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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

forget playpens and reins aibu to wonder about those buggies

190 replies

2shoes · 23/11/2010 12:09

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?

OP posts:
whoknowswhatthefutureholds · 23/11/2010 20:57

mine loved their and used to argue as to who got the the backseat! so of course yabu, it's not like they can't turn their heads to see out.

Could get them both asleep and leave them in the hall - a true godsend.

whoknowswhatthefutureholds · 23/11/2010 21:01

as for the bus - that is a bit of a pita if have to fold but better than a side by side as sometime you can walk on the bus with it still up.

SirBoobAlot · 23/11/2010 21:16

I borrowed a P&T when my buggy was in for repair. I found it an utter nightmare to use - it was difficult to steer, heavy, had to really work to get it to turn... All in all, I didn't go out the second day I had it for simply because I couldn't stand to use it.

Also don't like the way they look, tbh, and the little one looks so so close to the ground, I wouldn't be comfortable using it.

octopusinabox · 23/11/2010 21:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Meglet · 23/11/2010 21:20

I like our P&T, we wouldn't get into a lot of buildings (GP surgery, some shop lifts) with a side-by-side pushchair. We need to get to A to B and it works for us.

4yo DS and 2yo DD swop argue over swop what seat they sit in.

emy72 · 23/11/2010 21:24

I have a Phil and Ted and absolutely love it. I have to say that the kids love it too. They actually fight who goes in the bottom seat.

When the baby was up to 6 months it was great as the baby went in the coccoon and she used to sleep in there for hours. It was so cosy and warm and hidden away. Now she can see everything sideways and actually the toddler and even my 4 year old loves the bottom as it's slightly coccooned!

I think it's the best pram ever - I appreciate it must look odd but it is fantastic if you have a baby and a toddler.

Also second the fact that I do a school run with 2 older children and I can push it with one hand and hold one of the other two's hand.

Earplugs · 23/11/2010 22:01

I don't like them either, they seem to be the 'graduation' pram in our area from the Bugaboos. Ironically the mums that used to harp on about how infant language development would be stunted if you didn't have a rear facing buggy, don't seem to have the same issues with their second born who is transported around in the shopping basketGrin

NormalityBites · 23/11/2010 23:24

Do people not use slings any more?

salta · 23/11/2010 23:38

I like my phil and teds, but when the toddler wants to walk and the baby won't sit in it so has to go in the sling I feel a right prat wheeling this inconvenient tank around with me

Joolyjoolyjoo · 23/11/2010 23:43

Well, I had one and loved it!

I have 2 dogs who need a good 1-2hr yomp through the woods every day- the P&T was a godsend. Doubt many other doubles could have gotten past all the bumps/ tree roots etc.

When dd2 was a baby she could be safely cocooned away from the (considerable!) elements. She slept peacefully throughout our walks. By the time she was old enough to go in the front seat, dd1 was 2 and walking a fair bit of the walk, but she loved the fact she could jump into the lower seat when she was a bit tired.

Then ds came along. DD1 was walking, dd2 was walking most of the walk (she was 2.5) but she liked the bottom seat for a rest. Then when she was walking the full walk, it could be converted to a single buggy again- bargain.

As for kerbs/ fumes/ shopping centres, I never really took my children to shops very much. I reserve my pity for children bored to death in buggies while mum shops! At least mine got some fresh air!

freefruit · 23/11/2010 23:44

out n about double nipper 360 is the way orward!!

agree I've never liked the fact the bottom looks like it's getting all the fumes

[misdee had a boy well done I missed that}

icapturethecastle · 24/11/2010 00:06

You didn't see me out today did you! My DS had about 3 shopping bags on his lap. They were only little and he has asked to hold them.

BTW I think they are brilliant I have 23 months between my two and DS doesn't quite need the buggy but it can be a long walk into town and back so he hops in and out when he likes. He also much prefers to be a the back than the front.

LightlyKilledCrunchyFrog · 24/11/2010 07:48

Normality, yes they do. I do. But more than one DC/ DC with SN and not driving means they are not always practical. I rarely used the buggy with one, with two I used it more, with 3 it is indispensable. Even if DC3 is in the MT on my back, 5 year old DS1 needs a buggy option. Slings are not a morally superior choice, most parents just do what works.

