"Baby Jails"

Now just calm down, this is a pet phrase of mine, it refers to all the different inventions that exist for the sole purpose of keeping our young children in our sight and safe. Yet from the child's point of view these contraptions might feel like limits on their freedom, and one could almost say perhaps the child feels like it is in a kind of jail? Regardless if I am right or wrong, without our "baby jails" we parents would have a lot less freedom!

Personally I cannot imagine a life without these "baby jails:" toddler harness, infant crib, baby strollers, baby backpacks, jogging strollers, bike trailers, portable play yards, exer-saucers, johnny-jump-ups, baby walkers....what am I leaving out? We were fortunate we did not have to buy baby backpack because someone gifted us with a beautiful baby backpack with an aluminum frame and padded waist belt. We wore that thing out!

I personally have declared the walkers and johnny-jump-ups as unsafe due to personal bad experience, but include them on the list as others have had no problems with these.

My favorite "baby jails" are the ones that give the parents a chance to improve their physical health. We cannot imagine life without jogging strollers or baby backpacks. These two innovations allowed us to maintain our healthy lifestyles while our children were young. Our weekends were enriched immensely by the child bike trailer large enough to hold two young children.

The best baby stroller for your family is the one that maintains or improves your family free time. For us that meant a sturdy four-wheeled stroller with snack tray and cup holder for our leisurely neighborhood walks and a jogging stroller for our regular evening jogs.

The stroller-infant-car-seat-combo's are fantastic, aren't they? I have to admit the first time I saw one I thought it a bit much, but once I observed how easy life became for the parent and how safe the child stayed, I decided size is really not an issue!