Do your baby start liking strollers without car seat? But, being a parent you are concerned about your baby’s safety and want to know the right age and time regarding when to put baby in stroller without car seat.
Every child is different in their learning and growing capabilities and there is no hard-and-fast rule for them to stop using car seats.
We, therefore, have highlighted some of the prominent signs that indicate your baby’s preparedness for the transition.
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When to Put Baby in Stroller without Car Seat? Resolve to Enjoy
No doubt that having knowledge about strollers by age is very important. Not only the parents, but also grandparents, caregivers, and child care-takers, all want to know the right time for their babies to go on a ride in strollers only.
“Experts agreed that when the babies are able to sit by themselves and can hold their head up (around 5-6 months of age), is the time for them to ride in stroller without car seat”
Note: This is a general and not a certain thing as every child has different growing and learning capabilities.
How to get to know when can baby sit in stroller without car seat? | Tests your Baby’s potential!
If your baby eagerly wants to quit the car seat, it’s a signal to stop using it in stroller. It is good in the sense that your baby has started learning to sit on their own.
However, they may get sleep while riding in a stroller or start staring at something and may lose their balance.
That is why it is better to make sure that whether they will be able to sit by themselves or not.
Hint from Baby: When they will start holding their head up. You will often find them struggling with this (Enjoy it, Mommies!)
Self-Test: Hold your baby on your shoulder, if they can carry their head upright without any support, it indicates that they, now, can sit in the stroller without car seat.
Related: Can You Feed a Baby in a Car Seat?
How to Help Your Child Sit up Earlier than 6 Months?
Not too much, but you just have to offer them periodic tummy times. Some other things that you can do:
- Encourage them to lift up their head to see either the mobile screen or mirror etc.
- Choose some developmental toy stuff for them to let them learn while playing, for example, blocks, manipulatives, etc.
- A reclining baby seat in the stroller is a promising practice to assist your child in self-learning to use a stroller without car seat.
Infant’s Safety Considerations before Using Stroller without Car Seat
If you agree that child care is the foremost thing, then you should know the very basic but mindful pre and post-care factors while putting a baby in a stroller without car seat:
Buy a stroller that fully reclines:
A reclining stroller is very important (from the infant’s safety point of view) even if your baby is able to support his neck or not. It supports the child in not flopping on the sides and also provides back and head support.
A stroller with bassinet attachment option:
Having the option to attach a bassinet to your baby stroller means that you do not have to wait for your infant to get 5 or 6 months old to put them in the stroller without car seat. Instead, you can let him enjoy outings without being confined in the car seat.
Moreover, it will also satisfy the matter of “what age can baby sit in stroller without car seat”.
Lightweight Strollers:
Not all baby strollers are the same and that is a confusing point for the parents to decide over a stroller that offers more in less.
The weight of the stroller will be considered according to the weight of your baby while the size of the stroller matters in the sense that it suits your car, parking space, and lifestyle.
One more thing that parents usually want in strollers is their capability to assist their infant in sitting comfortably and securely even without a car seat.
A stroller that won’t strain baby’s head:
There are some strollers that have a back head seat support to let the babies sit before they actually start setting by themselves. It will also help them to recline slightly and they can also get support for their neck.
Related: How to Set Up Graco Pack and Play
Best Infant Strollers without Car Seat
It is obvious that you cannot take risk of putting your baby in a stroller without car seat until he has grown up to 6 months.
Even for 4 months old, the stroller’s safety features are of great importance to make sure that the baby would not tip over while riding.
In this concern, there are some infant-friendly strollers that have certain built-in additional safety features to be used without an infant car seat.
1: Jogging Strollers:
Jogging strollers have built-in multiple reclining position features. It assists your baby in supporting his neck when he cannot on his own.
It won’t stop here.
Jogging strollers are also convertible. It means that when your toddler is not in the mood to enjoy the ride, you can put the car seat in the stroller.
Jogging strollers are designed not only for your infants but also for the parents to help them continue their active lifestyle.
2. Convertible strollers
Convertible strollers are the choice of those parents who want to keep over the long-haul of all their infant’s stroller years.
Because these infant strollers can be used with the same safety guarantee even for the toddlers, so have resolved the query of when to put baby in stroller without car seat.
As they provide support to the child when they are unable to do that for themselves.
Convertible strollers or two-in-one strollers have a wide range of weight-carrying capacity i.e. 40-50 lbs. It means that you can continue with single convertible strollers even when your child gets 7-8 years old.
Related: What Is a Convertible Car Seat?
3. Umbrella strollers:
Umbrella strollers are the pared-down version of infant strollers in which you do not have to compromise on either i.e. safety or comfort because they have both!
Note: To have the approval of when can you put baby in a stroller without car seat, you should select the umbrella stroller that reclines fully as all umbrella strollers do not have this feature.
Bottom Line
Do our words have cleared your doubts related to when to put baby in stroller without car seat?
Parents know what, infants of 5-6 months old do not like car seats as it keeps them confined. That is the time to go for the transition.
However, there is no hard and fast rule for how to use stroller for newborns, as every child is different in their growing and learning habits.
Therefore, you will either wait for your infant to start sitting independently or buy them a stroller that reclines fully.
FAQs
When to stop using car seat in strollers?
When your tot gets 5-6 months old or starts supporting their head on their own, is time to remove the car seat from the stroller.
When can baby go in stroller without car seat?
Baby can use a stroller without a car seat after the age of six months or when they can sit up on their own. This is the safest rule to follow.
Can you put a newborn in a stroller?
If the stroller is full reclining, then you can put the baby of at least 2 or 3 months old into it. Otherwise, it is better to use an infant car seat in the stroller.
When can baby sit in front facing stroller?
At the age of 6-9 months. At this age, babies usually start to hold their head up and starts taking an interest in their surroundings.
When to transition baby out of infant car seat?
There will be two very clear signs of transition out of the infant car seat: when the baby starts holding their head up on their own and when they have grown to 6 months.
When do kids stop using strollers?
Recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), strollers should be used only by infants/toddlers and should stop being used by the time a child is 3+ years old.
When to stop using bassinet stroller?
The strollers with bassinet attachments are designed to be used until the baby is 3-6 months old or weighs 12-16 lbs.
Can you put a 3 month old in stroller?
Yes. A 3-months old baby usually starts supporting their own head so you can put them in the stroller from this age.
Can you put a 6 month old in stroller?
Yes. However, the stroller should be fully reclining, has a 5-point-harness system, and must have plenty of cushioning and support features in it.
