Safety 1st – Keeping It Real

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This post is sponsored by Safety 1st – they provided the prizes too 😀

Straight off the bat I’m going to say getting me to review these products is a stroke of genius by the folks at Satety 1st. Having parented for coming up to 25 years now, I’ve owned no fewer than eight strollers and twelve car seats. Putting kids in and out of them has been, at times, trying. As in me trying not to swear.

Recently, when I was offered a car seat and stroller to review, I immediately said yes – not because I love reviewing stuff, but because I always like to say yes when people offer to give me stuff I need, and we really needed to replace one of the car seats we had. Plus they said I could give one of each away to one of my readers, and that’s something I really, really enjoy being able to do because it feels like I’m giving back a little to you guys for all the joy I get from you hanging out with me.

But mainly we needed that car seat.

So before I get to the competition, let’s have a look at the goods.

Safety 1st SUMMIT AP Convertible Car Seat

I could give you the hard sell sales pitch about how it’s the first car seat with antibacterial protection and superior side impact protection and even its, quite honestly, excellent accident exchange program, but what you really want to know is do I think it’s worth paying the extra for this seat.

Hell yes, it is.

For one thing, it’ll do from new born until 4yrs of age, so that’s nice. When Master24 was born we were looking at one product for the first few months and then another for the next bit. Now that was expensive. Not to mention, when you put it into perspective, it’s not as much of a hike upgrading from the cheaper options as it is with say a car or a computer. Plus, in term of actual dollars I spent about this much on an extended warranty recently when I bought a new computer, and I like my kids nearly as much as my Mac.

I know a lot of people go right into it, but all the extra safety stuff is really not what I’m thinking about when I buy a car seat. I figure if it meets the Australian Standard then that’s all covered. What I care about is how easy it is to install, clean, locate the button to loosen/tighten the straps and, most importantly, to get a kid in and out of. I want to know about things like being able to easily locate the buckle while a kid thrashes about because they’re overtired. Well, on these points we have a winner. I had it installed inside of five minutes, it’s new so it’s clean, I haven’t had to ferret around in the hole in the front of the seat to adjust the straps and my daughter is four so she jumps in by herself.

After a quick drive around town with Miss4 to see if she liked it, my initial thoughts about this car seat were only reinforced. I had no idea how hard and uncomfortable the old one was until I had the new one to compare it too.

“Tracey!” I called out. “Tracey! You’ll want to see this!”

She stuck her head over the balcony and looked down on me.

“The car seat? What’s it like?”

“Makes the old one feel dangerous,” I answered honestly.  “It’s…I don’t know…more robust or something.”

Surprisingly, it really does feel safer. Maybe it’s the lack of mould.

But that’s not the reason I yelled out to Tracey.

“So long as she likes it, we’re all good then,” said Tracey, referring to Miss4.

“That’s why I yelled,” I said. I pointed into the back seat. “She’s in the car kissing her new seat and refusing to get out.”

Which is sort of the ultimate approval, isn’t it?

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Check out the video at the bottom of the page to see just how much Miss4 LOVES this seat.
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This is some quality acting. Almost forgot and went for a drive. Well done, team.

Safety 1st WANDERER X Stroller

As far as I’m concerned, there’s really only a couple of things you need to know when it comes to strollers like this one. Sure, it’s nice if it has a nice smooth ride and there’s decent storage underneath (yes and yes with the Wanderer X), but I’m a realist and I know the big questions you’ll expecting me to ask.

Firstly, am I going to have to shop in suburbs where people don’t know me? I mean, is it easy to collapse and put in the car, or alternatively transform when you take it out. I had no problems once I worked out the lever. The only difficulty was our boot wasn’t big enough (we have a Kia Grand Carnival which seats eight but still has a tiny area in the rear for groceries etc) to fit it in without removing the two rear wheels. No worries working out how to do this (I’d just put them on). It was easy peasy and, for us, worth the effort.

Secondly, can you check your smart phone while you’re pushing it? Because, as we all know, the Pokemon won’t catch themselves. A resounding yes here, although I did have to let a Zubat escape because I needed both hands to push up a grassy embankment to get to a gym. Pokegym that is. Obviously. The ride is smooth and liquid, if you get my drift. I notoriously know nothing about bearings and grease and round wheely things, but whatever they’ve done where the rubber meets the path beside the road has done the trick – it’s easy to push and goes where you want it to.

Thirdly, when I hang groceries and my wife’s handbag over the handle, will it tip back and embarrass me in the middle of the main street, like has happened to us too many times to recount here and avoid a visit from child safety. Allowances for us parents being tired and wanting to get everything done seem to have been engineered into the unit, right down to the aforementioned deep and generous tray under the seat which will comfortably hold nappy bag, handbag and, if you happen to have one you need to hide, manbag.

And finally, is it worth paying for a good quality unit instead of a throwaway stroller? The answer to which is, if I’m honest, it’s totes up to you and where you see value. I’ve bought both over the years, usually alternating them. A good one, a cheap one, a good one etc. I do some research and buy a good one, then I don’t think about that side of things again and simply use it until it wears out or I give it away because we’ve stopped having kids (SEVEN TIMES NOW!). Then I need a replacement so I think I’ll save money and buy a cheap one. It, of course, flips up and gives my kid a nasty bump on the head. Then my back hurts because the handle is never long enough so I have to hunch over like Igor while we walk through the supermarket – and I am not tall by any measure except a Hobbit’s.

Just while I’m on this point, the handle on the Wanderer X is adjustable, so although I didn’t need to move it, there is the option.

My point about value and spending the money is I’ve historically flip-flopped between good and cheap strollers, which is totally the fault of the good strollers because I forget how crappy life can be with a bad one. So if I had to answer the question of is it worth it, I’d say yes.

If you want to test my theory, start with a cheap one and go from there.

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Competition

The good news is, you don’t have to take my word for it. If you’d like to win these two fantastic products for yourself – or someone you know could put them to good use – simply answer this question in the comments below and you’re in with a chance. Entry closes on Sunday 7th August 2016 and the winning entry will be judged on creativity and notified within 48 hours. Why should product reviews be done by real parents?

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Covering all the important points, like can you play Pokemon Go while pushing the stroller. It’s this sort of attention to detail which is bound to see me contacted by Choice Magazine any day now.
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This is not acting. Caught one of those deformed turkeys with multiple heads.
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I worked out how to make it fit without taking the wheels off! Winning! 🙂 Plus it left more room in ‘boot’ for shopping. Losing!

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At first I thought this was for toddlers to use to keep them close, but then I read it.
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It’s like they made this stroller specifically for me and my Pokemoning.
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Even without a combustion engine, strollers still take fuel.

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My brother in law saw this and said, “Love the suspension.” Apparently he means the red springs. I hadn’t noticed them yet, but it might explain the nice smooth ride.

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“Raising a family on little more than laughs”

Sharing is caring. Plus it really does make a difference. Thanks heaps.

This post was sponsored by Safety 1st

The prize is valued at $948 with entries closing on Sunday 7th August 2016 and the winning entry will be judged on creativity and amusement, and the winner notified within 48 hours. terms & conditions COMPETITION IS CLOSED

Why should product reviews be done by real parents?

Congratulations to Linda, our lucky winner. Her response caught the eye of the judge:  Reviews should be done be real parents as they tell it how it is, we don’t need all specifications mumbo jumbo, we just need to know if the product can handle our crazy kids!

191 Comments

  • Reviews should be done by real parents as they are the ones that are going to be using them and ultimately recommending your company by word of mouth.

  • I think they should be reviewed by real parent because they are practical about things.
    We know that the stroller has to be able to be folded with one hand when you get back to your car, because the other has a death grip on the cup of coffee you just bought, the only coffee you have a hope in hell of getting to drink before it goes stone cold because your little one was strapped safely in the stroller and now in the car seat.
    No one has time for the “two handed struggle”
    Someone without kids won’t know the struggle of trying to get an entire box of sultanas and teething rusks from between 3 car seats without having to be a contortionist and take seats out!

    I’ve also found that real babies and kids tend to figure out flaws in products better than test dummies ?

  • Why should a real parent review products, isn’t it obvious.
    The mums and dads are the one lifting the stroller and kids in and out all day. The ones that need one hand on the stroller and one hand grabbing onto the toddler that is trying to rip everything form the shelves. While looking like they are in control and hoping to god the stupid loose wheel doesn’t give out and you veer into the incoming trolley traffic in isle 3. Then once you have run the gauntlet of the shops you need to be able to load the kids in and the pram in a timely manner before the person in the car that stalked you all the way to your car park burns holes in the back of your head because you are fumbling around with the pram.
    This is the real life testing that needs to be done ..

  • Reviews have to be done by real parents! Non- parents just don’t know! They don’t know how hard it is to restrain a tantruming toddler while trying to get the car straps on the failing arms. They don’t know just how much you NEED to be able to push a stroller with one hand (so you can drink the coffee – so you don’t fall asleep standing in the middle of the supermarket). They don’t realize how much you worry and stress and SPEND in an effort to keep these precious, gorgeous, irritating little people alive and safe. They just don’t know!

  • Hell yes ! As now I have learnt after three kids and too many strollers to mention ! What that bloody strap is for ? I thought it was for toddlers too ?
    But the most important feature …. Does it have a coffee cup holder ☕️☕️☕️

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because we are the ones that make the bad decisions that can ultimately screw our kids up for life. At least you can say in 20 years time, sure I dropped you on your head but I never tipped you out of the pram because I knew it was a good one.

    (Wait a second, both of those things happened to me)

  • Because real parents know…. They know how hard it is to get a screaming, hand flinging 2 year old strapped in to car or pram. They know how much easier it is to have kids restrained in the lolly area of shops. They know how hard it is to chase kids in food courts when they escape the pram. They know how kids need to be comfortable in car seat so they fall asleep on long drives! We just know so would be silly for someone who doesn’t to try products and give an educated opinion on it when they havent been through any of the above situations!

  • Why should real parents review products you ask? Only a parent would know the need to be able to easily push a pram one handed so you can quite literally drag your 4 year old along while they are having a tantrum because you didn’t have a 2 dollae coin for that Peppa Pig Ride. Or, if by some stroke of luck, you manage to escape the house with only the baby you need to be able to drink coffee and shop (oh the bliss of only taking boy #5 out and leaving boys #1,2,3 &4 at home with Dad ?).

    Only a parent would know just how important it is to have a decent sized and easily accessed basket under the pram to put purchases and other things (and these always things) so you don’t tip the pram backwards hanging them on the handle (who needs $2 for a Peppa Pig ride when you’ve got your own exciting ride…..done that a few too many times ?)

    Only a parent would know the need for a car seat to be comfortable because God knows they won’t go to sleep any other way and you need to take a drive around the suburbs at 12am sometimes before you go insane. Only a Parent would know that the very comfy seat needs to be easy to clean as #3’s do happen ?

    As a parent to 5 boys I have learnt what does and doesn’t work over the years and practicality usually wins out. To have something both practical and stylish would be lovely. I could really do with a new pram and carseat as our’s are very well loved plus this is going to be drawn on my Birthday so I am feeling kind of lucky ?

  • Products should be reviewed by real parents because they are the ones who use them! There’s only so much you can say about a product you’re not actually going to use. A parents review Is going to be honest and appeal to other parents.

  • Because there’s no one more honest than a 2 year old and the only people who know that are parents. I don’t want to know all the features, I want to know if I’ll like using it and most importantly if my kid will like using it.

