[ DISCLOSURE: THIS POST CONTAINS GIFTED PRODUCT.  ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE MY OWN, NOT OF THE BRANDS NAMED. ]

Toddlers are funny little people; full of curiosity and a growing mind of their own.  And if yours are anything like my little man – inquisitive, boisterous and always on the go – they’re a whole new level of the game.  Keeping any toddler entertained (or distracted) can be a challenge so it’s essential to provide stimulating activities that’ll keep them happy and content, and hey, even prepare them for a good nap.

At 15 months old, Reuben has reached the stage where he’s really grown bored of his pushchair and will do anything to fight himself out of being sat in it.  So naturally I don’t enjoy taking him out in it, and I’ve taken to carrying him in a carrier.  Don’t get me wrong, we both like it, but when Reuben wants to feel more plugged into the world around him, he does like to get down onto his feet.  It’s just sometimes he wants to chill.

And that’s when we started to think about alternatives and came to the idea of a trike.  I’d seen some a few times around town and thought they looked like a playful pushchair hybrid.  Parents were pushing their toddlers in a seat, but that seat wasn’t a buggy but a trike.  How odd – and how fun, I thought!

Little Tikes are the ultimate fun kids’ brand.  Take the iconic Cosy Coupé, they’re so flipping cute, if they were around in my childhood I’d have wanted one for sure!  Little Tikes know their toys.  And little did I know, they clearly know their toddler trikes too.

Last week Reuben received an exciting delivery from Little Tikes – his very own Perfect Fit 4 in 1 Trike (RRP £89.99), in teal.

With a detachable telescopic steering handle for pushing and control, and full pedal movement for independent riding, the Perfect Fit grows with your child making it the ideal trike to learn to ride with.

Additionally, the Perfect Fit boasts a fully adjustable sun-safe canopy to block out strong sunshine (which you can take off the trike altogether if you don’t need it).  In three parts it retracts back or covers as much as you want it to, and you can alter the centre position of it too, so you can position it further forward if the sun’s really getting into your kid’s eyes.

So the Perfect Fit can be used by babies and toddlers from around 9 months old who are able to sit up.  With minor adjustments which just mean bits here and there are removed, little ones can enjoy the freedom of the great outdoors without yet needing to ride themselves.  With the help of a steering handle, when engaged into full control by clicking a button on the front wheel, parents can push and move the trike around without the need for the pedals.

With a broad foot rest that attaches over the body of the trike, toddlers can sit with their feet comfortably flat and with no risk of slipping (the downside to other trikes that have slim foot rest bars instead of a plate).  They can advance to steering and have the waist bar removed.  Then when their feet reach the pedals they can try pedalling, but with the steering handle still in main control, they can practice until they’re ready to pedal and steer themselves.  That’s when you can remove the steering handle and let them ride free!

Reassuringly the trike is safety conscious too, with a secure five part harness, a removable waist bar, and two foot brakes on the back wheels, you know your little one isn’t going anywhere.  Reuben loves getting strapped in; he knows he’s off on an adventure and holds onto the waist bar for the ride.

Oh and there’s loads of space to carry essentials.  With a deep storage bucket behind the trike, a gadget tray at the top of the steering handle, and even a cup holder at the front of the trike, toddler cups are to hand and I can easily carry bottles of water, my sunglasses, phone and Reuben’s nappy bag if I fancy going out bag-free.

Personally, I love how the Perfect Fit bears the adult in mind as well as the small person riding it.  It’s handle height is adjustable to three positions so you’re not altering your posture (or knackering it) to bend down or reach up to push it.  You can easily change it on the move; you twist a plastic collar on the neck of the handle, press in the metal pin and slide it to the next hole.  I’m 5’8″ tall and have it on the second position, while the husband, who’s 6′, moves it up to the highest position. Another fab feature is that the steering handle is overlaid with foam so it makes the handle bar easier to grip and pushing more comfortable.

The Perfect Fit trike has now replaced our pushchair – literally, we’ve swapped them round in the boot of the car.  Where Reuben will kick off in the pushchair, he willing goes into the trike, probably because he feels in control; it’s forward facing, he can hold onto the bars and try steering, and just enjoy the exhilarating rush of the wind in his hair.  Actually, even when he’s tootling around Tesco and the wind isn’t rushing through his hair, he’s still loving being part of the action.

Now what I would suggest is prepare yourself for a bit of a work out yourself.  It’s not the walking, more the effort required to push a trike.  While the solid wheels are tough and put up with a lot, unlike a pushchair they don’t have bearings so it can be quite hard work.  But I wanted to get fit so there’s a positive, I guess!  Having tested it out on various terrains, I find the Perfect Fit is best suited to the smoother surfaces such as tarmac footpaths, or fine gravelled tracks.  It does cope with rockier ground, but the wheels aren’t rugged enough to take sticks and craggy rocks in its stride so it makes the trike rattle a bit.

In the past week Reuben’s been out and about in his trike just about every day.  Over the weekend we went on our favourite local walk down to an ancient abbey ruins and took the trike for a spin.  Reuben loved it; he met some sheep and their lambs along the way, and cruised past the abbey with wonder.

Then we took a day out to Hamsterly Forest on a quest to follow the Gruffalo trail.  This meant a four mile round trip to the visitor centre, on top of meandering through the forest, so we did a lot of walking and triking!   I couldn’t believe Reuben was happy to sit in his trike for so long, he was just so content taking in the sights.  We gathered wild flowers and foliage which Reuben was able to look at as he went along and we collected them in his storage bucket.

The trike is great fun – for Reuben and us parents!  It adds to the sense of adventure, getting out and enjoying the fresh air and it saves me a lot of headache too.  Knowing Reuben’s happy gives me huge relief; rather than sitting bored and falling asleep in his pushchair, he’s engaged and taking in the world.  Reuben’s summer Tour de Trike is officially on!

You can buy the Little Tikes Perfect Fit Trike from:

Amazon

What do you think of these little toddler trikes?  If your toddler has one, where’s the best place you’ve taken the trike?  I’d love to hear in the comments below!