Kiddy Trailers

I've been doing some research on transporting children on bikes, and the pros and cons of rear and front mounted seats versus trailers. The general consensus, I'm finding, is that trailers are the way to go.

My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children around for a whole year?

Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

Cheers,
Lotte

 

In aus.bicycle on Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:16:11 +1000
LotteBum <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for
> child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run
> the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find
> this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children
> around for a whole year?

A back mounted sling on the adult?

Or ride a LWB bent, and a front mounted sling on the adult?

Zebee

 

LotteBum wrote:
> I've been doing some research on transporting children on bikes, and the
> pros and cons of rear and front mounted seats versus trailers. The
> general consensus, I'm finding, is that trailers are the way to go.
>
> My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for
> child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run
> the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find
> this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children
> around for a whole year?

Probably manufacturer covering any liabilities.

I can understand this applying to seats where the child needs to be
carried in an upright position and neck muscles are not yet developed.

What about a trilayer foam[1] "bed" to support a capsule in the trailer?

[1] hard, medium and soft layers to absorb various shocks.

Naturally, you have to remember thats a very yound child (delicate load)
in the trailera and take it easy.

I vaguely remember some discussion on this in this group prior.

 

Terryc wrote:

> Naturally, you have to remember thats a very yound child (delicate load)
> in the trailera and take it easy.

Also have low pressure inflated tyres. I think there are some kiddy
trailers around with hard plasic junk tyres.

 

On Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:16:11 +1000, LotteBum wrote:

> Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

I think we were using a standard style trailer from around 9 months,
though very carefully. The problem is that the kids are quite upright, so
need to have pretty good neck muscles. That doesn't come until 9-12 months
for most kids.

Ideally it'd be possible to get something where a car style capsule would
clip in, preferably with some kind of roll cage just in case. I haven't
seen anything like that around. I've no idea what the standard practice in
countries where bike transport is more or less standard, but I suspect
it's public transport, lifts and walking.

Oh, and is there something you're not telling us?

--
Dave Hughes | [email protected]
Never go off on tangents, which are lines that intersect a curve at
only one point and were discovered by Euclid, who lived in the 6th
century, which was an era dominated by the Goths, who lived in what
we now know as Poland." - Nov. 1998 issue of Infosystems Executive.

 

LotteBum wrote:
> I've been doing some research on transporting children on bikes, and the
> pros and cons of rear and front mounted seats versus trailers. The
> general consensus, I'm finding, is that trailers are the way to go.
>
> My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for
> child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run
> the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find
> this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children
> around for a whole year?
>
> Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

Have you considered a Bakfiets?

http://infrastructuration.blogspot.com/2007/07/bakfietsen-dutch-work-bikes.html


BTH

 

LotteBum wrote:
>
> I've been doing some research on transporting children on bikes, and the
> pros and cons of rear and front mounted seats versus trailers. The
> general consensus, I'm finding, is that trailers are the way to go.
>
> My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for
> child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run
> the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find
> this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children
> around for a whole year?
>
> Does anyone have any advice regarding this?
>
> Cheers,
> Lotte
>
> --
> LotteBum

Yesterday I must have ridden past several parents with kiddy trailers
with the younger set sometimes pedling along with mum or dad.

The experience of cycling is thus indelibly imprinted on the young minds
at an early age.
Thus the children learn the wonders of cheap travel's motion but without
the
worry and drama of having to be steered carefully to prevent crashes
with everyone else using the
cycle paths.
Dad and mum get to have their sunday ride without the work and tantrum
filled efforts of child guidance.
I have a photo taken from the 1930s with a young couple both on a tandem
with their daughter of about 5
sitting on a little saddle at the rear, so its not as if this business
of coping with children
when you are a cyclist hasn't been thought about before.

If I'd ever been a dad I wouldn't have put a child on behind me until I
though the child was ready,
or likely to be injured all too easily if I ever had a prang. Here in
Oz,
women do not work in the fields, and don't wrap their kids up and put
them on their backs
as they do in Africa. We tend to engage in play without pain or
excessive challenges,
and start younger ones off in life under entirely safe circumstances.

