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Size & Age's
We occasionally get parents keen to buy a WeeRide, who look at the maximum weight guidelines (18 Kilos), look at their child and think the seat will be too small or they'll out-grow it too quickly - they're wrong!
Firstly, it's important to remember that for babies, the first year of life is a time when they grow very rapidly. On average, a 3.2kg baby will end its first year at around 10kg, more than triple its birth weight. Growth slows down in the second year with, on average, two to three kilos added each year until the next major growth 'spurt' at puberty.
So when can you start using a WeeRide, and when will your child out-grow it?
The short answer is that in Australia there is no law that specifies a minimum age, although the law requires that child must wear a helmet. That said - common sense would suggest it's around the age of 1 - since that is when a baby's neck is strong enough to hold a helmet. Of course all childern are different, we started riding with our daughter when she was about 10 months old, following advice from our GP..
Why From About The Age Of 1?
At about the age of one year the neck development of some babies approaches the point where they can tolerate the weight of a helmet while awake. A baby seated upright in a child carrier seat will go to sleep frequently, that's why the WeeRide has the build-in sleep podium, otherwise usually when that happens, the parent must stop and wait for the child to finish napping.
Most parents with Rear-Mounted Seats don't have that much patience. It is common to see parents still riding, with the child's head lolling around with every bump and wobble of the bike.
To 18 Kilos...
The Australian Standard for any child bicycle seats specifies 22 Kilos as the absolute maximum weight allowed, which for the average child is ~6 1/2 - you'd hope they were riding their own bike by then! A WeeRide is engineered to fit a child up to 18 Kilos - and so complies with this standard.
Obviously all childern are unique - however the Australian Government recently agreed to use World Health Organisation child growth charts, these vary for Boys & Girls and the ones below are the relevant "1st World" charts.
What these clearly show is that a boy in mid-range - will be almost 5 years old before they weigh 18 Kilos, even the biggest boys in the 95th percentile will be 3 1/2 before they weigh 18 kilos.
For girls the story is almost identical similar, they seem to start just a little lighter - but follow the same trends.
It is interesting to note that in a number of states in America it is either illegal to carry a child less than 12 months old on a bicycle or illegal to carry a child greater than 40 lbs (18 kilos) in a bicycle-seat - or both
So in conclusion, the WeeRide is engineered for the American market - a country where a man who lost his trousers at the dry cleaners tried suing for 54 Million dollars - the most litigous country in the world - it's self-evident that the WeeRide thrives in this market.
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