  • Reviews should be done by real parents as they will use the products everyday, getting in and out of the car multiple times a day they need to be easy to use as a mum of 4 boys, 3 grown up and a 7year old plus being a foster carer of 0-5 year olds I know the struggle of wrangling many children in and out seats and prams which have to be updated regularly. They have to be easy to use and comfortable and easily adjustable to handle different ages and especially easy to clean in case of a Poonami yes they do exist!

  • Product reviews should be done by real parents to save everyone time and embarrassment. There really is just no good way whilst in a store, to test whether a stroller will tip your child potentially denting their skull. Well not without fear each time the phone rings or doorbell chimes expecting a government representative to be checking on your child’s wellbeing. Seriously though Bruce, where’s the crumb test? How long do the buckles take to stop working when subjected to snacking toddlers? Though happily the seat is easy to install so assumedly you can just pop it out and shake it over the bin and pop back in (daily? Just my child then? Bugger). Real parents being real is relatable and useful, unlike all the edited photos of families all wearing white (and CLEAN) clothing while in CLEAN cars or strolling with NO NAPPY BAG. These ads just make me laugh and walk on past, so real parents every time is how to appeal to parents in the trenches actually parenting.

  • Reviews on these products should be done by REAL PARENTS as they are the ones who push the items to their limits. I’m sure we can figure things out about the products that even the manufacturers didn’t know they did.! Like will the pram tip if you are going up a slight incline and the wind decides to gush at that very moment, throwing your 7 week old precious bundle hurdling on to the concrete after you’d just spent 9 months carefully protecting her? (Jokes aside this just happened to us, scariest shit ever, and yes bubby is fine. Slept through the whole thing). Will the car seat you just spent a bazillion dollars on require you to be elasto-girl to install and remove it from your car? Will the fancy material they carefully chose for its moisture absorbancy and temperature adjusting features withstand the velcro from the bloody bib your dribbling baby has to wear? Or will it put pulls in the fabric making you so so mad that its not more durable? Lets face it, if it can’t survive an inch wide piece of velcro how will it withstand the punishment a toddler will dish out?? We are the ones who use these products everyday. Wouldn’t hurt to ask the kids about comfort as well.

  • Reviews should be done by the people that are going to use the product – mainly so feedback can be given to companies when the product doesn’t do what it says it will (like fold easily, or recline so a child can sleep), or if the parameters that you are using it in, aren’t something they have thought of (eg a car seat that is meant to recline with the twist of a knob, but only if you are using a normal car, not a dual cab ute! My poor boys head drops forward so quickly come nap time).
    Further, it shows parents what NOT to do (remembers story of my mum and little brother on an escalator… thankfully no permanent injuries done…)

  • Why do real parents need to review products? Because fake parents can hardly adequately test such products unless they have some sort of octopus/goat/monkey hybrid. How else would they test strapping a wriggling/screeching creature into the carseat in the quickest time possible to ensure they’re not late for school pick-up (and avoid the judgemental stares of that teacher who could have been Medusa in a past life)? How else would they test the ability of a stroller to maneuvre the grabby arms of such a creature away from the treacherous lolly aisle. Besides, you just know a fake parent would give a fake review, even if they did have access to an octopus/goat/monkey hybrid. Real parents are much more trustworthy because, let’s face it, we’re too exhausted to keep up the facade of being fake.

  • Well my view about real parent testing is that it is almost essential. Going back to my first born who was aloud to be put in a woven bassinet in the back seat with just a seatbelt around to stop it moving. Then to the good ole capsule with 6 inches of velcro which stuck to everything. Than as you proceeded to get bub out after driving around for a hour to get him alseep. The b velcro ripping noise scared the b jesus out of of him. Then back to square one. Than a multitude of different clips, clasps, padding and everything else to keep up with you needed in a degree in modification and engineering to work them out. Dont get me started on prams. My biggest drama was loading it up. Kid, food, clothes, towels, bags etc. Just to get down to that beautiful relaxing beach. Just step off the concrete to go on to the sand and bogged. No moving back or forward. Definatly real parent input needed here. 5 kid experience uploaded.

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because only they will know whether products will stand up to everything a child has to offer! From leakages of the nappy and toilet training kind to vomit to smooshing every type of food into every crevasse of a car seat and pram no company will ever be able to replicate the mess a baby/toddler/child makes. When at the shops and trying to wrangle 3 tired hungry screaming children into a car a parent needs to know that when things start hitting the fan they can make a quick getaway rather than needing a degree to work out how to fold down a pram and that info can only be trusted from parents who have tested the product!

  • Reviews should be done by real parents that are using these products regularly already so that we can see true results/opinions be it better or worse. Not an opinion from a person whose job it is to see us the product.

  • Because we are the ones who have tried and tested nearly every product known to man to use for our children and if we haven’t we will eventually! 3rd child about the 5th or 6th or it that 7th pram? We have lost count and $$$. And my letting real parents trial we will give the most honest review we can.

  • Of course reviews should be done by real parents. Word of mouth is worth more than any advertising campaign. All those mums groups on FB always have people asking advice on which pram or car seat is the best, and those who have used a product will always answer about they did or didn’t like about a product. My last pram, a popular one on the market, was great for most things, but I hated the limited access to the basket underneath, especially when it was in layback position. A car seat has to be easy to clean vomit out of (or poop), be comfortable, safe, and not get too hot, my poor babies were always sweaty things when I’d get them out of the car. Oh and not too many crevices where sultanas can get lost for years in.

  • Reviews should be done by real parents FOR real parents. Parents are unfortunately the most judgemental (for all great reasons) of the human species. For good reason. We are doing our best to SAFELY raise the next generation in the best way we see fit. We like to secretly (some parents not so secretly) judge the world and its many angles to make raising our tiny humans that lil bit easier. It still doesnt stop my daughter from tripping on her own shadow on a daily basis, but hey maybe one of these parent’s reviews might help with that. Parents understand other parents. We have a brief idea of what one another goes through and what other parents would want in a product. That’s why product reviews like this should be done by real parents. We’ve got enough to do. Not only do we have endless amounts of stinky diapers, appointments, sleepless crazy nights and all the other marvellous things that come with the job, we as awesome human beings also do enough judging of our own. It’d be great if i could spend a little less time researching irrelevant reviews and just find a review for a product by a parent and for a parent.

  • Product reviews by real parents are way more real! Can it be washed when that banana/milkshake and mushed biscuit needs to go? Can I work it when I’m too tired to think? Can I clip the buckles when my little angel doesn’t want to be in there and is fighting and screaming to get out? Non-parents don’t test the important stuff!

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because we have all been “pretend parents.” You know the know it all, everything you’re doing is wrong people who don’t ACTUALLY HAVE CHILDREN! And then we had children and realised that we were wrong, dead wrong! We knew NOTHING… But now that we ARE parents we know all of the little details that make such a massive difference, for example, ease of cleaning pee out of the seat, wrangling the screaming over tired kid into AND out of the straps and of course being able to fold the stroller up once said child is securely fastened.

  • I think reviews should be done by real parents, because we are the only ones who know how hard it is trying to negotiate the supermarket aisles with a stroller with a dodgy wheel & if the child in said stroller is anything like my miss 19 months, she always sticks her legs and feet as far out to the side as she can!! I’ve lost count of the amount of times that we have careered into a shopping centre display or knocked over supermarket stands!!! Car seats are another thing that only real parents should review, as we know how hard it is to clean out dried fruit stick mush out of the teeny tiny crevices and if your bub happens to have a poo-splosion whilst in the carseat…..well thats another matter entirely. You can never quite get that vomit smell out of the carseats either!!! Trying to get a wriggly/tired toddler into a car seat safely and easily is like wrestling with an octopus, you really need to be able to find the strap lengthening button very quickly or that octopus will escape!! We also know how lovely the sound of silence is when your little precious has finally fallen asleep, until you look at your child and realise that they look like a sleeping rag doll with their little necks looking very uncomfortable. Having some sort of side cushioning near their heads would be awesome!! Real parents will give real reviews and also give real honest feedback. Afterall, we are the ones using the items ?

  • I think the question should also involve testing by real grandparents! I have over the past 21 years had a grandchild in my care at shopping centres, swimming lessons, restaurants, on holidays and the list goes on. Anywhere you take a child I have taken one or more grandchildren at any given time. Getting arthritic hands and technology challenged grandparents to navigate the various buttons, straps, parts of the modern car seats and prams is enough to send one to the pub minus the grandkids! I have driven from a shopping centre with a fully erected pram in the front seat because I could not fold it down! I have driven with a near stangulated grandchild in the child seat because I could not work out how to lengthen the straps. Grandparents of the world should unite to protest the complexities of modern baby equipment I reckon!

  • Why should reviews be done by real parents? Because they’ll tell you the real deal. They’ll tell you if a product is truly compatible with sleep deprived, not yet caffeinated parents who wonder if they’re really cut out for this mystical “adulting” that I hear exists. If a stroller or car seat passes functionality under those conditions AND no children were accidentally pinched with buckles in the process, then that’s the review I want to see.

  • Real parents …. wait. Am i a real parent? Sometimes i dont act like it. But real parents are the ones who have to clean food out of every crack and crevice of baby stuff, the ones that have to move car seats in and out for carloads of adults, the ones who fight with prams after a crappy day shopping with kids. We should get to have a say in something productive.. it makes us feel useful and in control.

  • Parents are the ones who get covered head to toe in snot dribble upchuck and many other bodily functions I shall not name! We know the real deal and don’t just pretend to know what’s best for the kiddies from the get go!

  • Real parents should do product reviews, because real parents have really been there!! If you want the nitty gritty truth, that’s where you’ll get it. We’re all exhausted, surviving on caffeine and cold meals and simply do not have the energy to fabricate untruthful reviews. Either it’s great or it’s not and that’s how we’ll report it.

    Because who else has had and entire meal upchucked into the back of a van, all over said child, car seat, floors, backs of seats while on the interstate with nowhere to stop for 30 miles and two other siblings (and dad) gagging at the sight. I mean…how does that even happen? Where do you even start with cleaning that up?

    We’ve all been victim of the “limp noodle” toddler. You know, the one who immediately becomes null and void of any muscle tone or balance the instant you try to pick them up. How they immediately seem to weigh 100lbs. Ease and accessibility are a must, and no one truly knows this until they’ve experienced it.

    The “2×4” is also a fun time. You know, the one with the stiff legs and straight back when all you need is for them to get into the car seat. Yeah….ease and accessibility.

    How about the “worm”? The one who wiggles and squirms like you never knew possible when you’re sweating and tired from the park visit…try to buckle them into the car seat. Ease and accessibility.

    At the end of the day, all we want is ease and accessibility. We want something practical, useful and safe. No one truly knows the struggle, until you’ve dealt with it first hand. Let us review the products because, real parents have really been there!!

  • Because only real parents know the value of certain particulars in baby products. Such as, is there a sufficient curve in the bottom of the car seat to fold my stiff-as-a-board tantruming daughter in half, in order to buckle her in after leaving a birthday party amped up on sugar and fun?

    Or, is there enough room in the pram for an emergency nappy change after a 2-week-wait number three blow out away from any change room or the car.

    Or is the pram basket sturdy enough to hold all the crap the older children stash in there at soccer/dance/shopping/school runs?

    Or is there a silencing force field that encases the car seat for longer trips?

    These are the important aspects of choosing a product that only parents think of.

  • I would like a review by a grandparent you know us baby sitters . We need a versitlie car seat that can be used across the ages of our grandbabies and a stroller that is suitable across the ages as well. We need easy to assemble items as we get a little stressed with new gadgets . I need a car seat ive brought a few but end up giving them to my children as there a bit short of cash and they borrow them and they never return lol .

