Of all the baby equipment we bought, the thing we found most difficult to choose was the stroller. Just step into Mothercare and you can be instantly turned off by the vast selection, not to mention the prices. I felt a bit like Indiana Jones on the Last Crusade, trying to pick the Holy Grail. Should I go for something cheap and simple, or will it just fall apart? Or should I go for the all-bells-and-whistles option with cup holders, hydraulic suspension and rear-view mirrors, only to find it won’t fit through my front door? Clearly, if you’re going to spend the best part of $500 – or up to $2000 on a fancy travel system you’d better make damn sure that it’s suitable for your needs.
In our case, we don’t have a car so we get around using taxis, buses and trains. Now there’s no legal requirement to use a car seat in Singapore – and some mothers told me they managed simply using a baby carrier and a lightweight stroller – but when you’ve seen the way people drive here I think a car seat is still worth considering! Of course, a car seat in isolation is not very portable when you don’t own a car. I can’t imagine lugging a car seat with a baby in it around Vivo City on a weekend, put it that way! So this brings me to the thorny issue of travel systems. Travel systems offer the flexibility of having a car seat and a stroller which are compatible, so the car seat can be easily clipped into the stroller or the car without disturbing the bambino. Or at least that’s the theory.
In reality, I found that most travel systems are enormous, cumbersome things with wheels the size of dustbin lids and a chassis made for a body-builder. It’s all very well if you have a car, but after seeing someone in the taxi queue at Vivo City trying to shoehorn their Quinny Zap into the boot of a cab, I could see this was not the way forward. Fortunately there are some lightweight travel systems out there – and here’s the one we bought, the Graco Ultima + Travel System. The stroller part of this is quite light and can be collapsed with one hand and the car seat straps in easily using the rear adult seatbelt, making it ideal for taxi hopping. And between the car seat and the stroller it’s suitable from birth to 3 years.
Tips for buying a stroller:
- Consider your lifestyle. Where will you travel with the baby and how will you get there? Do you have a car or do you rely on public transport?
- Consider your environment: Are you living in an urban environment with forgiving terrain or in a rural area where you need more ‘off-road’ capability?
- Consider the climate. Does the stroller offer enough warmth/air circulation? Is there a rain cover and how easy is this to install? Is there an adequate sun shade?
- Ask for a demonstration and be sure to test the stroller thoroughly in the shop. How easy is the stroller to steer, collapse and carry with one hand?
- Check the age limits and seat adjustment options. Is the stroller suitable from birth? How does the seat adjust for different ages? Is there an option for the baby to face you during the early months?
- Check the wheels and brakes. Are they effective and easy to operate? Bear in mind that fancy wheels (those with elaborate bearings or inflatable tyres) might attract problems. (Punctures aside, one friend found her stroller came to a halt after the wheel bearings jammed up with grit). On the other hand, solid wheels might slide rather than roll on shiny surfaces, so be sure to check.
- Measure the stroller, both open and folded, to check that it will fit well into your car and your home. (Strollers tend to look smaller in the shop!).
- Check out the shopping basket. It might sound a bit vain and girly, but you do need somewhere to stash your baby bag and I found several strollers where the shopping basket was incredibly small or had a bar running through the middle of it.
- However much research you put into buying a stroller, accept that you may end up buying more than one. For this reason I chose not to blow the bank on our stroller. The fact is, babies grow and needs change. Most people I know with children ended up buying a more lightweight stroller once the baby got a bit older. Quite simply, when it comes to strollers, there are always pros and cons. In stroller world, there is no such thing as the Holy Grail.
Graco stockists (Singapore): Aprisin http://www.aprisin.com.sg/store/index.php?main_page=index
No comments:
Post a Comment