It’s hard to imagine a beautiful woman going to the Opera for a gala opera evening wearing jogging shoes or carrying no clutch with her.  It’s hard to imagine a serious jogging stroller without these handy accessories which make your running safe and a road convenient – both for you and child. Accessories are those small details that make us feel comfortable, well-equipped and confident in what we do. Being well-equipped for jogging or rollerblading ensures your child’s and your safety, comfort and enjoyment.

 6 Must have Jogging Stroller Accessories:

• 2 for Daily use: a little pump, a rain&mosquito cover
• 2 for Sports: a safety leash, padding pillows for the child’s head
• 2 for Safety: a light or the reflectors

Daily Use Accessories

All of the jogging strollers have air filled tires and they might get flat unexpectedly.

In order not to run to the nearest gas station (good if you can find one nearby) – a pocket bike pump that fits into the underneath basket should always be with you.

Rain Shield
If you’re serious about your fitness intentions – your Motto is a Walk a Day. Regardless of the weather outdoors. A proper rain shield is a must have – choose one that covers an entire canopy from its front, back and sides. Best ones are made of water resistant polyurethane coated nylon (are very lightweight  and compact, like Bob’s Weather Shield). Check if a viewing window is large enough, otherwise your little one will rightly argue (no one wants to sit and see nothing). Best viewing is possible with a simple plastic/transparent rain cover (e.g. Jeep’s rain cover), however, those are quite bulky to keep  in the underneath basket. It should have air holes for ventilation and a large viewing window. Use a rain shield also during windy days, especially for walks on the sea coast.

Sun Shield
It is good to have a sun shield for the hot weather time or rollerblading, it reduces harmful ultraviolet UVA/UVB raysand protects against mosquitoes (especially when rollerblading with a stroller). A good example is a BOB Sun Shield, still at a price. However, I didn’t mind using a simple large very thin cotton pareo. Yes, it didn’t look as sexy as a designer’s sun shield, but still worked well for me. I don’t mind to use little creativity to save some money. A great sunshade is a SnoozeShade– a breathable stroller blackout blind that blocks 94 percent of light and creates a shady and well-ventilated environment for a baby to sleep. I wish I had it earlier.

Sports Accessories:

Safety leash makes you feel more secure as it protects a stroller from running away from you (a safety leash might be difficult to find in stores, but a simple dog leash would work equally well). Indispensable at high speed.

Extra Padding for the Head
Please be attentive to your child head! Sounds ambiguously. Pay extra attention while rollerblading with a stroller and running on the bumpy, paved trails.
Micro bead pillows – for fixing and stabilizing the child’s head – get two little pillows from each side of the head (the brutal truth I have always used just folded diapers and baby’s spare clothing, but I will understand you if you hate such a trivial approach).

 A little head is shaking and slumping if not properly fixed. To solve this problem we need something firm but soft and compact – something better than an air filled auto pillow.

Pillows filled with the micro beads are best – use two of them from each side of the head. Be EXTRA careful using them in hot weather. Regularly check your child, let’s say every 20 minutes, not to overheat him.

Safety accessories

I recommend to put a sounding bike bell for emergency alarming – you’ll appreciate it when rollerblading or running in a lively area.

Get something cool, like Electra Bicycle Bell – for a fashionably skull look.

A Safety Lights:
put a headlight (or blinky) on the front of a canopy’s roof – to make your presence obvious in darkness. There are plenty of bike lights on Amazon, however, I found Planet Bike Spok LED most useful for the jogging stroller, as it has a velcro strap mounting system that provides many placement options. If you want to get your jogging stroller super flashy  – consider the SpokeLit little lights that are attached on the wheels. Another good option is the Valco Baby Glo Bugz

Reflectors for a canopy
If there’s lack of them on your stroller consider tuning your stroller with the Reflective tape around the canopy. If you’re having trouble removing it, use velcro instead – just apply a reflective tape to the velcro, then put the opposite type velcro on your stroller – here you go – you can remove it easily.

Small details make a big difference. Your and your child comfort and safety depend on them.

Have a look at your jogging stroller, spend some time and money to make it 100% perfect for your jogging, rollerblading or just walking experience!