What Not To Do With Your Lightweight Strollers
Buying lightweight strollers is great idea. They make life really easy, whether you choose a stroller frame for a car seat or an all in one, having a stroller you can easily pitch in and out of the car and deal with, with one hand is worth it’s weight in gold.
The Things I Have Seen!
In a sense I feel a bit silly writing this post. I mean doesn’t everybody understand what a stroller is for? Of course they do! But the truth is we are all tempted at times to do silly things. We don’t always fast forward to the consequences. So these are just some sagely words of advice to keep you from automatically doing something you might not think through, especially when you are managing sleep deprivation, loaded with shopping bags or grocerys and just trying to get your child to nap time as fast as possible. Sometimes we all leave our common sense behind.
Put It In The Cargo Net
Those cargo nets on your stroller are great, you can get a ton of stuff in there. If you overload them at times, it’s probably not going to hurt your stroller and the worst that might happen is that it might tear a little or break. Did you ever wonder why they are always tucked down in the bottom of the stroller? It’s called centre of gravity. No matter what you pile in there it isn’t going to in anyway have the opportunity to tip your stroller over. That’s the only place to put extra stuff.
Don’t Hang Bags From The Handles
The thing that I see people do time after time, which is just a disaster in the offing, is hang bags from your stroller handles. It’s very tempting, they are often shapped perfectly to hold a bag and it’s so convenient to just stick it there, right? For something very light, like a greeting card it isn’t a problem. But the thing is people usually don’t do that, they hang their grocery bags there or a bag full of clothes. We forget out baby’s don’t weight very much and even so, they aren’t designed to be ballast. So the minute you take your hand of the stroller over, it goes, baby and all. I’ve seen it time and time again, it’s not a pretty scene.
The Child Goes In The Seat
If you are thinking I’m stating the obvious, of course you are correct. However, it’s amazing how often I have seen the child in the most unusual and dangerous configurations. Just the other day, I was driving down Light Dr, the last street in my neighbourhood before I get home, and there as a lady whom I know, with her 2 year old up on top of the handles of her Graco DuoGlide. Now the DuoGlide is a hefty stroller, not a lightweight, but just the same it was simple a disaster waiting to happen. I stoppped my car, gave my friend a quick physics lesson and explained how quickly that stroller would go over backwards. I hope she doesn’t do it again. A two or three foot fall onto concrete for a 2 year old results in a trip to the ER in the best case!
If You Want To Jog, Get A Jogging Stroller
Let me relate a personal experience. Not long after we picked up our city twin, my wife, unbeknownst to me, packed up our oldest, two at the time, and took her out for a jog. Sure, it has be air filled rear wheels, but the front ones, while sturdy, were not capable of curb hopping and pot hole skating. The jog went fine until the first slightly uncut curb was encountered, then the stroller went over, two year old and all. The poor little girly fortunately was none the worse for wear, but it could have been a very different ending. The moral of the story is there are great jogging strollers out there, it’s not worth potentially hurting your little one trying to make due with what you have.
We’ve All Done It
It’s not difficult to do something silly and dangerous where strollers are concerned. At all times try to stop and think before you hang that bag set that brake on a steep hill expecting it work perfectly. Strollers are great machines and typically well designed. Remember there’s a little life in there. That should prevent you from doing some of the things I have seen.
