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Pushchairs

Join our Pram forum for pram advice. Plus read our round up of the best pushchairs currently available.

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Original poster

Parent Facing?

14 replies

Armchairs · 19/05/2025 11:52

Currently pregnant with first baby. Question - do people actually use parent facing/see it as important? It sounds good on paper but when I’m out and about I almost always see people with pushchairs in world facing, even the models that do parent facing.

OP posts:

AChangeIsAsGood · 19/05/2025 12:16

Mine could be either. Tried parent- facing. DD hated it, screamed the whole time every time. I turned her round and it was a different story. Seems she doesn't like looking at me...

Fizzysticks · 19/05/2025 12:21

I think it depends on the child. My first daughter absolutely hated her buggy and much preferred the baby carrier. I think parent facing would have suited her much better as she would have had the reassurance of seeing me, so parent facing buggy was a top priority for baby 2

stargirl1701 · 19/05/2025 12:22

I knew from work (primary school teacher) how important parent facing was. We bought the Stokke Explory.

Straightomyhead · 19/05/2025 12:24

We used parent facing until my little boy was about 13 months. It’s so good for them to see you chatting and for you to be able to talk to them. He’s now 17 months and world facing and loves it as he’s so nosy pointing at things.
if you can, I would recommend one which can go both ways.

SummerIce · 19/05/2025 12:24

We used parent facing until around one year old. It was good for maintaining eye contact, not over stimulating them and to keep interacting as I was pushing the pram.

lighteningthequeen · 19/05/2025 12:27

You will also often see newborns/young babies in car seats attached to prams… this is actually not safe for a prolonged period of time. I used a pram with a lay flat bassinet until they could sit, then the normal seat which had an option to be parent facing or not. They faced me until they were about 18 months or so, and still now my 2.5 year old would rather face me so she can chat. I would go for a seat that can go both ways as you don’t know what your baby will prefer when they’re a toddler, and when they’re very young it’s best they face you.

Okayornot · 19/05/2025 16:23

I had my children face me until they were probably 18 months old. We liked to chat!

jolota · 19/05/2025 16:53

We loved parent facing, obviously for new born phase but even afterwards my daughter liked looking at and interacting with us pushing the pram rather than looking at the world which quite often was just some trees or roads. Not a huge amount of excitement to see in our area I guess!
She's 3 and we still have the pram set up parent facing, except our travel pram which is world facing only.
As with everything, it seems to depend on the child & their personality. I'd personally give yourself the flexibility of both options if possible.

NiceBigCoatRack · 19/05/2025 17:01

I think it's nice to have parent facing when they're little and then have the option to swap it around when they get older.

Really young babies get used to looking at you and know you're important so they pay attention to you when you're looking at them and watch your mouth when you're talking etc - I'm not convinced they quite know what other people are and they don't get the same information about how to be human from them anyway. So, it's good if they can see you. And, it's good if you can see them.

Anotherdayanotherdollar · 19/05/2025 17:17

I think it's a great opportunity for interaction and promotion of speech development. When my eldest was born I remember receiving a health promotion pack aimed at parents of toddlers, and it more or less blamed Maclaren strollers for the increase in speech delays in children! 🤔 Now, I have no evidence to back this up (and I can't remember if it was referenced at the time), but it did make me think...

Original poster

Armchairs · 20/05/2025 11:59

Okay thank you all that is really really helpful! Lots to consider, I hadn’t thought of the appropriateness at different ages.

OP posts:

GoldLash · 20/05/2025 12:11

When my DS was born a mama and papas pram was very popular because you could use it as a pram when they were babies so they could lie down looking towards you then convert it to a buggy where they then faced forwards.

I loved that pram it was the perfect design

Myotherusernamesafunnyone · 20/05/2025 12:40

Most people parent face until 12-18 months. I wouldn’t want a young baby to be facing away personally.

AChangeIsAsGood · 20/05/2025 21:04

I'll add that, obviously anecdata, but DD spoke early, made sentences early and never had any issues communicating. She still enjoys chatting to us so doesn't appear to have been scarred or delayed by letting her face away. We still chatted all the time, and we were still very present when she was in the pram. Turning her round saved my sanity. I once got 10 minutes from home after she'd screamed for over an hour and got DH to come and meet us with the carrier while I cried.

I think it's important to be aware of the guidelines and the reasons for them and then to be aware that they are based on large groups, and individuals don't necessarily behave identically to the group average.

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