  • Product reviews should be done by real parents because only real parents know the struggle of getting a screaming child into a car seat while trying to remember if they packed enough juice boxes and bang wipes. Real parents are the ones who have to fold up and pack in the strollers they buy, only to get to their destination and realise that the stroller was obviously a transformer in a previous life, because why the heck wouldn’t it unfold if it was just folded?! Real parents are the ones who end up covered in baby vomit and tears and occasionally pee, real parents are the ones who will eventually get over the fact that people are watching them negotiate with Satan over if they can have a box of cookies in the shops, and real parents will give a real review, because real parents look out for real parents. If they can save you the struggle, they will

  • The best reviews are the ones done by real parents – take your review here for example, it talks about the things that really matter. In the advertising world, parents are always smiling and children are always happy and willing to go along with what’s happening. No ad ever shows you trying to hold your toddler down by the hips to get him into the seat, or bashing your head with the boot because you’re uncoordinated and tried to close it too fast, rushing to end the wailing of the back seat banshee. I’ve lost count of how many times my over priced pram has tipped backwards, if the pram had been reviewed by a real parent, I may have been aware it was an issue before purchasing and factored it into my decision.
    When a review is done effectively, the way it can be done by real parents, the buyer knows they’re being given real information and not rubbish to make sales. Which is why after reading this review by a real parent, even if I don’t win this I’m still going to save hard and buy it!

  • I think reviews should be done done real parents because the ones done by imaginary parents are so last season! I mean, who has time to sit in their designer home, sip their latte, look a million dollars and be a CEO while a baby product sit nearby? Imaginary parents, that’s who! Us real parents have kids to wrangle, errands to run, jobs to get back to, and never-ending housework…. So, I want to know which product stands up to temper tantrums (theirs and mine), spilt food and drink, snot, vomit, number 3’s and other miscellaneous accidents.

  • I spent hours at chermside shopping centre when I was was pregnant with my daughter (Bub number 4). I needed to buy a new pram for mister 2 and his coming baby sister and had no idea what to get never having needed a double before.
    I stopped and asked every parent I saw pushing a pram what their opinion was of their pram. These Parent reviews led me to buy the pram I bought, and definitely taught me what not to buy. It turned out to be the best pram I ever bought! That’s why I think real parent reviews are the way to go.
    Now for a pram for the grand baby …..,,,,,

  • Because we’re the ones who have to wrangle an almost 4yo and almost 2yo while also carrying the 9week baby and trying to close the stroller with one hand in a terrifyingly busy car park… we’re also the ones who have to try to buckle said crazy children into their car seats on minimal sleep and limited brain function. If you don’t have real parents testing this stuff, then actual sleep deprivation and stress from having multiple small children all talking to you at once can’t really be recreated in a lab 😉

  • For sure, genuine, the real McCoy, real parents should do kiddy related product reviews…but in reality they should take over the whole product review scene because who would be better than sleep-deprived, mommy and daddy brained, near looney bin status adults to review a product that is supposed to be easy to use. Also, as parents we totally deserve to review any product that may be “top of the line” or “freaking awesome” or “free”.

    Not only that but real parents actually have those little people those who are otherwise parentless affectionately call “darlings” or perhaps not so affectionately “ankle-biters” 24/7 to “test” products in ways they were never imagined to be used. Then parents have to one up their kids by using their ingenuity to undo their kid’s re-invention or at least hide the damn thing until it can be used for its real purpose.

    So, kids are clever but parents of kids are clever-er than your average kidless adult (lucky bastard..i kid…well, sometimes). So obviously kiddy related product reviews should be done by real parents.

  • Product reviews should be done by real parents because people in offices who design and make products don’t have a need to test their product before selling it, they can just point out its good features and go from there. Plus, when would they find time to play Pokémon Go and test their product in the real world?

  • The testing should be done by real parents as Batman is unavailable 🙂
    He’s busy keeping the Jokers of the industry off the streets 🙂

  • Real parents need to tests products because only real parents know the crazy crap our kids put car seats and strollers through! As a foster mummy my favourite was our 4yr old foster son saying he felt sick in the car then turning and vomiting ON his baby brother in the car seat next to him!! At least he managed a clear shot onto the baby and baby’s seat, not a drop on his own seat 🙂 Anti bacterial protection for the car seat, yes please! I can still smell the puke :-/

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because they’re the ones who are going to be honest and tell you if the product is shit or not.
    They’re not going to sugar coat it if it doesn’t stand up to screaming thrashing child who likes to back arch while screaming “Eilidh do!!!”…well that’s mine anyway.
    I’ve read sponsored reviews before and you just want to call bullshit. It’s all glowing praise, sunshine and rainbows, with one tiny fault find yo make you think they’re not bring paid to review it.

  • Hmmmm why should real parents review products. Well it’s simple really. Bionic parents just dont have the same needs as us real folk. Their babies dont decide to require several ninja like moves just to get them into the car seat. Bionic babies dont need carseats at all!! They dont need prams because they can probably just upgrade their children to have wheels installed. Parenting is a hard gig with so many things out there on the market that can completely make your brain melt. If i can see that a mum or dad thats as exhausted and overwhelmed thinks the product is good for the average joe then im going to be much more inclined to trial it myself. Im human not some machine. And i want that personal touch. Now if only the review came with coffee……

  • Reviews should be done by parents because they are honest and if a product is fantastic their word of mouth is priceless.

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because only real parents know that life isn’t perfect and sometimes kids poop on things, or make you spill your coffee on things or fill the stroller with sand while you’re catching a Pollywag and you need to know things can really be cleaned!
    Been trying to work out what is written in the dust on the back of your car??

  • Reviews should definitely be done by real parents because lets face it…..a childless twenty something year old sitting in an office has never felt the wrath of a struggling 3 year old who is pulling a surfboard impersonation followed by the windmill when you are desperately late and trying to strap them in.
    The twenty something year old has no clue as to pushing a pram while laden down with a weekly grocery shop, carefully weight distributed to stop you falling over. Whilst your child is having a screaming tantrum because their nappy has exploded and the chocolate milk that you gave them to drink to distract them is flying everywhere. People are glancing sideways at you and muttering comments under their breath. You my friend, need a pram with precision and speed to hot step it out of there!!!
    Only a parent of small children would know the sheer importance of products which support you during these times not inhibit you! A childless reviewer is a virgin at these obstacles and can only speculate their thoughts while sitting at their pristine desk, in their freshly pressed suit sipping a not too hot mochachino! ?

  • Fake parents just don’t understand. They don’t understand the sheer strength of a 2 year old who doesn’t want to get in the car has. They don’t understand the need for a bit of padding on the car seat because my son is a pro at the ‘go as stiff as a board game’ and I have to karate chop his mid section to get his bum in the seat. They don’t understand the need for quick and easy buckles and tightenings as I pin my son down to keep him the seat whilst he turns to jelly. Fake parents don’t understand the need for a quick and easy folding pram because the kids are now screaming in the back of care due to the karate chop and I’m trying to fold pram in 40 degree heat or monsoon rain. They don’t understand the need for a comfy pram because my kids won’t sit in the damn thing if it’s not comfy and then I have to carry them. They don’t understand the need for a lightweight pram because I have to lift the bloody thing in to my boot and my arms are on fire from just carrying the kids. Fake parents just don’t get it and that’s why I like my reviews written by real parents!

  • Because fake parents s#$t me! No, jokes aside, I need to know if I can cram 3 car seats in the back seat while retaining some of my sanity; will the donut crumbs and sultanas fall through cracks and come back to haunt me when I finally do clean the seat; can I maneuver the pram one handed through heavy school doors while 30 children push past me in the opposite direction; is the pram light enough that once I get to the shopping centre I won’t need to give myself a major pep talk in order to be fagged to lift it out of the car and assemble it? I need the nitty gritty only real parents can deliver.

  • Real parents should do real reviews because otherwise we would be convinced into thinking that every product is ‘cherry on the top amazing’, with every whizz bang feature we all totally NEED in our lives- when in reality the product is a bit ho-hum, doesn’t work when you have 2 kids hanging off you, you can’t understand the instructions or has so many useless features you don’t even try to use any of them!

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because they can be honest especially dads as they push the pram as well and if they don’t like it they are more likey to say something. Both products look great to use and Miss 4 looks like she is having a lot of fun

  • Real parents should do real reviews because they know, they know what waking up every 45minutes overnight feels like, they know what cold coffee dirty knotted hair and that week long barely showered stench are all about. They don’t have time to unfold an elaborate jigsaw puzzle in order to use their pram because they know for sure that their child will shit themselves (like number 3) all over that fourth change of clothes the instant that they leave the house and a good quality pram makes an excellent change table. A pram that is able to be pushed with one hand as well means you can carry your stinky love baby to an actual change table ? in a parents room and manoeuvre the pram without dropping the baby! I couldn’t count the number of times our cheapo prams have flipped backwards and I’ve flipped my lid because I’ve only just caught it before my child suffered some kind of head injury. Don’t get me started on car seats real parents need to do real reviews on this because my child actually needs an exorcist whenever we go near the car, I’m serious I may need to call a priest his head turns 360 degrees and all! But seriously only real parents know what it’s like to wrangle a kraken out of the ocean and into a car seat. It is for these reasons that I appreciate real parent reviews because at least then I know how easy it is to clean vomit off of, how easy it is to install or to steer. Pretty much how easy it is for me to do repeatedly whilst sleep deprived and covered in poop. ?

  • My sister knows everything about parenting because she’s watched a lot of supernanny episodes. She doesn’t actually have any children, but apparently I’m doing everything all wrong!! She could probably review a car seat and pram adequately enough: (Insert celebrity name her) has one, so they must be good!!
    Only a real parent can give you the real skinny on an item designed to be used by kids but controlled by parents. A non-parent can’t tell you how easy a pram is to collapse when you’re holding a baby in one arm and your toddler’s trying to escape back to the playground screaming because he needed to go down the slide one more time. A non-parent won’t be looking out for how simple it is to take a cover off a car seat to wash it because the baby who hadn’t moved their bowels in a week has chosen the car ride home from Aldi to unleash a mega poonami in it. They don’t see potential for crumb retention or shin bruising or any of those delightful things not printed in the ‘So, you’ve decided to become a parent’ pamphlet. They have no idea. No. Idea.
    It would be like me, as a woman, writing a review for a jockstrap. I know what it does in theory, but I don’t have the actual equipment to give you ‘balls and all’ feedback! ?

  • Reviews should be done by parents, because who else can tell you whether a car seat can withstand that poo explosion, or the litres of milk, water and juice (or the 50 biscuits which seem to appear under your childs butt when you pull them out of the seat). I want to know I can rip a cover off, wash and put it back on without needing a 4 yr university degree of Tetris.

  • Reviews should be done be real parents as they tell it how it is, we don’t need all specifications mumbo jumbo, we just need to know if the product can handle our crazy kids!

  • Reviews by real parents tell you what you really want to know. Does a carseat have a deep slot for the adjusting strap, where you’re stuck digging around in slimy Cherrios to tighten things? Does a stroller allow you to close and open it while holding a flailing 2 yr. old under your arm and restraining a 3 yr. old with one leg? These are things that only people in the trenches would know.

  • Product reviews should be done by real parents because Leggo parents are too square to give you their real opinion and if they don’t fit in a space they are prone to removing heads and legs. Who can trust that! No real parents are much more reliable but I must confess you forgot one crucial question I ask of all baby products… Does it have a cup holder?

