Santa made some excellent choices with the presents he dropped off at midnight on Christmas Eve. He knew how much fun Freddy had been having transporting his "Bubba" and other toys around the house in his shopping trolley and how much more fun Freddy would have pushing them round in a toy stroller. So when Freddy woke up on Christmas morning, amongst the massive pile of presents was an interesting shaped parcel that he ripped open to reveal an Early Learning Centre Cup Cake My First Stroller.

Although officially considered suitable for children over the age of three, the Cup Cake My First Stroller is the perfect size for children from about the age of two, who are confident walkers. With a handle height when opened of approximately 57cm, it's the perfect size for two and a half year old Freddy to push around, without him needing to stretch to reach the handles or hunch over. The lightweight frame is surprisingly sturdy, being able to take Freddy leaning quite heavily and rather rough in his play without bending it. Freddy does tend to be a little rougher than most children his age, which is mainly because he has learning and behavioural difficulties and does not have the understanding that toys may break. The stroller's seat is made of a lovely pale blue material (also available in pink), edged with navy piping and can be removed from the frame for easy washing in the machine should anything be spilt on it. After washing we allow the seat to dry naturally and then run a cool iron over it rather than putting it in the tumble drier and it comes up nice and clean with no trace of the chocolate that was smeared on.

The three point harness is easy for Freddy to open so that he can put Bubba into the seat and refastens with Velcro. Bubba is a Cupcake My First Doll and he looks very comfortable when sitting in the stroller, even when he's been put in upside down. There are times when Bubba is too tired to be taken for a walk around the house and then one of his many friends such as Lightyear (small Buzz Lightyear Action figure), Uh-Oh (Small beanie Teletubby) or Bear (Large teddy) will find themselves being put in the stroller for a trip round the front room. As the stroller is considered suitable for dolls up to 40cm in height, many of Freddy's soft toys can sit comfortably in it. One this the stroller cannot manage is to take Freddy's weight. He did start to try and sit in it and while it didn't buckle, that was more because I took him out before he had the chance to put his full weight down.

While the frame is sturdy, I unfortunately can't say the same of the wheels, which are made of slightly flimsy plastic. To be honest I'm not sure that these would survive long if I were to allow it to be taken outside on concrete. The handles are made of the same brittle plastic as the wheels and to my adult hands feel very uncomfortable, even though Freddy seems to have no such worries. With the wheels being fixed rather than swivel the front of the stroller needs to be lifted when turning corners, which doesn't seem to pose Freddy any problems. He had no trouble negotiating doorways or avoiding toys, furniture and people. There are no breaks on the stroller, so we don't have to worry about Freddy inadvertently putting those on and being frustrated at being unable to move the stroller. Neither are there a rain-cover or hood, which does mean that the stroller is even less suitable for outside play during this recent rather wet weather.

The stroller does, however, feature an umbrella folding system so that it takes up less room in storage. I do have to admit though that we've deliberately not folded it as even though there are a few safety features I worry about him getting his fingers caught. When folding there are a couple of steps including releasing catches on each side and then lifting a lever at the base and when opening the stroller back up you do need to make sure that the catches on the sides have been repositioned to hold the frame open.

While Freddy has only had this stroller for a week, we often joke that if a toy can survive an hour in Freddy's hands it can survive a lifetime in any other child's. Add to this the fact that his older brothers and sisters had a virtually identical model between 15 and 20 years ago that lasted through the four of them and I can quite safely say that I am sure this will last until Freddy has outgrown it. Freddy himself absolutely loves his stroller and has spent many hours over the last week taking his Bubba and other various toys for walks around the house. Our own real concern is that the somewhat flimsy wheels mean that it isn't the best for outdoor play. But if you're looking for a decent quality first stroller for indoor play, then at £9 the Cup Cake My First Stroller is an excellent option.