5 reasons that often lead to stroller regret for parents

Parents reveal their biggest stroller regrets and tell us what they would do differently if they had to buy a stroller again.

Baby strollers are a big help for new parents, but you also need to buy something that is comfortable for your child and yourself, considering there are lots of stroller varieties out there, serving various purposes.

There’s also a lot of jargon used with strollers – convertible, reversing, modular, frame stroller, etc. which can further confuse parents.  

Besides, things like ease of folding, ease of use, ease of steering, and stroller weight, are things that can be a pain when one actually starts using a stroller, depending on where you take the stroller.

There are some parents who experience buyer’s remorse after purchasing a stroller. Mind you, some of the strollers can be expensive, with the better ones costing around $600-$700 dollars. So, if you buy a stroller that turns out to be a disappointing, it can be a costly mistake.

Common Reasons for Stroller Regret

Stroller turns out to be too heavy to manage

Parents are generally aware that some strollers can be heavy but when researching for a stroller or even when checking out a stroller at a store, at times, they tend to underestimate the weight factor and assume that somehow they will be able to manage the stroller.

One reason for that could be because there is a great offer going on, which makes you sort of ignore some of the shortcomings.

However, the fact is that many parents wish they had bought a lighter stroller.

The stroller is too big and bulky

A heavier stroller is also likely to be bigger in size and bulkier, which poses other challenges. It may not fit in the boot of your car or may take up a lot of space at home.

So, do consider how big the stroller is going to be when folded in order to foresee possible issues.

Nowadays, you have great choices when it comes to lightweight strollers; these are convenient and don’t weigh much.

Most modern strollers use better materials and engineering nowadays that allow for comparatively lightweight strollers.

However, the cheaper lightweight strollers may not offer adequate storage space or canopy size, or the seat may not be very spacious, or it may not allow you to add additional accessories. Also, if you have two kids, you will require a double stroller which is anyways going to make the stroller heavy and bulky.

So, while lighter is better, at times, you may have to reach a compromise.

Not sticking to a budget (Paid more for the stroller)

Baby strollers come in several variations, and some are more expensive than others. Strollers that come with premium fabric, leather covers, and other embellishments are going to be more expensive. Strollers that feature a reversible seat or have the ability to convert from a single to a double buggy will also cost more than other kinds of strollers.

Full-featured strollers can easily cost up to a thousand dollars, and there are many parents who feel that they paid more for their stroller.

So, it is important to be realistic about what you need.

Do you really need Gold-plated handlebars?  Will a regular stroller suffice or do you really need a more expensive modular stroller? 

When shopping for a stroller, do remember your requirements, and also remind yourself that you have a budget (most of them have).

Stroller was not Future Ready?

A convertible stroller, although expensive, can be a worthwhile investment, in case you’re planning another child in the future.

I know some parents who bought a standard single stroller, and the very next year the mom got pregnant.

Well, they really wished they had a double stroller or a versatile one that could be converted into a double.

The good thing is that convertible strollers are not that expensive nowadays, so do consider buying one if you’re not sure about your future plans.

Similarly, you can get more out of your stroller by using suitable accessories. 

Like a particular model but it doesn’t have some feature? You can consider buying an accessory separately rather than rejecting the model altogether.

Snack tray, canopy, Storage bag, organizer, are available that can be attached to most strollers. You can even attach a board or an extra seat to a single stroller that will allow you to accommodate another child on the stroller.

The stroller doesn’t get used as much

This is another remorse that some parents have; the stroller that they bought doesn’t get used much.

In one case, the child, having grown up, really didn’t enjoy being seated in the stroller. In another case, the parent bought an expensive jogging stroller but never really went out jogging enough, and felt that a cheaper stroller would have sufficed.

Related: Most common problems faced by stroller owners.

High-End Stroller becomes expensive storage space (Stroller Regret)

This mom feels that High-End Strollers are just expensive storage spaces. She was gifted a luxury baby stroller but unfortunately it doesn’t get driven much, and here are the reasons provided by her.

We have a Cadillac. Well, not exactly. We have the Cadillac of strollers. It’s ginormous, like a Caddy. And it’s a smooth ride, like a Caddy. Oh and it cost almost as much as a Caddy. At least in terms of strollers, ours is more on the Caddy-end of the price spectrum than, say, a Kia.

But there are a few differences between our stroller and a real Cadillac:

1) We won’t be using ours for years and years to come.

2) As it arrives in the box when you first buy it, it can only accommodate one passenger at a time.

3) Its main occupant doesn’t give a damn about keeping it nice and clean, so there are plenty of unknown foods and substances expertly smeared into much of the surface (along with a good amount of Cheerio and cookie crumbs in the crevices).

My husband and I were fortunate to have had this luxury baby stroller gifted to us. And we appreciated it thoroughly because we thought that we just had to have a high-end stroller for our newborn baby boy. We thought about safety (we could bulldoze through a crowd without him getting so much as an upset stomach from all the commotion), and about practicality, like the stroller being able to handle uneven, bumpy city sidewalks (which ours does. Once again, bulldozer.). We also considered other things, like the ability to store things under the stroller. This came in handy when we would go grocery shopping and we would use the stroller as our make-shift cart.

But there are some things that we didn’t consider at the time:

1. When our son could even so much as cruise, he refused to sit in his stroller anymore. This resulted in him pushing his own stroller every time we left the house.

2. All of that awesome storage space on the bottom is now where my son puts all of his belongings whenever he gets a chance. And you never really know what you’re going to find in there. Last I looked, we had a bag of stickers, three tubes of sunscreen, a firetruck (a big firetruck), a dinosaur, two blankets, three sweatshirts, and a hat. When in doubt, check the stroller.

3. Now that we have another baby, our Caddy doesn’t get driven at all. We could spend the money to get the attachment so that two kids can fit in it, but it puts them in an awkward position, so that one child is basically sitting under his brother. Instead, we got a very sturdy—and free—hand-me-down double stroller. It’s a tank, but anything that carries two children simultaneously isn’t going to ride like a Ducati. And did I mention that it was free?

I realized recently that I’m not the only one out there who might have a bit of stroller regret. (I know that it was a gift, but we probably could have used that money toward the down payment on our house instead…) Blogger Gylisa Jayne recently took to Facebook to vent her frustrations with the high price tags of strollers. When her husband expressed interest in some of the trendier ones before their child was born, she went along with him to the store to see what was out there. Needless to say, she was shocked at what she found.

In her post she wrote:

I learnt that everyone else is either way richer than me, or it’s just normal for a pram to cost more than we’ve ever spent on a…CAR.

I read the specifications on those things, and apparently for a pram that costs the best part of a thousand pounds – it won’t change a nappy, drive itself, or be worth anything as an heirloom.

Pretty much. And if my Caddy did change a diaper or two, I might not be writing this today. I would be skipping gleefully around my house while my stroller handled all of the poop and pee that has now become a permanent part of my day.

Source: pjmedia

 

Closing Thoughts

There are several types of strollers on the market; there is a wide range of models, styles and brands available. Picking out the right type of stroller can be overwhelming and challenging considering there are so many variants of strollers available.

By keeping these factors in mind, you can avoid stroller regret and choose a suitable stroller that will be useful to you in the long run.