  • Who better to ask than those who have tried and tested?! Real parents are the hands on testers. We have the squishy little bub, or tantrum throwing toddler. We also are sleep deprived, and busy. When that question pops up on social media, where new parents are asking advice about a product to spend their hard earned cash on, who better to ask than a person with personal experience. People love advice from those of us who have had many kids. I like you, after 5 kids and way too many prams, also given away because there were to be no more, or they were just too hard to use have tried and tested loads of baby products. We have had the good, bad and the ugly of the pram world. Car seat wise we seemed to do okay. Having quite a few kids, people come to us for advice. Both of these products have come a very long way since master 29 was born, but also having a miss 9 I can assure you I’ve tried and tested many. I have a new grandbaby on the way, so here we go again.

  • You’ve got to be kidding me! I had an awesome response written, that I am sure would if won me the prize 😉 right before my pad decided to crap itself and log out of everything :S. No, I don’t remember exactly what I wrote, yes it was great. So I’ll try and sum it all up, and quickly, incase it decides to do it all over again…I ‘need’ the one handed stearing, as that my current stroller has seen me many a time heading toward the middle of the road with 4yo in tow purely because of those damn Pokemon! Not to mention the adjustable handles as that hubby and I arnt on the shorter side. The easy folding and having it fit in a narrow boot space is also appealing 🙂 having four kids leaves us with little boot space and I usually opt to not take the stroller even though I really should. The car seat sounds fantastic, thanks to our qld ‘winter’ seeing us go from jackets to t shirts in the space of a week has seen the need for the car seat straps to be adjusted multiple times, and honestly, my current car seat is a b***h to adjust. Easy in and out when trying to get multiple children into the car amongst arguments of who is going to sit where (I don’t care just get in!) is a big plus, as is the birth to four, cause I’m pretty sure I’m going to need to purchase a new one soon..my ‘little’ dude is a bit on the big side night wise. All in all, I couldn’t agree more with you Bruce, on all the aspects that real parents look for when looking to purchase a new baby item. It not just about safely, especially when you have a large family to look out for. ‘Real’ parents look at what matters to them and put the item through its paces in the real world, and are brutally honest on what works for them and what is a pain in the a**.

  • I’m a nanny and a mom and I could give you nightmares with the stroller issues I’ve had!
    Also, as a USA reader, I know you’re in Australia, but I love when you post videos because then I get to hear your awesome accents! Makes me want to move just so my kids could sound that cool! lol (That’s good parenting right? Looking out for my children’s cool factor?)

  • Reviews should be done specifically by dad’s for one simple reason, if they can’t work it out on their own and use a product to the extreme (with safety kept in mind), then it’s probably not worth the money in the first place, I like things kept simple, fast and easy to use, if my husband can’t work it then it’s none of these things and not worth my time

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because they know what they’re looking for in a product. Things can’t be improved or made more customer friendly, boosting sales, if the consumers aren’t entirely happy with all features on the product. Also, it is easy to tell when a product has been reviewed by someone employed to review it as opposed to a real parent review. I know which one I’d pay more attention to.

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because they test products like getting in and around parents room toilets and narrow shopping aisles, getting it in and out of the car, is it washable- bound to be used!

  • I think it helps potential buyers to know that real people have tried and tested the products & the company isn’t just assuming their product is the bees knees. Real honest feedback is always the best. Plus I would want to know if my gigantic child is going to fit into a car seat from a parent rather than some writing on a box.

  • Most definitely reviews should be done by real parents. Because we are all looking for the perfect baby product. One that’s practical, safe, comfortable and easy to use.

    Maybe second, third or fourth time parents though as your first baby is kind of like your practice baby, so just like you equipment you not sure what you’ll need or how to use it.

    I’m glad you’ll have a 4wd drive pram for your adventures around the country.

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because I want to buy something that is a genuine item, having reviews written by people who work for the company or friends of someone who works for the company is so misleading! This mumma of 5 has had more prams then I can even count because the reviews I’ve read have said so manhood things, it’s only when you as a REAL parent try it you find its not quite what you’re after!!

  • It’s expensive setting up for a new baby, I rely heavily on product reviews from other parents when making my decision to purchase the bigger ticket items!

  • Real parents are able to tell it as it is, they are able to use the products with a real baby/child and in real every day situations rather than just hired models looking like they are posing for a magazine photo shoot!

  • Real parents know what you should really check. Smooth ride, child is safe? Great, but yawn. How much chocolate fits in the bottom, can you hide a stinky nappy somewhere it won’t fall out, do your kids approve the colour of the straps? Now you’re talking!

  • In all things, no one understands the failings of a piece of equipment more than those who use it every day! The purpose of a review is to identify problems for improvement, therefore parents (who don’t have the time, patience or mental capacity left to do otherwise) are already more motivated to assess relative benefits.

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because they can give you the lowdown on what is important. Sure a professional reviewer in a lab can tell you about size, weight, price etc, but real parents can tell you about how things work under pressure (Can it be installed with a 4 year old climbing all over you to see if you have finished setting up HER new seat? Can the pram carry the extra shopping that is the bane of a parent’s “budget”?) Apart from that, products should be reviewed by REAL parents because when they get to give stuff away, REAL parents get a warm fuzzy feeling about sharing the love!

  • Real parents should review these kind of products because us real parents reading the reviews want legit perspectives not ones as fake as Keira’s lips (the bachelor)! We need to know the truth! They really don’t want us going on to their facebook page whinging that our stroller has the manoeuvring skills of an out of control pokèball after reading some crap that a unskilled non-parent wrote!
    lol Good luck everyone ?

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because nobody else can understand my child’s ability to escape from a 5-point harness while peeing out the top of his nappy, liberating his sister’s lunch from its container and throwing his shoe at my head as we drive at 110 down the highway singing “If you’re happy and you know it…” for the 89th time today. These products need to be tested in genuinely chaotic conditions so I know they can be trusted!

  • Because real parents get it. And we are all tired as hell and speak in a code fake parents don’t understand because sleep deprivation.
    For instance,
    Fake parent: cup holder to keep your coffee handy
    Real parent: no more spilling coffee all over your hand, keys, shopping bag, child’s head – while you try and find the squeaky toy to amuse your cranky toddler while you wait in line out the checkout for what seams like 3 hours trying to act like your kid is just tired and “doesn’t always act this way”
    Fake parent: big basket for storage
    Real parent: you can fit a week’s shop in there if you get creative and hold 6 bags and your kid sideways style under your arm while piling more shopping onto the top and debating whether you are more willing to risk dropping the milk from the seat of the pram or the canned tomatoes while wrangling over speed bumps through the car park on the way to the car regretting your decision to yet again overload thinking the trip will be easy and your arms definitely won’t get tired this time.
    Fake parents: suspension keeps the ride smooth to sooth your baby to sleep AND stay that way!
    Real parents: : suspension keeps the ride smooth to sooth your baby to sleep AND stay that way! (some things are just universal)

  • Products should be tested by real parents because only real parents will know the importance of pokemon catching and keeping said child happy long enough to see those magic words appear “gotcha”. Parents wont hold back they are brutal, frustrated underpaid and over worked. They run on caffeine and suprising beautiful moments given up by the test subject. Parent can be ruthless but also honestly refreshing about practical things. Parents are your harshest critics and also your best.

  • Products should be reviewed by real parents because, let’s face it, parents listen to other parents! I don’t want an expert telling me all the sales jargon, I want a Dad telling me how it fits in the car (honestly) and whether my handbag hanging off the back will cause concussion!
    I have a whoops!-surprise!-already got rid of all the baby gear- new bub on the way ? and will have to re-think & re-purchase all of the essentials. I’ve already done this before and tried to navigate the maze of sales people and glossy brochures and I appreciate your honesty (and humour) in reviewing these items. You’re a real parent! It matters! Thank you ?

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because the readers actually get real answers and that’s all we ever want when making a purchase. It’s rare these days!!!

  • Real parents should do product reviews because there is little time for niceties when you’re running on 4 hours sleep for the 185th consecutive night. A well slept person might say “The built in music board featuring a recorder is a hit with young children, the parents can listen to their children making music AND memories as you stroll through the shops at nap time”. A real parent might say “The music board is inspired by U.S. military torture techniques, the possibility of other parents kicking the music board and sacrificing their coffee to pour all over it is a good to fair chance.” No parent wants another parents smug offer of help as you try to put the pram in unfolded because the struggle never looked as real when you are searching for sticks to beat a pram down that was reviewed as “Collapses effortlessly” while your sweating out lastnights wine. Smug parent has usually done extensive research on prams and products alike and know the pram you chose was actually reviewed by hippies. As for the car seat, if it keeps the devil spawn alive long enough to see them off to school in it that’s good enough for me.

  • Having 6 children (oldest is 27), nothing like a real parent road testing products. Im sure over the years as my children are all spaced out in age, Ive spent enough on dud baby equipment to buy a nice little remote island somewhere. The only satisfaction you get is when putting it out for council cleanup, theres times when your kids hate their carseats so you have to either bribe them with lollies, which means another trip in the car to the dentist or they are constantly crying to escape so you turn up Prince to drown their voices out, sometimes it was just easier to pay a babysitter – then someone invented internet shopping 🙂 Uncomfortable Prams on another hand lead to escaped kids, Im sure some of mine could of escaped from Alcatraz – their skills were fantastic, earning one the nickname McGuyver. Stopping to chat to your friends, one minute later you have an empty pram – Im sure he was a magician in another life, hiding for hours under clothes racks, stress out mumma, frazzled staff and siblings laughing watching the hide and seek game unfold.. all due to the discomfort of one pram. Im sure thats why my hair turned a little more silver that year.. Parents road testing products lead to less stress, happy kids and less trips to the hairdresser needing to work miracles on those greys… Did I say Im planning baby 7 later this year, wish me luck and let real parents road test each piece of equipment to keep other parents sane.

  • OH yes. Parent reviews are vital. As a single Working mum of 4 with a 10 year gap between number 3 and 4 I need to know a stroller can give little miss a smooth safe ride while her big brothers do wheelies through the shopping center. I need to know that the car seat cover comes off easily after little missed big sister gave her a cookie that she didn’t eat but Crumbled into a million pieces through the seat. I need to know the stroller folds up and down quickly when I need to round up a bunch of teens after a movie trip. I need to know all this first so I only buy theses things once. Not third or fourth time. Money is tight. Time is tight. I need someone to show me how the product really performs. Thanks Bruce. I think these products would stand up to my crazy house like they do at yours.

  • Real parents give real reviews in real terms. They know what real parenting is and what we really want to know!

  • Real parents should do the reviews because we know what other parents are looking for in products. We know the feeling of trying to keep the baby asleep while getting a newborn in and out of a car seat and pram and why it’s so important to have buckles that are easy to do up, but safe as well. We know that we need ample storage space in the pram that we can actually get to (we’ve all the seen the prams with baskets you can’t actually get to underneath when the baby is sleeping! Who designs those?)
    When I read a review by a parent I know I can trust it to not just be selling me features I don’t need, but features we all want and need.

