forget playpens and reins aibu to wonder about those buggies

[2shoes]

where one child is more or less sitting under another, very low to the ground.
saw one today and poor child had no view , it was just looking at the cover of the child up stairs iynwim
why would you put a child there, and has anyone ever forgotton and put shopping on top of the child?

I had a side by side double and it was a nightmare, despite being a "slimline" one. Couldn't get through doors, nightmare in shops, difficult even on pavements, took entire boot up. I would get a P&T/similar if I had to do that stage again.

well said Tatty

I had a slimline side by side double buggy - they didn't have these kind with one underneath back then. I can't say I had any major problems with it - it got through most doorways and aisles fine and I was very insistent on the two DC's being able to see and interact with eachother, which is why I chose side by side, and not one in fron of the other.
I hate the ones with the baby underneath - have always thought it looks like they've been stashed in the shopping basket!

I'm still getting the use out of my P & T buggy as a single for DS2, I wish I'd bought it first time around for DS1, would've ended up getting 6 years use out of 1 buggy! as it is it has served me well as both a double and a single for the past 3 years.
We had a side by side for a while (2nd hand) but I got so cheesed off with not being able to get through shop doorways, not being able to get down narrow paths, having to remove raincover, shopping, children etc (not good when they've nodded off in there)then having to fold it to get it into the house (we live in an old house, very narrow doors), not being able to get it onto the bus...
in short, my children were just as happy in their P & T's as they were in the side by side: and I used to hang dangly toys from the straps on the back of the front seat for DS2 to play with while he was sitting in the lower seat, also if I'd stashed shopping in the basket under there, eg a baguette or crisps etc, he would grab hold of it and start munching!
Plus I'm sure he used to sneak a look up ladies' skirts while he was down there!

I'm guessing the OP only has one child?

We have one and DD2 (5 months) loves her bottom seat - it is cosy and snug and she can nose at people walking by perfectly well (which she does!) It also keeps her a bit more sheltered from the wind.

By the time she is too big for it DD1 (2.7) will be too big for the buggy anyway so we can put DD2 in the front and I'll have loads more space to put my shopping than you so nernernernerner!

A side-by-side double seems a very expensive buy IMO if you've not got twins as the older child won't be in it for that long.

I saw a toddler actually in the shopping basket the other day.

Wonder what you would have thought of that!

(She seemed happy enough)

never mind reins, playpens or buggies, have you seen those sort of chair come tricycle combo things with 1,000 apendeges including a small oval you can hover over their heads in case a ray of sunlight should fall on their precious skin.

bejeeus, there was one in the packed supermarket at the weekend. i just don't get it, if the child is small enough to need a padded, reclineable seat then surely it has no need to be on a tricycle?

I don't like them personally. I feel for the baby. I despair of buggies and prams generally and wish less people used them.

But that is purely my opinion and obviously some people find them useful.

I love my P&T. I had very little choice when it came to double buggies as I only have a small car and the P&T was about the only one that would fit. DD was so teeny for the time I used as a double that she didn't care what was going on around her and when she got a little bigger, I strapped a car seat toy to the back of the upper seat for her to play with giving her just as much stimulation as your average child gets in a car seat anyway!

Now she's bigger, DS is too and walks so she gets to sit up front just like a regular buggy.

When I was little and 1 of my 3 younger siblings was in the pram, I used to lie in the shopping basket when my mum had to get anywhere quick!! I'd rather have a proper seat any day.

My 2 are 2.5 years apart and I didn't have a double, my pram turned into a massive buggy which I used to put them in together, there was a bar at the front so no danger of falling out. I wonder why more people dont do this, my mum did and it's so much cheaper and friendlier than buying an expensive P+T. I understand this wouldn't work for twins btw

Phil & Ted's are great. I don't have a car and it was my way of getting around with a baby and a two year old. It is very easy to get around and through doors.

Of course, it's not cruel. The child at the bottom can look out the side and does anyone really think there aren't any car fumes another foot off the ground? I've never heard of anyone forgetting they have a child and putting shopping on top of them.

I agree that the OP doesn't have enough to worry about and probably only has one child or drives everywhere.

If you don't like them, don't use them.

Obviously if my children were only capable of looking forwards and not sideways then the whole boring view thing may be a problem. But then, their neck is rather useful as it means they can turn their heads and look sideways .

No buggy is perfect but it suits me and my kids brilliantly.

Have lots of gripes about some brands but its personal choice, what suits you, where you need to push the buggy, age of children etc.

at chibi

The "stacked" Phil&Teds do look a bit shocking at first glance, but they work really well.

We had a nannyshare, 2 babies 5 months apart, and tried so many other kinds of (2nd hand) doubles before giving in and buying a P&T like the nanny had said all along. It's so much better. Manoeuvrable, narrow enough for bus, town, and doorways.

And... the children love it. As others have said, they argue over who gets the lower seat. Heaven knows why, but it must be fun down there.

Oh but there was the urban myth about someone forgetting about the baby and collapsing the buggy on top of them...

Exactly the same as my answer for playpens: totally depends on appropriate use

If you put your child in an underneath part of a buggy all day, every day and don't let them experience anything, you are a crap parent and the child has bigger problems than what pram you use.

If you use it in a sensible way, it's more than likely fine for you and your child.

Have a friend who used to carry the baby in the sling and then just transfer them to the bottom part if needed when they were asleep -so not missing out on much while they were asleep really.

I had a maclaren double which fit in my Victorian narrow home and through shop doorways!!

Hate phil and teds, or wahtever they are.

I have had a side by side and a normal tandem and a P&T wins hands down.

The baby is not in the parcel shelf but the main seat reclined with the toddler on top they are no more low to the ground than a normal buggy.

Mine have always fought for the back seat as well, nowadays we use it mainly as a single but with a handy little back seat for when DD3 gets tired of walking.

Try bumping a side by side up kerns or around cars parked on the pavement or in and out narrow shops and you will see what I mean.

Given the choice between a P&T and trips to the Science Museum, art trolley at Tate Britain, seeing the buskers on the South Bank, visiting the lions in Trafalgar Square, trips to all the parks in South London or a side by side pushchair and a visit to the local playground every single day, I (and my DCs) will take the P&T every time.
Toddler doesn't spend that much time in the bottom seat anyway - by the time the baby's grown out of the little cocoon thing the toddler will usually be walking/scooting the interesting/safe bits and retiring to the bottom only when they're knackered.

There is the option to use a single or not to use a buggy at all, though, for most people, I should think?

putthekettleon Tue 23-Nov-10 13:52:43
I'm guessing the OP only has one child?

No I have 2
no idea wtf that has to do with me having an onion on a double buggy though

The thing about P&T is that it = single buggy with option of a ride for toddler if necessary.

I did use a double buggy for a while as well,
and I know all about battling through doors as now push a wheelchair(that has as much to do with the op as how many kids I have) chill out people.
my ds used to climb onto the shopping tray on dd's buggy when he was diddy and tired.

A lot of people really do not like the p&t! I have always had really positive comments to mine.

Quite funny actually. Particularly the insinuations that using a p&t is bad for your child or if you use one you are a crap parent?! wtf? I love mine. My kids love it. It means we get out and do stuff.

larus - my P&T won't fold with the rear seat attached so that would be an urban fabrication not a myth.

larus

I don't get that last sentence. I have a double that's not a Phil and teds and still get out to do stuff.

Just because people don't have a Phil and teds doesn't mean they are stuck indoors all day.

I don't drive so walk and get the bus fine with my double. Have not had a single problem getting out and about with my kids.