Selecting The Right Type of Stroller For Your Lifestyle

Having a baby is exciting, but also very tough! There are tons of decisions you will make throughout your pregnancy, throughout your babies infancy and during their entire lives! One of those early decisions you will have to make is what type of stroller to by your precious baby. In case you weren't aware, a stroller is a must have item for all new parents! Most parents buy their first stroller before they even buy a crib for their newborn. You can use your stroller from day one!

It's easy to get wound up over the selection process. Fortunately if you use the tips below for selecting the right type of stroller, you won't have any trouble at all selecting the right stroller! Here are some important considerations when buying a stroller for your baby.

Selecting a Style There are many different 'styles' of stroller. Here are just a few:

  • Conventional stroller ? this is your standard stroller. Most come with a harness or belt to keep your baby safe and secure, a snack tray, maybe a cup holder, foot brakes and removable padding to keep your baby comfortable. A conventional stroller may range in price from $30-$300 or more.
  • Tandem or double ? if you are having twins or have two babies close in age, a double stroller may be your best bet. You can buy a side-by-side version or a front to back version. While bulky, these strollers do come in handy when shuffling around your little ones.
  • Exercise or Jogging ? these strollers are increasingly popular in recent years. While many are more expensive than traditional models, most parents feel the added investment is well worth it. Most exercise strollers come with a durable aluminum frame. They can carry your toddler up to 80 pounds, twice as much as conventional strollers. Exercise strollers usually easily fold like any other model. They are a good selection for parents on the go who want to get fit while entertaining their child.
  • Lightweight ? lightweight strollers feature lightweight materials. Most weigh less than 20 pounds. Most average 12-15. This is a bonus especially if you plan to haul around a hefty 30-pound toddler. Remember the heavier your stroller the more weight you'll push around. A lightweight stroller makes quick trips to the grocery store a lot easier. Some families opt to have a lightweight and a conventional stroller in the house. They can use the lightweight stroller for traveling and the conventional stroller for walks around the block.
  • The first thing you should do when hunting for a stroller is decide what style best meets your needs. Once you do this, you can start looking for a stroller that has the unique features and accessories you feel make the package complete.

    Stroller Accessories and Features Once you decide the style of stroller you need, it's time to select accessories and features. Some strollers come fully loaded with accessories and features. You may pay a little extra, but you won't have to buy these features separately. Here are just a few accessories and features that most parents find useful when buying a stroller:

    • Extra cup and snack holders for parent and child.
    • Weatherproof fabric.
    • Additional rain or insect mesh shield.
    • Adjustable canopy to keep sunlight away from your child regardless of the direction you turn.
    • Reflective materials to keep you visible when walking during dusk or in the evening.
    • Foot and hand brakes.
    • Built in shock absorbers.
    • Built in toys to entertain your child.

    One feature you can't live without is an adequate harness. Look for a stroller with a three or five point harness to keep your infant safe and secure while riding. You should always belt your child when riding, even when they are an infant, to make sure they don't accidentally slip out of the stroller and hurt themselves.

    Before shopping for your stroller, create a list of the key features and the style of stroller you plan to buy. This will help reduce your list of 500 strollers to perhaps 20. Once you have narrowed your list you can look at dozens of online reviews to select the perfect stroller for you and your family.

    Ant Arthur is a successful freelance writer with 10 years of professional experience providing consumers with informative articles on such topics as Baby Carriers, Baby Slings and Baby Car Seats

    In The News:

    Yahoo! News: Top Stories

    President-elect Barack Obama makes remarks on the nations economy, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Senators from both parties agreed that Congress should do something to stimulate the economy. But Democratic senators emerging from a private meeting of the Senate Finance Committee criticized business and individual tax cuts in Obama's stimulus plan.



    Palestinian demonstrators use sling-shots to hurl stones at Israeli soldiers during a demonstration against Israel's military operation in Gaza, in the West Bank village of Bilin, near Ramallah,Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. Israel resumed its Gaza offensive Wednesday after a three-hour lull to allow delivery of humanitarian aid, bombing heavily around suspected smuggling tunnels near the border with Egypt. Despite the heavy fighting, strides appeared to be being made on the diplomatic front with the U.S. throwing its weight behind a deal being brokered by France and Egypt. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)AP - The U.N. Security Council called for an "immediate" and "durable" cease-fire in Gaza in a resolution Thursday night even as fighting between Israel and Hamas raged — with early morning airstrikes killing seven Palestinians and pushing the death toll to about 760 in the near two-week conflict.



    Florida's Tim Tebow (15) tackles Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy (93) after McCoy intercepted a Tebow pass during the second quarter of the BCS Championship NCAA college football game in Miami, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)AP - The game defied expectations. Tim Tebow fulfilled them.



    Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) votes to recommend the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the House during an Illinois House Impeachment Committee hearing Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Springfield, Ill. The committee voted unanimously to recommend impeachment putting the matter before the full house.  (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)AP - A key panel unanimously recommended impeachment for Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday, setting up a vote that could make him the first governor to face such fate in Illinois' sordid political history. Blagojevich should lose his job for abusing power, mismanaging government and committing possible criminal acts, including federal allegations he tried to sell off a U.S. Senate seat, the special committee concluded.



