Pushchairs from the Ridiculous to the Sublime

As many of you know, I am the pushchair queen.  It’s true…I have the tiara to prove it!  I stumbled into writing reviews for MadeForMums website and somehow, although quite happily, ended up being a Pushchair reviewer.  I adore pushchairs.  They are gorgeous and fun and quirky and delightful…oh…I forgot where I was for a minute…  Anyway, I have had the pleasure of OWNING 2 pushchairs.  I have had the immense pleasure of receiving, trialing, testing and reviewing more than 20 pushchairs.  I currently have 7 pushchairs in my possession.  It’s a bit ridiculous, really.

However, in my status as Pushchair Queen, I have learned a LOT (well, far too much really) about what works and what doesn’t work on a pushchair.  I have to say that I am a bit of a snob with regards to “umbrella strollers”.  I see the £20 strollers that fill the high street and are nothing more than a lurid piece of canvas loosely stretched between a pingy aluminium frame.  I see the toddlers scrunched and squished in said strollers looking as miserable as a miserable thing could ever be as the sun beats down on their little heads.  Now, I know, budget is an issue for so many families but trust me, there are pushchairs/strollers out there for under £100 which will at least carry your child better and safer and will actually function for you.

That being said, I have found that a majority of pushchair designs are VERY ridiculous.  Two features spring to mind:  the canopy/hood and the shopping basket.  Far too many pushchairs have included a canopy/hood for looks and coordination and nothing more.  The only chance that your child will be protected/shielded from the sun is if the sun is either directly above you or behind you.  I believe that the pushchair designers (they have to be men…no mother would design that!) think that they need to include a canopy but are loathe to use too much fabric as it would surely cost too much thus cutting into their profit.  The canopy design leads to mothers either using items of clothing or muslin cloths to drape over the edge of the canopy so their child is shielded from the sun.  It also leads to sublimely genius products like the Snoozeshade…designed by a MUM of course!

The other feature that DOES MY HEAD IN is the shopping basket.  So many pushchairs, particularly the ones that are “lightweight”, are completely USELESS!  Again, said pushchair designer has moved on from the postage stamp sized canopy and decided that with a scrap of mesh the size of a handkerchief, a shopping basket can be attached which allows them to say “shopping basket included” in the product description.  Never mind that you could only manage to fit a non-folded newspaper in it on the best of days…it’s a shopping basket!  Get REAL pushchair designers!  You make a “lightweight” pushchair with an incy-wincy shopping basket and then tell us that we shouldn’t hang anything off of the handles.  How do you expect us to go out and do anything??  Most parents flout this rule entirely and hang the equivalent of a £200 grocery shop off the handles thus turning their “lightweight” pushchair into a “heavyweight” accident waiting to happen.  I’m surprised that UK Healthy & Safety hasn’t swanned in on that one!  Whoops…there goes my child, flipping backwards in the pushchair!  Oh dear!

I was going to show some of the worst offenders…but I don’t like to look a gift horse in the mouth or offend any companies to the point where they boycott me.  If you’d like to know my “name and shame” list of the worst pushchair offenders, please comment below and I’ll clue you in on what NOT to buy!  The list is growing…

I will, however, share with you two companies who have sussed out how to make a genius pushchair:

Baby Jogger City Mini

The Baby Jogger City Mini was our 2nd pushchair and still enjoys pride of place in Hubby’s boot.  The reason I chose it was for the canopy/hood.  Have a look…it’s brilliant!  It comes down quite far yet not so far as to block Little Miss’ vision of the world.  The hood also has 2 viewing windows which can be kept covered by a canvas/velcro piece or left uncovered to allow a bit of light in.  You can check on your child quickly and easily and still keep them covered and protected.  Genius!  The shopping basket is actually quite effective as well.  It’s not giant but you can get a fair bit into it and better still, can access it very easily.  You can get at least 10 newspapers in it and you could even be so bold as to fold them!    We love our Baby Jogger City Mini…we’ll always love you but…

Our heart has been stolen by another…the Stokke Xplory…the pushchair to end all pushchairs.  I promised I wouldn’t go on and on about it so I will simply say that the design is sublime, it functions brilliantly on all terrains, it allows your child to see the world from a suitable vantage point and allows you to keep them in parent facing mode forever, if you like.  It has a shopping BAG which expands to fit a TONNE of stuff and all the while is exceptionally stylish and funky…sigh…

Stokke Xplory

I’ve given you pushchairs…from the ridiculous to the sublime in support of Josie’s Writing Workshop where I have chosen writing prompt #3- Write about a gadget, object or invention which I find completely useless and impractical which was inspired by Tiddlyompompom’s post Sample Pot which I wholeheartedly agree with!  If any pushchair designers would like to hire me as a research and development consultant, I’ll happily give you my hourly rate…please comment below and I’ll get right back to you.