Kiddy Trailers

I've been doing some research on transporting children on bikes, and the
pros and cons of rear and front mounted seats versus trailers. The
general consensus, I'm finding, is that trailers are the way to go.

My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for
child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run
the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find
this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children
around for a whole year?

Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

Cheers,
Lotte


--
LotteBum

In aus.bicycle on Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:16:11 +1000
LotteBum wrote:


My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for
child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run
the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find
this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children
around for a whole year?

A back mounted sling on the adult?

Or ride a LWB bent, and a front mounted sling on the adult?

Zebee

LotteBum wrote:
I've been doing some research on transporting children on bikes, and the
pros and cons of rear and front mounted seats versus trailers. The
general consensus, I'm finding, is that trailers are the way to go.

My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for
child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run
the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find
this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children
around for a whole year?

Probably manufacturer covering any liabilities.

I can understand this applying to seats where the child needs to be
carried in an upright position and neck muscles are not yet developed.

What about a trilayer foam[1] "bed" to support a capsule in the trailer?

[1] hard, medium and soft layers to absorb various shocks.

Naturally, you have to remember thats a very yound child (delicate load)
in the trailera and take it easy.

I vaguely remember some discussion on this in this group prior.

Terryc wrote:

Naturally, you have to remember thats a very yound child (delicate load)
in the trailera and take it easy.

Also have low pressure inflated tyres. I think there are some kiddy
trailers around with hard plasic junk tyres.

On Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:16:11 +1000, LotteBum wrote:

Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

I think we were using a standard style trailer from around 9 months,
though very carefully. The problem is that the kids are quite upright, so
need to have pretty good neck muscles. That doesn't come until 9-12 months
for most kids.

Ideally it'd be possible to get something where a car style capsule would
clip in, preferably with some kind of roll cage just in case. I haven't
seen anything like that around. I've no idea what the standard practice in
countries where bike transport is more or less standard, but I suspect
it's public transport, lifts and walking.

Oh, and is there something you're not telling us?

--
Dave Hughes |
Never go off on tangents, which are lines that intersect a curve at
only one point and were discovered by Euclid, who lived in the 6th
century, which was an era dominated by the Goths, who lived in what
we now know as Poland." - Nov. 1998 issue of Infosystems Executive.

LotteBum wrote:
I've been doing some research on transporting children on bikes, and the
pros and cons of rear and front mounted seats versus trailers. The
general consensus, I'm finding, is that trailers are the way to go.

My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for
child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run
the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find
this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children
around for a whole year?

Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

Have you considered a Bakfiets?

http://infrastructuration.blogspot.c...ork-bikes.html


BTH

LotteBum wrote:

I've been doing some research on transporting children on bikes, and the
pros and cons of rear and front mounted seats versus trailers. The
general consensus, I'm finding, is that trailers are the way to go.

My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for
child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run
the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find
this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children
around for a whole year?

Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

Cheers,
Lotte

--
LotteBum

Yesterday I must have ridden past several parents with kiddy trailers
with the younger set sometimes pedling along with mum or dad.

The experience of cycling is thus indelibly imprinted on the young minds
at an early age.
Thus the children learn the wonders of cheap travel's motion but without
the
worry and drama of having to be steered carefully to prevent crashes
with everyone else using the
cycle paths.
Dad and mum get to have their sunday ride without the work and tantrum
filled efforts of child guidance.
I have a photo taken from the 1930s with a young couple both on a tandem
with their daughter of about 5
sitting on a little saddle at the rear, so its not as if this business
of coping with children
when you are a cyclist hasn't been thought about before.

If I'd ever been a dad I wouldn't have put a child on behind me until I
though the child was ready,
or likely to be injured all too easily if I ever had a prang. Here in
Oz,
women do not work in the fields, and don't wrap their kids up and put
them on their backs
as they do in Africa. We tend to engage in play without pain or
excessive challenges,
and start younger ones off in life under entirely safe circumstances.

So I guess most parents would have to walk or drive their children
around for a whole year.

Not only that, parents are expected to drive their kids around until
said child either
gets his/her first bicycle, or a car at about age 17, so you should be
prepared for a never ending
effort of care, protection, and education and transport of children
until they are independant,
and then your spirit of caring would proceed until you die before them
some 40 years after they were born. Its called loving thy child, and
this challenges
parents, and success in this challenge is not always guranteed.

When I passed two young families yesterday while out cycling, the older
kids rode their own bikes, while
younger ones were trailed. Seems pretty sensible to me.

I sometimes think such parents deserve a medal for their efforts!

Patrick Turner.

BT Humble wrote:

LotteBum wrote:
I've been doing some research on transporting children on bikes, and the
pros and cons of rear and front mounted seats versus trailers. The
general consensus, I'm finding, is that trailers are the way to go.

My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for
child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run
the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find
this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children
around for a whole year?

Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

Have you considered a Bakfiets?

http://infrastructuration.blogspot.c...ork-bikes.html

BTH

Interesting. I wasn't aware of such craftiness in child transports.

I have seen a few women or men here towing children below 3 in enclosed
little trailers
and usually quite slowly, to avoid the worst of jarring bumps. Mum gets
her exercise
instead of getting fat, and money is saved by not paying for a damned
car or bus fares etc.
I have not seen many mums cycling with under 12mth babies though, but
then I am not to know what
some mums or dads might do with kids to get them from A to B.

Patrick Turner.

LotteBum Wrote:
Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

You may of already found this in your research, if not here's two
linkies:

http://www.chariotcarriers.com/html_...faq_owners.htm

http://burley.com/support/faqs.html#age

I haven't heard of 'risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior
to this' argument before, although what is important is that the child
is capable of supporting their head before either using a trailer or
kids seat. Can ask friends who use kid trailers for further advice if
you want.


--
cfsmtb

LotteBum Wrote:
I've been doing some research on transporting children on bikes, and the
pros and cons of rear and front mounted seats versus trailers. The
general consensus, I'm finding, is that trailers are the way to go.

My problem, however, is that most say you should not use these for
child carrying purposes until the child is 12 months old, as they run
the risk of suffering from shaken baby syndrome prior to this. I find
this absurd. Are people supposed to walk or drive their children
around for a whole year?

Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

Cheers,
Lotte
Hi Lotte,

I'd go along with the trailer, as long as the suspension on the trailer
is correct - not too soggy & not too stiff. Some sort of restraint
called for too, in case of a Brisbane pothole (or tram track as someone
else found).
On the negative side, a trailer makes it harder to make eye contact &
keep a close eye on the sprog, but I'd say the advantages far outweigh
the drawbacks.

Karen


--
Duracell Bunny