  • Because real parents have real children that look, sound, behave and generally ‘be’ unlike the picture-perfect children in most reviews. So it’s refreshing to have reviews that reflect how the product would work within your own crazy household…

  • I think real reviews should be done by real parents as we are the ones who know what works for us and our kids and what better way to have them tested. As a mother of 6 lovely kids currently our youngest are 3 under 3 and lifes a juggle to take them shopping or anywhere especially if theres not enough carseats in one car. I need to get another one but can’t afford it but we deal with it coz we have to beong a real parent ? so carseat swap it is from car to car when needed until i get little miss out of a capsule (currently 16mths)

  • Rea parents should do reviews because otherwise advertising copywriters are stuck writing them… And while they’ll extol the virtues of the colour and fabric and make it seem like “the pram you can’t resist”, you’re just as likely to find a subtle dick joke as something that resembles a real review.
    Have mercy on creatives. Let them go back to their beer accounts and let the hard work be done by people who do hard work every day… Parents.

  • Reviews should be done by real parents cause we have bought all the shit (I mean stuff) that is used with babies, and we know what works, what doesn’t and what a waste of money some of the so called must have shit that goes hand in hand with the little rug rats.
    Now if only I had a safety car seat and pram as good as these ones when my babies were sweet and little 🙂

  • Real parents need to review the products because they tell it how it is. This is especially needed for first time parents when we get thrown into this new world of car seats and strollers and it’s enough to give anyone a headache. All you think about is can I afford it? Is it safe? Surely more expensive is better? But no shop tells you to get the car seat that is easiest to install, easy to clean when your kid vomits, urinates or defaecates on it. Only real parents review things like this!

  • As a parent and person that technology hates ptoduct testing andbho et reviews from parents is perfect becuase we say it how it is not time to BS.
    We give the product a real run for its money and our children show us floors and possible problems quickly.

  • Real parents- The ones loosing hair and ridiculous amounts of $$$ using all of this ‘tryed and tested stuff’ daily.
    Tryed and tested on an obedient poodle doesnt count. Toddlers are the work if the devil at times and unless tested by real life absolutely exhausted parents, with success in confining a child and keeping them alive then ‘tryed and tested’ means nothing.
    Having personally been through a horrific number of strollers, all of which i hated due to the sheer lack of practicality. (Clearly designed by a toddler) my husband finally put his foot down at stroller number 9 and said no more. We now opt to carry the kid thats too slow, use a trolley or attach them to a kiddy leash.

  • As a mum of 4 and expecting number 5 with an 8 year gap, I am currently stressing at thought of investing in these new safety spaceships that are called prams and car seats. I walk into a shop and have what feels like 1 million choices thrown my way regardless if fact I am tall and need an easy compact pram as our already family if 6 takes up enough car space. Usually with advice being the highest priced baby item in the store. Reviews by parents for parents are practical and honest about all features. From clips, compact, sleep positions and those sneaky gaps to spy on bub to see if asleep that I know with my first child pram how handy that little window was… Most prams have pros and cons for different families, so let families sell the pram, good/ honest reviews not companies and shop assistance( they do a great job with the knowledge they have but for obvious reasons it’s hard to be honest about faults when it is your business). A pram and car seat isn’t just a pram and car seat it’s an investment for your child’s comfort that can either help or hinder your daily life.. let’s get the real info from real parenfs

  • Real parents need to review the products because parents no longer have time to pussy-foot around with bad products. We need someone to tell us like it really is so we can buy the right thing first up.

  • First time I caught a bus with my now 16 yr old, neither mum or I could work out how to fold the stroller down … in the end, the bus driver got out to have go and he couldn’t either, so he just shoved it under in the storage still up !! When it came time to get the bus home – sure enough, same driver !! He rolled his eyes and I couldn’t really blame him !! That’s why reviews should be done by real parents, we’re the idiots standing in the rain wrappling with the things !! (Next kid, I was 7 months pregnant and went through every stroller in the store until I found one that anyone (even mum and a bus driver) could work !!)

  • The only 2 things that we have brought brand new were the car seat and the pram, everything else has been hand me downs. THE only 2 things we have hated have been the car seat and the pram. We brought the most expensive car seat in the shop based on the sales person pitch, her kids are adults!! Why did we listen!! The last time she had used a car seat we later found out was almost 20years ago!! We didn’t need a car seat with personal speakers or air bags or the biggest seat available! We needed a seat that was easy and comfortable.
    That’s why I think reviews need to be from real parents not from people trying to make a sale. Our kids have just done a 5week holiday over 4000km in seats that were expensive (well played sales lady) and safe (tick all the good parents boxes) but not comfortable!!! (all we want is for them to sleep sometimes)
    Real parent reviews are what we need!

  • When I buy a baby product, I need to know the important things about it. I need to know if it will fit my kid in it. I need to know if it will hold my kid in it when he’s impersonating the incredible hulk on a bad day. I need to know if I can push it across a road with my belly while wrangling three other kids who are more interested in the ice cream shop we just walked past than road safety. And most importantly, I need to know how easy it is to clean off a poo explosion, or vomit. This is why it’s important that real parents do the reviews. Unless there is a company out there willing to hire fully grown adults to poop and spew on prams I’m not interested in what they have to say. (and that would be a really uncomfortable job interview, for everyone…)

  • Real families test in real family scenarios and focus on the important things that the item needs to do not all the bells and whistles that are meant to make it so much better than other items. Yes a snack tray is nice but if the pram doesn’t fit down the supermarket isle then that is likely to be more of a problem for the average parent. Experts will also test thousands of the one item, the average parent when choosing a pram doesn’t have the opportunity to test 8 other prams as well to work out the pros and cons of each they are focused on the one pram and its features and what is important in everyday life. Real parents give real reviews, it’s pretty simple.

  • The answer is an extremely simple one. Real parents need to review because we need real products. Not false marketing claims, or beat ups by clever worded people.

    Be need to know the fundementals that only other parents will know.

    I brought a car seat based on clever marketing claims for my littles. And still to this day i have to tripple check the buckles and again at each pit stop because they like to come undone.
    Too much money to waste on false promises. Safety & security first.

  • Reviews by parents for parents is part of the
    “it takes a village to raise a child” world view, in our social networked technical advanced society.
    We are not living in small communitys in close proximity to each other where you know everyone
    by name or shop at the local grocer/butcher/fruitnveg shop.
    We are now families on the move from one event/task/adventure while online and catching up with loved ones and friends with a tyranny of distance to cover.
    A quick post, a like or share with the social network will bring you more information and access to like minded groups or is it your search algorithms feeding you advertising material.
    Its both now and we need trust when we read a review or a recommendation, we trust our freinds and family for these things
    (we may not agree but there is trust )
    That is why reviews from other parents are needed, they are not forced onto you but shared by friends and searched out by people who want to know not just about the product but how people like them have used and enjoyed it too.

    PS My wife loves your posts, she has been reading me you Pokémon GO adventures for the past few weeks.

    PPS I only read your artical because FB said I may like it. Sort of proves my point a bit….

  • Review should be done by real parents because only they realise that ‘is it pretty? Will the colour hide poo stains? Is there any way my kids could turn it into a weapon? And is the undercarriage big enough to carry two boxes of Krispy Kreme’s when your’re coming out of the airport?’ are actually more valid relevant when deciding on the product.

  • Stephanie Milligan Entry below ?
    “Why should product reviews be done by real parents?”

    Funny you should ask that. Some people will debate whether I should even be considered a parent at this stage (the parasite is forming.. 16 weeks to go) however at this stage I definitely think of myself as a mother, and as a mother when it comes to reviewing products, I don’t have the energy to lie to you.

    I’ve never had the patience for lying about products to make a company feel better (I honestly think that “hands free soap” is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of), and as it turns out, growing a human seems to have destroyed what little of that patience I had left.

    I’m not sure what it is about parenthood that brings out all of the honesty in me.. is it that I know that a room full of people are going to watch my vagina be destroyed by a screaming, wrinkled little old man (or lady) that’s been stealing from me for 9 months? Maybe. Or is it because at 23 and a half weeks pregnant I am ALREADY sick to death of everyone else’s opinion about what I should and shouldn’t do. That’s probably more likely.

    At the end of the day parents are more honest. We don’t care. We say what we think because frankly we have nappies to change and tits to squeeze milk from and just don’t have the time or energy to sugar coat.
    Or maybe we’re just angry.. you know.. about the whole destroyed vagina thing… I’ll get back to you in November.

  • Yes absolutely! Real reviews by real parents are so important! Demo videos online by product manufacturers and advice from shop assistants generally just doesn’t cut it in the real world. Too many families end up with buyers regret when faced with using these very expensive items everyday with their families. Thanks for sharing your experiences 🙂

  • Real Reviews, by real parents is the only way to go. Real parents, real babies, real toddlers, real children, real situations, real problems, real catastrophes, real information, real honesty. Protect our precious cargo, with real reviews by real,parents. you don’t know hard hard parenting is until you have children. Fun, loving, sure, but just keeping it REAL!

  • Using parents to review parenting products is a good idea as parents are highly individual people. I see this day to day, working as a midwife, nurse and mum. What I think is completely over the top, is something that my mother-in-law feels necessary (don’t ask). For instance, when I was searching for a pram, I had to take into account wheel base because I was going to attempt to walk my Great Danes and push a pram, and I didn’t want it to easily tip over. My MIL thought that I was going to get rid of the dogs. You will be pleased to note the dog walking has completely gone out of the picture now (they, like I, have discovered the rigours of chasing a toddler). But you can be damn sure that the stroller companies have not taken into account Great Dane strength nor their ability to produce slobber. This is just a single aspect that we looked for, and there are billions of families out their with their own idiosyncrasies!

    Also, not only are parents highly individual creatures, kids are as well. Somehow I have managed to produce a being who asides from being incredible cute and adorable, also shows a remarkable resistance to dog slobber. He is also far above height and weight average for his age. So the incredible expensive car seat and stroller we bought to cater for the largest weight and height limit we could find, are now too small. Of course. I digress. There is no such thing as an average child, so going of a database findings to cater for an average child is not fair, not comfortable and not practical for those families whose kids are taller/shorter/wonky legged etc etc. A product that could cater for the non-average being and the fact that the non- average being is going to change shape (at least once a week!) is going to win friends in many households, regardless of price.
    So, by using parents to review products, the infinite varieties, benefits and pitfalls that characterise each family are more likely to be picked up on, and then catered for. Which will result in flexible and practical products for all!

  • Before becoming a parent, I knew everything there was to know about parenting. My child would not look like that… if that was my kid I wouldn’t let them get away with that… Apparently my beliefs were just very, ever so slightly mistaken… I was back then a naive, FAKE parent… That was until my 3 beautiful innocent treasures came along… WOW what a shock… Only a real parent knows what it’s like to try and strap a squirming, screaming ever so delightful little 2 year old into a pram, so they don’t run in front of a car… Only a real parent knows that brakes on a pram and the hand safety strap can save that screaming 2 year old from being pushed off a cliff by your ever so caring and thoughtful 6 year old who thought they would help with the screaming 2 year old by playing pram racing games near the edge of the cliff. Only a real parent would understand the value of having an amazing comfy car seat that sends that 2 year old to the wonderful land of sleep, even when the 6 and 8 year old are fighting at full volume on either side… FAKE parents know everything about FAKE children. And only REAL parents know how REAL kids can be… this is why products should always be tested in the most extreme environments by the experts… REAL parents. Would you fly in an aeroplane that has never been flown by a qualified pilot?

  • Real parents need to do reviews as we are that only people who know how hard it is to play Pokemon Go and push a pram. #theonlygymigotoisapokemongym

  • Spew, poo, snot and giggles are on my list of parenting priorities right now so when choosing a product real parent reviews and recommendations are what counts for me. Safety ratings, comfort and features are all important but as a parent I need to know how well a product works in real life- ie how easily can I wrangle my toddler into the seat while she screams blue murder at the top of her lungs for all that walk past or how easily will the pram fit in my boot which is often filled with the ‘necessities’ my kids insist they bring each time we leave the house- seriously I could clothe and entertain my kids for a week based on the current content in the boot alone!

