There are many types of strollers on the market. All are good at something; none are good at everything. Below are six stroller styles to know about:
✔️ Full-sized stroller: Standard-size strollers can often be used from birth to kindergarten. Full-sized strollers typically feature the most storage, full-coverage canopies and seats that can recline. Often they have a snack tray or a bumper bar and parent extras, like storage pockets or cupholders. Do the fold up tiny and are they lightweight? No and no. But they are comfy workhorses for everyday use in your hometown.
✔️ Modular stroller: Many of the newest strollers come in pieces. There’s a frame, and then you can add on a car seat, a toddler seat, a bassinet, a second seat — you name it. Some come with lots of options, and with others you buy each piece separately. You might see modular strollers advertising many configurations, because the seats can face toward the person pushing or out toward the world. These are the most customizable kinds of strollers and the best for adapting to your changing family needs. But when it comes to storage, there are a lot of parts to put away and keep track of, and modular strollers are often expensive.
✔️ Lightweight stroller: Often referred to as “umbrella” or “compact” strollers, lightweight strollers can fold up to the size of a traditional umbrella or into a neat square. Although they’re great for travel and storage, they usually aren’t meant for newborns and don’t offer as much undercarriage storage. Because they’re light you have to be careful how much you try and hang from the handles because you don’t want to tip your’s over. The good news is that lightweight strollers are often (but not always) the least expensive.
✔️ Double stroller: Double strollers feature two seats, making them perfect for twins or siblings. The two seats may be set up side by side or in tandem, front to back. Double strollers are by definition larger and heavier than single strollers.
✔️ Jogging stroller: These strollers are designed to be sturdy enough for you to jog while your baby rests safely inside — usually thanks, in part, to a locking front wheel. If you’ll run with a stroller you should always use the safety strap as well.
There are also three-wheeled strollers that people refer to as “jogging strollers” even though they are just standard, full-size strollers with three wheels instead of four. Be sure you’re crystal clear about how you want to use a three-wheeled stroller before you buy it: Don’t accidentally buy one that’s not built for running and then try to run with it.
✔️ Travel system: A stroller that comes sold with an infant car seat is called a “travel system” or a car seat stroller combo, and can be used from birth. Remove the car seat from the stroller and snap it into a car seat base in your vehicle — and, vice versa, you can take the car seat out of your car and snap it right onto the stroller frame. The big advantage is you don’t need to unbuckle and re-buckle your infant as you move from your vehicle to strolling.
