Getting to the Seat of Baby-Transport Problem

Sit ‘n’ Stroll, a Colorado couple’s invention, should draw attention from new parents. It’s a combination car seat and stroller that makes transporting your baby a lot simpler.

Annette Dick of Denver, a mother of eight, says she “was so tired of lugging babies and stuff” that a five years ago she asked her husband, Timber, to invent a car seat that turns into a stroller.

“Just going out to the car to run several errands is a major project,” she says. “Packing and using a stroller isn’t always practical on short trips. Our children fall asleep in their car seats, and it doesn’t make sense to wake them up to put them into a stroller. Besides, who has room in the car for all that stuff?”

So, her husband rented a garage, enlisted the help of his brother and the two worked nights and weekends to build the prototype for the car-seat/stroller.

The Dicks started a firm, Safeline Children’s Products Co., and recruited Joe Mitchell, former president and CEO of Evenflo Juvenile Furniture, to assist in market research and patent application, and Dick Cone, a well-known designer of car seats and strollers, to complete the final design and supervise safety crash tests for the unit.

The first Sit ‘n’ Strolls, which meet all the federal requirements for car-seat safety certification, hit the market in July.

The car-seat/stroller weighs 14 pounds and is constructed of industrial-strength molded polypropylene and lightweight aluminum. Made in the U.S.A., it comes in medium blue soil-repellent fabric that is washable.

As a car seat, the unit has been tested safe for infants up to 25-pound babies; as a stroller, it’s safe for an infant to 45 pounds. The unit has no cables or levers and is controlled by a sliding grip located on the seat back. The seat has Velcro on the harness, so the straps can be adjusted to fit the baby.

For use as a stroller, a handle comes up and locks, and the stroller wheels come down and lock into place, similar to those of an airplane on landing. For conversion to a car seat, the wheels then retract and seal into the car-seat base. The conversion process “from seat to street” takes about 10 seconds, according to Annette Dick.

The Sit ‘n’ Stroll also can be used as a baby safety seat on airplanes.

“There is real interest in it,” says Stephanie Tombrello of Los Angeles, executive director of SafetyBeltSafe, a national consumer watchdog organization. “It’s been very well received. And it has passed all the federal tests. It is built fairly large, and tested for babies up to 25 pounds. From a safety standpoint, babies should be facing rear for the first year.”

Tombrello advises parents interested in the Sit ‘n’ Stroller to try it in their car to make sure it fits on the seats. “There may be a problem on some vehicle seats that are angled so they slope down toward the back of the seat and then the baby could be too upright. The baby needs to be leaning back at a 45-degree angle, facing toward the seat.”

Sit ‘n’ Stroll (suggested retail, $129.95 to $139.95) is available at baby stores nationwide. In the Los Angeles area, you can find the units at Baby Toy Town in the City of Industry, Carousel Baby Furniture in Pasadena, Kendrick’s Baby News in Torrance, Nationwide Baby Shops in Santa Monica and Marcy’s Baby World in Irvine. If you can’t find combo seat in your area, call Safeline Children’s Products’ toll-free number, (800) 829-1625.

Coupon Organizer May Aid Shoppers

If you’re tired of searching through your purse or pockets for your grocery list and coupons when you get to the supermarket, consider Shopper’s Helper, a pocket-sized organizer for coupons and list that clips to a shopping cart.

The organizer comes with a 50-sheet note pad and a ballpoint pen, and has a separate compartment for coupons. It also has built-in magnets on one side that enable you to attach it to the refrigerator door for easy access before marketing time.

Shopper’s Helper ($4.79, plus $1.50 shipping and handling) comes in blue, red, lilac or orange vinyl and can be purchased from Shopping With Stacy, 1-B Quaker Ridge Road, New Rochelle, N.Y. 10804; phone, (914) 632-5936.