Fibilou · 24/11/2010 08:20

I think they are awful, it pains me to see babies in them.
But then I abhore buggies in general and don't have one

Rillyrillygoodlooking · 24/11/2010 08:26

I like my phil and teds. My criteria for a double buggy were narrow and light. Both fulfilled.

It was easy to get on the bus, although it does stick out in the aisle if there are two pushchairs on the bus. But then a tandem buggy would have taken all the space. I never needed to fold it down, and if a wheelchair needed the space I would have got off the bus to let them on and waited for the next one. I wouldn't have been able to fold it down when DD was newborn as DS couldn't walk.

DD goes in the front and DS walks now (but only if he has his wrist strap on Grin) and if I start with DS in the front then DD goes to sleep anyway. DS wants to read a book if he is in the back and doesn't seem bothered about not having a clear view.

And pushchair/sling/shopping means a very uncomfortable journey with a very sore shoulder for me. My ring sling gave me an ongoing strain in my collarbone area.

I won't tell you about it tipping over this morning when I put DD in the back before I had put DS in the front Blush

Whatever gets me from a to b quite frankly.

SirBoobalot I am really surprised you found it difficult to steer. Did you have the front wheel on lock? I did that by accident and then it was a nightmare. Otherwise genius at steering.

sethstarkaddersmum · 24/11/2010 08:31

Normalitybites - how do you manage with slings alone when you have 2 close in age? Are there people that carry their toddler and their baby and their shopping? Shock

Fibilou · 24/11/2010 08:42

Seth, I know a couple of people that tandem sling and know of lots more on a babywearing forum I use. And manage shopping ! Those old lady shopping trolleys apparently come into their own then

Rillyrillygoodlooking · 24/11/2010 08:53

they must be very strong and not have far to go to the shops then Wink

sethstarkaddersmum · 24/11/2010 08:58

They must be very strong, I'm not going to make assumptions about distance to shops. I assume they are strong and fit Smile

SirBoobAlot · 24/11/2010 09:15

Rilly - no, it wasn't on lock. I thought it must be to begin with (have had a three wheeler before) but no.

PrematureEjoculation · 24/11/2010 09:20

weel..

lets see for baby & toddler - options..

sling & drag (ok for short distances with walking toddler, easier with reins.)
sling & shoulder carry (i found i could do this, but left me no free hand for dog, and i wouldn't have even tried it while shopping)
sling & pushchair (ok, but if you use a pushchair that makes you lean forward this wrecks your back)
single pushchair with baby strapped in and toddler balanced on it somewhere - fine for dog walk, can't do on the roads where you go up and down kerbs and they'd fall off onto concrete
double pushchair - best for town - contains toddler and means i'm not carrying baby in a way that gets in the way if i e.g. want to try something on. Using a step you can load on a third child too.
The P&T doubles style i think you could manage country usage too.

i stalked many a P&T on ebay before giving up after seeing one go for £110 which was sold as spares and repair!

though reading about the kerb-accidents..less impressive. there is one annoying undropped kerb between us and nursery....must write to council..

sethstarkaddersmum · 24/11/2010 09:24

our P&T has been up many a hill and over many a stile - it's great as an off-roader.

PrematureEjoculation · 24/11/2010 09:25

fibilou - surely you'd use a front sling and back sling?

i tried backpack and sling, but the backpack put the front sling in an awkward place...

PrematureEjoculation · 24/11/2010 09:27

not jealous of P&T owners at all

5DollarShake · 24/11/2010 09:30

There's 18 months between my two. I have a P&T but I also sling DD, while DS goes in the (single) pushchair, so I don't just rely on the P&T.

I have, frankly, thighs that can crack walnuts thanks to sling-ing DD so much. There is no way I'd be able to carry DS, too. I mean, I'm sure I could, but why the feck would I, when it would be so cumbersome and heavy, and it's easier just to pop him in the might McLaren?!

Fibilou - good for those people you know, but surely you can see that double slinging isn't for everyone, because everyone has different circumstance.

Everyone has different requirements, needs and priorities when it comes to moving their DC from A to B, which is why there is such a wide range of products on the market.

I can never understand why people find this concept so difficult to grasp. Confused. Why do people think that because, say, X works for them, so it should work for everyone?

Seriously. Just get on with what works for you, and trust that everyone else has the same nous to make the right decisions and purchase for them.