Safety with Combi Double Strollers

When it comes to baby products, safety is never a compromise. The same can be said of strollers. There are a few basic safety features associated with strollers, and with double strollers, the same features apply, but with some additional considerations.

Stability

The stability of a double stroller is one of the first specifications that come to parents minds when it comes to safety. A large proportion of double stroller related accidents involve children falling out of their strollers because the stroller tipped. A key factor in stroller stability is its base. The wider the base, the more stable the double stroller is. Tandem strollers are longer, and therefore they have a relatively narrow base width. This makes the double stroller prone to tipping sideways, especially when making turns or when children crawl over the side of the stroller. Side-by-side strollers are not easy to tip sideways because of the wide design but are in turn prone to tipping front or backwards. Strollers often tip over because parents chose to hang their groceries or bags over the handles of the stroller. This greatly increases the load on one side of the stroller, causing it to tip over when the child manoeuvres slightly inside his/her seat. This can be avoided by double stroller accessories such as pockets or baskets that go underneath the stroller. This places the heavy loads below the child, and increases the stability of the double stroller instead.

Safety Belts

Strollers may carry toddlers or even younger babies. At their age, children can be quite fragile. Accidental collisions into shelves, poles or even sidewalks can be a serious impact if they are not held onto to their seats with seat belts. However, waist belts alone are not sufficient as safety belts. Children can easily wriggle out of waist belts or slip out from them when the fall asleep. Safety belts should have at least three or more straps to hold the child in. Three strap designs usually have two straps running down the shoulder area and a large strap that comes up from the crotch region. Other multiple strap designs follow similar latching and with more straps, the baby is more secure, but possibly less comfortable from the amount of straps on his/her body. With double strollers, there is more wriggling and squirming in the stroller seats and seat belts become even more important. Some safety belts can be easily learnt to be undone by young children, and once they have learnt to do so, they never stop trying to impress you with how quick they can do it. And when you have two doing the same, you will almost never get the safety belts in. Try getting safety belts with a more complicated locking mechanism, especially when dealing with multiples.

Folding Mechanism

Almost all strollers are foldable for easy storage and transporting around. When using these double strollers, they normally have a locking mechanism to hold the stroller open while your child is in it. However, some double strollers have auto-snap in designs which have been reported to fold unexpectedly while the child was still in the stroller. Parents are advised to buy strollers which physical holding locks that you can apply to prevent such incidents from happening. Physical holding locks can be as simple as a latching rod, having a physical tool to apply allows you to see the lock in place and to check if it's coming loose. Foldable double strollers naturally contain many joints for folding. This is also important to check that these joints are not found near where your children can put their fingers into. Children like to explore little nook and cranny, and could get their fingers trapped in the joints or pinched if you accidentally fold the double stroller without noticing.

Brakes

Strollers are vehicles on wheels. They may not have engines, but you will be surprise how much effort it takes to stop a double stroller rolling down a slope. For the safety of you and your child, brakes are necessary. Stroller brakes are usually wheel stops that keep your stroller stationary especially when travelling on a bus or train. However, brakes should also be available at the handle for stopping the stroller without having to reach for the wheels. The quality of the brake can make the difference between comfort and a dangerous ride. Poorly designed brakes can stop the stroller abruptly, causing your child to jerk in the double stroller. Good brakes on the other hand not only improve your child's travelling experience, it also makes the stroller easier to handle, especially over inclines.

Wheels

Besides having good brakes, a good pair of wheels is also essential for easy operation of the double stroller. Wheels should have swivels for easy steering. Full swivels allow for maximum flexibility in steering, but if you're going to move on rugged terrain, full swivels results in too much swinging of the wheels. Half swivels that allowed the wheels to move only in the frontal position will restricted too much swinging and allow the stroller to move forward. Larger wheels also facilitate movement over all terrain types and aid in steering as well. For double strollers, better steering ability become all the more important. Good wheels will provide a smoother ride and prevent your stroller from overturning when it runs over a pothole or pebble.

Strollers normally move in front of the parent and this is a potential hazard when crossing roads. While you may think that you look both ways before crossing, your stroller may already be sticking out onto the road before you have actually checked! Be conscious of when to keep your double stroller at your side or even behind. Don't not always push your stroller in front of you. No matter how many safety features are built into your stroller, they are no good without safe handling practices. Safety features helps, but they are only as safe as you are.