When my daughter was born, my wife and I decided it would be best to get a light weight and practical stroller that can be used from infancy to childhood. We wanted it to have cup holders, storage, a sun shade, and a smooth ride. We also wanted it to be easy to clean and fold. When folded, it had to be small in size so that it doesn’t take up too much space in our vehicles trunk or boot space. We found that the Chicco Bravo Trio Travel System ticked all of the boxes and came with the car seat and base. If you are interested in the stroller itself, you can find it here – Chicco Bravo Air Quick-Fold Stroller.
As a dad and a car guy, I was excited in choosing a stroller. I wanted an all-around practical stroller that could withstand 10 years of abuse and I found that in our Chicco Bravo stroller. I thought about the hacks and modifications I would do to make our stroller more practical and I started hacking the stroller. Here is a list of a 10 hacks anyone can do with their stroller.
1. Carrying Bags and Walking your Dog
These D-Ring Hooks can be bought from the dollar store or right here on Amazon. Attach these D-Rings to your stroller’s handlebars so that you can hold groceries, shopping bags, or attach your dogs leash to the stroller as you walk your baby and dog together.
2. Prevent Tipping Over
You can buy ankle weights here on Amazon and tie them to the lower part of your baby stroller. Why? By adding ankle weights near the wheels of the stroller, you are lowering the center of gravity thus keeping your baby safe from falling out of the stroller. Plus, you can use the ankle weights yourself when exercising. I used ankle weights through much of middle and high school, during gym class, and during soccer practice. I didn’t gain the speed of a Saiyan but they still helped improve my agility.
3. Prevent Theft
Whenever you go to a museum, mall, beach, or theme park with your stroller, you will need to park your stroller unattended for long periods of time. Carry a bike lock with you and lock up your stroller to prevent theft. You don’t need to spend much on a bike lock. This simple $6.32 bike lock will do the trick.
4. Prevent Bottles and Cups from Falling Off the Stroller
Babies and toddlers love to throw their bottles and sip cups. If you are one of the lucky few with a careful baby, you might hit a pot hole or push your stroller on uneven surfaces, causing the bottle or cup to fall out of the cup holder and onto the floor. Luckily someone invented sippy cup leashes. These leashes act as tethers for your drink-ware, keeping them clean and safe.
5. Identify your Stroller
Get a tag with your name and contact information and customize your stroller in some way. When leaving your stroller parked in a stroller parking area, you are bound to park next to an identical stroller at some point. Making your stroller stick out with a sticker or leaving a tag on it will prevent someone from accidentally taking your stroller and it will make it easier for you to find your stroller in a row of parked strollers.
6. Add Nighttime Safety
If like me, you enjoy taking walks at night, safety is important. There are a few ways to improve the safety of your stroller. You can add reflective tape to all sides of your stroller or you can go more high tech with stroller LED lights.
7. Add In-Flight Entertainment
These days, the quickest way to stop a baby from crying is to hand them your phone. You can install cell phone holders and tablet holders to the handlebars of your stroller so your child can watch Baby Shark on repeat.
8. Protect your Baby from the Environment
If you go camping, attend a picnic, or live near a swamp, a stroller mosquito net will protect your baby from insects. If you live in an area that experiences cold winters, you can buy a stroller and car seat blanket that resembles a comfortable sleeping bag. If you want to protect your baby from the sun, buy a stroller with a sun shade or install an aftermarket sun shade. You can even buy a clear vinyl rain cover to protect your baby and your stroller from getting wet.
9. Use the Space Provided
Strollers have lots of fabric space on the inside of the sun shade cover. As your child is laying down in the stroller, they are often starring up at the cover. Why not secure fun pictures or a small mirror to keep your baby occupied? You can use velcro, clamps, hooks, and zip ties to hold toys, snacks, pacifiers, and more.
10. Stroller Storage Mods
Want extra stroller storage to conveniently hold your cell phone, baby wipes, a couple of diapers, drinks, snacks, and more? Look no further than a Mahiky Storage Organizer. The Mahiky Storage Organizer doubles as a hand bag and can conveniently hold everything you need for your baby and attach to your stroller. They also have a 5/5 star rating on Amazon.
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