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Original poster

Can I use a buggy board with a 17 month old?

38 replies

Whoneedsleep · 21/12/2022 18:50

Just that really!
Due DC3 in March. DC2 will be 17 months old. I have older DC to drive to school for 8:30am so would need to take both babies in the car plus primary school child.

Dc2 has just started walking but is unreliable and won’t follow direction. Has anyone got away with a buggy board at this age? Would DC2 be likely to stay on it long enough to get newborn in and out of the car and to school?

Other option is a travel system/double pram but I’m short of money so can’t afford a proper travel system (even second hand I can’t see any for much less than £400) and I’m dreading the thought of getting a newborn in and out of the car plus a toddler and very daydreamy reception child as well. I’ve considered the out n about double but again this involves getting newborn out of car seat!

Please can someone point me in the right direction before I make expensive mistakes?!

OP posts:
Pondere · 21/12/2022 18:52

Put baby in carrier and toddler in pushchair?

QueenOfWeeds · 21/12/2022 18:52

You can get buggy boards with a little seat on (like a bike). Would that be easier for DC2?

CremeEggThief · 21/12/2022 18:52

Should be fine for a short journey from car to school, surely?? I might suggest otherwise if you had to walk a mile or so each way.

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Iam4eels · 21/12/2022 18:53

They can but I'd also use reins so that they're on the buggy board with the reins hooked over the buggy handle/wrapped around your hand, that way if they do hop off they can't bolt.

How long would you be out and about? If they still nap or if it's going to be longer journeys then a double buggy might be a better bet.

MsChatterbox · 21/12/2022 18:53

I wouldn't trust it. I still sometimes put my 2.5 year old in the carrier for the school run. Just so much more contained and less hassle. I have the "baby bjorn carrier one" and she doesn't hurt my back at all even at her age. You can get them second hand on ebay. It also takes a baby from I think 8/10lbs so you could also choose to put the newborn in there and toddler in pushchair if it suits sometimes.

NuffSaidSam · 21/12/2022 18:54

If it's literally just the bit from car to school then it's probably fine, but surely you must walk to other places too? And I can't see that a 17 month old on a buggy board is a good solution for more than 5 minutes at a time so won't you need a double anyway?

DaftyInTheMiddle · 21/12/2022 18:54

Could you look at a sling / carrier for newborn then continue the pram for dc2. Wear the sling in the car then just pop baby in when you’re ready. When baby is a bit bigger / older then you might feel more confident with dc 2 on the night board.

Mol1628 · 21/12/2022 18:54

I would get a double buggy. You’ll be grateful for how hassle free it is. You’ll need it for when older one isn’t feeling well etc or when you are in a rush.

Iam4eels · 21/12/2022 18:55

You can get tandem double buggies such as the Phil&Ted where the second seat eventually detaches completely to convert it into a single.

Namechanger965 · 21/12/2022 18:57

If you get one with a seat on then yes, but without it I wouldn’t. DD was 18 months when DS was born and she hated the buggy board so it might not go well (she was an early walker as well so her balance wasn’t an issue).

I’d put the baby in a carrier and 17 month old in a pushchair. I did that for about 3 months until DS got too heavy then got a cheaper double buggy (a graco one) to use if we were walking somewhere further and I wanted DD to have a nap on the way.

Original poster
Whoneedsleep · 21/12/2022 18:57

DC2 is more of a lie down and refuse to move type but DC1 walks with his head in the clouds so I have to hold onto him at times as there’s loads of crossings/motorway crossing flyover on the way. Its not far from the car park to school gate, maybe half a mile? If I walked from home it would be 2 miles but over a million roads. Probably easier to do that in better weather though.

I have a carrier so could do toddler in the pram and newborn in that, how do I get the newborn in and out of the car seat without hell breaking loose? Just wake them and hope for the best?
Last time the car seat clipped into the pram for an easy life but I can’t do this with the double pram as it hasn’t got that feature.

Maybe I’m overthinking this whole thing- blame pregnancy brain!

OP posts:
PuttingDownRoots · 21/12/2022 18:57

Buggy boards work when the child wants them to. Not so great with a wilful child when you are in a rush.

Try to get a double second hand. (Is school walkable so you don't need to do the pram to car bit?)

PuttingDownRoots · 21/12/2022 18:58

Cross Post on route!

Baby will adapt.

Original poster
Whoneedsleep · 21/12/2022 18:59

I rarely use the pram…tend to carry DC2 where possible if I nip into the shop or whatever for quickness. We don’t go out much 😳 I obviously can’t carry 2 babies though!

