When my first daughter had just turned three, we learned that we were soon to be parents of a little toddler from Korea with some physical disabilities. There were certainly some adjustments that were going to have to be made; nothing too serious yet, since she was just a toddler, but adding a second child (even a non-disabled one) required some rearranging.

For instance, we did have a stroller, but it was a single one. Even though she was already three, my daughter still enjoyed riding in the stroller rather than walking everywhere (she's still on the wimpy side, now, at seven). Plus, she was very inquisitive and busy, and keeping her in a stroller curbed her desires to run into the street, down the walkway in the mall, etc.

I had looked at double strollers and had even used some that belonged to friends. The two options in a double stroller were the front/back scenario, where the stroller body is long and narrow and one kid rides in front while the other rides in back. I found those kind to be extremely difficult to maneuver, but worse than that, I knew that my daughter would complain and be intolerant of having to climb in and out of the uncomfortable seat. Plus, she was growing and desired a little more independence. The other option for a double stroller was the tandem umbrella stroller... but it was hard to find, and seemed a bit wide as well. Plus, when you get those, people always assume you've got twins, and I just thought it would be a little dorky for our situation.

At Baby Depot I discovered the Baby Trend Sit 'n Stand and soon realized that I'd found exactly the solution for my dilemma. It had a cushy front seat for our new little one, and then it offered our older daughter three options: sit backwards on the jumpseat, stand up and face forward, or walk independently. I bought the stroller for a little over a hundred dollars, and it ended up suiting our needs pretty well.

What I Liked About Our Sit 'n Stand
•The front seat of the stroller was comparable to other similar strollers in that it was decently comfortable. I also liked the fabric on ours, which was medium green -- every other stroller out there was either navy blue or pastel-y ick. I like being different.
•The basket underneath was good-sized and could hold plenty of stuff
•The jumpseat had a seat belt when my child was sitting, and another one across the back that kept her in while she was standing up.
•The jumpseat slid out of the way neatly over the basket when my daughter stood.
•My older daughter could get in and out of the jumpseat conveniently.
•The hood was easily removable.
•The collapse operation was fairly simple.

What I Didn't Like About Our Sit 'n Stand
•When it was collapsed, it was still really large and bulky, and incredibly heavy.
•It was not any more compact from front to back than a regular double stroller -- I put them side by side, and the Sit 'n Stand was the same length as the other kind -- which made it not quite as maneuverable as a single stroller
•Many of the fittings were plastic, including the wheel locks. Those wheel locks lasted about once, and broke off. I found that to be extremely annoying and eventually led to my selling the stroller in a garage sale after our third child was born, because it was just flimsy and cheaply made in some places.
•It was squeaky and had to be regularly WD-40'd in order to keep from embarrassing ourselves in the mall with the loud squeaks.

Conclusion
Would I purchase another Sit 'n Stand? Probably so, if our family situation called for it, but I'd check it out to see if they've improved the workmanship since that first one was bought back in 1997. I'd also look around to see if another manufacturer had a similar model, and I'd compare them. I really found the jumpseat feature to be helpful and convenient, and I'd certainly consider owning another one. If you're looking into it, you need to carefully think through your family's particular needs -- don't buy this just because it's a cool novelty-type thing, because it's not that good. Buy it only if you have one kid who needs to ride and one kid who needs the option of riding or walking.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 110
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months