Dear Parenting Team,

Please help! My baby is 11 months old and has never liked his pushchair, but it seems to be getting worse. As soon as I put him in it, he begins to scream and will not stop until he is taken out. I cannot leave the house as people look at me as if I am a bad parent!

What do I do to get him used to the pushchair?

Thanks.

Our Parenting Team reply:

Hi there,

If your baby does not enjoy going into his pushchair there are several things you could try to encourage him to like it. There are lots of exciting toys you can attach to the sides of the pram, for so your baby can interact with the toys taking their mind off just sitting there. If your baby has a favourite teddy bear or toy, you could always take that with you when you venture out but beware that babies do have a tendency of throwing their toys about - you don't want to lose it!

If your pram is facing inwards towards mum, try turning it around to face outwards - this will give your baby cars, buses and people to look at and hopefully distract him.

When you know that your baby does not like the pram, as a parent you will automatically become tense and anxious about your baby starting to scream. It's important to stay as relaxed as possible and do not let your baby know that you are feeling stressed. Try to totally ignore the bad behaviour and let your baby know it is not going to affect you and that you will continue to use the pushchair, despite his screaming. Try and schedule a short trip every day (even if it's just a walk around the block) to try and break the habit.

Good luck!

The Parenting Team