  • Product reviews should be done by real parents because this is hands-down THE BEST carseat/stroller review I have ever seen and I’m knee-deep in slogging through plenty after 8 yrs off babies (surprise bub#4!! Lots has changed apparently), and it’s made me consider these products far more than seeing some impossibly well-groomed celebrity mum strolling around in high heels with a pram warbling on about how great it is.

  • Parents should test products, because if anybody is going to break the unbreakable, it’ll be the kids! Robots and production testers can’t scream and flail quite like a toddler.

  • Product reviews should be done by real parents (ie ME!) because I’m not going to pull any punches. If the product is ?, I’m certainly not going to recommend it. (I *may* send the company a ‘helpful’ little email on how to make the product a bit more user friendly. As in “you need to make the pram fold up into a pocket size with the flick of one button” instead of the pram that folds in half and is still so ridiculously cumbersome you need the hulk to lift it into the back of your hummer (because it won’t fit into anything else!)

  • views should be done by REAL parents because

    We buckle the kids in tight and hope there is no fight
    We push and we shuush
    We clean, we gleen
    We walk, we talk
    We shop till we drop
    We go for a drive just to survive
    We fold and say sold
    We like! a happy little tike!

    Real parents will test a pram and a car seat out in real every day situations not just in a room trying to push every button to see what it does with a teddy in the seat.
    Real parents know what they want, what their kids want and best of all if we like it we will spread the word to every parent we know.

  • views should be done by REAL parents because

    We buckle the kids in tight and hope there is no fight
    We push and we shuush
    We clean, we gleen
    We walk, we talk
    We shop till we drop
    We go for a drive just to survive
    We fold and say sold
    We like! a happy little tike!

    Real parents will test a pram and a car seat out in real every day situations not just in a room trying to push every button to see what it does with a teddy in the seat.
    Real parents know what they want, what their kids want and best of all if we like it we will spread the word to every parent we know.

  • Because the shop assistant isn’t going to tell you “the stylish colours will be stained brown anyway, just choose black”.
    Casey (mum of 4)

  • I think if companies started using real parents to review their products it would go gang busters!!!! Honestly us parents know exactly what we want & need and nothing sells faster than one mummy friend bragging to another mummy friend about how fabulous our new car seat, pram etc is. My pram has this and this and does this and is easy to maneuver and practically puts my child to sleep it’s so smooth to operate. I own lots baby related products due to a fellow mummies rave reviews, plus it really appeals to the lazy person in me because I don’t have to look at countless reviews and ummm and ahhh over a decision. I trust a fellow parent review more than what a company is telling me of their product ? just make sure I can hold a coffee in one hand whilst pushing a pram in the other & not spill my coffee then I’m a happy mummy!!!

  • Reviews should be written by real parents because real parents know what we actually need to know, and can often mention information the consumer (such as first time parents) didn’t realise even mattered. A real parent can honestly review the ease of use (are the buckles fiddly? Can your escape artist toddler easily escape? Can you fit all the bay stuff in the boot with the pram? How easily can you clean the seat when, not if, it gets covered in too may bodily fluids and food mess?). Real parents can also give a varied review, maybe a pram is perfect for a 1 year old but too squishy for a 3 year old. This is all vital information for potential consumers which measurements and uniformed opinions can not provide.

  • No one knows poonami’s and projectile vomit like parents do. No parent-less hipster sitting on an office drinking his iced frappamartini (low fat of course) can tell you how a seat holds up after having to carry your child’s pea and ham soup vomit for 5 kilometers, when you swear you’ve only fed them porridge. Sometimes you need Dad to install it incorrectly 17 times and swear at the pram before shaking it violently to get it to fold up, to review it. These are the important things for me, can I wipe shit and vomit off it, will it store last weeks Cheerios in tact? Will it embarras my husband?? Please give me the HONEST parent reviews, I don’t want something that smells like cheese and feet after the toddler is done with it!

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because fake parents just don’t deal with the crazy daily madness that is real parenting.

  • Parents aren’t trying to sell you a product – they are fellow soldiers, war torn warriors, out to make your life easier.. They know the pretty but useless from the workhorse prams and car seats and they will help you not pick a pram based on its accessories..

    Because only a parent knows the horror of the stroller tipping back and falling as you are crossing the road and can stop you from spending $1000 it.. Especially when it’s a pram that barely fits in the boot of a SUV! Also… Only a parent would know that having to take a child out to access the basket does not a good pram make..

  • Reviews need to be done by actual parent because…. in all honesty how many non parenting people have had to juggle one twisting baby in a pram who can’t find their dummy even though it was chained to them 5 minutes ago, with one toilet training toddler who needs to poo NOW!! While juggling Milk, trying not to squash the bread, talking to the husband who will be home late because the Monash Highway stinks and is a parking lot moat day and rushing to find a loo?? Seriously, worst day of my life!! Sorry to all of the ankles I rammed… or not…

  • Well real parents know how brutal kids can be. Like seriously if products can’t stand being jumped on, drawn on and every other crazy things kids can do in their little lives what’s the point of buying them.

  • Got a product to review?
    Got a product to test?
    Ask a real parent to do it
    Because parents know best
    We know how a capsule fits,
    Or doesn’t, in our car
    We know a stroller’s limits,
    How far to push ’til it’s too far
    We know the lack of practicality
    When it comes to all things white
    No paid actor / paid actress
    Knows the sleepless nights
    That come because the bed’s too cold
    Or the sheet’s too blue (it can be!)
    No actor knows like parents do
    What’s best, what our families need
    Trust a mother’s instinct,
    A father’s, even, too
    We’re the best to do your tests,
    Your “parent-y stuff” reviews

  • I remember when we first had a bassinet basket in the car covered by a net strapped to the seat. It was very early days of child restraint and not compulsary. I was driving with my mother and an ambulance pulled up beside us and they wound down their window and indicated they wanted to talk. I thought we had done something wrong. If I remember correctly they said “congratulations on having the restraint, if you saw what we have to deal with etc etc”. Now the restraints have changed so much. Our son and daughter in lay are expecting their fourth child and this would be a great help to them.
    Real parents know that if it isn’t easy to install, and suitable for those children who can escape anything and open the car door as you drive.

  • Why should actual parents do the reviews?
    Because dad has no idea.
    Because squirmy kids.
    Because messy kids.
    Because tired kids need to fall asleep.
    Because anything to make mum/dad’s back say thank-you.
    Because tired mum/dad.
    Because spilling that one ‘hot’ coffee/tea for the day would be the end of the world.
    Because you are only the ‘perfect parent’ until you have kids of your own.
    Because life with kids is like living on Jupiter.
    Because nana friendly?
    Because phone friendly?
    Because real life.
    Because mummy bloggers will recommend your product.

  • Because, as a parent, I don’t read product reviews unless they’re by other parents. Real parents, who don’t have au pairs, or angel kids, or parents who do all the hard work for them. Real parents, who wear mismatched shoes on the school run, who forget casual days, who’ve put a pram into their boot unfolded because they can’t for the life of them remember how to fold the damn thing down! Until I started following BFLI, I had probably only read a handful of reviews. Now, I read anything you review, even if it’s not a product/game I’d usually be interested in. Real parents = real feedback.

  • Quite simply because we are the ones going to use it and know what we want and need. I hate when companies try to tell me what they think I want and need when they have no idea!

    I always love your reviews, they are hilarious even at 3am I can’t help but lol and wake up half my house hahaha

  • Reviews by parents. They usually have been through several options and have a smidge of an idea what other parents are looking for. The ability to Pokémon and walk is important. Also if Big family Little Income didn’t do reviews I wouldn’t get a giggle every. Single. Day. Or think that I was the only parent going through the same things. So thank you.

  • They should be reviewed by real parents because we know what it’s like to wrestle with demanding two year old a who think that licking trolleys is a brilliant idea and that finding someone’s gum on the trolley is dinner.

    Not to mention how exciting it is when to jump through the car while mum is putting the youngest in her car seat, putting the hazards on and snapping the wiper or indicator!

  • Hi Bruce, huge fan of the blog ?

    Why should reviews be done by real parents? Because real parents understand. We understand the juggle between a cup of coffee, a screaming toddler whose babycino had chocolate on it, when they didn’t WANT the chocolate and a crying newborn who has just been tipped over in her pram because the weight of the nappy bag overbalanced it. Because we understand that prettiness is awesome, but we also know that car seat is going to get covered by crushed biscuits and juice and dear-God-what-is-that? Because we have real children who don’t care how fancy or safe the seat is, if it’s not comfortable, they’re not staying in it. And most importantly, because we are real parents who understand the complete fear and terror when something goes wrong, and we love our kids and are just trying to keep them as safe as possible, and while we all fail at times, we are doing our best.

  • You had me sold at “plus it left more room in the ‘boot’ for shopping” real parents reviews on products puts my mind at ease knowing they have have done the hard yards on these products if you give it the thumbs up. I’m in.

  • Of course parents should be the ones reviewing these things! They’ll be honest about the pros and cons of a product, for example the pram I brought was purchased after reading a non parents review which clearly stated that I did not have to remove the seat to fold it down and put it in the boot. This was not exactly a lie, but you would need a 4wd and be pretty strong to put the pram in the car in one piece, it simply does not fit in the average boot that way!

  • Reviews MUST be made by real parents because we know the real workings of it. We can trust and rely on the words of a fellow parent whereas when we read reviews done by the company etc we can only assume it as biased as they are. We need to know what our fellow mummas are thinking so we know EXACTLY what we are entrusting our babies saftey into. Plus, reading reviews by real mummas and daddas is so much more fun and exciting!

  • As parents if we were to believe everything the manufacturers told us, we would have a house hold of useless and unnecessary junk, that promised to make the children sleep or happily eat their vegetables but could be better likened to an expensive paper weight. New or even seasoned parents would much prefer to learn from others mistakes, plus new dads agree to a much more expensive pram, car seat and furniture purchase if they can read a real review and even more weight is given if it’s written by a fellow dad!! Keep up the good work Bruce, you make it easier for us women to spend more money on the kids lol

  • Because pretend parents just don’t understand the real struggles that kids challenge us real parents with every hour, minute and second of everyday… Lucky with love them ?

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because Real Parents will tell you how it is . Straight up, No mucking around because real parents don’t have time for that crap. Real parents know the value of a product that works , that can be trusted to do what it is meant to. Because if it doesn’t you can rest assured all hell will break loose! And I for one like that kind of honesty xx

  • Parents will give their honest opinions about the products they use for their precious children. It is so much easier these days to see honest reviews on things to give you a better idea of what to purchase. I’m looking at products now so that when we have the grandchildren visit, we will have the things like car seats and strollers. That way the parents will have less to pack ?

  • Gee whiz I could do with all anti-bac baby items. My children are big (well, little) ole germ makers! Plus it’s hard to police the nose picking, germ sharing that goes on while I play Pokemon

  • Because Real Parents tend to have real children to test the products on. Unless you want to test them on the dog?

  • Cause we are the ones that use these products on a daily basis so we know what it needs to do for it to cater to every parent 🙂 I am always looking at the local baby shops to see if there are any new accessories I can put on my pram to make my life easier 🙂

  • Real parents are the ultimate testers! You cannot imitate a sleep deprived Mumma, running on coffee while juggling numerous amounts of small children (4 in my case) in a “test lab”. That’s why word of mouth and recommendations sell more products! So hand them out to some families and get the best test results you can, real ones!

