Follow the trail (Buggy Buddies)

Member Name: Gretta

Product:	Buggy Buddies
Date:	12/05/01 (144 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bright and clear, Innovative concept, Durable

Disadvantages: Expensive if bought individually, Still quite a limited range

I'm quite good at getting lost in shopping centres; It's a skill I've been perfecting since I was a toddler, and now I have my own children to distract me I'm better than ever. Fortunately Christian discovered this at an early age and came up with a solution. Whenever we're out he throws a selection of items (books, blankets, the current favourite toy, his baby brother) out of the pram, and when I seem to be wondering aimlessly he screams for whatever he lost till I turn back and follow the path of abandoned baby items back to the real world outside of the shopping centre.

Now while this may seem like a great idea to him, for some reason I'm not so enthralled. Prowling the streets hump-backed straining to find whichever essential item he has tossed away isn't my idea of a great Saturday.

So, my first attempt at a solution was one of those pieces of elastic with toys on it that you string across the front of the pram. At first he was totally unimpressed and tried to brake it/pull it off and throw it away/give it to any passing babies who took an interest. Then he discovered that if you take of one end and pull it as hard as you can then let go...booooiiinnnnggg...
With a bit of practise you can hit the lovely old lady cooing over your pram square in the centre of her head, if you're an expert you can do a really cute smile at the same time.

So that had to go. Well, one rainy day when we were hiding from the rain in the Early Learning Centre I noticed Buggy Buddies. No, not a bug that wants to become your child's buddy, small bright coloured board books about 16 pages in length. Attached to the book is a short coil, like a telephone wire, which attaches to a plastic fastener so you can firmly strap the book to the pram. The cord is short enough to prevent your child becoming caught up in it, yet long enough to allow the baby to read the book quite easily. The plastic clip is adjustable, s
o you can attach it to a pram of many widths as well as anywhere else you don't want to play the fascinating 'drop it, pick it up, drop it, pick it up' game. I have one on my highchair, car seat, cot and bouncy chair.

There are a few different ranges now, each of which contains four books. The original was animal based, with monkey, dog, cat etc. themed books. The second set is has a nice educational theme, with patterns, colours, counting and opposites. A third set is themed on babies, with nice photos of babies, which young children always find fascinating. Books in this series include colours and numbers. These have plastic, baby safe mirrors in them, which are great for even the youngest babies. The newest set is a touch and feel series with textures for your child to feel. These always seem to go down well.

Basic, good quality books, but with nice illustrations and enough stuff to talk about to keep a little one entertained at the tills in Tescos. The text has nice rhymes which little ones starting to talk like the sound of, very simple stuff (bear with a pear is one my toddler copies) but just right to stick in the mind of tiny ones. For a younger child I would start with the series with pictures of babies, as this seems to catch their attention more. Quite durable, live up to being chewed, left out in the rain etc. well. Easy to wipe clean.

Quite expensive at £2.99 a go, but widely available. You can though by them in sets of four, a tip I got from ADS, for £4.99, from the www.thebookpeople.co.uk, and they have all the latest titles available. I was very impressed with their speedy delivery and the price is super. At this price of just £1.25 each they really are super value, especially the touch and feel ones, and those with mirrors.

One last thing, I have taken this idea and expanded it to other things to stick on the pram. I got a few cheap key ring fobs on coils from a pound shop and used them
to attach a soft toy, Anyway-up Cup and a notebook to the pram. You could also do this for your dummy, if your baby uses one. I wouldn't leave a baby alone with things attached this way as the cord is quite long so they could get caught up with it, but for when you're pushing the pram around it does save lots of bending down.

Summary: