We brought the smart trike 3 in 1 for our daughter when she was about 14 months old.

It has been one the best purchases we have made so far! we put a lot of thought into buying this as it is a lot of money and we read a lot of reviews that seem to be mixed.

our main reason for buying it was that our daughter HATED being in the pushchair. Every trip to the shops was a battle and became really stressful. She just wanted to get out and as she was not yet able to walk very far without being carried it was exhausting.

After trying everything from clip on toy bars to bribery with snacks and treats (i know no parenting book would advise this but when needs must!!) we started thinking about other options and this one came up.

We brought the pink and white version and it was very easy to assemble, it only took ten minutes. We use the side bars but not the straps and i think not feeling strapped in is one of the main reasons she loves it.

From the first time we took it out life changed! She loved it, she grabbed hold of the handle bars and away we went. Not crying, not trying to get out just a very happy little girl and a Very relieved mummy.

We now take this everywhere, it is very light weight and we have a 4x4 so it is easy to just pick up and throw in the back of the car, no need to collapse or disassemble it at all.

It comes with a handy little pouch to keep your keys, phone, snacks or whatever in so they are close to hand and it has a little basket at the back which holds our changing bag or one bag of shopping but not much more.

There are however a few drawbacks. There is not a lot of room for carrying your shopping and the handle is not big enough to put the straps of the changing bag over. So not suited for big shopping trips if your on your own.

Secondly the steering is a bit of effort if your not on smooth ground or if your walking a long way it starts to feel a bit clumsy and hard to steer.

We have not yet tried it without the side bars or the handle but i am confident she will like it as a ride on toy when the time comes.

This was perfect for us for short trips to the shops/ for a walk and saved a lot of tears and tantrums so a great buy even if it was a bit expensive.