I would need a pram for days out but then again DH would be there so one pram each?

OP posts:
Caspianberg · 21/12/2022 19:04

I wouldn’t use buggy board at that age. You will want to concentrate on eldest dropping off so awkward if trying to control 1 year old and newborn

Newborn in sling, 1 year old in pram. You just lift newborn out car seat and into sling and usually they go back to sleep

Get a Phil and teds tandem from marketplace. The old style ones go really cheap and you can add car seat ontop and toddler into back seat.

like this Phil’s nd teds dot

Can I use a buggy board with a 17 month old?
PuttingDownRoots · 21/12/2022 19:10

If you are usedto carrying No.2and already have a car seat that fits on the frame you could put DC2 on your back and push DC3. But obviously you carrying him might change in pregnancy.

CremeEggThief · 21/12/2022 19:11

Ah sorry, I thought you meant the car would be parked a lot closer to the school than half a mile away. In our area most people drop off at the school gates or across the road from a school. That probably is too far for the 17 month old then.

miltonj · 21/12/2022 19:18

Little babies love being in carriers so will very likely go at straight back to sleep! I'd get the youngest very used to the carrier from as young as possible with the view of that being the main source of transport as your middle child may be in the pram untill they're over 3.

Bigger baby might feel upset about giving his pram up... it can be a very emotional time, for little ones getting a new sibling as you'll know! Grin

Original poster
Whoneedsleep · 21/12/2022 19:43

Thank you to you all! Brilliant suggestions I’ll think about which way to go!

Maybe I just need to suck up the money and buy a double pram. DC1 barely used his pram after about 18 months but there was only one of him not 3 so a lot easier to manage and keep an eye on! DC2 is unpredictable and has no fear of anything including cats/running off/ lying in the middle of the road so I still have her in the pram at the moment for an easy life on the school run.

I live rurally so it’s a lot of fast windy roads to walk along plus lots of those awful side streets people fly out of which makes it a bit harder.

I can see this being great fun…

OP posts:
LillyBugg · 21/12/2022 19:46

Will the 17mo even be walking? My first didn't walk until almost 19mo so no way would a buggy board work for us. But then my second walked at 12mo so who knows.

I think for school run I'd put newborn in a sling, they do go back to sleep so quickly. But generally I'd say you need a double, 17mo is still so little.

Mol1628 · 21/12/2022 19:46

i forgot to add that newborn in the sling plus toddler in pushchair never worked for me.

I just ended up flustered trying to deal with the toddler with the baby on my front as well. Can’t run after the toddler or deal with a tantrum with a newborn strapped onto you.

But then my eldest was a bit of a spirited naughty child so that’s probably why I struggled. Out and about double was a life saver for me.

VivaVivaa · 21/12/2022 19:49

Depends on the child, but no way would I have risked a buggy board as my soul means of transporting my 17 month old, especially on something important like the school run. He’s still quite unreliable on one now at close to 3. Id get a double, sorry!

Original poster
Whoneedsleep · 21/12/2022 20:07

@Mol1628 with the out and about did you find it easy to put up and down and did you use it from newborn? I’ve seen a second hand one in budget but it’s only front facing. I thought newborns faced the parent?

@LillyBugg to make life harder she’s already walking. Both of mine got up and went at 12 months hence loosing the pram early with DC1. DC2 is very opinionated though and won’t be steered very easily so it makes it hard to keep her safe without carrying her past things. Would probably be easier if she was stationary!

OP posts:
Fairyjuice · 21/12/2022 20:31

I wouldn't risk it. I used a buggy board full time for dc1 when he was just turned 3 and it was manageable, used it occasionally with the other kids when they were around 2.5 but wouldn't trust it younger than that.

I had an out and about double and it is cumbersome and bulky when folded (even more so with the buggy board attached). I had a baby jogger double before that and found it an absolute breeze, but unfortunately couldn't manage it with the buggy board as the board stuck out too far (I had 3 DCs very close in age so needed 2 in the buggy and 1 on the board).

BurningBenches · 21/12/2022 20:39

I had a 17m gap between 2&3 and an older at school. I went for a babyjogger city mini. Easy to push, stuff school bags under, narrow enough to go through standard doors, one handed put up/down. Dc2 walked at 10.5m just not where I wanted or when I wanted. It also meant I could take them for a walk after lunch and they would both sleep, because DC2 climbed out of cots so wouldn't nap otherwise.

10yrs later 22m between 4 and 5 and I bought another.