How far would your three year old walk?

[hermionieweasley]

Husband thinks our DS could do a 10k trek in the Lake District. Not climbs, but walk. I think that it's hard slog getting him to walk to and from the play ground in our village and DH is in for a shock lol.

How far would your 3yo walk without wanting to go on shoulders/ complaining/ hopping in buggy or backpack carrier

@ForTheLoveOfWine

Ha let DH take him for a practise 10k from home

my youngest was I think 3.5 when we did whernside (one of the three peaks) not sure how many miles it is but it took us 7 hours!!! he did very well, although did go on our shoulders a few times. think it was the first time we ever managed to tire him out 😂

With sweets, in perfect weather conditions, if she was in a good mood, maybe 2 miles before the complaints started. By 5 miles you’d get a sit down protest. No amount of sheep etc would entertain her on a 10k walk in the Lakes. And she wouldn’t walk at adult pace either so an adult hiker would find her very frustrating. She’d give a 10k cycle a good go though if it was flattish.

But my kids aren’t used to hiking - as a child we were forced on all day hikes up mountains in the alps from 3 or 4, complaints weren’t entertained and we managed far more than 10k. I absolutely hated it though, it’s one reason I hate hiking now. I’d be careful you don’t put your child off completely by over facing them on the first attempt. I’d start with shorter and see how it goes from there.

I did a 12.5 km walk recently and I wanted to weep by the end I was so weary. I am 58 not 3.5. No way I would expect a wee one to walk 10k.

My three year old could probably walk that far if he was in the right frame of mind but it would require a picnic stop, a bribe of an ice cream, and an awful lot of playing I-spy along the way.

I always find long walks stressful because I can not relax knowing at any moment he may decide enough is enough and I’m faced with having to piggy back a three year old the rest of the way often while trying to juggle a backpack, a scooter and a picnic rug

My 3yo can do 5k quite essily, but i always take carrier so once they slow done, straight on my back and we can keep decent pace up and everyone is happy

Going against the grain here, my 3 year old did over a 7km walk the other day with us.
We did carry her scooter the entire way so I think around 5.5km of it was purely out of spite as we thought she would cave. She did not.

Wow that is such a long walk for such little legs.

We go on a family walk every weekend and do roughly 3 miles, correct me if wrong but I think that's 5k ish?) some of it is pretty slopey too.

My 3 year old starts to get tired a few minutes from home, but he manages it all. No way would he be able to do a 10k though.

Can you take a carrier with you? We have older kids too so we always take an ergo carrier for our youngest. She still fits in it and it packs down well for when she is walking. It’s a good work out for me too. I love walking/hiking so it works well for us. I’m not sure how much longer we can make that work though.

We walk a lot and dd who is just 4 can manage 6k at a push - she will happily walk 4K

Gosh...no

My DS can do a mile or so but wouldn't be keen on going in a straight line...

Just to add we have slowly increased the distance to 6k. She would never do 10k and to be honest I wouldn't be comfortable making her try

The most my 3 year old has walked is 5 miles but it was a complete one off and involved lots of snacks and things to look at.

My DS was an amazing walker but even he wouldn't have done 10k!!!

5k tops and even then there would've been a buggy ride/shoulder for a break in between.

My 3 year old DD will walk a fair distance, we have done a few walks recently that have been about 7km. I think she may be unusual though, and has always loved walking. As soon as she could walk she refused the pushchair so that was a waste of money because I think we used the stroller we bought about 5 times 🤣.

Ds could walk forever when he was 3. Dd screamed like she was being assaulted if I even suggested she get her butt out of the buggy. All kids are different. I would imagine he would have to be doing pretty long distances already though before you even thought about 10km.

We did a Forrest walk. 7km. She was just under 3 and the last 1km was hell ish.

Your DH is delusional.

Agreeing with the rest of the thread.

My dad's cherished memory is of me aged 4 walking 6 miles.

My memory is of the absolute grim hell of being constantly required to trudge along, legs aching, bored out of my skull, throughout my childhood. By the time I was 12 he wanted us doing 15 mile walks on holiday and I had to get my mum to point out I'd started my periods and hours and hours with no toilet or paracetamol was not my idea of fun.

I would say my DD, who turned four recently, can do a mile or or couple of miles without too much complaining, if we keep her motivated with interesting things. But equally, she can make a five act tragedy out of being required to take two steps forward to pick up her own socks from the floor, so I don't like to rely on it. You've got to think: who's going to enjoy this walk? If there's a fair chance the answer is 'no one,' then life is too short.

10k is bonkers, unless you want it to take hours and hours and hours. I accidentally took my 3yo twins on 7.5k when we got lost, it was painful. The further two would have sent them over the edge. And me. They were on their absolute limit and we walk a lot because of the dogs. They're ten now and still talk about how awful it was.

Normal range would be 1k to 5k. Some can go further, but it's a huge gamble of mood, bribeability, random items of interest, and very slow.

Mine were not great walkers in the toddler years (it later turned out that DS1 has hypermobility and some other developmental issues). However we got out a lot, used prams and carriers for lifts until they were about 4, and their range increased significantly at about 4-6. Last summer at 9/ 7 they were doing up to 8 miles in rolling lowland hills. About 5-6 miles in upland hills. At least as functional.as many adults.

I've got decent walkers, who find it reasonably pleasurable because our expectations were realistic and we worked with their ability and interest. Playing the long game works better for everyone.

We even ended up with a nearly 6 yo in a 65l rucksack. He was capable of 6mi/ 10k, but blisters got the better of him at mile 4. We had deliberately taken oversized bags as insurance, and that's turned the walk into a funny family memory rather than a resentful one of pain and annoyance.