Prams and Strollers

In the period immediately after birth, you will use a baby carriage to transport your child about. This means that your child will lie in a so-called carrycot or bassinet. Your baby will lie on his or her back or its side, because up to the age of seven months it is best to transport your baby in a horizontal position. A carrycot may not be used for transport in the car unless it is a special carrycot with an ECE mark 44.03.

Some parents buy a separate carriage for use only during this initial period. However, most parents buy a combination model. A combination model means that you have one undercarriage, on which you can attach either the carrycot or the car seat. Once your child is old enough to sit in a stroller, you can convert the combi model into a stroller. In fact, the combination model actually amounts to three carriages in one.

As soon as your child can sit up, it is no longer safe to transport him/her in the carrycot mounted on the carriage. Your child might be able to climb out of it.

Please note: if both parents are rather tall, your child will probably be tall for its age too. The sizes of a carrycot can differ quite substantially. If you suspect that your child is or will be tall, buy a carriage with the largest possible carrycot. Otherwise, your child will no longer fit in the carrycot, even though he/she may not yet be ready for a stroller.

Your child is ready to be transported in a stroller when he/she is able to sit upright. The age at which children are able to do so varies greatly. It will be somewhere between six and twelve months. Make sure your child is always wearing a safety belt in the stroller.

If you intend to use the stroller mainly in the city and for short walks, you should choose a different model than if you need it for long walks in the forest. In the latter case, pneumatic tires and good suspension are more important than for the first purpose. Always check whether the stroller fits in your car when folded up. If you constantly have to push and squeeze it into the boot, you can expect a lot of hassles and headaches in the long run.

If you want to take your child with you in a stroller for grocery shopping, make sure that there is enough space on the stroller to transport your purchases. Some strollers have much more storage space than others. Hooking heavy shopping bags on the handlebar can be dangerous, as this can cause the stroller to lose its balance and topple.

Always check the strength and stability of a stroller. Of course, you don’t want your child to topple over with the stroller and all when he/she leans a bit to the side or forward.

In principle, a car seat is only intended for transporting a child in a car. However, some carriages allow for the mounting of a car seat. This can be very useful, for example, when you have to dash to the doctor. However, a car seat is not suitable for your child to sit in for a lengthy period: a maximum of 1.5 to 2 hours per day.

For all baby carriages, the following applies

• Look carefully at the stability of the carriage and make sure that it cannot topple easily.
• Make sure that the baby carriage is equipped with brakes and do make use of the brakes.
• If the baby carriage has castors, see if you can also secure them; in some cases, it is safer to secure the wheels.
• Do you have a rain cover fitted on the baby carriage? Then make sure that your child cannot suffocate in the carriage or stroller.