Review & Giveaway!
Our daughter S is 20 months now and very much an independent woman, she knows what she wants and is very clear in letting us know about it! Recently she has wanted to walk more and more which would be fine, but unfortunately she refuses to hold our hand a lot of the time and out right refuses to wear her old animal backpack with reigns - so most of the time to keep her safe near roads or in busy areas, we have to confine her back to the pushchair or carry her for peace of mind.
I saw an advert on Facebook for Hobbledehoo which looked like a much more structured harness and I was kindly offered one to try out for review here.
This could go one of two ways - either she would let us put it on, or she would scream blue murder and I would post it back with my apologies.
Much to my surprise, not only did S put her arms up to have it put on voluntarily, she allowed us to buckle it, tighten it and attach the straps for our walk. Gobsmacked. I wondered what kind of crazy sorcery this harness included - it actually made her happy!
This is a toddler that for at least the last 6 months has refused anything vaguely restrictive or 'baby' like, such as high chairs, trolley traps and the other kind of back pack harnesses so this was a good sign!
I saw an advert on Facebook for Hobbledehoo which looked like a much more structured harness and I was kindly offered one to try out for review here.
This could go one of two ways - either she would let us put it on, or she would scream blue murder and I would post it back with my apologies.
Much to my surprise, not only did S put her arms up to have it put on voluntarily, she allowed us to buckle it, tighten it and attach the straps for our walk. Gobsmacked. I wondered what kind of crazy sorcery this harness included - it actually made her happy!
This is a toddler that for at least the last 6 months has refused anything vaguely restrictive or 'baby' like, such as high chairs, trolley traps and the other kind of back pack harnesses so this was a good sign!
Hobbledehoo goes onto the child like a vest which can then be tightened to fit snuggly around the body. This is seriously well made and robust and lightly padded for comfort. The straps tightened and loosened very easily and quickly which is pretty essential with impatient toddlers craving their adventures and all clips are really solid too.
These harnesses have a nice solid handle on the back and front, perfect for helping your little one up whilst allowing them to do half the work. We haven't really used these a great deal, but found it good to have that extra 'grabbing' point when we needed her to stop at the roadside, or super stay close by.
The strap has one handle that splits to two clips to support the harness on your walks. The strap material is very thick, well made and soft but I would have liked to have seen a more robust grabby handle like the ones attached to the front and back as I found this harder to grip. The good thing about it being a plain loop is that it makes it easier to loop round and round your hand to shorten the strap, so there are definitely pros and cons to the strap design. For me though, this didn't let it down at all in use, I just always try and find something that I would maybe change in a review if I can.
I am completely blown away at how much S has enjoyed using this harness and getting a little freedom. We have only had one tantrum which was when we tried to carry her through a busy crowd in town, so nothing to do with the harness! Otherwise, this has really been a bit of a godsend for us and I know if she could tell us, S would say she loves this - hopefully the pictures show that instead!
This is so much better than the backpack style one we used with our son (and attempted with S) as we found those always rose up and if they fell over it came right up to the neck and cut in the armpits. This fits so nicely on the body - it's kind of the human equivalent of a dog harness VS a collar and lead - it's safer, much more comfortable for the child and the reigns can simply be detached when they sit down or pop off to play.
From the second we tried this, we have had no battles with S to put this on - I think she knows it's her best alternative that offers the most freedom! We battle to get her to wear anything that isn't pink, to wear shoes that don't have a bow on and to let us brush her teeth and hair, but luckily with the Hobbledehoo we have one less battle on our hands and it's great!
Big thumbs up from us. For more information on the Hobbledehoo, you can visit their Facebook page and see all the amazing things the Hobbledehoo can do, like help with Skiing! You can also buy it on their website. There is so much fun to be had!
To be in with a chance of winning one of these brilliant harnesses for yourself, please enter via the Gleam widget below.
To be in with a chance of winning one of these brilliant harnesses for yourself, please enter via the Gleam widget below.
Hobbledehoo Childs Harness
Discloure: I was sent the Hobbledehoo for an honest review - all words, thoughts and pictures are my own.
Competition to UK only, listed on Prizefinder and U me and the kids.
Competition to UK only, listed on Prizefinder and U me and the kids.
