Let’s role play: You’ve been in your home for over a month, exclusively caring for your infant and/or toddler. You haven’t bothered to shower or comb your receding hairline in a couple days, and your cabin fever is reaching a boiling point….what do you do? GET OUTSIDE.
Doesn’t matter where you live; city, country, suburbia, throw a baseball hat on that sad hair and get you and your young one out the door. A child playing outside is like a pig playing in mud; it’s a real life magic trick for parents who need relief.
So what if you want to go for a walk? Mobility is key when it comes to raising infants and toddlers.
In today’s consumer market, there are thousands of companies and products competing for your hard earned bucks all the time. When you’re a parent of young children, attention and energy tend to be low, so the thought of sifting through 50 different push cars is straight-up daunting.
I’ve boiled it down to four products that are tried and true by me personally and have considered life savers on more than one occasion. Without further ado…
- Push Car – A fan favorite amongst the toddlers, some version of this classic has been around for decades, and for good reason; it’s fun for the kids, and super easy for adults. The ultimate winning combo! Not to mention that plenty of these are available on re-sell sites like Craigslist and Offer Up too, so it can be attained for cheap.
- Ergo Baby Carrier – Essential for every dad. Not only does it perfectly distribute the extra weight onto your hips (like a camping backpack), it has changeable positions which accommodates the multiple sizes and phases of your baby’s early years. It also makes you feel like a superhero with a sick utility belt, ready for action. Imagination ignited? Check.
- Boba Baby Wrap – This long Jedi-esque wrap (my wife literally used it as a Rey halloween costume; it was awesome) will keep your young one warm, safe, and secure. It’s more for the infant stage than the toddler stage for sure, but that being said it is an excellent nap inducer. Our son was not one to fall asleep easily when he was young, and there was a time when I could ONLY get him to nap by walking him around in the Boba. That alone makes this a high recommendation for me. Seriously, it was clutch.
- Stroller – Okay, I get it. DUH, right? For sure, I hear you. Probably the most widely-coveted mobile parenting tool of all time and for good reason, so it’s gotta be on the list! That being said, this is one of the most saturated markets of all child rearing gear and can get overwhelming quick, so allow me to wheedle it down for you: Get a multi-purpose stroller. The one my wife and I bought was the Evenflo Pivot Modular Travel System (link below), which was a carseat and stroller combined. These are amazing inventions and so convenient. You can stroll normally with an adjustable chair (flat for newborns or classically angled for older kiddos), or you can detach your car seat and plug it right into the stroller structure. It cannot be understated how crucial that kind of mobility is when you’re trying to use that get up and go momentum to get out of the house and be the rock solid Dad who can watch the baby, get errands done, AND give your partner a break. Can this be accomplished without this style of stroller? Sure. Does this make it way more convenient? You bet your ass it does, bro. Convenience is king.
These are just a few methods of many to stay mobile with your kids. But they are tried and true by yours truly, so I hope you can take this info and put it to good use out there on the streets. Go mobile, stay strong, and be true, dudes. Get er’ done!
