Stroller Safety

While you are thinking about your new life as a stroller owner, take a minute to think stroller safety. There are basically two types of stroller safety: the physical manufacture of the stroller and the common sense of the stroller driver. Let's talk about the build-in stroller safety points. These build-in safety features are the ones usually evaluated in the stroller consumer reports. Wheels are essential for stroller safety. Check the stroller's wheels often, maybe make it a habit to check them every time you take the stroller out. With most families' active lifestyle a strollers' wheels could easily wear out. Wobbling is a good indication the wheels are wearing. Some strollers have removable wheels that can become loose, or even fall out. Make sure these are secure. Find wheel problems before they cause an accident. Brakes, check them often especially if you use your stroller outside. Brakes keep your stroller from running faster than you do. Make sure they are free of dirt and work properly. Does your stroller have a safety strap? If so, use it. It can keep a climbing child in the correct position to keep the stroller from tipping. Strollers are designed to have the child's weight in the center of the seat. When the little tyke climbs up or leans to one side, the stroller becomes unbalanced and could tip over, or the child could fall out. Also, by using the build-in stroller straps consistently, the child becomes used to seat belts and does not complain when required to use auto seat belts later in life. There is a second type of stroller safety strap. It attaches to the stroller and the stroller driver so that the stroller cannot roll away. This one is primarily useful if you use your stroller on hills. Some strollers fold up to tiny proportions. That means they have places where there are latches and hooks. These should be sturdy and fully secure before you put your baby in the stroller. The lightweight and umbrella strollers are particularly likely to have these fasteners just by their vary nature of being the stroller type people buy because they do fold. Pinched fingers or a stroller that suddenly folds up on the baby is a stroller safety issue easy to avoid. Let's move to the operator error issues in stroller safety. Stroller consumer reports often do not venture into these types of issues. Most of this section on stroller safety will probably seem to be seems to be common sense. However, it must be said. The built-in storage on your stroller could be an accident waiting to happen. To avoid stuffing your stroller out of balance, put the heaviest items under the seat. Use the storage behind the seat for the lighter quick-grab essentials. Experiment with this. Empty your stroller. Now hang your fully-loaded purse or diaper bag on the handle. What happens? That tipping can happen with your baby inside. And, if by some chance you did not use the stroller safety belt...your baby could flip through air like a circus performer. Of course at this point you would practice your best horror-movie scream. This last stroller safety item is for all parents and stroller drivers who cross streets and/or parking lots. Do NOT, and repeating, Do NOT push the stroller ahead of you into the lane of traffic. What are those people thinking? If the driver is up on the curb, but the baby in the stroller is in the lane of traffic, what ARE they thinking. Are they thinking that because they checked all the stroller safety items that their baby will be safe, no matter what? Let's just hope that the baby did not get the stroller-in-the-street-stroller-driver-on-the-curb-gene.

You can find a helpful stroller safety buying guide and additional stroller consumer reports information to help in your baby gear buying decisions at Aha! Baby.

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