Nearly four year old won’t walk anywhere

[Embelline]

DS is nearly four.
he can scoot for hours, runs around the park fine. Nursery report he is full of beans and if anything won’t sit still. When at home he’s constantly on the go, unless he has to climb the stairs then sometimes he will say his legs are tired but if you turn it into a game he practically sprints up the stairs.

however he hates walking. He used to walk fairly happily, not huge distances but then he got into his scooter and it seems like he prefers this so won’t walk. Sometimes on the scooter he also says he’s tired and asks to be pulled along but that’s usually when he’s going somewhere he doesn’t want to, or has been going for a good while.

its starting to send me slightly mad as I don’t drive so I need to get to places on foot. He won’t walk to nursery, he will sit down on the floor or ask for a carry and cry if I say no. He has walked quite happily with his little friend so I know he can do it but it depends what mood he’s in.

ar the moment I’m taking the pushchair everywhere because I don’t want to get stuck with him not walking when we need to get somewhere which I know probably isn’t helping.

he does have low iron but im not convinced this has anything to do with it as he’s rarely showing signs of tiredness, doesn’t nap or fall asleep during the day, as I said before seems quite lively and boisterous all of the time and his iron was going up last we had him checked , since I started giving the supplement with vitamin C. And when we were on holiday recently he was outdoors all day, swimming, playing on the beach, paddling in the sea etc so I don’t think it’s a medical issue.

just wondering if anyone has any tips? I can’t carry him anymore but I need to get to places on time still!

Oh and if I ask him he’s just “too tired to walk” and also “doesn’t like walking”

Just keep taking the buggy. One day he'll decide he doesn't want it any more and walk. Probably the day one of his classmates looks at him in disbelief for being still in a buggy and asks why. Then you keep it for a year in case he's ill and you need it to get to doctor or day trips. Then ditch it.

Do you think? I really hope so. I would just let him scoot everywhere but if it rains he decides he doesn’t fancy it, so then I have a scooter AND a pushchair, and some of the routes we take aren’t particularly scooter safe whereas walking holding my hand would be fine. He also doesn’t love holding my hand so it’s an all round winning situation.

i feel like I’m being a total wet blanket here but I’ve tried so many tactics.

My daughter is exactly the same. She's nearly 4.5 now and started school and then after a few weeks said to me 'school children don't go in buggies do they?', problem solved. In my experience, it's their norm for their entire lives from birth and I don't think there's nothing you can really do until school un-normalises it for them. I think it's different when you have friends with all older children or older siblings, but we didn't have any of that so dd never saw that until school started.

Tell people within his earshot that he is too young to walk places, he's still needing the baby buggy if he can't take a scooter.

They miraculously develop a determination to walk like a grown up.

If you can, try to get together with friends who have same age or older kids and do some days out that involve walking; peer pressure will encourage him to walk and build up some stamina. On other days when you need to get things done, just bring the buggy in the meantime. He’ll stop wanting to go in it soon!

I'd start with short walks to places he wants to go (to the corner shop to get some sweets for example) and then build up from there. Don't start the walking process when you need to get somewhere. Start when you can go slowly, stop to look at things and, if need be, wait while he sits on the floor for a bit. He just needs to know that walking isn't optional.

Also, take his mind off it with eye-spy or a treasure hunt etc.

I used to pretend to fill my daughter with petrol when she got tired walking home from school, aged 5. I'd hold my hand as a nozzle and 'fill her up' through her shoulder. That seemed to work.

Other tactics are distraction with "I spy" or little songs as you walk.

Lots of praise when he walks well, tell others in earshot how good he is at walking with you.

It's probably a good idea to keep using the buggy for longer distances or when you can't take it slowly so you're not getting stressed if he isn't cooperating.

They don't like walking because it's so boring. My 5.5 year old still moans when it's time to walk anywhere other than the local shop

What's the issue with letting him scooter everywhere? That's what mine does.

IME this is something they tend to grow out of, but it's very frustrating! Do you go on walks as a family for fun, e.g. on footpaths, round an NT place etc? I'd start small with that, taking a picnic or snacks, and incorporating games into it. I think if you can cultivate kids who eventually see walking/hiking as something you can do for fun, it such easier to get them to do it out of necessity!

My Gds was much the same. He was a bundle of energy, would run, scoot or ride his bike anywhere, but actually walking, oh dear….

He’s well over 7 now and it’s not been a problem at all for at least a couple of years. IMO it dawns on them at some point that only babies have to have pushchairs (or shoulder rides with poor old Grandpa when they’re getting so heavy.)

I had a dd much the same - still wanting the pushchair at well over 3 - I once had to buy one when we were away from home and stupidly I hadn’t taken our own. Just couldn’t cope with the hassle and exhaustion of pleadings to be carried otherwise.
Her sister, OTOH, who was walking by her first birthday, never wanted the pushchair once she’d found her feet.

A lot of kids will scooter for a bit, then get bored, whine, want you to carry the scooter, still refuse to move, do dangerous things like shoot off the edge of the kerb….

I’m glad I live somewhere bike friendly, trying to walk with my two at this age was maddening.

I had to severely police my DSs scootering as he was a menace to other walkers. Otherwise I did leave him behind several times at around this age when he was doing a sit down protest, and he did follow me in the end, after much wailing and moaning. Obviously not near any roads. But I do agree that ISpy and finding street door numbers really helped, plus promises of treats, even telling him a silly made up story. He stopped wanting the buggy because of peer pressure at school like many others. Good luck OP, I expect he’ll stop this soon.

He has low iron - that can be very debilitating and make you feel exhausted. Get it checked again to make sure he’s back to normal levels.
Once that’s sorted out, then start on the walking training.

@Houseplantmad i appreciate that but as I said this is specifically with walking, not running, not jumping, scooting, soft play etc he has boundless energy for everything else he wants to do
hes due a check in a few weeks as he has them every few months

thanks for all the tips just reading through now