So I guess most parents would have to walk or drive their children
around for a whole year.

Not only that, parents are expected to drive their kids around until
said child either
gets his/her first bicycle, or a car at about age 17, so you should be
prepared for a never ending
effort of care, protection, and education and transport of children
until they are independant,
and then your spirit of caring would proceed until you die before them
some 40 years after they were born. Its called loving thy child, and
this challenges
parents, and success in this challenge is not always guranteed.

When I passed two young families yesterday while out cycling, the older
kids rode their own bikes, while
younger ones were trailed. Seems pretty sensible to me.

I sometimes think such parents deserve a medal for their efforts!

Patrick Turner.

 

BT Humble wrote:
>
> LotteBum wrote:
> > I've been doing some research on transporting children on bikes, and the
> > pros and cons of rear and front mounted seats versus trailers. The
> > general consensus, I'm finding, is that trailers are the way to go.
> >
> > My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for
> > child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run
> > the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find
> > this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children
> > around for a whole year?
> >
> > Does anyone have any advice regarding this?
>
> Have you considered a Bakfiets?
>
> http://infrastructuration.blogspot.com/2007/07/bakfietsen-dutch-work-bikes.html
>
> BTH

Interesting. I wasn't aware of such craftiness in child transports.

I have seen a few women or men here towing children below 3 in enclosed
little trailers
and usually quite slowly, to avoid the worst of jarring bumps. Mum gets
her exercise
instead of getting fat, and money is saved by not paying for a damned
car or bus fares etc.
I have not seen many mums cycling with under 12mth babies though, but
then I am not to know what
some mums or dads might do with kids to get them from A to B.

Patrick Turner.

 

You may of already found this in your research, if not here's two linkies:

http://www.chariotcarriers.com/html_english/faq_owners.htm

http://burley.com/support/faqs.html#age

I haven't heard of 'risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this' argument before, although what is important is that the child is capable of supporting their head before either using a trailer or kids seat. Can ask friends who use kid trailers for further advice if you want.

 

Hi Lotte,

I'd go along with the trailer, as long as the suspension on the trailer is correct - not too soggy & not too stiff. Some sort of restraint called for too, in case of a Brisbane pothole (or tram track as someone else found).
On the negative side, a trailer makes it harder to make eye contact & keep a close eye on the sprog, but I'd say the advantages far outweigh the drawbacks.

Karen

 

Patrick Turner wrote:
> LotteBum wrote:

>> I've been doing some research on transporting children on bikes, and
>> the pros and cons of rear and front mounted seats versus trailers.
>> The general consensus, I'm finding, is that trailers are the way to
>> go.

> When I passed two young families yesterday while out cycling, the
> older kids rode their own bikes, while
> younger ones were trailed. Seems pretty sensible to me.
>
> I sometimes think such parents deserve a medal for their efforts!

It was the standard method of travel when I was a kid in Holland. I remember
going on family outings to my great uncle Frans place, where us kids would
climb up the huge cherry tree and eat cherries all day. Dad with the twin
girls, one seat on the crossbar and another on the back. Mum the same with
the twin boys, except for the crossbar. My older brother with my younger
brother on the back, and my sister and I on our own bikes. My older brother
was 12, older sister 9, I 7, younger brother 6, twin girls 3 1/2, twin boys
18 months. This was the only way we ever travelled, no heros, no medals
needed.

Theo

 

Aha. This is a point I had not considered. It's a bit of a bugger though - I thought I'd be getting around and clocking up the k's when I retire (sometime between Christmas and mid February).

My mum tells me that as soon as I could hold my head up, she put me on the back of her bike with one of those u-shaped neck things aroudn my neck. That said, back then, helmets weren't common, so I didn't have to support that.

Yes. Contrary to popular belief, I am not a virgin.

Lotte

 

That's awesome! Way to go Team Bekkers!

 

LotteBum wrote:
> Dave Wrote:

> Aha. This is a point I had not considered. It's a bit of a bugger
> though - I thought I'd be getting around and clocking up the k's when
> I retire (sometime between Christmas and mid February).

