New parents have to face multilateral challenges in their lives without knowing how to tackle them. Among different problems, traveling with kids is a daunting task as well. While traveling, you will have to handle a mountain of luggage coupled with dozens of baby items; a stroller is one of the most essential baby items to bring along with. Therefore, most parents get confused and don’t know how to travel with a stroller.
However, you need not get your wires crossed. We are here to share the experience of parents who have traveled with kids times and again. So, read the following tips and enjoy your travel with your baby.
Note: All the shared tips mentioned below are based on parents’ experiences who used to travel on and off.
Disclaimer: The article may contain compensated links.
Why should you bring a stroller when traveling?
First, new parents often get confused by thinking about whether they should bring the stroller or not? Is it worth taking a pram all along the journey with you? Hence, we are here to clarify your mind by providing you with three solid reasons to bring a pushchair when traveling/flying.
Related Article: Advantages and Disadvantages of Baby Stroller
Easier Life:
We don’t claim that a pushchair may get rid of all your traveling problems with your baby; however, it lessens issues, and you may get a sigh of relief.
Whenever you are traveling you are supposed to face the crowd, standing in lines and waiting for your turn. The problems multiply when you have sizeable luggage and a baby. So, a stroller can be your best friend in the above-mentioned scenario. It is easy to keep your baby tranquil when you have to go through different issues at the airport.
Safer Option:
Babies sometimes get fatal injuries (even casualties) in accidents while traveling.
While traveling, getting an accident is the dark side of the journey. Moreover, kids are more likely to get fatal injuries (even casualties). So, you need to adopt safe options to prevent any mishap during travel.
It is observed that FAA-approved car seats and strollers help avoid severe injuries. So, using a stroller/car seat is a safer option when planning a family vacation trip.
Keep a baby calm:
It is commonly observed that kids get disturbed and start crying when you are in a crowd (Public transport), which creates an awful situation for you.
However, if you are traveling with a pram/car seat, the baby might be pacific and get a peaceful nap without panicking. Hence, it is recommended by moms to bring a pram with them when traveling.
Alternative Options for bringing strollers:
It admits of no doubt that bringing a stroller might be a perfect option; however, carrying it all along the way might be cumbersome for you. There are several other options you can also check before hitting the road.
For example, you can check either strollers/car seats are available for rent at your destination point or not. If car seats and strollers are available for rent at the destination point, you can avail of that opportunity without transporting your baby stroller all along the way.
Nevertheless, as mentioned earlier, there are several other drawbacks of availing of the option. For instance, the available stroller might not meet the standards recommended by FAA. Moreover, getting a stroller on rent may cost you an arm and a leg.
04 Tips to travel with a stroller:
It is admitted that traveling with a baby for the first time is more challenging than anything else. However, we can alleviate the travel stress by getting guidance from experienced parents. Therefore, we discussed with parents (who used to travel on and off) and listed the following points; you can also travel with a kid coupled with all the accessories without any worries.
Use a compact travel stroller:
Nowadays, the market is full of strollers specially designed for traveling ventures. Travel prams are optimized to be lightweight and compact. Moreover, travel pushchairs are easy to fold and can be folded compactly.
So, buying a travel pram rather than the traditional bulky strollers is always advised if you tend to go on a family trip.
Gate check or counter check:
Whenever you plan to travel by air, you are provided with two main options regarding baby strollers; Gate Check or Counter Check.
According to experienced travelers (parents), the gate check option will be the most suitable one.
On the flip side, if you use a counter check option, you will have to carry your baby by hugging all along the airport procedure.
The choice is yours, whether you use a counter-check or gate check option.
Related Read: Types of strollers by age
Use a Stroller bag:
A pram bag is the best choice to prevent the stroller from getting soiled and dirty. Moreover, there are minimal chances of getting the stroller accessories lost. Additionally, you can store several extra baby items in the stroller bag.
Here, one thing must be clear: a pushchair bag is not made to protect your stroller from damage.
So, it is recommended to use a stroller bag while traveling. Lastly, the cost of a pram bag is affordable.
FAA-approved product:
Most of the car seats are FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). Before buying a car seat for a baby, check whether the seat has an FAA sticker on it or not. FAA-approved car seats are generally compact and safe options to travel.
Moreover, various airline services only allow FAA-approved car seats. Hence, always prefer to buy FAA-approved car seats for travel.
Check Airline Policies:
It doesn’t matter which Airline you tend to travel to; always check the airline policy regarding kids and strollers before confirming your ticket.
Normally, Airline policies about strollers and kids are mentioned on their websites. However, if you can’t find it there, you can call the helpline and clear your mind by asking questions.
Conclusion:
We tried our best to provide the best actionable tips to travel with a stroller. Therefore, we interviewed different parents and got their expert opinion. If you have any other ideas which help the new parents to travel with babies, please share in the comment section. Furthermore, if you have any queries, ask in the comment section. We will try to answer your question. Thank you. Stay blessed.
