I remember with strange clarity, a family of four spilling onto a Corfu -bound flight with every toddler gadget going sprouting from their limbs, as if they were in a comedy sketch...
though the parents weren’t finding it remotely funny. Having lugged all their items on board and held onto energetic sprogs with the only finger left hooked in the label of their stretched jumpers, the parents were then told that their pram was too large for the cabin and needed to go in the hold. The mother was on the brink of tears and a near tangible wave of sympathy for her swept the plane.
As a travel writer, I have done my utmost to avoid the same fate, to smooth over the pain points of travelling with tinies in tow and to get savvy on all the gadgets worth the investment. I soon realised that it all starts with the pram (buggy or stroller). Whether travelling by train, plane or car with a pocket-sized boot, the pram needs to fold like origami and perform like a zippy Mini Cooper.
It’s hard for the brands to tick all the boxes: a petite, nifty thing in its element on Parisian pavements will struggle with Milanese cobblestone or anything remotely rural; some can be a challenge to fold one-handed (a prerequisite when travelling with the baby and toddler ensemble or as single parents); others can be the dream folders but not robust enough for the newborn phase. The thing to look out for is if the pram is IATA (International Air Transport Authority) compatible – if it’s compact enough .