    A sign instructs job seekers at the California Employment Development Department in Sunnyvale, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. The country lost nearly 2 million jobs through November and more bad news is expected this week when the government releases data on weekly jobless claims and December unemployment. No matter how bad those numbers are, and economists expect at least another 500,000 jobs were lost last month, the pain is stretching into 2009.  (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)AP - Trying to survive a deepening recession, employers are cutting their work forces to the bone, leaving more Americans unemployed and with dim prospects of finding a new job any time soon.



    Neel Kashkari, the assistant treasury secretary in charge of the bailout program, speaks at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)AP - Less than a month after its first report, a congressional panel overseeing the Treasury Department's $700 billion financial bailout is demanding more answers.



    Freida Pinto backstage with the best picture award for 'Slumdog Millionaire' at the 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards on Thursday Jan. 8, 2009 in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)AP - The critics have spoken, and "Slumdog Millionaire" is their final answer.



    Vice President Dick Cheney pauses during an interview with the Associated Press at the White House in Washington Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)AP - Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that he sees no reason for President George W. Bush to pre-emptively pardon anyone at the CIA involved in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists. "I don't have any reason to believe that anybody in the agency did anything illegal," he said.



    Recruiter Sgt. Mario Ashe (L) and Christopher Stevens talk in the tactical operations center area of the U.S. Army Experience center at the Franklin Mills mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 7, 2009. The U.S. Army, struggling to ensure it has enough manpower as it fights wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is wooing young Americans with video games, Google maps and simulated attacks on enemy positions from an Apache helicopter. Departing from the recruiting environment of metal tables and uniformed soldiers in a drab military building, the Army has invested $12 million in a facility that looks like a cross between a hotel lobby and a video arcade. Picture taken January 7, 2009. (Tim Shaffer/Reuters)AP - U.S. policy to win in Afghanistan must recognize the poor nation's limitations and its neighborhood, especially its intertwined relationship with U.S. terrorism-fighting ally Pakistan, the top U.S. military commander in the region said Thursday.



    The east side apartment building where Bernard Madoff remains under house arrest is seen Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in New York. Prosecutors said Thursday that investigators found 100 signed checks worth $173 million in Bernard Madoff's office desk that he was ready to send out to his closest family and friends at the time of his arrest last month. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)AP - Prosecutors said Thursday that investigators found 100 signed checks worth $173 million in Bernard Madoff's office desk that he was ready to send out to his closest family and friends at the time of his arrest last month in what is alleged to be largest financial fraud in history.



    Palestinian women mourn as they watch the funeral of Palestinians killed at a U.N. school, in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip January 7, 2009. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)Reuters - Israel pushed ahead with its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday, ignoring a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire to the 14-day-old conflict.



    Jaclyn Holt (R) fills out an application form at a job fair organized by the New Hampshire Employment Security agency in Salem, New Hampshire December 17, 2008. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. employers probably cut the most jobs in at least 34 years last month as the global economic crisis gathered pace and moves by policy makers took time to filter through to struggling companies.



    People taking the Long Island Foreclosure Tour arrive at a foreclosed home for sale in New Hyde Park, New York in this May 17, 2008 file photo. Citigroup could soon agree to principles that would let troubled borrowers save their homes through bankruptcy, sources familiar with the talks said on Thursday, while industry groups are easing their opposition to the plan. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.



    Reuters - A report being released on Friday alleges that the U.S. Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilizing the financial system, not answered questions asked by a government watchdog, and has done nothing to help struggling homeowners, the Wall Street Journal said.

    Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich gestures as he announces former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris as his choice to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama during a news conference in Chicago, Illinois December 30, 2008. (Frank Polich/Reuters)Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.



    Timothy Geithner (R), pictured in Chicago, November 24, 2008. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is urgently overhauling the $700 billion financial rescue package to broaden its scope beyond Wall Street, The Washington Post reported on Friday.



    Usama al-Kini, Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan, is pictured in this undated FBI Most Wanted photograph. Al-Kini, also known as Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam, and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on January 8, 2009, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership. Operations chief al-Kini was thought responsible for attacks, including the bombing of a Marriott hotel in Islamabad that killed 55 people in September, and an unsuccessful attempt to kill former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was later assassinated in a separate attack, the official said. (FBI/Handout/Reuters)Reuters - Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership.



    Reuters - Some friends of accused swindler Bernard Madoff considered him a "warm and charming" man, and one of his alleged victims praised him just before his death in 2005, Fox Business Network reported on Thursday.

    Three rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon, sparking Israeli artillery retaliation and the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon sending reinforcements to the region(AFPTV)AFP - Israel carried out new deadly air raids on the Gaza Strip on Friday as the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire to end the two-week-old conflict in the Palestinian territory.



    A man carries firewood in the suburbs of Sofia, Bulgaria. Hopes for a quick resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe were rising Friday after Russia agreed on the terms for the deployment of monitors in Ukraine.(AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff)AFP - Hopes for a quick resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe were rising Friday after Russia agreed on the terms for the deployment of monitors in Ukraine.




