy in pram-carriage-stroller ownership. In the early 1950s, it was fairly common for a family to own a carriage for its very young babies, and an additional stroller for its toddlers. As the love affair with, and dependence upon, automobiles developed, though, more and more families found that a single baby vehicle made more sense. Most often this single purchase was a lighter weight stroller with a reclining back and adjustable footrest. By the 1960s, carriages were becoming far less common on the American scene.

Particularly in New York City, where a tradition of baby-walking nurses prevailed, carriages were still considered a useful purchase, but in other parts of the country, the more elegant and bulky carriages were now sometimes acquired merely because they represented either a tie to a more romantic past, or more overtly, as status symbols.