Buying a pushchair for Grandparent's Use

My daughter has been looking at the Ocarro All terrain as she goes for dog walks in the countryside. They seem to be slightly cheaper online at the moment than when I looked a couple of weeks ago.

Lightweight for me. Pushing growing baby up hill can become very tiring. And not too many knobs to squeeze in or pull out. It's easy to get confused!

I got a fairly simple new one for £26 from Amazon that lies back or upright anx been used an awful lot over the last 9 years including being the pushchair for one grandchild for about 6 months when his second hand one broke . Worth every penny and folds up small . Will probs give it to a friend when finished with

Please check that the height is correct for the person doing the pushing. Let them try it out. It can save a lot of back ache.

We had one that did both front and rear facing. Facing me when a baby and turned it round when a little older so not just seeing my face…. Seeing what I’m seeing, you can then talk about what you see…x

Hi
We bought a Yoyo stroller from Babyzen. It folds easy, comfy ride, from newborn up. It has a shoulder strap, and if you take grandbaby on a plane its size means its classed as hand luggage
We're onto 4th grandbaby and it still looks good

Hello ShazG :-)
I bought a ‘baby jogger city mini GT’ and love it still… have had several pushchairs/buggies cos am a mom of 3. The baby jogger is fab, firstly it is comfy for baby/toddler, great design and super easy to push moreover it handles lumps and bumps, even woodland is ok… grandson has slept in it and napped for as long as he napped in his bed… I rate it highly :-)

My GD are now all passed pushchairs but the main issue I had with them was folding them! I remember having to put the bl…dy thing as it was on the front seat of the car DH puce in the face with frustration and me and babe in the back . We just couldn’t collapse it down and DH was a building construction manager !!
So do find one that folds with a flick of a button and not weigh a ton . I loved my quick fold McLaren’s that you could do with one hand holding a wriggling baby under your arm and leap on a bus !

Those ones which double fold and can fit in over head locker are ok for travelling but in my opinion not sturdy enough for walks, and you say you live in the country and walk dogs so I am imagine you walking off road in which case you would need a sturdy push cross country chair, most of which collapse small enough to get into a car. Maybe look at Which for ideas.

One where the baby faces the pusher is an excellent one!!!

We have aeroplane suitable one which just happens to have Air France label on it. While it can go on a plane it is not suitable for the countryside trekking daughter does all the time. So we're forever swapping. GD (just 28 months, prefers lighter one ! )

I’d suggest you consult with the parents first . They probably have more experience in the different types of buggy’s and new parents are obviously very safety conscious and may not want second hand.
My brother lives in the Channel Islands and when his kids were tiny gave my mum recommendations of buggy’s and car seats for when they came over to the uk .

"As long as my grandbabies were tiny they were delivered on my doorstep including their own carriages"...........ooh Sennelier1.....tiny babies delivered on your doorstep

As long as my grandbabies were tiny they were delivered on my doorstep including their own carriages 😉 but once they were a bit older I used my own durable sturdy McLaren buggy to pick them up from daycare or go for walks and other outings. It's greet to have your own reliable wheels whenever you need them, but of course for newborns you probably will prefer to use what their parents have chosen.

Whatever you decide, in consultation with babies parents, make sure you can lift it and that it fits your car boot. Some modern pushchairs are very heavy and hard to push. I remember my old silver cross coach built pram that held 3 children and a weeks shopping and you could push it with one finger!

Hello we bought a Hauck 3 wheeler, best buy ever, off road, in town and on the beach. We often see other grandparents and parents with the same model and we always have a chat and say how good they are. Easy to fold down too. We bought it when our grandson graduated from a pram.

The parents may have been seduced by contraptions that promise everything but are too complicated for easy use. Get something simple via local buy/ sell groups online.

First GC arrived and all was fine and visited regularly apart from the totally heavy/ bloody stupid / SilverCross! I am not a Norland Nanny , I have no wish to walk around with a pram that still somehow has reinvented itself but still is not fit for purpose. Yes, it will last but how many children do you want ?

As others, simply asked around in my local area and bought a non trendy one for £30. Both have used it and still fit for purpose.

The modern pushchairs seem much smaller than those of old, and infinitely more complicated!

When I was due to start looking after my now 7 year old DGS, I was in a lovely charity shop when someone brought a Graco pushchair in to donate, saying it had served all her GC well. I asked about it, waited while the store did a safety check, and bought it for £19.99 including full rain covers and a footmuff. It’s the 3-wheel off-road type and brilliant for dog walks, much better than the little swivel wheels on DD’s £800 iCandy buggy! Only thing I’d change is that I need two hands to fold it, so I’d have had to put DGS on the ground if I needed to get through a kissing-gate or over a stile. I just planned walks that avoided such obstacles. It’s also wider than modern buggies so DGS was very comfortable in it until he was four, when really long muddy walks were just too much and he could rest on the way home. It’s still in use when the now one-year-old comes to my house.

And at under £20 I’ve never had to worry about it getting muddy!

Personally, I would go to a shopping outlet and ask to try various models in the boot of the car........I know Mothercare used to allow this........And do consult the parents, after all, it is their baby that you'll be putting in the pushchair.

Wait till you have to buy 5 baby car seats ( new) average price of £200 as well as push chairs - costly being a grandparent it seems !

I have a fairly modern silver cross one which I got for £20 on FB marketplace

You’ve had plenty of great advice here, OP, but the only other suggestion I would make, is that the height of the handles suits your DH if he’s tall. My DH found the buggies we had when our own kids were small too low for his long back. But a lot of modern buggies have height adjustable handles which is great. Enjoy your new DGC!!

I am a childminder as well as being a grandparent. As you are in a village/countryside and walk a dog I would definitely get one with bigger wheels that can cope with bumpy ground/footpaths. Buy 2nd hand and get one that can be both forward and parent facing. Either Bugaboo, Silver Cross or Joie are good makes, the latter being more towards the budget end but well made, they also do good car seats. As a setting (we have 6 young children here each day as I work with my DH as my assistant) we have a Bugaboo Donkey & a Mountain Buggy Duet as our double pushchairs, with the versatility of the donkey being able to made into a single pushchair. As single pushchairs we currently have two Bugaboo Bee’s, a 6 & a 5 model, they are more of a town/city buggy although can cope with gravel path surfaces.

You might like this at John Lewis:
www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-anyday-everyday-stroller/p110235472?s_share=jlappdroid
I got this abd used it since my grandaughter was born as it fully reclines and goes easily in car. She's now 2.5 and wants to walk or run everywhere but handy to put in car. You don't need to spend a fortune....