What Makes Good Prams?

A pram (also called a stroller or a pushchair) is the main form of transport for infants and toddlers. A good pram is a blend of comfort, safety and design that makes walking enjoyable for the entire family.

The R for Rabbit Poppins Joy Stylish Baby Stroller is a fantastic pram for newborns to 3-year-old children. Its reversible handle allows you to tilt the seat so that your child can face you or the world around them.

Comfort

You want your child to be comfortable when you're out with them. There are prams that will ensure that your baby isn't shivering any discomfort.

All the prams listed in this guide allow your baby to lay flat. This is crucial for newborns as it improves oxygenation and helps support their hips and spine. The seats can also be adjusted to an upright position once your child is capable of sitting up.

For a really high-end feel it's the Venicci egg2 offers a cozy feeling of a cocoon for your baby with sleek, curved lines and a bucket-shape seating that does not recline to a lying-flat position, but has padding on the liner and mattress. It's also a little lighter than other prams on the market at under 8kg but still has a sturdy chassis and grained leather detailing and air-filled tyres that are puncture-proof, and can handle more rugged terrains.

The Minu V2 is a great choice if you're looking for something with a similar look but at a price that is lower. The stylish one-hand steer model isn't as light as the other prams we tried but it does have a big storage basket and an extended hood with UPF50+ protection, which will keep your baby shaded and protected.

If you're the first parent of your child, we'd recommend considering a travel system bundle that includes a pram and a car seat that can be attached to the same frame. This allows parents to transfer their child from their car to the pram without having to wake them up. The Bugaboo Dragonfly travel system is a stylish and practical pram that is able to be easily converted from a 'pramette' or lie-flat 'pramette, to a stroller for toddlers compatible with the Graco iSize car seat.

Safety

The pram should be fitted with five-point safety harnesses that will keep your baby safe. It should also have no gaps where their legs or heads are likely to get caught. The straps must be cushioned and easy to adjust as they grow. You should also examine the buckles on your harness to ensure they are not cracked or showing signs of wear and tear. Every year, a lot of children are hospitalised because of injuries caused by prams or strollers. Tipping over is the primary reason for these injuries. Even the most robust prams could tip over if you attach bags onto the handles, or if a child who is wriggling gets into or out of the seat without the harness being done up.

A common cause of injury is falling off a pram or stroller. If a baby is not securely fastened in, they could fall out of the pram and suffer neck or head injuries. This is why it is important to make sure that the harness buckle is always secured.

Some good prams also have a reversible canopy that will protect your baby from sun in both directions. This is a useful feature because it will prevent having to wake your child awake when you change their position in the pram or while you go in and out of shops. There are other features that are useful, such as snacks for your child or toddler and drink holders. You can also find a basket for shopping underneath the seat.

Never leave a sleeping baby in a pram if you are not within reach. Babies are known to wiggle when asleep and this may cause them to roll off the stroller or pram and cause suffocation or strangulation. A pram or a stroller is not a substitute for the crib. It is best to use it for short periods during the daytime.

It is essential to disassemble most prams in order to put them in the trunk of your car. This procedure is something you should know before you purchase one. Check how easy it will be to put the pieces back together.

Durability

A pram needs to be able to endure a long time of wear. This includes having to deal with the mud-filled walks and many car journeys, so you want to be sure your choice is able to do the job you need it to. You also want your pram to come in a print or colour that isn't prone to fading quickly to avoid looking like you've fallen out of fashion.

The best travel stroller prams are made with high-quality materials. They are designed to last, so you should look for robust fabrics, sturdy wheels and an efficient suspension system. The most reliable prams have a compact fold so you can store them easily in your garage or in the boot when not when not in use.

All the prams in this list allow babies to lie flat, which is crucial for newborns as it improves oxygen saturation levels and supports the development of their hips and spine. Many of these prams have been designed to grow with your child's. Some come with a carrycot or a fully-reclined chair that can be snapped on and off as your child grows.

If you're purchasing a new pram for the first time, you might be interested in a travel system that is a complete bundle that includes a lying-flat carrycot and car seat. Our test-driver for parents Jaya was a fan of the Graco Near2Me System that she used with her 10-month old son. It comes with a clever feature that allows you to raise and lower your child with the click of a button. This way you can keep your eyes on them and keep them close, which she said was really important to her as the baby was still at an exploratory stage.

The Bugaboo Fox 3 is another option that our test-driver Jess Bird tried with her two babies Effie and Boden (pictured above). It's a luxurious pushchair that converts from a single pushchair to double pushchair and has 30 possible configurations and features premium fabrics, an extendable sun canopy, and puncture-proof tyres. It's not cheap, but you could use it for more than one child if needed and, just like the iCandy Orange 3, can be used from birth thanks to the carrycot included.

Style

Newborns need to lay flat as much as possible to aid development and improve the oxygen saturation of their lungs, so it is essential that all prams permit this. Some models allow a completely flat surface with a fully-reclinable carrycots, while others have a seat that reclines to an unflat position.

The Graco Near2Me has the latter and it's brilliant in this regard, as our parent tester Jaya found when she tested it with her 10-month-old son. She loved that she could raise or lower her child by pressing a button to keep him in sight, while still maintaining closeness and eye contact.

It's a great stroller for those that want to nip around town with ease as the frame is an ideal size for manoeuvring, while the puncture-proof tyres allow you to remove it from the road and into rough terrain. It's a great option if you plan to have a second child in the near future, as it can easily be transformed from a single pushchair to a double or twin.

The Bugaboo Dragonfly looks and feels like a high-end, stylish option. It's ideal for babies as it includes a carrycot which can lie flat and it's compatible with car seats if purchased separately. It can be folded with the carrycot in place and it's something that isn't the case with all prams and is an efficient and easy feature.

The pram's luxurious fabric large basket, spacious interior, and puncture-proof tires are things you'd expect on a premium model However, the sleek frame makes it simple to maneuver over various terrains. This is a great option when you live in a city and have to navigate narrow streets and crowded pathways on a regular basis. Although it's not cheap, the quality and versatility of this Pram For newborn will save you money in the end by avoiding the need to purchase a separate toddler pushchair. You can choose from a wide range of colors to suit your preferences.