Is It Mandatory To Have Strollers In Germany For Infants? (Tips For Traveling With Your Infant In Germany)

It’s not mandatory to have a stroller for an infant in Germany. If you’re traveling there, you should consider packing light, and a stroller doesn’t have much use for an infant as they don’t move around. Since they’re light weighted, they can be carried in babywear. Also, consider keeping your own travel infant car seat. Consider routes between places you’ll be visiting and if you’re traveling with public transport or using a car on rental. If you want to take it, go for a lightweight, durable, and foldable stroller and be ready to leave your baby outside a café or restaurant, as it’s common in Germany. 

Traveling to a new country is always exciting and stressful with an infant.

When planning a family trip with your infant to this beautiful country, there’re many things you’d be curious about, including if your infant needs to have a stroller.

Germany is a beautiful country to travel to with your family. But as a family vacation, you want to make sure not to pack extra stuff and carry only the essentials, and we all know an infant needs a lot of things. 

Europe especially needs to be traveled mostly on foot. So thinking of whether packing your stroller is a good idea or not in terms of legal implications can be something to worry about.

Need for infant stroller in Germany

People always say once you have a family of your own, it becomes impossible to travel, so do all your traveling before planning a family. Well, you can throw that notion out the window.

Travelling can be as easy and seamless as you want to make it.

Sure, kids can be unpredictable, making trips more “interesting.” Still, I think trips are supposed to be fun and surprising!

It can be a better experience with an infant than traveling with a toddler since they haven’t learned how to move around yet. On the other hand, they will cry more, require more care, and won’t understand you so much.

You’ll be looking to pack minimum but all the essential things you need.

Germany is a vast country, and its cities and towns have different infrastructures. So wondering about things such as a stroller and packing a travel crib are things you need to think about. 

Taking heavy bags and a stroller depends on which cities you’re planning to travel to. There’ll be spaces where you’ve access to escalators and elevators, but there are also places with cobblestone roads.

Dragging a stroller on the cobblestone roads can be difficult and challenging with a newborn in there since they’re more delicate and mostly always sleeping. 

Is it mandatory to have a stroller?

It’s not mandatory to have a stroller for your infant in Germany. If you’re comfortable, you should be using babywearing instead. It makes it much easier for the parents to travel with ease.

A young German couple is taking a walk in the cold winter while dad holds their infant baby in a baby body carrier

It also makes sense when traveling to cities with a difficult path to move your stroller. Since there are a lot of areas to cover on foot, babywearing can be just the thing you need.

With the stroller, you might risk hitting and bumping it here and there several times, which could irritate you more. While with babywear, you can be sure your infant is close to you.

Of course, if you aren’t comfortable with babywear, you should take your baby stroller with you. But if you plan to do so, invest in a lightweight, sturdy and durable collapsible stroller. Nothing too huge or bulky is safe for traveling.

Culture shock with infant stroller

You won’t know or believe it unless you visit, but for Germans, leaving their baby in the stroller outside a café or restaurant is normal and is a widespread activity. 

It’s a pretty safe country with a low violent crime rate than states, but it can still be a cultural shock to the Americans. But it’s also due to the Scandinavian tradition, with people from the north regularly leaving their children to nap in subzero temperatures. 

You’ll see baby strollers parked outside like cars, and people would be walking by normally. So, before getting a stroller for your infant, consider if you’ll be comfortable with this practice, as taking in the stroller isn’t allowed. 

If you’re moving to this beautiful country there’re several things you should familiarize yourself with before making a change.

Why babywearing is better than the stroller in Germany?

For traveling on foot, you need to have babywear, and it proves to be much more comfortable for the infant and the parents

A young mom is at the cafe with her baby. Mom is drinking coffee and working while the infant baby is sleeping in the babywear

Since it keeps the infant close to your body, it also helps in soothing them. It reduces unnecessary crying, and the infant can sleep easily in your warmth.

It can give your infant the comfort of being in the womb, increasing their sense of security. It can be especially helpful in crowded places. Using a stroller can take more space, and traveling from one place to another can be difficult. 

It’s a different story if you’re planning to rent out a car because you can easily travel with a stroller. But even renting cars can be expensive, but it’s a great option if you can do so.

Otherwise, there’s good public transportation in Germany. Using a light stroller will be a good choice if you don’t want to use babywear.

Some other benefits include:

  • It helps in feeding discreetly.
  • It helps the infant with poor digestion by staying upward, helping them pass gas easily or burp.
  • You can fold it and keep it anywhere in your carrying bags.
  • When visiting Germany in winter, babywear can be beneficial to keep the infant warm with body heat as they also get covered inside your coat. 

It can be tricky to get used to it in the beginning. Still, if you’re traveling, you can start practicing using babywear at home when going to nearby places with your infant.

In a stroller, you can keep all the essentials needed for your infant. But with babywear, you’d have to carry a diaper bag.

It’s good to know the possible pros and cons of using babywear or a stroller before starting your journey to Germany.

It mainly depends on the cities you’re planning to visit and if you’re comfortable with a babywear or a stroller. 

FAQs

Is a stroller necessary for newborns?

Most people don’t find strollers necessary for the infant. Using babywear or baby carriers is more comfortable for the infant and the parents.

Since newborns can’t move around, a baby carrier is more helpful than a stroller. Later on, as they grow, a stroller can be beneficial for their current age needs.

Since they become heavier and grow in size, using a stroller makes sense.

How long should I wait before traveling with my infant?

Doctors recommend waiting until your infant’s immune system is more stable or developed, which is around until they turn one month old.

It’s also a crucial time for the mother as she needs to recover from childbirth and adjust to having a newborn.

You can travel from the second month after consulting with your pediatrician and seeing if your infant’s health is fine. 

Do you need a car seat for an infant in Germany?

It’s better to carry your own car seat to Germany than a stroller and have babywear for an easy traveling experience.

If you’re taking a car on rental, then it’s absolutely best to have your own with you, and even if you’d be taking the car on rental for a few days, it’s better to have your own. 

How do you travel with an infant in Germany?

With an infant or a toddler, you need to see how farther away are places you want to visit and what’s the public transportation like, and what you need to pack for your infant.

The tickets are free when traveling with kids under 6 years old when taking trains. It would be best to carry a babywear with an infant rather than a stroller. 

See if you can pack a travel crib and look for a friendly hotel that caters to families. Such as Famil hotels, as they have playing areas and family-centered activities.

Update your baby’s diaper bag and see if you have plenty of stuff there. Don’t overpack and see if the brand items you use are available in Germany. 

To summarise

It’s not mandatory to have strollers in Germany for infants. When planning to travel there, you might want to consider the pros and cons of taking it with you. 

Infants are quiet at this age and don’t move much, so if you’re planning to travel light, you might not need the stroller. Since an infant is light and small, you can use babywear to carry them instead.

The vital thing to consider is looking at the routes you’ll be traveling and if you’ll be taking public transportation or a car on rental. Watch out for the culture shock of leaving your babies in strollers outside of cafes in Germany! 

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As a writer for 1happykiddo, Saumya wants to help new parents and older siblings help raise the newest member added to the family. Her parenting tips come from her experience of being 15 years older than her youngest sibling. When not writing, you can find her reading novels, traveling, and cooking nutritious meals.

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