How far can your 4yo walk?

[UnbeatenMum]

This is just for my curiosity, we're already on all the right waiting lists to see doctors, OT, physio etc. DS is 4y3m. He shows some signs of a mild disability and mild mobility issues. He can walk and run and jump and walked on schedule at 15 months but he seems to tire more easily than my older children who are now teenagers. Today we think he walked about a mile (with rests) but I think my older children could do a lot more at that age.

With a lot of moaning I would guess my 4 year old is physically capable of 5-6 miles. She regularly does 3-4.

She can cycle 10 miles fairly easily.

My 4 year old COULD walk a mile but there would be a lot of moaning and requests to be carried. We tend to take a scooter or bike if we need to walk more than about 5 minutes as it’s faster, more fun and less whinging. I have no idea what normal is though, we aren’t a family who walk a great deal.

mine is 3 months older and doesn't really walk far... but then we don't really have anything to walk to! A mile ish is probably as much as we've attempted and was ok but not hugely enjoyable

At apace equal to his non disabled peers 200-300metres, maybe on a good day.
At his own pace maybe a mile. But there would be frequent falls/trips.
Hes 4 years 7m with several disabilities that affect his gross motor skills ( can’t do stairs yet, can’t jump, hop or balance on one leg)

Mine is a month or two older. He can walk a mile fine and does it regularly to church. He gets a bit tired on the way back (also up a big hill!).

Thanks everyone, quite a range. I should have said after his 1 mile that was then it for the day, we wouldn't be able to go out again and he was fairly non-ambulatory in his play at home for the rest of the day.
I've just checked older photos and my middle child walked 6-7 miles in a day at the same age - we used to like hiking as a family. So perhaps my view of normal is a bit skewed.

Thanks @Jojobees, it's interesting to hear from someone else with a child with mobility issues. DS can do stairs and jump but can't hop or balance on one leg yet, which I think he should be able to do by 4.

If you took him go softplau or a park, how long could he play for without getting exhausted? Might be a better comparison as many children don't want to walk unless its fun.

FWIW... most 4yos I know would manage a couple of hours on a treasure trail with perhaps a break for a drink and snack

My son is 2 since October and can easily walk the return journey to his grandparents house which is just under a mile each way.

@PuttingDownRoots I'd say about an hour although it can vary. I generally still use the pushchair though because he's too big to carry so he gets in and out. My older children were definitely out of the buggy by 4. I'm waiting for OT to see if we can get mobility pushchair for him because he's too big for ours really.

You will be waiting forever for OT to refer you to wheelchair services. We have been on the list for over a year with a diagnosis.
Luckily our son still fits in the baby jogger as it’s massive!

Mine will happily walk 3 miles, stop for cake, then walk 3 miles back. Then go to soft play for hours (we managed 4 hours the other day). His friends seem similar. Hasn't used a buggy since he was 2. Can cycle further.

I would be pretty concerned about a 4 year old that was exhausted after a mile's walk to be honest.

@Jojobees That's disappointing but good to know. I will probably have to buy one because he's 22kg so he's now at the weight limit for ours.

I have a 4.5 yo and she could probably walk a mile with a lot of moaning. For longer walks, she either goes on her dad's shoulders or in a sling on my back (she's only 13kg). She would happily still be in a buggy if that were an option. There are no mobility issues, just sheet laziness as far as I can tell.

Does he walk regularly? A mile would be far for a child who isn't used to walking & in pushchair most of the time. Have had this a few times with children I've looked after (CM) & within a few weeks they've been walking much longer distances, because they do it every day with me & we build it up gradually, yes loads of moaning & stop start at first but stamina builds up quickly. Helps if you are able to allow them the time, e.g. we might spend all morning walking in park or local woods.

@welshweasel this is what I think, but DH thinks it might be within the normal range hence the thread. I'm thinking he does have a mild disability, which some professionals have suggested he could but we don't have a formal diagnosis yet.

Does he have symptomatic hyper mobility ? https://apcp.csp.org.uk/documents/parent-leaflet-hypermobility-hypermobility-spectrum-disorder-2023

Mines 4 in a couple of months. Some days he covers 5km without issue. Other days he moans and cries he’s tired and can’t walk after 100m.

Is he tall? 22kgs at 4y 3m is quite heavy so could he also have low muscle tone?

Depends. Ds is 3.5. He does about a mile before moaning often if it’s boring, but happily spends all 3hrs at nursery outside, or in woods or if we go somewhere like the zoo.
This morning he did about 1mile on running bike, cycled around a bike jump park for a while, had a drink and snack rest, then cycled back 1mile. He said he was tired on way back but then he remembered a playground is at the end where we parked car so happily played in park about 20 mins.
He can do more if he’s inclined but if dh is with us he gets lazier as knows dh will shoulder carry him v me

I think I read somewhere here that they should be able to easily do a km
per age, spread out across a day with rests . So a 4 year old ideally could easily do 4km in a day, 1 year old 1km. That’s includes garden play, playground, bike, walking. And some can do more if your outside somewhere particularly

@AnyFucker no he doesn't, it's suspected cerebral palsy.

Record his walking so you can compare in 3 6 and 12 months. Do you think he is more tired than before?
What referrals do you have?
Why are they saying cp? Was there at birth lack of oxygen?
Has he been checked for gower manoeuvre?

@Jojobees yes, he's very tall. I'm not sure about muscle tone, it's not obviously high or low to me but I'm not medical so I'm not really sure. I think he walks a bit strangely but I'm not sure how to describe that either.

Mine 3yo can do 3 mile round trip to drop off his sibling at school, twice a day sometimes. Then park or softplay etc in between. However sometimes he will refuse point blank to walk and will go in the buggy or on his scooter.

Are you also tall?
Is he tall and skinny? Marfan syndrome?