A stroller is an essential item to have when you’re out with your baby or toddler. Not only does it help you ferry them about easily, but it always prevents you from needing to carry them for the entire duration, thereby straining your back.
But the number of strollers you can find on the market can be…overwhelming to say the least, especially for first-time parents. And there’s actually a lot more to buying one than just saying “This one is good and light and I like the colour”. Elise Mawson of PramFox, a boutique baby gear store designed to make the buying process easier and curated to your lifestyle, has all the questions you need to ask yourself before making a purchase. She is also an Australian-certified Child Restraint Fitter and a US-certified Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor.
“You need to identify what your priorities are then find the stroller that plays to those strengths,” she explains. “You want to ask yourself questions like, “Do you do much outdoor walking?” “Is this at a brisk pace or leisurely stroll?” “Are you going to walk your dog at the same time, or maybe want to put him in the stroller basket?” “How important is accessing that basket versus its size?” “Are you or dad planning to run with the stroller?” “Do you think you’ll have more kids and do you want to futureproof your first stroller purchase?” “How many times are u going to catch a cab or take public transport?”
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If these questions sound overwhelming, Mawson makes it much less daunting with a consultation at her store. This can be helpful when it comes to buying your baby gear, but to start you off, here are 5 questions to ask before putting down hard-earned cash.
Don’t fall into the trap that if a stroller costs more, it will automatically be better.
“Strollers have tiers just like cars,” says Mawson. “So a tier 1 stroller is like the equivalent of a BMW or Audi in car terms. A lot of the time when you’re buying a Tier 1 stroller you’re paying for more R&D and higher weight limits in the seats, usually around 22kg-25kg. The tier 2 or 3 strollers usually have a weight limit around 15kg – so if you have a large baby, and they’re 15kg by the time they turn one, you’ll need a new one quite quickly.”
There is value in not just blindly buying an expensive stroller because to some extent you are buying into the name. So it has to be an educated buy into what you’re getting. Says Mawson, “Generally with a better stroller, you’re paying for better engineering, design, fabric, materials and construction. For example, almost all the Tier 1 strollers use metal central joint mechanisms (where a stroller folds). Most other brands use plastic central joints, and they wear over time and aren’t replaceable.”
In a sense, choosing the perfect stroller for your child is more about choosing the perfect stroller for you and your lifestyle. “I would ask questions like, ‘What are you using the stroller for exactly?'” says Mawson. “For example, if they never walk outside, and all the walking is done in a mall, and both mum and dad are petite and likely to have a smaller kid, then maybe they can look for something which is a little less strong in the frame but which folds incredibly easier.”
Lifestyle choices are a major factor, Mawson stresses. “You need to identify what your priorities are then find the stroller that plays to those strengths.”
Nursery retailer Mothercare’s training manager, Amy Lim, suggests that parents take their time to research and shop together. “In fact, we encourage them not to buy anything on their first visit.”
Just like buying a car, it’s important to give the stroller a test run before buying, Lim from Mothercare explains. Here are some common considerations:
• You’ll open and fold the unit hundreds of times. Make sure this isn’t awkward or difficult to do.
• Its handlebar should be at a comfortable height for you, with no strain on your wrist.
• Check that you don’t kick the frame’s rear axle or wheels when you’re walking quickly.
• Agree on a manageable weight and size (dads are usually attracted to the bulky models). Keep in mind that you’re going to have to lift the stroller in and out of your car, and manage it over kerbs.
Mawson adds, “Write down the top five outings you’re going to use the stroller for. Is mum alone in those situations? Because generally, dads are bigger and stronger, but for mum – how confident and capable does she feel taking the stroller around?”
She recommends trying a stroller with actual weight inside, something customers can try out at PramFox. “Mum needs to be able to pop the front two wheels up,” explains Mawson. “This is for getting off the road and on to the curb. Even if it’s not something you’re doing every day, you need to be able to do it. It’s a good indicator of how you can handle the pram in general. Remember everything pushes like a dream when it’s empty.”
Entrepreneur Tjin Lee describes herself as a “stroller addict” and has gone through at least 12 models between her two sons. “For different occasions!” she justifies with a laugh.
When she attends events, she pushes her baby around in a high stroller “so people don’t have to bend over and talk to him”. She also has lightweight ones for travel, and mid-sized ones for everyday use. “All of them have different pros and cons,” Tjin adds. “You can have a lightweight pram, but it can feel flimsy. When you have a big and sturdy one, it can be hard to get around when you’re out with baby alone or rely on public transport.”
“I would use the expression ‘horses for courses,'” says Mawson. “This means, you have different horses for different needs in your life. If you’re open to the idea of having two strollers, it gives you permission to solve all your woes. If you’re committed to one stroller, you might get something middle-of-the-road that can kind of do everything.”
If you’re open to the idea of two prams, here’s her advice: “You want as little overlap in capabilities as possible. So if the first one is a tiny little travel pram and the second one is a double running stroller which can go over gutters, be loaded up with 23 kg, then you won’t feel like you have buyer’s remorse.”
Stroller R&D is a lot more detailed and in-depth then you would give it credit for. A lot can go into creating a stroller that can sit two kids, and carry all your groceries. Helping people find the right one, something Mawson does at PramFox, is probably one of the newest trends since her services include a “stroller consult” that helps you choose something that suits your needs best.
“This concept is meant to help you get your buying right the first time, because if you don’t you become painfully aware of how much you end up buying from the same categories very quickly!” says Mawson, who writes on her website that she owned eight prams in the first four years of parenthood, and so clearly understands the pain. “Not a single thing, that I bought pre-baby 1, did I keep for baby 2,” she says. “I read all these reviews that said it was good, but I didn’t know it wouldn’t suit my lifestyle.”
“A lot of the times when you read a negative review, something about the product not solving the problem it was meant to solve, usually it means they bought the wrong product. So here it’s about solutioning and finding the products that will suit your lifestyle.”
This article was first published in Young Parents with additional reporting by Karen Fong