What's the youngest age for trailering a child???

[748eric]

Hi,

I have a 5 month old and a 3 1/2 year old and want to purchase a trailer to tow them around the local bike path.

I'd like to know at what age can we start to bring along our youngest?

Thanks in advance.
Eric

[pj7]

The rule of thumb is when their neck muscles are strong enough to support their head properly for those conditions. For most children it is around 12 months. I was fortunate, my son started crawling at 4 months and walking just past 6. So by 10 months he was able to be toted around in the trailer. Some children develope physically faster than others and your decision should be based on that.

[Jolt]

I'm no expert on this topic (don't have kids yet, so haven't had to be) but the recommendation I have always seen is 12 months, for the reason mentioned above (kid has to be able to hold his head up). I think the issue is the bumpy ride they get in the trailer; the head would get jiggled around quite a bit if the neck were not strong enough. That said, why has nobody designed a trailer setup that can be configured to accommodate a car seat or two and has some sort of suspension to absorb those bumps, so younger babies can SAFELY ride in it while parents do errands etc. on the bike? For all the concern lately about how dependent our society is on cars and how bad this is for the environment, not to mention the unhealthy sedentary lifestyle of most Americans (everything is designed so that we can be as inactive as possible!!), there doesn't seem to be much attention to making feasible alternatives for people with babies and small children. Let's face it, given current options (assuming the trip is too long to simply walk with the kids in the stroller), driving is often the only practical choice for somebody with an infant along for the ride. It would be great if that could be changed.

[steve2k]

There's some pretty good advice on this thread http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=289072

[masiman]

That said, why has nobody designed a trailer setup that can be configured to accommodate a car seat or two and has some sort of suspension to absorb those bumps, so younger babies can SAFELY ride in it while parents do errands etc. on the bike?

Trailers are not as wide some would like. You can get two kids in them but the fit can sometimes be tight. A child carrier can fit in a trailer but you would not be able to fit a second child in the trailer. There is at least one manufacturer that has trailers with suspension. All of these features cost money. Expect to pay $400+ for a double trailer w/suspension. Add in the possibility of a trailer brake, attachments and you can get up to the $600 range. Some understandbly don't want to or can't spend that much on a recreational product.

As for doing errands via bike, I'm all for it but me and others like me don't have the time to do the things we should do as it is. Running errands on a bike while relaxing and enjoyable, can put me farther behind in other areas.

[slowandsteady]

Trailers are not as wide some would like. You can get two kids in them but the fit can sometimes be tight. A child carrier can fit in a trailer but you would not be able to fit a second child in the trailer. There is at least one manufacturer that has trailers with suspension. All of these features cost money. Expect to pay $400+ for a double trailer w/suspension. Add in the possibility of a trailer brake, attachments and you can get up to the $600 range. Some understandbly don't want to or can't spend that much on a recreational product.

As for doing errands via bike, I'm all for it but me and others like me don't have the time to do the things we should do as it is. Running errands on a bike while relaxing and enjoyable, can put me farther behind in other areas.


If you ran errands with the bike instead of just riding around in circles with no purpose other than recreation you would be saving time. I do it all the time. 1 hour of riding for fun plus 1 hour of errands with the car = 2 hours, but if you run errands with the bike and skip the recreation ride it might take you 1.5 hours total.

[Jolt]

If you ran errands with the bike instead of just riding around in circles with no purpose other than recreation you would be saving time. I do it all the time. 1 hour of riding for fun plus 1 hour of errands with the car = 2 hours, but if you run errands with the bike and skip the recreation ride it might take you 1.5 hours total.

That's pretty much how I look at it. Get your errands done and get your exercise at the same time--very efficient. As for the previous comment about the cost of a well-equipped trailer, that's certainly a valid issue, as is the fact that they often aren't wide enough (which shouldn't be too hard to remedy--what about a configuration where it's longer instead of wider and one kid rides behind the other?).

[masiman]

If you ran errands with the bike instead of just riding around in circles with no purpose other than recreation you would be saving time. I do it all the time. 1 hour of riding for fun plus 1 hour of errands with the car = 2 hours, but if you run errands with the bike and skip the recreation ride it might take you 1.5 hours total.

I'm glad you can make the numbers work for you. Your "If" assumption is presumptuous if your comment was directed to me. I do not get to ride in circles for an hour. If I had that kind of window to do rec riding, I most certainly would and I would not run errands during that time. But that is a symptom of my responsibilities. Errands by bike is just not practical for everyone for any number of reasons. For those that can and do run errands by bike, I applaud you.

[748eric]

Wow "crawling at 4 months and walking just past 6"

Sure my 5 month old is already "running" forget walking :)

Thanks for the advice.
Eric

[tuolumne]

Opinions vary, do what you feel comfortable with. We strapped the infant's car seat into our trailers and this worked well. This spring we have gotten rid of the car seat for our youngest (11 months) and she is fine with the five point harness. Each child has been different; ours all walked very young and we felt their neck muscles were developed enough around 10 months or so to be out of the rear facing car seat.