Advice on carrying children

[quassleberry]

I wish trailers had been around when my two were little it would have made life so much easier, as it was my youngest went in a seat at the back and yes the bouncing sent her to sleep pretty quickly, my son went in a seat on the crossbar then when he got too tall for me to see over his head we were changing childminders anyway. He never went to sleep he was always scared he'd miss something, he's coming up to 17 now and still doesnt sleep much.

 

[scouserinlondon]

As a slight aside, if you want to carry on carrying your LO in a sling, I can point you in the direction of some absolutely fantastic wraps and mei teis, which are not only suitable for a growing child (including 3 year olds!) but also a million times more comfortable and supportive than a baby bjorn style sling.

I still carry my son from time to time (it's a good weather thing for me) and he's 15 months old. It's all about the sling.

Oh really, that'd be interesting, not just for the nursery commute but for when we're out and about.

 

[scouserinlondon]

I had a Hamax sleepy or was it smiley. was good for the few times I used it.

if you want it scouse you can have it, comes with 2 mounting blocks .

PM me if you are interested.

PM (hopefully) sent

 

[subaqua]

received and replied

 

[RUTHIEBAV]

When my two were younger my husband and I had child seats on the back of our bikes. Our girls lasted about 30 minutes before they kicked off.

We had to be careful not to cycle too close to each other as they would hold hands and wouldn't let go. It wouldn't be immediately obvious that they were holding hands which caused a few interesting moments when the cycle path narrowed or there was a tree in the midde of the path!

Also they did tend to suddenly try to look where they were going and lean suddenly to one side (which keeps you on your toes).
RuthieB

 

[alecstilleyedye]

although i don't use it regularly (enough), a trailer has been found to be a sound investment, as i can take the two youngest children in it on a ride with their older brother.

you can get inserts for trailers that snuggle in a baby that can hold its head up unsupported. they really love it, and you get a lot more space from motorists than you would riding on your own.

we spent a bit extra on a burley encore, but there are other, cheaper trailers around which may be as useful. that said, it's light, so when folded up weighs less than a child buggy. speaking of which, the additional jockey wheel allows you to park the bike, detach the trailer and go around the supermarket without disturbing the kids, and you then attach it to the bike with your shopping in the back. much more fun for the kids than car and trolley, and they don't pester for stuff either…

 

[400bhp]

At 9 months old is she old enough to sit in a seat? Crucially, can she hold her own head up?

 

[400bhp]

Oh, and there's not a cat in hells chance you'd catch me with a trailer on public roads.

 

[arallsopp]

We had Ted in a seat on the back of Evey's bike. Being recumbent, fitting him to mine was prohibitively awkward. She got used to the much higher centre of gravity whilst moving, but the bike still had a tendency to tip towards/away from her when she was standing beside it. Also, Ted used to get kicked in the face a fair bit when she or I would forget and swing a leg over the back.

We switched to a trailer, and I rode it around empty for a while to get the hang of it. Turns out car drivers in our area give you a much wider berth if you're towing kids. Until Ted was able to ride about 5 miles, we'd regularly put his bike, Darcey's bike, the change bag, food, drink and both kids into the trailer and head off to do the shopping.

Looking back at the childseat days, its not carrying the kid that's the problem. Its the assorted bumff that comes with them I still tow them over to friends houses if I'm not confident that Ted will behave when he's riding on his own.

 

[jugglingphil]

I've never used a trailer, when mine were small we lived miles away from nursery. In the end we moved so they could walk to school.
When considering seats, it's important your daughter can hold her head up, especially if you decide to pop a helmet on her as well.
You say that nursery is only 1 mile from home, could you pick the trailer up on your way home?

 

[User169]

I got a double seat last year. Children need to be a bit older since there's nothing to actually strap them on. Quite good fun though.

 

[Luv Handles]

There are way better options if you want a real shortlist, then check these out. For CARGO CRUISIN' I can vouch that this TRIKE has the best quality and value for money. Otherwise you can opt for some amazing child seats that are a nice looking design ( not horrible pieces of plastic over towering your bicycle ) and they can be fitted to the back of your bicycle with added features like lights, head rest that makes wearing their lil' helmets a lot more comfortable, foot rests and so on. This brand also has a front option for little ones age 9mos - 3 years max. Take a look and contact us if you need further assistance, we can sell you one

 

[jonathanw]

We used 2 x Co-pilot limo seats for our twins, pretty much from when they had head control up to about 4.5years. These are expensive, but very safe, with their own racks and are quick to mount and remove. The expense is mitigated by a high resale value to friends, colleagues or on e-bay. They are rated up to about 18kg, which is a slim 5 year old (Wt= (age +4) x 2)

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/21111/CoPilot_Limo_Child_Seat

 

[Butterfly]

At the moment I mostly use a Hamax Kiss. It's good because it's a bit bouncy so soaks up some of the bumps and I have a rain cover for it which is very effective. I've also used co-pilot seats and cheep halfords ones. The co-pilots are great, except for the footwells, which are too short with lousy straps, so they are better for smaller children (the biggest I have carried regularly was 6!)

For luggage, I use a combination of front panniers and bar bag/klikfix basket on my normal bike, which works well - the low panniers are a lot more stable than the basket - I have one for lock and shopping and one for folding potty/spare clothes. When I use the co-pilot I use a backpack, because that bike doesn't have front racks, which limits my shopping.

I have used a trailer in the past, and they work well, with lots of space for children plus stuff, but they make for a long load, especially when pulled by a child-stoked tandem! You can't always make it across cycle crossings before the lights change, but you get so much attention, it doesn't matter too much. You do have to merge with the traffic more, but equally, they tend to give you more space. The main problem is storing a trailer - my sister had a double one that had to be collapsed to fit through her front door, so she really didn't use it.

 

[scouserinlondon]

Not sure why the thread got bumped. But can gladly report we had many great trips with the seat kindly given to us by subaqua and now my wife has changed jobs so I get to do nursery runs a lot less these days.

Would also consider a trailer in future they look ace.