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 baby, for example a new baby needs a lie flat position, how and when you travel, for example every day, by public transport or in a car, and where you’ll be using it, in town or in the countryside. 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 have two children you need to decide whether you’d prefer them to sit next to each other or one in front of the other, or if you have one child older than the other whether they can ride on an attached ride-on board.
• 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 a vast range of pushchairs from less expensive, affordable but good quality ones right up to designer pushchairs. It’s worth looking around to find offers and sales on if you have a particular brand in mind that you’d like. 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? Do you travel on public transport, or in a car, or both? Where do you live, does it have a lot of stairs that you’ll have to carry the pushchair up and down? Remember to add the weight of your baby or child when you consider the weight of the pushchair, in a store or when looking online!
• 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 are thinking about going off-road, for example on the beach or in the countryside, check out the suspension as well as the manoeuvrability.
• 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 looking at pushchairs online have a look at the sizes of them when they’re folded for storage purposes, as well as when they’re unfolded.
• Style
Although the most important things to think about are functional factors you should also have a look around and decide which style of pushchair you personally prefer. Styles of pushchairs also vary based on what usage or terrain they’re aimed at, e.g. 3-wheelers are often more sporty and have larger wheels with soft tyres for bumpy 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 just want to buy a basic pushchair to start with but it’s worth considering whether you can you add extras to it? Is it possible to adapt the frame by attaching a car seat or a carrycot so that you can move baby from place to place without disturbance? Can you add an extra seat or a ride-on board if you have another baby? Some brands have whole ranges of matching extras that can be bought separately, and as your needs change it’s good to know you can adapt without having to buy a complete new pushchair. 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. Many have a range of accessories available that you can buy separately, such as cup holders, parasols, sun shades, blankets, footmuffs, insect nets, and weather shields. Make sure you find out what’s included in the original price and what extras you can buy separately later on.
Comfort for Baby
Possibly one of the most important elements to consider is how comfortable the seat is going to be for your baby. Have a look at how many seat positions it has, and whether it includes a lie flat position if you have a new baby as not all pushchairs are suitable from birth. Check for features such as an adjustable footrest, adjustable straps, a headrest, and removable pads for small babies. Some pushchairs have front and rear facing seats so think about whether your baby will feel happier facing you or looking where they’re going, or whether you want the option to be able to turn the seat around as your baby gets older.
• Your Comfort
Your comfort is an important consideration as well as that of your child. How long will you be pushing the pushchair for, how tough will it be, what sort of terrain will you be pushing it over. Look for an adjustable handle height (if you’re tall some handles can seem too low). 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 to push with one hand while holding the hand of another child with your spare hand? Is it easy to fold with one hand?
You may have other things to consider as well but if you follow these guidelines and do your own thorough research you should be able to find the right baby pushchair for you and your child. 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.
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