Parents, expecting mothers, and new parents are often concerned about the list of items that they need to buy for their kids. They need answers to thousands of questions regarding how to take care of their kids the best way.
One of the many questions that expecting parents and new parents often ask:
Are Strollers Necessary For A Baby?
Having a stroller at home for your baby comes with a lot of benefits. One of them is that it’s effective for transporting your baby during long walks. With a stroller, you can always take your child with you shopping or for a walk. This is especially true if there’s nobody at home to babysit your baby.
What exactly are baby strollers? What are the pros and cons of using a baby stroller? Are strollers necessary for a baby? What are the best baby stroller alternatives? As you read through the rest of the post, I’ll further share everything you need to know about the frequently asked questions above. So, without any further delay, let’s dive right in.
What are baby strollers?
Baby strollers are wheeled devices designed to make it easy for parents to carry their kids. Baby strollers have been around for a long time. One of the first known strollers was designed in 1733 by William Kent.
In 2018, the baby stroller market was valued at 468.5 million U.S dollars, according to Statista. Interestingly, experts have predicted that the value will increase and reach 692.2 million U.S. dollars before the end of 2025.
Types of strollers
Today, baby strollers are available in different types and offer tons of benefits to their users. Let’s have a look at some of them below:
- Full-sized stroller
Full-sized strollers are bigger and sturdier. They are known to be very durable and reliable for wheeling babies right through their toddler periods. Furthermore, they are very comfortable for babies and pack tons of amazing features; one of them is that they come with a deep seat recline.
Most full-sized strollers have features that’ll allow you to attach them to your vehicle’s seat. That’s not all; they are also known to always come with expandable canopies, which provide shade for the baby.
- Lightweight stroller
Lightweight strollers are perfect for people who don’t like full-sized strollers because of how heavy they are. Also known as Umbrella strollers, these devices are known to always weigh less than 15 pounds. Furthermore, lightweight strollers are very much easy to fold and store in a truck.
- Jogging stroller
Jogging strollers are perfect for parents who like to take their baby along with them for a walk or exercise. It’s designed to deliver superior suspension, which makes it easy for you to hike or jog while also keeping your baby safe.
- Double stroller
A double stroller is perfect for parents who have twins. With this device, you can comfortably carry your babies with you for shopping and long walks.
What are the pros and cons of using a baby stroller?
As with every other piece of equipment out there, it’s with knowing that Baby Strollers also have their strengths and weaknesses. You can check below to see some of the reasons why you need to consider investing in a baby stroller and why you shouldn’t.
Pros
- Safety and security
One of the advantages of investing in a baby stroller for your toddler is that it’ll provide you with a sense of security. With a stroller, you can always buckle your baby, and rest assured that it’s secure with you.
Also, when your kids are a bit older and you’re going to a crowded place with your kids. To ensure the safety, security and to put your mind at peace. All you need is to get a double stroller and keep the kids in the seats.
Here’s another example; imagine that you’re in a restaurant, trying to have a meal. In this case, it can be a bad idea to have your baby on your lap while you eat. However, with a baby stroller, you can always keep your baby safe and secure and have enough space to enjoy your meal.
- Outdoor exercise
Are you all alone with your baby at home but you need to go out for a walk or exercise? In this situation, one of the few things that you can do is to hire someone to babysit your child. Apart from that, you can always consider getting a jogging stroller for your baby.
With a jogging stroller, you’ll get the flexibility to stroll, jog, or run anywhere you want with your newborn baby. You can even opt for double jogging strollers if you’re a mother of two.
- More pushing and less carrying
Babies are usually lightweight. At the early stages, it’s usually a simple task for parents to carry their babies for a long period. However, as they continue to grow and add weight, carrying them becomes more challenging to do. Here’s where the need to use baby strollers comes into play.
With a reliable baby stroller, you will be able to relieve yourself of the weight and stress of carrying your child for a long period.
Cons
- You might need more than one stroller
One of the drawbacks of using a stroller is that you’ll most likely need more than one device. As you already know, strollers are available in different types. Interestingly, all of them are designed for different events.
For instance, as a mother who likes going for early morning walks and jogs, it’s not ideal to take your baby out with you in a lightweight standard stroller. With that, it means you need to get a jogging stroller in addition to the one you have at home.
The bottom line is that one stroller might not be enough to cater to the needs of your baby. You will most likely need to invest in two or more strollers to keep up with different events.
- Most strollers require space
Apart from the lightweight strollers, other strollers often take up a lot of space when folded into the vehicle. If you’re the type that utilizes a car without enough space, you’ll most likely have a hard time keeping the stroller inside your vehicle.
As earlier mentioned, one stroller isn’t always enough for all activities, such as jogging and shopping. Unfortunately, the setback of having two or more strollers is that they’ll take up a lot of space at your home.
- Traveling issue
Another drawback of using a baby stroller is that it could put you under a lot of stress while traveling, especially by plane. This is especially true if the stroller is too big to fit in the overhead bin of the airplane.
Are strollers worth it?
Depending on your needs, investing in strollers for your newborn baby is certainly worth all the money. With a jogging stroller, for example, you won’t have to pay someone every time to babysit your toddler while you’re away for your morning/evening exercises.
Furthermore, with strollers, you can always keep your baby safe and secure while you attend to other things. Strollers are very much convenient for babies. Apart from that, they also make traveling with your baby easier, especially if it requires going on long walks.
The bottom line is that there are tons of benefits attached to buying baby strollers for your toddlers.
What are the best baby stroller alternatives?
Although baby strollers are necessary, you need to understand that you may not need them in all cases. A good example is if you need to go out with your baby for a short walk. In this case, instead of going out with your baby in a stroller, you can consider using other alternatives, such as sling, backpack, and baby carrier.
In case you don’t know, there are many alternatives that you can consider using if you find baby strollers unsuitable for your needs. Let’s have a quick look at some of them below:
- Baby slings
A baby sling is a strip of fabric that you can always use instead of a baby stroller. It’s designed to be placed over your shoulder and worn, in different positions, across your front body.
If properly used as instructed, slings are pretty safe and secure for carrying babies on long walks.
- Baby carriers
A baby carrier is a soft padded device that you can always wear around your body to carry your toddler. Baby carriers are convenient. Apart from that, they are easy to carry around and won’t take up your space.
- Backpacks
Baby backpacks are usually designed to be worn on the back. They come with rigid frames, which makes them not suitable for newborns. However, you can always consider getting a backpack if your baby is old enough to hold up its head.