  • Real parents know the real issues. People without kids don’t know the importance of an easy to buckle seatbelt, the horror of a seat so uncomfortable it causes a head-rotating-air-raid-siren tantrum, the trouble of cleaning up unidentifiable possible foodstuff from seat crevasses and prams that fold small enough to leave boot space to fit the dead bodies of those without children who offer unsolicited ‘helpful’ advice. Real parents don’t have the energy or brain capacity to dither on about things we no longer care about. We haven’t slept a whole night since Australia kept a Prime Minister for longer than it takes to make a baby. Words are hard. Important stuff first. Sleep now

  • Reviews should be done by real people . As a first time mum i have read many blogs and reviews for items to buy for my bub byt nothing compares to the personal pros and cons that have assisted a newby in working out the good from the ugly when you have no idea. I hunt for opinions of people that have tried the product first hand and can give me all the gossip good and bad.

  • Real parents should review items. Not just real parents, but real parents of at least toddlers, because by then they’ve fought with whatever option they decided to buy after 6 months of research, worked out what they love and hate, and wish they could throw into the fires of Mordor but can’t because it cost a small fortune, but, more importantly, worked out what the kid loves and hates, and wish they could go back to the research stage and add in a few new criteria. They’re practiced at juggling the 20 thousand things required to go to the grocery store, or walk around the block, and don’t have time for anything that’s going to increase the chances of having to spend longer in the car park being stared at attempting to collapse a pram requiring a degree to operate while a screaming, thrashing child struggles in (or out of) a seat.

  • Because real parents have those grubby kids who will put your anti-bacterial protection in to play. I know my 2 year old will enjoy it (after his car seats umpteenth time being washed) . Real parent reviews don’t come with the stilettos and Audrey Hepburn/Blake Lively hair or figure. We come in jeans, converses/trainers and a basic black Kmart singlet. We are real, we are relatable. More people want the real deal from real opinions, not paid actors/actresses selling a product.

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because only a really really real true parent can understand the utterly lovable maniacal assholish ways of children…last time I took my unrestrained 2yr old out in public he LICKED someone! He randomly licked a complete 15yr old boy because “paw patrol”. All the real parents reading this are now reminded of equally disgusting and mental stunts their spawn have pulled and all the wannabes think I’m a bad parent who should probably put a muzzle on that feral 😉 the parents know exactly what to look for in products they might spend money on…for eg when buying a car I look for drink holders that can actually fit my humongous coffee cups! And a -shut -up -and -watch -The -lion -King -inbuilt DVD player in the roof…Fauxparents are looking for fancy shmancy shit like bottom warming seats CD players that don’t have fries jammed in them. Zero compatibility between the two…no sense wasting their time really

  • Product reviews should be done by real parents because who else knows the joys of trying to get a 2yr old octopus strapped into a stroller that they don’t want to be in. If I read a review I want to know that the person reviewing it is telling me what I can expect when trying to get my little houdini to stay in her car seat. You just can’t get that touch of honesty laced with a little insanity unless you have been there before.

  • I think real parents should review the products because, we are already that stupidly tired from parenting in the first place, so mucking around with belt buckles, trying to work out how to unfold and close pram etc, in a sleep deprived state is a good first step to working out if the product is “good” ?
    And we get a honest and practical, not just someone trying to sell.the product.

  • Real parents operate from a place of relentless noise, chaos and utter exhaustion. If real parents don’t test these things how can we know if they can even be operated by someone who slept 3 hrs the night before (not in one stretch), got vomited and pooped on before 9am, has a cramped up foot from stepping on a Lego and has only managed to eat leftovers from their kids plates for the past two meals. We need to be absolutely sure that these products are parent-proof and that’s why real parents need to review them.

  • Real parents should write reviews so the clueless people (aka me) have a fighting chance. My sister literally just had her first baby – 20 hours ago to be exact – and her whole pregnancy was peppered with my Facebook tags about things such as:

    ‘See this beautiful size 8 model who clearly isn’t pregnant and is about twelve feet taller than us? I’m sure that maternity dress would look just as good on you…’

    ‘Look at this teal bassinett which will only be useful for three months until bub grows out of it and costs more than my monthly mortgage repayment. Does it really matter when teal is so on trend!’

    And so on. Thankfully my sister knows well enough to ignore me, but real reviews by real parents could save other poor mums from their annoyingly impressionable siblings.

  • Because the struggle is real. Who but a parent knows the ‘joy’ of carrying a toddler because they complain about being in the stroller, or wrestling a screaming, arched child into a car seat at the end of a long day when all you want to do is go home and drink wine. Anyone can do these things once, but only parents know about doing it over and over again, and the difference that well designed products can make to your life (and your level of wine consumption).

  • Parents should always do reviews on products , if it’s shit we want to know , if it’s not suitable under certain circumstances eg wiggly disabled child will I fact tip the pusher over , I want to know ! I want to know the truth about products that have been used by other parents in the not usual everyday circumstances that a city walk will give , how is it on gravel , how is it clean if my child throws up in it , will I break a bone somewhere in my body by putting it up or gold I g it down or lifting it will not put me in hospital because it weighs more than my husband !! Parents want and need to truth and the whole truth about o juries that may occur with a product ?

  • Only parents know the feeling of taking the carseat/ pram/highchair out the back, then hitting it with the hose to remove those toxic #3’s or vomit episodes that remind you of that scene in the exorcist. Only parents know about the ‘nook and cranny’ test to test where these body fluids will get trapped and weather you will struggle for around 2hrs to try and clean it out or declare it dead and shove it in the wheely bin, followed by multiply curse words! Easy to pull apart, clean and use=happy mumma here! When a new parent askes my advice on a product, I always say “How easy is it to clean?”
    Of course parents should test drive baby products, they know what’s important in those sleep deprived, puzzling first years…..Actually I’d test any household product, it’d be a highlight of my week (but then again so is a new kitchen sponge…sad really, haha!)

  • Real parents have enough literal s#@? to manage without wading through bull#@? from marketing types who have never packed, loaded and pushed a pram or wrangled a wriggly two-year-old into a car seat with the stopwatch (otherwise known as sleeping newborn who will wake after a precise amount of motionless time) running. It’s just mean to allow real parents to spend good money on equipment that does NOT work like they expect. Money that could have been spent on wine, coffee, babysitters or a decent version of the very equipment they now need all of the above to handle.
    And how will the manufacturers of this equipment ever improve their stuff to the point that it helps your quality of life if they only listen to people who are paid to tell them how great they are?

  • Product reviews should be done by real parents because often strapping a real child into these contraptions is like trying to put a jumper on an octopus. Real parents get it!

  • Real parents should do reviews
    Because they’re the ones who deal with poos
    And vomit and food and all the other muck
    That will end up on the product with any luck.
    The parent knows how hard it is to clean it,
    Whilst controlling a child whose having a fit.
    How does the guy in the factory know
    Just how far into that crevice the sultana will go?
    The parent sees the best and worst
    That’s why I should win this prize from Safety 1st!

  • Not so long ago, with a bun in the oven, I thought I could plan.
    My girl came 16 months ago and life as I knew it came to a close.
    I’ve quickly learnt that product testing opinions like this need to be earnt.
    I’ve been taught by tears, poop and crushing of my ideals.
    I thought I understood, until it was me with my girl crying, throwing food and shouting No!
    If you haven’t been confronted by a baby screaming at you in the car, whilst you load groceries, try and fold a pram and make it all fit….your opinion…is well…crap.

  • Why should parents write reveiws…hmm… let me tell you a lil story…
    6 months ago I was pregnant with baby number and I had always wanted one of those stylish prams with the bassinet attachment but hadnt been able to afford one. I was lucky enough to find one on gumtree in new condition for a quarter of its original price and was SO excited to be able to buy my daughter this amazing brand name pram (wont say what brand but its very well known). I read loads of reveiws on this pram before actually purchasing it and all looked very promising. Boy were they misleading…

    It is potentially the most ridiculous pram I have ever owned. I hadn’t realised how annoying having to take the bassinet seatbout to fold it down would be. And I also didn’t realise that the seat attachment would only act as a stroller and not lay back. So my daughter who hates to lay flat and isnt old enough to sit completely upright just yet absolutely hates her pram.

    If I’d read honest reveiws by real parents on this contraption I would never have bought it. Which is exactly why reveiws should be written by people who actually use the products – to save people like me from spending far too much money on something that 2 months later they are completely frustrated by and have to find a new one.

    *coincidentally, this story is also the reason Im entering this competition. I need a decent pram that is actually functional!*

  • Why shouldn’t reviews be done by REAL Parents, god damn it I want to know what I am purchasing and whether it is any good, a real parent with real experiences testing a product is what I want to read about, not some review from a company CEO wanting there product to sound top notch. I want to hear whether the product stood up to the poonami that we have all experienced, whether the boogers wiped of, whether you can squeeze it in the boot with all the other crap you have to carry around with the kids. After just giving birth to my fourth bub I can tell you a real parent will give you a true review just the way it should be.

  • Reviews should be done by parents because why would we take the manufacturer’s word for it that their product is the best? Of course i look for reviews of parents that have used products i am considering, why wouldn’t you?

  • I personally believe product reviews should be done by real parents because let’s be honest, as real parents we are too tired not to be honest. I mean, there is no training in the world (besides real parenting) that can equip you with the knowledge to understand what it is like to have a newborn crying in the car, a toddler trying to get your boob out for a comfort feed (said toddler can not be put down away from you all day and has not had a breast feed for over 9mths now but hey he’s having a rough day so why not try) while you are trying to get the wheels off a pram to fit it in the car. Then you finally get the pram in the car you look up to find miss 4 has let herself out of her car seat and has had an accident in her undies. All of this because the pram you have, that was so highly recommended by the reviews you read is NOT a fast folding pram. Real parents do not give rose coloured reviews, we like keeping it real.

  • Reviews totally need to be made by real parents for a few reasons (one being the fact that I didn’t realise there was a thing called a “fake parent” lol)

    “Real” parents can work out alllllll the nitty gritty details – like “will this collapse and fold in when my 5yo decides he’s going to flip this panel and pop this button while my 2week old baby is in it?”

    Or “why in the shit did they make a *insert item* that when wet makes the child’s clothing/saturated butt, look like they’ve bled to death while peeing?”

    Or “seriously, I’ve already done my arm, upper core and entire body workout for the day, WHY WONT YOU F*CKING FOLD DOWN!?”

    Oh and the ever loving “WHY ARE THERE SO MANY BITS TO PUT TOGETHER. MAKE THIS SHIT SIMPLE I AM TIRED BECAUSE THE MINATURE HUMANS I MADE DONT SLEEP.” – that one can be completely avoided by putting a new hormonal tired mama in with a non listening other parent to set it up just one time, for the first time ever. You’ll very quickly learn how to simplify your products, especially if that new tired mama is me.

