How Long Is a Stroller Essential? Favorite Moderately Priced One?

I used my stroller for as long as I could (about 2.5 yrs) but my boy grew fast and he got too big to use it. We got an all terrain wagon, and we used that till he was about 5 yrs old. When using a wagon wasn't handy, he'd walk till he got tired, then I'd carry him on my shoulders or when he got bigger piggy back.

It depends on where you go and how patient you are with her slow walking and tripping. If you only go to grocery stores then you can get away with using only shopping carts but if you go on vacation a lot or places like the zoo, aquarium, walking trails, the mall, etc. then you will want to have a stroller because her little feet won't be able to take that much walking and you will be stuck with carrying her or will find yourself getting very irritated with the fact she can't walk fast.

My 2 year old 3 month old son does a lot of walking but I still use a stroller for him when we do our fun outings.

The lightweight stroller that I have found to be even better than umbrella strollers is the Combi stroller. It is a lightweight stroller like an umbrella stroller but it includes cupholders, the canopy overhead to block sun, it reclines, etc. It is also tall enough that you won't be hunched over to push (if you are taller like me) and it folds up and clips together (almost like a bag) and it has a strap for you to carry it over one shoulder. My husband and I have found this to be a HUGE help!! For places we are not allowed to have strollers we just fold it up and throw it over one shoulder and keep going. It's so light that it doesn't bother you.

You can get some at Babies R Us for $129.99 but there are also some that are $99.99 or even $69.99. Here is a link to a pink Combi for $69.99: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3938396

I recommend this stroller over the umbrella strollers.

We definitely used a stroller for quite a long time with my son. I'm not very big and by the time he was 2, I could barely carry him. We still used it at 4, 4-1/2 years old depending on where we were going and how long we'd be out. If his legs got tired, I could just push him. Even if he didn't need to be in it, it was great for putting my purse, our jackets, our purchases in.
I can't remember the brand we had, but the front and back wheels turned, (or you could lock them just to go straight). It pushed really nicely. We had a little fold up umbrella stroller too, but I didn't like it as much and we rarely used it.

I hope you get some great suggestions!

she's 14 months then i wouldn't spend a lot on a new stroler, just get an umbrella stroller, they are light, and easy to push and VERY inexpensive and they last. i used one with my daughter when she was old enough to sit up, and too big for an infant car seat, and had that for YEARS love them!!!! kept that till she looked like she was fixing to rip the fabric off of it because she was growing (dunno for sure how old she was)

She will definetly need another stroller for a while. I have a McClaren that I got from another mom and its great. Lightweight and comfortable. I don't know how much they are but you can get good ones from another mom or maybe a consignment store. The one my son had as a baby (Chicco travel system) got really heavy and didn't hug him like this one. My SIL has some kind of stroller that her 4 year old (45 lbs) daughter still likes to use. My son is almost 2 1/2 and rarely uses a stroller anymore. It depends on the child but honestly, being 4 and in a stroller is pretty silly to me.

My son is 4 1/2, and we're nowhere near ready to get rid of our stroller. In the last year or so, he came to appreciate the luxury of riding in a stroller vs. walking all the time. Plus, I'm so used to having the basket for my stuff, our cup holders, etc. when we're out and about. We have a Maclaren and LOVE it. Steers like a dream. A little pricey, but not too bad. We had a Contours Lite, which I also LOVED. It had all the bells and whistles, steered like a dream, etc. However, my son had well exceeded the weight limit on that stroller and was just busting at the seams, so we got the Maclaren, which has a high weight limit.

There are people out there that think older kids have no business in a stroller, but we love it. To each his own. If your daughter is happy walking, and you are happy that way, then go for it. But if you both want to continue using a stroller, I'd recommend either of the 2 I mentioned. They're both wonderful. Oh, and the Contours Lite is only like $60 or $70. The Maclaren's are a little more. The Combi's aren't bad either, lots of features, lightweight, steer well, but my son didn't fit in it well when we were shopping for our last stroller. But at 14 months, you'd still get a lot of use out of a Combi.

My DD is just over 2.5 years old and we use a stroller almost every evening for a family-time/quiet-time walk around the neighborhood just before bedtime. We've been doing this since she was born.

The first stroller was a Maclaren Stroller that we used with her car seat. It was awesome and I was very sad when she outgrew the car seat. The second was a combi and I hated it! I hated it so much that I gave the sucker away and went back for another Maclaren - Maclaren Techno XLR Stroller that will not only last until she's 65 lbs but also fit a car seat for our new addition =)

I know there was a recall for Maclaren's sometime last year - LO fingers getting caught in hinges when opening and closing the stroller. We've never had that issue. Probably because I don't let our DD play with it let alone try to open and close the stroller herself. It was expensive though - not top of the line expensive but far more expensive than the crappy combi. Anyhow, I was just thinking last night on our walk how much I love our stroller and how I don't regret spending the money. We've had it over a year now, used it almost every night for our walk which is about a mile long and it's still going strong!

However, I would say if you honestly don't use your stroller much now then I would just get a cheapy. I knew we would use the heck out of ours so the expense was well worth it.

Time to invest in a high quality but easily affordable umbrella stroller. I would recommend one that is tall enough and has storage. They are handy and convenient when doing errands. But for the long haul, my run of the mill Graco has done me good. It was also a decent price at Target. It has storage, cup holder/food tray, it is tall enough with four double wheels for off roading and the back folds down when the kid falls alseep. I do not think it cost more than 70 bucks but that was almost 3 years ago. Good Luck!

I don't have a great recommendation for you, but I do know that Babies R Us has a trade-in policy and if you turn in your old stroller, you get something like 15-20% off your new stroller. If you are able to find a good, inexpensive stroller, trading in your old one will help you get closer to an affordable price. Good luck!

We invested in a good stroller because my daughter doesn't mind being in it and we did a lot of traveling and sightseeing, and also because we plan on having another kid that will use the stroller as well. I'm thinking about getting a less expensive stroller right now to keep at my parent's house so we don't have to travel with our stroller since we have to travel by air to get to my parents. Originally, I was looking at $20-$30 umbrella strollers, but the handles were too low (and I'm only 5'2") and not good quality. I've started looking at Chiccos, which the one I want is around $80. However, Babies R Us is going to start their equipment trade in and you get 25% off which you can apply to another stroller.