Umbrella Stroller

Our Latest Umbrella Stroller Reviews;

Kolcraft Umbrella Stroller

An everyday favourite to some but what exactly is an Umbrella Stroller?

Not surprisingly, I get asked and hear alot of questions about the Umbrella Stroller especially which models and sizes are the better. Some more common queries I see are;

	What is an Umbrella Stroller?
	What is the best umbrella stroller?
	Can a five month old baby use an umbrella stroller?
	Why choose an umbrella stroller?
	Why is it necessary to use a baby umbrella stroller?
	Should You Buy an Umbrella Stroller?
	Am I Expecting Too Much from an Umbrella Stroller?
	Do You Need an Umbrella Stroller?
	How do you know when your baby is ready for an umbrella stroller?
	How can I make a Umbrella Stroller into a Double Stroller?

Lets start from the top in order to help out those new moms whom are all new to the whole baby transportation issue;

"What is an Umbrella Stroller?"

The umbrella stroller was one of the first forms of strollers on the market offering a lightweight yet versatile method of transporting your young child or baby quickly and easily. They are principally lightweight, will easily fold down relatively flat for storage, provide a small, often canvass, sun/rain hood and importantly for first time parents, are fairly inexpensive (depending on the brand chosen).

Umbrella Strollers are no different to other models in terms of considering when it is suitable for your baby or infant to begin using one and it is common for me to hear the question;

"How do you know when your baby is ready for an umbrella stroller?"

Again, a good question. These lightweight strollers are great for quick trips to the shops and are effortlessly folded flat and thrown into your trunk but you do need to consider the correct age you child must attain before using. The general guidelines used by the leading manufacturers in terms of Umbrella Strollers are that your child should be aged at least 6 months and accept weights of between 40 to 45 lbs. Different Umbrella Strollers will accommodate slightly different baby weights but the above is a general guide.

There are many benefits of selecting an Umbrella Stroller but the principle question I hear most often is;

Why choose an umbrella stroller?

Given these types of lightweight strollers cannot be used from birth, most parents will have first purchased themselves a more robust and comfortable stroller for their newborn child. This form of stroller is quickly grown out of and parents find themselves looking for a more portable and user friendly offering which collapses easily and can be loaded into the trunk without any problems.

Therefore, several good reasons for purchasing an Umbrella Stroller are it's versatility, lightweight design, portable nature and quick deployment being great for short trips to the mall, zoo or just a walk about town.

Many models of Umbrella Stroller also have a reclining seat which allows your little one some degree of comfort and also helps to get them off to sleep in a good posture. Do however not allow them to sleep for too long in this type of stroller given they will not benefit from it long term.

Can you Join Two Umbrella Strollers Together?

One final thought on Umbrella Strollers, I see and hear a lot of parents wanting to turn their two umbrella strollers in a double affair and why not? if you have two children both of which are using a lightweight stroller it makes sense (and usable if there is just one parent) to join them together.

Thankfully there are some good products in the market which provide universal clips to enable two umbrella strollers to be connected together. Click the image above to see one of the best selling universal stroller couplers which are a great choice for joining two Umbrella Strollers together.

Finally, and one of the most pertinent questions I hear is;

Am I Expecting To Much from an Umbrella Stroller?

Why is this such a good question? Well, simply put the Umbrella Stroller at first glance appears to answer so many of our stroller questions. It's lightweight, easy to transport, light to push and manoeuvrable and for the most part, affordable. It is not however a 'complete' solution.

There will be times when your child will need something more robust to sleep in, times when you really need a bigger basket to put your shopping and baby essentials in (the majority of these strollers have very limited basket space) and times when the smaller wheels which help make it so lightweight just don't do the job over anything but smooth terrain. It is for this reason why we as parents start to collect a garage full of strollers because there really isn't one 'perfect' stroller which answers all needs. The trick is to ensure you make the right initial decisions and thereby limiting your stroller purchases to the minimum required.