    Plus they’d have way more realistic “in use by real family” pictures – actually no, that’s a bad idea… If we let the currently childless know just how demonically scary it can get, they’ll never join us…

  • A real parent should be reviewing these products because a non parent would look really silly pushing an empty pram through a busy shopping centre with their checklist of requirements like ‘steers smoothly’ ‘ buckles up easily’ ‘ folds down without a problem’ ‘fits in my spacious, empty boot’ ‘it’s a dream to keep clean.’
    As for why there’s little point in a non parent reviewing a car seat: it’s much the same really.
    the checklist would be marked off with things like ‘quick to buckle together’ ‘looks sturdy and comfortable’ ‘it’s a dream to keep clean’
    on the other hand, if a pet parent were to review the products, said review would be full of things like ‘my little Princess looked so cute sitting proudly up in her pram when we went for a walk to the park today, all the other doggies that watched us walk by were so jealous’ or ‘my little Princess just doesn’t like being put in a car seat, she much prefers sitting on my lap while we drive to our favourite cafe for her puppycino and pupcake.’

  • I think reviews on these products should be done by parents because they know what characteristics are the most important as well as what already works and what doesn’t. Experience that is first hand from sleep deprived parents that know they need something they can quickly buckle in the 0.23seconds you have before a toddler changes their mind, chaos ensues and you’re chasing them down the street with a newborn under arm desperately shouting out threats and bribes in the hope they’ll stop because you are just far too exhausted to run, this is more valuable than presumptions of what’s important and can’t be taught.

  • Real parents reviewing products means real understanding of what works and what doesn’t With children’s products.

  • Because real parents are the mistake makers and we know what we need! Imagine a non-parent trying to sell you a pram.
    It comes in 10 funky colours you say? But can I use baby wipes to scrub off poo smears in the middle of IGA?
    It has a stylish leather handlebar you say? Could my toddler potentially use this as a weapon to harass my dog?
    It has large wheels for ease of handling you say? Will that make it easier for my toddler to push his week old sister down the yard into a garden bed?
    It comes with 28 complimentary accessories you say? Will I be required to assemble these and will I ever really need a copper insulated coffee holder?
    The car seat has extra cushioning and a 50 star safety rating you say? Yes, but will my child fall asleep in it at 3am when I force my husband to drive him down the road and back?
    Easy to install you say? Will installing it result in a 7 day cold shoulder from Hubby? Anything less and it’s a winner.
    It is used by Kate Middleton you say? Great! Will she come to my house and sing lullabies to my newborn while I try to strap her in with one hand and take the shaving cream off my toddler with the other?
    Only real parents will have these thoughts and flashbacks when buying the goods. Non-parents, please don’t judge me ?

  • Simples, real parents know all about how children are super cute little Houdini terrors – we automatically check for ways to escape and where the inevitable vomit or food is going to land (I’m looking at you, inaccessible crevice that serves no real purpose!) so our instincts for good products get pretty spot on after a while – and nobody’s opinion carries more weight than someone who has lived to dismantle an entire pram just to get to the one filthy vomit soaked bit to clean it!

    (ok, maybe my reflux baby has tunnelled my vision slightly!!)

  • Real parents should do product reviews because:
    Only parents understand the embarrassment when you can’t operate it in public with a toddler and baby crying.
    Only parents have to worry about fitting it AND groceries in the boot.
    Only parents are carrying a heavy bag full of ‘just in case’ necessities.
    Only parents are so sleep deprived that they get to the practical information really quickly.
    Only parents understand how hard it can be to get food off once it sets.
    Only parents will give an accurate review.

  • Real parents are the best peeps to review
    As it is us who know what kids do or don’t do.
    A waste of time for those in the know
    Are reviews by those who aren’t part of the show!
    Good product ideas are fab and all that
    But insider knowledge is where it’s all at!
    I’d love to win this comp and fab things
    As it’d help every day and make me feel I’ve some wings!

    Fingers crossed…

  • Why?

    Because parents know what it is like to attempt installation of a struggling child into their seat whilst their body cries out for sleep and/or more coffee and their back is screaming “seriously? We need to contort ourselves which way to do this? Hell no!”

    We know the value of an easily retrieved dummy for a fractious child, the blessing bestowed from on high that is a favourite comfort item remaining within reach at all times. The easy, in car adjustable recline could mean ‘just 5 minutes more peace” – a commodity all of which the sleep deprived masses, dream

    A parent knows the fog that has become our thought processes and how much an easily assembled and importantly, collapsed pram can make or break our day. How a good recline can keep sleepy sanity and a huge basket can hide older siblings, *cough* I mean essential baby items.

    But negating all I have said is the question on all parents lips … does it come in pretty but practical fabrics? I believe we can trust only a parent to give an honest opinion on this …

  • Because real parents know the special torture of trying to get sweaty, thrashing turdlers into car seats, of getting hit in the nether regions by stroller handles that aren’t folded in properly and trying to do the weekly grocery shopping in 12 minutes so you’re home before the midday nap, all while being pretty sure you’ve got poop in your eye from the last nappy change. Real parents don’t just know the worst case scenarios. We live them.

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because, we use the product day in and day out. Despite what manufacturers say in all the specs it never translates into real world use. Parents know what works and know how we would improve a product for our personal use. We are the ones pushing a pram daily, strapping our kids into car seats. Parents give honest reviews on what has and hasn’t worked for us.

  • Real Reviews need Real Parents so that we know how products fare in Real Life. Can you fold the stroller and get it in the boot one-handed with a flailing toddler under your arm? Will that mango smoothie your 2yo poured everywhere wash out of the car seat fabric easily? Will this sippy cup leak milk all through the house after two uses? Only a real parent can answer these important questions.

  • Reviews should be written by real parents because unless you really know the struggles of trying to play tetris in your car, chase a 3 year old heading out of a store without paying for her item, do the grocery shopping on your own with 2 kids, and every day life. You don’t know what you’re in for. I wasted so much money on multiple prams with my first child that were either too heavy, too large for the boot, or you needed muscles in your eye brows to push. All because the sales people who obviously had never used the products said they were the best. We need real life reviews!

  • Reviews should be done by real parents as we are the real people that will be using them and really no corporate reviewer will tell you how well vegimite washes out of the seat covers and how many bags of shopping you really can jam in under the pram ??❤️

  • Who are the people that use a pram and carseat? It’s simple real parents do. Who puts baby/children items to an ultimate test daily through everyday living? Real parents of course. Real parents are truthful they arn’t going to recommend anything they hate, they will rave about things they love. Real parents will put the products through the ultimate test and be truthful with the results.

  • If they have slept more than 3 hours in a row and can therefore form a cohesive sentence while I’m left sounding like a Sly Stallone character… If their cleavage is still an object of desire rather than somewhere a small child likes to store vomit for later consideration… If they haven’t asked (and then demanded) to pick another person’s nose within the last 36 hours… If they can’t clearly describe the timing, colour, texture and smell of another beings most recent bowel movement… If they haven’t played the ‘yes but how visible is that bodily fluid?’ game before deciding if an outfit can be worn in public…

    … They don’t know me! I care not for their opinion.

  • Product reviews by real parents are the only reviews that matter! The supermarket maneuverability test; the tantrum test; the Great Escape test are all vital. And finally the sultana rating: on a scale of one to a million sultanas, how easy is it to clean?

  • A real parent understands the agonies of nappy explosions on long car trips, the amazing chimpanzee-like strength of a toddler that does not want to go in the pram, or the embrassment of forgetting through sleep depravation how to fold the godamm pram. These are my people. I’ll trust anything they say.

  • Becoming a new parent is daunting, confronting and down right scary. You Google everything from potential baby names to possible problems. In fact, Google becomes your best friend. My husband even Googled the reliability of a positive home pregnancy test before believing his wife was right! After being excited all day on my own, my Husband walked into the bedroom that evening holding his phone proudly exclaiming “well daring, according to Google, we are going to have a baby!” I didn’t know what to be happier about, the fact that my husband finally joined the excitement train or the fact that he usefully used Google to help prove me right. Again!

    However, while trying to be a good friend, Google is also a bit of a know it all. Goggle is snobby, generally speaking with gloating admiration of its high paying friends (also known more commonly as advertisements).

    Researching any general baby product on Google, you get bombarded with at least 987 546 results. For example, type into Google “baby car seat” and you instantly get hit with an array of brightly coloured images, a stack of advertisements and of course the top 10 reviews for the 2016 products!
    While showing off their fancy cup holders and ratings from some high flying business person in an office somewhere, these formal and money chasing reviews don’t tell you if the car seat will provide REAL comfort for your little one or if it will be REALLY easily managed by new fumbling, nervous parents trying to avoid dropping their new born.

    As new parents we want what all parents want, a gorgeous child and the top of the range products to flash them about in. I say that with my tongue in my cheek. What we are really after is a healthy baby, a safe pregnancy and birth, and ample time for our precious bundle to get to know the amazing members of our family. Oh, and quality, safe and effective baby products.

    With still over halfway to go I am sure there are many more things we will Google (apparently the search “help me, my wife is pregnant” has come in quite handy so far). However, nothing beats being able to talk to family and friends who are real parents, about good baby products that satisfy their families needs! Don’t get me wrong, Google can be great – especially in helping husbands understand that their wife is alway right. Who knows, maybe my husband will come to find the value of the spoken word from real parents before exploring the world of payed reviews of baby products on the Internet.

  • Real parents know the answers to the questions that the shop assistants won’t or can’t answer. Things like “How many kilos of sultanas can he hide in the seat without me knowing?” Or “To get the smears of Tiny Teddy biscuits off the upholstery do I need to just use half a packet of baby wipes or am I going to need to take the seat out and wash the seat cover?” Or my ultimate question “So, it looks like a pretty roomy and sturdy basket under the pram. How many bottles of wine do you think I could put in there if I stopped at the local Uncle Dan’s without it giving way and smashing my wine to smithereens?” I don’t need to know what angle the seat in a pram reclines to or the six different colours of fabric I can get for a car seat, I can look all that up in the technical specifications online. After all, I’m pretty sure the tech specs aren’t going to give me the total bottle count that will fit in the underseat storage of a pram or info on how easy it is to remove a car seat cover for washing after the child has eaten too many hidden sultanas and Tiny Teddys.

  • Reviews should be done by real parents because “Grandmother’s to be” (also known as Meeeee!) really aren’t very objective. For eg,
    Me – “Ohhhh this one looks good!”
    Newly pregnant daughter – “Umm, it’s a bit pricey Mum”
    Me – “It must be a good one then”
    Newly pregnant daughter – “I think I need a bit more info than that before we choose. There is a lot to consider here”
    Me – “But it does look good! Isn’t shopping fun”
    Newly pregnant daughter – “Sigh”

  • Why should product reviews be done by real parents…well imagine if ‘fur parents’ reviewed car seats. ‘ Fluffy’ enjoyed the ride in the car seat which provided fantastic access to the open window to allow ones head to hang out and enjoy barking at passing cars. Alternatively the review might focus on features such as chewability of the products (although this could be extrapolated across to a teething toddler), access to the post man or protection features to guard against vet visits.. I am yet to see a vomiting, yelling , teething octopus which is likely the only ‘fur kid some what comparable to a child…hence I think the reviews should be done by real parents..

  • We are finally out of the stroller and car seat era, but the question you didn’t answer, and the pram design feature that has been missing is the ability to fit a box of nappies in the basket underneath?? Cup holders are good, but the ability to have both the nappies and the baby in the stroller at the same time is better!

  • A parent should always review any baby item that will be used by the parent, each parent has different needs I’m short hubbies tall, he’s strong I’m not hahaha! I need to be able to lift the pram or the capsule if he’s not with me and he needs to know how to and I quote “fold the damn thing down”.
    If I’m going to use an item for long periods of time, I want it to be sturdy, easy to use and safe. I also want my children to be comfortable. Parents need to be able to use the pram or whatever it is with ease and if we love a brand we will recommend and buy time after time after time 🙂

What do you think?

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