Planning a Baby Shower? These Tips Make It Stress Free

One of the most pleasant parties to plan has to be the... Read More

Choosing a Personalized Baby Gift

Have you been invited to a baby shower or asked to be... Read More

Baby Shower Favor Ideas

With so many different aspects of a shower to plan, coming up... Read More

Better Health and Happiness for Your Baby

The design of your home has an amazing affect on the health... Read More

Potty Training Boys - How To Potty Train Boys - Do You Teach Them to Sit or Stand?

I am asked this question by many parents - they all want... Read More

Baby Shower Hostess Etiquette

Does baby shower hostess etiquette allow for gift suggestions, if yes, how?... Read More

Baby Shower Checklist for Planning a Baby Shower

Most shower checklists will suggest you start planning approximately four weeks before... Read More

Keeping Baby Safe: Your Most Important Role As A Parent

Saying Thanks, But No Thanks to Used Safety EquipmentOnce your beautiful bundle... Read More

Baby Car Seat Glossary Guide

To the uninitiated parent, buying a car seat for your child can... Read More

Baby Nursery Furniture

You are expecting your first baby and are wondering what type of... Read More

How to Choose a Baby Swing

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 1,000 American infants are... Read More

When Not To Begin Potty Training

Potty training can be a stressful experience for you and your child.... Read More

A Must Have, Do-It-Yourself Resource For ALL Preschooler Parents

There is something so amazing and joyous about watching a little kid... Read More

Properly Care For Your Children

When it comes to your newborn or children's health, it is very... Read More

Baby Products ? Essential Baby Products, Which Ones Do I Really Need?

There are many essential baby products a new parent must purchase. Cribs,... Read More

Babies Bring Love, Joy, and Opinions

The old saying "babies aren't born with instruction manuals" has opened the... Read More

Make Your Baby Shower a Success with the Perfect Table Setting Decorating Idea

The perfect table setting decorating idea will be determined by three main... Read More

7 Stages of Potty Training

There are seven stages of potty training. They begin with showing signs... Read More

Coping With Colic

A new baby with colic is one of the most difficult problems... Read More

Baby Shower Gift Ideas

A few guests can get together and get a big laundry basket.... Read More

The Best Birth Gift

If you are thinking of hiring a nanny, no doubt you plan... Read More

Baby Shower Gifts Are Not All The Same

When one talk about shower baby gifts, it is clear they can... Read More

Feng Shui Fertility: Six Ways to Create More Baby Chi

Today, feng shui is used for everything from arranging office cubicles to... Read More

Infant Car Seats

Finding the best car seats for your child: To escape injury in... Read More

Baby Shower Invitations Add Style To Baby Announcements

Baby shower invitations set the tone for the big dayBaby shower invitations... Read More

Baby Clothes for Your Baby Shower Gift

Baby clothes are one of the most popular types of gifts for... Read More

Potty Training At Daycare and Preschool

With 61% of children between the ages of birth and 6 years... Read More

A New Baby can be Expensive!

A new baby brings a lot of joy and hope to a... Read More

Protecting Your Baby and Toddler from the Sun

Babies and young children have thinner and more delicate skin than adults.... Read More

Are You Spending Too Much Money on Baby Gear?

Did you waste $57 today? I hope not. Unfortunately, so many new... Read More

Baby Product Recall

Products are recalled all the time for posing a danger to the... Read More

Steps To Dealing With Your Autistic Child

It is most unfortunate that many wonderful parents feel that they lack... Read More

You Have a New Person at Home: Babys Fourth Month Guide

Baby is into her fourth month now.Mom's milk is best.Breast milk is... Read More

Real Nappies (Cotton Nappies) or Disposables - The Debate

I'm sure you have heard some of the debate surrounding real nappies,... Read More

White Noise and 10 other Soothing Sounds for Calming a Colicky Infant

The crying ? oh, the crying. A colicky baby can really drive... Read More

The Baby Crib: Your Child?s First Bed

It is up to you as parents whether you want a baby... Read More

A Baby Shower Cake is the Highlight of the Baby Shower

When you're holding a baby shower one of the most important items... Read More

Potty Training Techniques That Dont Work

Your attitude and actions have a huge impact on your child's potty... Read More

Baby Safety & the Family Dog

I recall how wonderful the baby swing in particular, was for moments... Read More

How to Choose a Baby Bathtub

Choosing a baby bathtub is likely one of the easiest decisions you'll... Read More

Potty Training Your Child: The Five Potty Training Methods

There are many different ways to potty train your toddler. At last... Read More

Finding the Right Baby Soap for Your Babys Skin

Baby SoapAren't all soap the same, especially baby soap? Do you really... Read More

How Often Should A One-Month Baby Go for Check Up?

What happen during the first month of your newborn, does your baby... Read More

Baby Shower Party Decorations to Liven up Your Baby Shower

An excellent source of information providing the perfect baby shower party decorations... Read More

Baby Development - But What Role do Parents Play?

It is truly amazing the development that a baby experiences in the... Read More

Planning a Baby Shower

This article has information for the novice as well as the more... Read More

When To Start Teaching Your Baby (2)

With you or without you, your baby will be learning from the... Read More