Strollers
Choosing Between a SUV or Rolls Royce
Life has certainly changed from when we were little babes. Our parents didn’t have the choices that modern day parents are being offered. Choices and options are great, however, they often come with a price to be paid sometimes called frustration. Three of the biggest decisions for your baby will be a choice of furniture, car seat and stroller. The stroller is your baby’s mode of transportation for the next four years. So, will it be the SUV or the Rolls Royce?
Most parents will start their research by polling their inner circle of family and friends with parenting experience. They quickly find out that there are too many different opinions and move promptly into the next phase of research – the internet search. This is where it may start to get out of control because now the virtual window of the baby world has been opened wide to choices! You can research strollers from the Netherlands to Australia in a few clicks of the mouse. After the parents have polled friends and researched worldwide, the next stop is visiting all baby stores within a 100 mile radius!
At this point, parents want to test drive, lift, open & close the stroller and kick the tires a little which can usually end up in even more head scratching. There are so many designs that each offer a host of functional options for parents. Where do you begin? In order to examine your needs ask these questions. Do you enjoy the outdoors or are you mall walkers? Do you need a stroller that can be put in a trunk and pulled out on a daily basis or will you just roll out of your garage for a walk around a local park?
If you think you have an outdoor lifestyle which might include catching a soccer game, off trail walking or beach walking, then you want to be sure you get an All Terrain Stroller like the Australian Trimode by Valco Baby ($425) or New Zealand’s E3 Buggy by Phil & Teds ($379) which also allows you to convert the stroller from single to double as a bonus! Just like the new “cross-over vehicles of today, most All-Terrain strollers are not just for jogging anymore. They offer the comfort of a luxury ride and tons of options from Prams to Toddler Kits. However, if you have a great neighborhood and can stroll out of your garage for a leisurely walk, then you might fall in love with the classic heirloom English Silver Cross Balmoral Pram Strollers ($2995) or the new Mutsy ($750) unique modular design. Strollers like the newly released USA designed Uppa Baby ($599), Valco Rad ($599), German Bon Jovi endorsed Rock Star ($499) and everyone’s favorite Bugaboo from the Netherlands ($769), will offer an All-Terrain function, Pram, Travel System, and shock system for the baby’s comfort ride all in one! A lightweight option is the Italian Peg Perego that offers umbrella to convertible prams starting at $325. If you are just looking for a quick and easy open and close, lightweight every day stroller there is also the Italian Inglesina Zippy ($340).
Almost all of today’s strollers will offer a “travel system” ability. That just means that the stroller will accept the infant carrier. The important thing is to make sure your choice of car seat will also be compatible with your choice of stroller. Not all manufacturers play in the same sand box. If you are struggling between strollers because one accepts this car seat over that, then you need to consider that your child will be in the infant carrier for a year and your stroller will be with you for up to four years.
The fact is that you will not find one stroller that you will love everything about but you need to decide what is more important to you in features. My advice to parents is not to purchase a stroller for one occasion but one stroller that can handle all occasions. Spend the extra money for a stroller that will be durable, functional, passed down or re-sold.