pram

Article by Steve Shoebridge

#Choosing a tandem pram

Choosing a pram or pushchair will probably be one of your major purchases as a parent. Most people starting a young family will plan to have more than one child. By the time the second baby comes along the first will still be a toddler so tandem pram may well be worth considering from the outset.

It is important that you get the best tandem pram or tandem pushchair, both for your own sakes and for your youngsters’. Choosing a tandem pram can be a big challenge. The choice is vast, the price range great and if you are a young, first-time mum it is often difficult to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages from the range of tandem prams on offer.

If you choose your tandem pram well you will get the benefit for many years of use and save yourself the cost of buying two separate prams or pushchairs. Firms now offer a very wide range of tandem pram products to suit every need, so you need to shop around to get the best deals.

Before deciding on the best tandem pram for your toddler and baby you should ask yourself a few searching questions. The first one to consider is just what sort of lifestyle you lead.

If you like the outdoors life, long walks and intend to travel over over rough ground you may need to spend a little extra to ensure you get a sturdy tandem pram that will take the strain of rough use.

If you are family that uses the car a lot then the best tandem pram will need to be light enough and compact enough to get in and out of the car. You may need to consider a foldaway tandem pram that will take up as little room as possible. The same applies if you intend to use your tandem pram on public transport.

When choosing a tandem pram it is a good idea to check out the weight and the wheels. A larger wheel chassis with fixed wheels and suspension is ideal for walking as it is more comfortable for your baby and yourself. A swivel wheel chassis will be lighter, smaller, easier to manoeuvre and also be more convenient for the car and bus. Most chassis have adjustable handle heights.

Beware tandem prams that advertise a toddler step on the back. Allowing a toddler to stand can unbalance the tandem pram. Double check too on the size, especially the width. The tandem pram may be very good looking but it is no use if you can’t get it through shops doorways or even your own front door!

Some tandem prams are ideal for narrow doors but this means they do have smaller seats. This will become more of a problem as the toddler and baby grow older and bigger. You may find they have outgrown their narrow tandem pram in no time at all.

Other checks worth making are that the front seat hood is high enough, that seats are not to shallow and that it lies back properly. Babies should not be sat upright for long periods and they need plenty of space.

It is a good idea to walk the tandem pram around the shop first to see how it handles. Some tandem prams can feel heavy and unwieldy to steer. Remember also to test the weight. You may have to lift them in and out of cars and up and down high kerbs. The bigger the better, but only up to a point. Some tandem prams are huge, great for baby and toddler but no use if you can’t lift it or steer it.

pram