Baby Pushchairs – Advice for Finding the Best One for You and Your Child
Many brands sell baby pushchairs, buggies, strollers and prams, and searching for the right one for your baby can be a daunting task. If you’re about to have your first child you probably won’t have gone through this process before so it can feel quite difficult, as there so many brands and styles to choose between.
To help make things easier here is some advice about what to look for and what to consider when looking for a baby pushchair ssuitable for you and your child
• Functionality
The first thing you need to think about is whether you need a pushchair, a pram, a stroller or a combination of all of these. This decision is based on the age of your child (a newborn needs to lie flat), how you travel (do you need a car seat that can be transfered to your pushchair frame), when and where you’ll be using it (every day, around town, on holiday, etc). On holiday you might want a lightweight stroller but for every day use you may want a complete travel system that incorporates a pushchair, a carrycot that can make a pram, and a car seat.
• Kids
The second decision is based on how many children you have and their individual ages, and whether you are planning to expand your family in the near future. So will you need a tandem or a twin pushchair, or the option to add another seat or a ride-on board at some stage? If you already have two children you have to decide whether you want them to sit alongside each other, one in front of the other or whether you want one child to ride on a board that attaches to the baby pushchair.
• Budget
It is important to think about how much money you want to spend and look at which brands are within your budget, as prices can vary vastly. You can get some very good quality, affordable baby pushchairs going right up to very expensive designer brands. It’s worth looking for special offers or sales if you’d like a certain brand or pushchair that is a bit more expensive than you’d hoped. Take into consideration that if you choose the right pushchair to last the next three or four years the cost won’t have to be repeated so this is an investment for your child.
• Weight
You need to think about the weight you’ll have to push around, how strong or fit are you, will you be lifting and carrying a pushchair on your own? How do you travel, by car or on public transport, bus, train or plane? Where do you live, does it have a lot of stairs that you’ll have to carry the pushchair up and down? When you look at the weight of a pushchair or a pram remember that it’s less the weight of your baby so take that into consideration wehn thinking about how heavy it will be to push around!
• Manoeuvrability
It’s really important to consider how easy it is to manoeuvre a baby pushchair and to think about where you’ll need to manoeuvre it. Will you be zipping around town, through doors, in and out of shops, cafes and other tight spaces? If so you probably want a swivel front wheel, but a lockable one for using over rougher terrain. If you plan on off-roading, on the beach or in the countryside, think about the suspension as well as the manoeuvrability of the wheels.
• Compactness
When you’re looking at pushchairs they will probably be unfolded so you can check out most of the features but remember to fold it to see how easy it is to fold and how compact it is when folded. Think about where you’ll store it at home and check out whether it will fit easily into your car, especially if you have a small car? Check out whether it’s easy to fold and unfold with one hand, and does it have quick release wheels to make it easy to get in and out of the car? If you’re researching pushchairs online remember to have a look at the dimensions when folded as well as when open.
• Style
Although the functional features are the most important things to think about it is also important to decide on the style you like and the colours you prefer. Styles of pushchairs also vary based on what usage or terrain they’re aimed at, e.g. 3-wheelers are often more rugged and look sporty with large, pneumatic tyres aimed at rough terrain. But there are now all sorts of styles available, in 3-wheelers and 4-wheelers, from contemporary to classic, minimalist to chunky, pretty to funky, etc.
• Extras
You might decide that you just want a basic pushchair without any extras to start with but it’s worth checking whether you can add extras to it at a later date if you want to? Can you adapt the pushchair by attaching a car seat or a carry cot to move your baby without disturbance? Can you add an extra seat or a ride-on board if you have another baby? Some pushchair brands have a whole range of mathcing accessories that can be bought separately, which is great to know as you can then adapt your pushchair as circumstances change without having to buy a new one. Some baby pushchairs also come with more accessories than others, but most come with a matching rain cover, sun hood and a bag or basket of some kind. Lots have a range of matching accessories that you can buy separately, for example parasols, sun shades, footmuffs, blankets, insect nets and weather shields. Make sure you check what’s included in the price and what optional extras you can buy.
Comfort of Seat
Possibly one of the most important elements to consider is how comfortable the seat is going to be for your baby. Have a look if it has several recline positions, including a lie flat position for new babies as not all pushchairs have this option and are not suitable from birth. Look for features such as adjustable straps, an adjustable footrest, a headrest and removable pads for small babies. Some baby pushchairs have seats that face forward, some face backwards and some are interchangeable so you should think about which way you’d like your baby to face or whether you want the option to change this as your baby gets older.
• Parent Comfort
It’s quite important to think about how comfortable you are going to feel as well. For what lenth of time will you usually be pushing the pushchair for without a break and how difficult will the terrain be, is it bumpy or smooth. Make sure the height of the handle is adjustable if you’re tall as some handles can seem too low and be uncomfortable. Check out how the brake works, is it a foot operated for a hands free operation while you are dealing with lots of other things at the same time? Is it easy enough to push with one hand while holding the hand of another child? Is it easy to fold with one hand?
There may be other considerations to think about depending on your personal circumstances and needs but if you research thoroughly and take the time to choose you should end up with the right pushchair for you and your baby. Use the tips here as a starting point for your search, write a list of the things you need and then compare similar baby pushchairs made by different brands before reaching a final decision.