23 Things to Consider When Choosing Baby Strollers
June 26, 2008
photo by sean drelinger
You will probably need more that one baby stroller during your toddler’s first 3 years and it isn’t cheap to get one. I was talking to a friend who is pregnant with her first child recently and she told me that she has just bought a huge multi-purpose baby stroller which sets her back by more than S$500. This has inspired me to write this article so as to share some views as what to look out for when you get a stroller.
I wrote this article to my best knowledge through my experience of bringing up my 2 children and from the research that I have done up.
A. Safety Aspects
This is no doubt the number 1 priority concern when getting a baby stroller and these are what you should look what for:
1. Stability - The stroller must be stable even if it is incline with a child sitting inside. To prevent tipping, the stroller must have a wide wheel base and the storage basket should be below the stroller frame
2. Easy to manuoever- It should be easy to manuovere so that you baby can be ensure a smooth ride through uneven terrains
3. Brakes - Good wheel brakes that can lock and keep the stroller in place
4. Locking mechanism - This is to lock the moving parts to prevent accidental folding of the stroller
5. Fully reclining seats - For babies 3 months and below, the strollers should be fully reclining
6. Rear facing installation - There should be a feature that allow the baby to face you when you are pushing the stroller so that you know what your little darling is doing
7. Seat belts - Look for a stroller with a five-point harness system. i.e. 2 shoulder straps, 2 straps across the hips and crotch strap so even if your toddler struggles out from the shoulder straps, the hips straps will keep him secured.
8. Removable and washable - It will enable you to clean the stroller and wash the fabric seat when you want to.
B. Accessories To Consider:
Here are some accessories that are not compulsory but nice to have
9. Cup holder - It can hold your drinks while you are shopping
10. Bottle holder - Hold the milk bottle and even keep it warm
11. Rain cover - Use for rain and extreme weather. Will be useful especially for tropical countries like Singapore
12. Sunshade - Shelter them from the hot and glaring afternoon sun
13. Bell - This is not available on the stroller but it is available in the bicycle shop. It is recommended to have one on a jogger stroller
C. Different Knds of Baby Strollers Available:
It will also be good to know that there are different kinds of Baby strollers that are catered to different needs
14. Travel systems: This is a car seat and stroller combination. It comprises of a car seat with a separate pram. It gives you an option to leave the seat on the car and just transferring your baby to the pram or allow you to move your car seat back to your stroller if baby is sleeping.
15. Strollers: There are 2 types of strollers. The light-weight ones and the standard ones. The lightweight ones are usually below 5kg, compact and easy to fold and handle but there isn’t much accessories. The standard ones could weigh over 8kg and includes a whole suite of accessories. Strollers do not recline fully.
16. Prams: Prams are available in a variety of reclining positions, and depending on your budget, it may last you till toddlerhood. They are might more suitable for younger babies in comparison to strollers. They are more sturdy and required 2 hands to fold them properly.
17. Jogging baby strollers: These strollers are might for parents to brisk walk or jog with their babies. They have larger wheels and it normally comes with 3 wheels to allow you to manoeuve them easily. It is usually sturdier, comes with suspension on the wheels, but at the expense of size and weight.
18. Double or triple systems: If you are having twins or triplets, these will be the ones for you.
D. How to Decide Which Stroller to Buy?
Before buying a stroller, you should ask yourself the following these questions:
19. What’s your budget?
20. What’s the age of the child who will be using the stroller? Baby or toddler?
21. Is the most frequent user comfortable with the stroller?
22. Do you drive or are you taking public transport? If you are taking public transport, a lightweight one will be more convenient and feasible.
23. How big is your storage space?
By choosing your stroller well, you will be able to stretch your dollar and at the same time handle the stroller with ease!
Hope this piece of information will help you in deciding how to choose a baby stroller, do feel free to post your comments.
Posted in Baby Accessories
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June 27th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Hi Elaine,
I’m thinking of buying those bigger wheels stroller. As you mentioned, this stroller is more suitable for outdoor, so is it suitable for common usage? And heard that bigger wheels are better to manoeuve, as they will not stuck in between gap, such as in evelator, lift and MRT. Is that true?
June 29th, 2008 at 1:08 am
In fact, my stroller is not a big wheel one. I have no problem with the evelator and lift etc. If your are taking the big wheels ones, you would have to sacrifice on the weight and the storage space.
Personally prefer lighter ones as it is easier to move around. It makes things easier if I am taking MRT or taking my baby out alone. Think along the line whereby your wife has to travel alone with the baby and she is not driving. I think a big bulky stroller might not be convenient for her.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:08 am
Also, we just had a second child…it was planned. But we never considered the stroller that we bought for the first baby.
Now we have TWO. Now these things aren’t cheap, especially the high end ones.
If you plan for two+ kids. Start out buying the twin stroller like Phil n Teds to begin with….
July 8th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Hi Emmet, great to have you here in my blog.
Do drop by my blog and share your valuable experience to the rest of my readers.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
bought an expensive stroller. As a feature, it will intelligently turn its wheels to the back if you reverse the direction of the handle. However on uneven road, it keeps ‘intelligently turn’ too much whenever you make a turn, making strolling foward (with baby facing the road) difficult. Luckily, you can turn off the feature by a clip near the wheels.
Next, the support provided for baby is great. However, this is only for ‘new born’ use. After baby is 3 months up, the support becomes too small and should be removed.
The good thing is that it is reasonable light and the stroller is well ventilated and comfortable.
So after this, the lessons learnt:
1. Look for one stroller that is easy to stroll, turn and test it thoroughly at the shop by loading it.
2. Check the height of the handle so that it is comfortable when strolling.
3. Light weight is good if you want to carry your stroller around. It will be easier to stroll in crowded area such as shopping malls.
4. Big wheels are good for jogging and rugged trips. They are heavier.
5. Avoid getting features just for new borned use, as babies grow up fast.
July 12th, 2008 at 1:19 am
Hey,
This is a really good feedback and it is really useful. Thanks Ling!
July 28th, 2008 at 1:54 am
Just a post to clarify that actually my stroller was ok, it was the manufacturer forgeting to put a special lubricant on the ‘intelligent’ front wheels…
After I brought it to the dealer, they fixed the problem in a sec…
Ahahaha, so now I am glad that it works perfectly well!