It totally stinks to get the chance to try out a great baby product when your kids are too old for you to really enjoy it.
My kids are a little over 3 years apart and I really wish that I had known that a double stroller like the Joovy Caboose had existed. While I doubt that I would’ve been convinced to forgo my side-by-side stroller for long walks across the park, a stroller like one would have been great for the bus/subway, for short jaunts and for travel. It can even take an infant car seat as one of the seats, which is pretty handy.
I figured that even though my kids are really too big to both be in there (and my first grader too big to be in a stroller at all), I’d try it out with both of them to see how it felt to push a stroller with this kind of configuration. It was pretty cool to have my 6 year old facing me–as the last time that I had him face me in a stroller he was less than a year old. It was also kind of nice to have my kids back to back with each other, so that they were less likely to actively tussle.
That all said, it was much much much easier to push when my older child got out to walk. The stroller itself is pretty lightweight, so even though my 3 1/2 year old is pretty big, the whole thing was simple to maneuver. I am also a big fan of the nice thick handle of top of the stroller–no dinky little cane handles here!
One big think that a New York City stroller has to be able to do, is to go up and down a flight of stairs. Though I’ve seen people shlepping a stroller in their arms up or down the subway stairs, I am just not that person. I want to be able to maneuver the wheels on the stairs instead of lifting the stroller in midair.
As you can see, the wheels were able to go on the steps in front of my apartment building without too much trouble (I enlisted my husband because of the added weight of both children.)
Another huge thing that is often a drawback with double strollers, in particular, is ease of folding. The Ultralight Caboose folds pretty seamlessly, making it an even better choice of a traveling stroller for two children.
Why, oh why, didn’t I know about this stroller when my kids were still compact and portable?
I was glad to be able to donate it to a preschool drive for a Women’s shelter when I was done playing with it so that another city family, one with smaller children, could enjoy it for a good, long time.
For more information, pricing and specs go to http://www.joovy.com
**Disclaimer: I received a stroller in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. **