Stroll in style: Picking your Scandinavian-style pram
by Sara, 2 November 2015
As a Scandinavian in the US, choosing your child’s first form of transportation can be a challenging task. Scandinavians like prams. In fact, the traditional pram remains the no. 1 choice in all Scandinavian countries. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find one in the US market; at least one with the features that we know from home: such as a spacious bassinet, large tires, good suspension, and with enough padding to provide warmth and comfort for baby to sleep outside.
It’s no secret that we Scandinavians are notorious for letting our babies nap outside; rain or shine. We leave them outside our house, cafés, and stores. Even a Scandinavian childcare institution may leave your little one to nap outside. No big deal!
The stroller systems sold in the US simply doesn’t cut it. It usually includes a regular stroller and car seat. Neither of which have room. It doesn’t include a bassinet, and provide little comfort and shelter. It often has small wheels, and little to no suspension.
The bassinet is key as it allows your little one to lie down flat on the back. Pediatricians and other health professionals highly recommend that babies should not be left in car seats for more than 2 hours at the time - in fact, in Scandinavia the same recommendation is for a maximum of 30 minutes! Car seats are for safe transportation, not for extended sleeping. If you plan to go out for long periods of time where you need to bring your infant along, a pram is recommended.
So, how do you get your hands on a real pram in the US?
It’s not an easy task! At Scandinavian Living we spent months of searching before we found something resembling what we wanted. While the bassinet stroller - as it is commonly referred to in the US - is becoming more popular, it's nearly impossible to get the same kind, and quality, available in Sweden, Norway or Denmark.
We took a look at what some of our options are in the US. Unfortunately, we haven't had the opportunity to test them all, but did get a chance to talk to other Scandinavians who have. We will refer to all of the systems as prams since everything we looked at comes in pram-mode (as well as stroller-mode).
* Please note that prices vary across sites, and may be subject to change.