You think motherhood is retirement?

>> Oh, and is there something you're not telling us?

> Yes. Contrary to popular belief, I am not a virgin.

<applause> Great response Lotte.

Theo

 

LotteBum wrote:
> Theo Bekkers Wrote:
>> It was the standard method of travel when I was a kid in Holland. I
>> remember going on family outings to my great uncle Frans place, where
>> us kids would climb up the huge cherry tree and eat cherries all day.
>> Dad with the twin girls, one seat on the crossbar and another on the
>> back. Mum the same with the twin boys, except for the crossbar. My
>> older brother with my younger brother on the back, and my sister and
>> I on our own bikes. My older brother was 12, older sister 9, I 7,
>> younger brother 6, twin girls 3 1/2, twin boys
>> 18 months. This was the only way we ever travelled, no heros, no
>> medals needed.

> That's awesome! Way to go Team Bekkers!

Uncle Frans' place was about ten kms. It also wasn't the full team, one of
the twin girls, who had never been well, died later that year, but mum and
dad added two more boys after we got to Australia. All except mum are still
alive. My dad has one child under 50 until January, and will by then have
three children who are pensioners.

Theo

Theo

 

No, but it really p!sses people off when I say it.

Just be glad I'm not nauseous and b!tchy the way I have been for the last many weeks. That would no doubt have spurred a different response.

LH

 

If it's not too much hassle, that would be great.

Thanks for the links - hadn't seen the Burley one as yet and they look quite good.

I think that once the Peanut is too old for the trailer, maybe I can put my dog(s) in - they'll be old and frail by then. And hopefully capable of sitting still.

LH

 

LotteBum wrote:
> Theo Bekkers Wrote:

>> <applause> Great response Lotte.

> Just be glad I'm not nauseous and b!tchy the way I have been for the
> last many weeks. That would no doubt have spurred a different
> response.

After the first trimester the nauseousness passes, and is replaced by
bloatedness, which will not go away, but will become unnoticable because of
the back pain in the last two months. Sorry.

All the best.

Theo

 

Lotte,

One expensive solution is the Christiania Bike (trike)
http://www.christianiabikes.com/english/uk_main.htm

We waited for the 12 month stage when each child had the necessary head support, and then used the Beto child seat on the back of my wife's bike. Note that they do fall asleep on the back of a bike, and it doesn't look good with the head lolling about. Our child seat will tilt back to avoid the child's head from bashing into your backside or hanging out sideways. MTB tyres make for a more comfortable ride than 27" HP tyres.

Below 12 months the pram or car were used. The pram is still in use. My wife pushes the 3yo uphill each morning as she walks the 7yo to school, then again in the afternoon for pickup. (The 7yo had a slight advantage in the school cross country run over those kids who were driven to school The walking has been very successful at helping burn off the pregnancy fat. My wife destroyed the bearings on the first pram by pushing a 10kg child and 20+kg of shopping home. Nylon bush bearings just can't take that sort of load.

We are now at the stage where the 7yo should be able to ride distances on his own bike, but he is a bit timid and so has only just started to ride independently. The 3yo thinks she can do anything her brother can do. The 7yo has used the tag-a-long since he was 4, which helped his balance. His only exposure to training wheels was an afternoon at a bike traffic school before he could ride. In another year he will have to graduate to his own bike and let his little sister use the tag-a-long. The 3yo currently rides a fixie. It was obtained during a hard rubbish collection, has 30cm wheels that are not pnuematic, trainer wheels, and the little dare devil takes her feet off the pedals on down hill runs.

 

For a bloke, you know an awful lot about being stretchy, Theo. I'm worried about you.

I feel great at the moment. To the point where I've started doing the dishes and I actually feel like cooking again. My abs hurt a bit as Peanut tries to push past my beer gut, but otherwise I feel great. Rode my bike to work for the first time in yonks this morning and felt fine in doing so. Admittedly, the first trimester had me wondering what the heck Paulie had gotten me into (hence he copped a lot of flak).

Lotte