When my son became increasingly confident in his walking ability and less susceptible to falls or feeling the need to sit down after every few steps, I decided that it was time to shop around for reins. The idea being that he could come out of the buggy for periods on day trips or even short walks near our house. I had never really looked at reins in detail before and had no idea what I needed to look for or just how much choice was out there!

I was familiar with Clippasafe from various home safety products I had seen and read good reviews about, so when I saw that they made reins for toddlers, I was instantly attracted to these. The 'easy wash' aspect also appealed to me as, as any mother of a toddler will tell you, toddler's seem to manage to get everything dirty or sticky (or both!). The Easy Wash Harness & Reins come in a variety of patterns - some for little girls, some for little boys and some that are suitable for both sexes.

I opted for the racing car design for my little boy. The rein and harness are black and white chequered (presumably to resemble the flag in motor racing) and on the front of the harness, so on my son's chest, there is a white plastic badge with a red racing car and the words 'racing driver' on it. The harness has adjustable straps so can be extended or retracted to suit your child - so will last throughout their need for them. The harness can also be detached from the reigns as these attach to either side of the harness with a plastic clip like mechanism. This means that the harness can be worn throughout the day and the reins just attached when required.

I purchased these reins from Amazon for £7.66. Plainer designs can be purchased for as little as £5.99. I think that this is great value for a set of reins. Within the packet, there are also anchor straps so the harness can be worn and attached to highchairs/strollers where attachments are supplied. I have not used the harness and anchor straps for this purpose so cannot comment on their effectiveness here but it is a handy feature never-the-less. As reins, I find these very effective and convenient. My son doesn't seem to mind wearing the harness so it must be comfortable to him. The fact the reins detach is a great feature as he is able to sit in the pushchair with just the harness on or toddle around independently, where appropriate, without tripping over the reins. The attach and detach quickly too and are not too fiddly.

With regards to the length of the reins, it would have been handy if these were adjustable too so you could make them longer to give your child a bit more independence when they are more confident with their walking. The reins do offer the parent good control to steer your child in the right direction and keep them on track. They also can be gripped tightly to prevent any nasty falls.

Overall, I am really pleased with the purchase and these reins and toddler and parent friendly. Surprisingly, I have not yet had the need to wash these so, as yet, cannot comment on the 'easy wash' aspect but will update my review once the inevitable wash has occurred!