When I first heard about Fly Babee, I had to look them up and I really enjoyed the story of their product and how it was developed out of necessity – I’m sure it makes flying with a baby a much smoother experience! I decided to reach out to the editors at Fly Babee and thought it’d be nice to contribute some content to the Fly Babee blog. I run a blog over at Mommy Stroller, which goes over anything and everything related to strollers, so I decided to write about a stroller-related topic.
For parents today, a stroller is a necessity not only for safety, but also for comfort of your baby as well. Modern day strollers have advanced to the point where they are no longer just high chairs on wheels but more like a comfortable place for your baby to rest and relax while avoiding the “stress” and discomfort of the weather and crowds. Even with these advances there are still many "rules" when using a stroller while traveling to make the experience enjoyable for both you and your baby or toddler.
Today, I thought I’d share how I (and my baby) make sure I have fun traveling with a stroller! Here are a few of my favourite tips:
Travel with a Lightweight Stroller
Believe it or not, I’ve seen parents travel with their jogging strollers, and for me, that’s a little too much of a hassle. Can you imagine visiting major metropolitan cities having to explore with a jogging stroller?
I currently have a dedicated stroller just for traveling – since I do consider myself traveling quite often. Lightweight strollers and umbrella strollers are usually the type of strollers you’d want to use to explore a new city given that it has a smaller footprint, has all the features you’ll need, and most importantly, weighs less than jogging strollers.
Maintaining Eye Contact
Most strollers by default are close to ground so your baby has limited sensory perception of what is going on above them. If you are pushing the stroller and pointing out things as you push, there is a good chance the child is missing most of what you are saying. To fix this situation, I make sure that if there is a point of interest I want to show my child, I stop and crouch beside the stroller to point out the interest so that your child can see you as well as hear what you are saying.
“Aiming” the Stroller
Another mistake is to point out peripheral objects while failing to realize that the stroller only faces forward and usually has sides that block fully seeing left and right. If there is something that you want to share with your baby on the journey, make sure that you point the stroller in the direction so the baby does not have to strain his or her neck to glimpse the object in passing.
Avoiding the Walls
In addition to avoiding points of interests that are peripheral, height is also a problem that must be overcome. This is particularly true as places like zoos that have fences that adults can see over but if you roll the stroller up to it, the baby is staring directly at a wall and can't see anything at all. Finding an opening or a gap so that things can be seen from all heights is important. Or, what I alternatively do is carry the baby.
Up Time & Back TimeMany strollers have reclining backs that can be turning into a flat surface so that your baby can take a nap in the stroller. This is excellent for long day trips or amusement park activities. Allocating time to walk as well as time to sleep will definitely keep your baby on schedule and not make going to bed worse than usual.
Watch Out for the Bumps
As with a car, handling a stroller must be done with the safety of the passengers in mind. Avoiding bumps, curbs and sudden stop can make the ride smoother for your baby. Depending on the terrain, this is not always possible but if you let your child know when it is going to happen or the duration, it will make for a better understanding of what is happening.
Closing Words
Strollers are good for efficiently getting from point A to point B, but make sure you are still interacting with your child during the journey, so that he or she has just as much fun as everyone else on the trip. Communication is key! Not being able to hear what is happening or only seeing a brick wall the entire trip without being able to get out occasionally or rest properly will make for a miserable trip for your child. And as most parents know, this will lead to a miserable trip for everyone else in the long run.
For detailed guides, stroller reviews and anything and everything stroller related, check out Mommy Stroller! You can also connect with the Mommy Stroller crew on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.
