Anyone who's tried to get a reluctant five year old out the door on a wet Tuesday morning knows the drill. Wellies on, coat zipped, and then the standoff over the umbrella, because nobody wants to carry the boring grey one Dad left in the hallway. Turns out the fix is simple, give them a brolly they actually want to be seen with.
That's really the whole idea behind our kids umbrella range. We've been doing this a long time, and if there's one thing we've learned it's that a kids umbrella only earns its keep if a child is genuinely excited to grab it on the way out.
Why "just any umbrella" won't cut it
Handing a child an old adult umbrella might feel like the sensible, save-a-few-quid option, but in practice it's a nightmare. The canopy's too big, the spring mechanism snaps open with a bit too much force for small fingers, and the whole thing drags along the pavement like a walking stick. Our children's umbrellas are built the other way round, from the child's size upwards. They measure roughly 60cm to 70cm, so they sit comfortably in little hands without being unwieldy, and they open on a manual glide mechanism rather than a snap-action spring, which keeps fingers well away from any pinch points. Add a lightweight aluminium shaft and a fully waterproof nylon canopy and you've got something that'll survive a proper school run, not just look nice in the hallway for a week.
The designs (this is the fun bit)
We stock a genuinely huge spread of themes, and honestly it's one of our favourite parts of the shop. Pirates, princesses, ducks, dinosaurs, sea creatures, space, there's very little we haven't covered. Our Kidorable range in particular is where most of the magic happens, starting from £15.95 and packed with proper character. A butterfly umbrella with an antenna handle. A spotty ladybird one. Monkeys, sharks and frogs for the animal-obsessed. A knight design that tends to fly off the shelves with little boys who like a bit of drama in their rain gear. And if you've got a small one who's currently obsessed with ballet, that's covered too. These aren't just prints slapped on a canopy, they have proper little 3D handles and matching details, which is exactly why kids end up asking for them by name.
What to actually check for when you're picking one
Most of this is common sense once you know what to look for, but it's worth saying out loud. Safety tips on the ends of the ribs matter more than people realise, they stop the whole thing turning into an accidental poking hazard mid opening. A velcro closure is far easier for a child to manage on their own than a stiff popper, which means less of you doing it for them at the school gate. And size really does matter here. A toddler umbrella needs to be genuinely small and light, not just "the smallest one we had in stock". Most of our Kidorable designs are pitched at roughly three to six year olds for exactly this reason.
If they've outgrown the animal prints
Every parent hits the point where their child decides bright dinosaur brollies are "for babies now". We've got a separate range for older kids and teens too, with more compact designs and clear bubble-style canopies that don't look like they belong in a primary school cloakroom, so even that awkward in-between stage is sorted.
Prices across the kids' range start at £15.95, delivery is free on UK orders over £40, and there's a genuinely wide enough selection that you can go looking for a cute umbrella and actually find one your child will pick out themselves. Have a browse through the full Kids Umbrellas collection and let them choose their favourite, we promise the standoff at the front door gets a lot shorter once they're the ones excited to grab it.
By Emma Barber
