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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to ask dd to walk this much in a day?

73 replies

Dragonhart · 10/01/2011 18:54

I walk dcs to school and nursery every school day which involves my just 4yo dd walking;

20 mins to school, then about 10mins standing round before the children go into their class
20mins to nursery
15mins home from nursery at lunch time
20mins to school at home time
20mins from school to home

These times are walking at her speed and if I am on my own takes nearly half that time.

Ds1 has walked everywhere since he was 2 so perhaps he has made me unrealistic as to what I can expect a 4yo to walk?

OP posts:

mizu · 10/01/2011 21:18

My dds are 4 and 6 and we walk everywhere. Town on the weekend is 3 mile round trip and they do moan occasionally but i love walking with them and we play i spy. It is good for them.

Original poster

Dragonhart · 10/01/2011 21:18

katiestar- I do, but 5 people have told me otherwise this week so I began to doubt myself! I do think the break for christmas has something to do with all the complaining.

OP posts:

onceamai · 10/01/2011 21:19

Completely reasonable. That's why we have legs although friends used to be surprised when I walked mine when they were small. Less hastle than all the strapping in and parking and getting out again IMO.

taffetacat · 10/01/2011 21:20

second the micro scooter. I'd use it maybe for the last few trips to vary it a bit so she doesn't get bored. Although mine ( 45 and 7 ) like running to school at the moment, so a 30 minute dawdle before Christmas now has me puffing! Which is no bad thing considering how much I put away over the holidays....

Funnily enough, I don't find summer much quicker, what with water bottles, sunhats and slathering on suncream.....

onceamai · 10/01/2011 21:20

And the buggy was put away when DS1 was 2.5 and DD was 3 as a matter of principle.

taffetacat · 10/01/2011 21:20

lol 45 yo! typo 4 and 7

megapixels · 10/01/2011 21:22

It completely depends on your child, my four year old will struggle with it. Walking is good so if she's fine with it then that's great that she walks so much.

Original poster

Dragonhart · 10/01/2011 21:23

onceami- On the occasions when one of us is ill (appart from dd3 who is 2 and still in the buggy alot of the time) and we take the car, the whole trip takes longer because of the traffic and the fact that the journey is shorter by foot than by car due to underpasses and one way streets. Not to mention the fact that I get so cross with other drivers at that time of the morning!

OP posts:

Original poster

Dragonhart · 10/01/2011 21:26

taffatacat- oh no! I had forgotten about the suncream battles!

OP posts:

taffetacat · 10/01/2011 21:27

I find it helps me to remember suncream when I am desperately late searching for the missing glove.....

mutznutz · 10/01/2011 21:28

There are loads of kids on micro scooters on my school run and it really winds me up...not least because the cars have to park on the pavements here and I've seen far too many near misses. There's nothing wrong with kids learning to walk from a young age. I find more and more kids being taken to reception in buggies so they're aged 4-5 and their parents will claim they struggle with a 20 minute walk

TheMonster · 10/01/2011 21:29

That doesn't seem like an unreasonable amount at all.

monkeyflippers · 10/01/2011 21:30

Mine can't walk anywhere near that far (tiny bit older) but DC is quite small for age. Varies a lot I think.

CommanderDrool · 10/01/2011 21:31

Mine does exactly the same.

Micro scooter saves my sanity.

Original poster

Dragonhart · 10/01/2011 21:32

taffetacat- Good tactic! DOnt get me started on gloves though. dd2 has a tantrum everyday because her gloves come out of her sleeves or they slip down a bit or get wet if she falls... and the list of glove relate problems goes on!

OP posts:

Original poster

Dragonhart · 10/01/2011 21:36

monkeyflippers- DD2 is much smaller than ds1 and I have found she finds it harder to do the walking. ds1 would walk for miles at her age and very rarely complained. Really though I think it is about speed rather than distance, when I want her to go faster she just cant.

OP posts:

QuickLookBusy · 10/01/2011 21:41

Think it sounds fine.

My DD used to walk alot everyday. I used to take her dolls pram or a scooter if she was going through a stage of complaining. Though half the time I would end up carrying said item!

narkypuffin · 10/01/2011 21:43

They're supposed to get at least an hour of exercise a day so that sounds fine.

blackeyedsusan · 10/01/2011 21:46

I thought it sounded quite a lot until I remembered that my 2.5y old did about that around the supermarket today, and he pushed the trolley.

Ephiny · 10/01/2011 21:50

It sounds fine to me, especially as you're letting her go at her own pace and not rushing her along uncomfortably fast. Good for children to learn the habit of walking short distances instead of expecting to be driven everywhere!

TheSecondComing · 10/01/2011 22:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

gorionine · 11/01/2011 06:17

"Some of the mums at school have made me feel like it is cruel to make her do it and it is too far. I just wondered!"

Yes, people will do that and they will be the same people looking at you in a funny way if one day you take her on a pushchair because she is too tired/unwell and will happily drive their DCs to and back from school every day. Pay no notice.

Pancakeflipper · 11/01/2011 07:58

I personally find that all this walking to school and nursery means I can eat several chocolate biscuits and still fit into my clothes....

Misfitless · 11/01/2011 08:05

OP good for you and good for your daughter. YOu're clocking up good habbits and it's brilliant for her health. Also very good for mental health - all that fresh air.

It's more than likely that they feel a little inferior. They are probably not organised enough in the mornings and would rather take their cars.

Unfortunately I live next door to our school but with DD1 we used to walk there and back and it took 20 minutes both ways, the same with her nursery. I really miss the chance to get some fresh air in the mornings and chat. My DS would definately benefit from a walk before he got cooped up in a classroom.

monkeyflippers · 11/01/2011 12:06

I have been thinking about this and I think I am slightly disturbed by the amount of people who think you DD should walk that far because she is starting school next year and because it is good for her etc. Not that these aren't good points but I think what is more important (then the "kids must exercise loads and not be fat" brigades opinion) is whether or not she is capable of walking that far. That is all that matters really.

It's a bit tedious listening to all the posters saying "well mine could walk for miles" . . . well good for you! That's just showing off that you have strong children which is luck and nothing to do what what great parents you are.

As I said before I had trouble getting mine to walk to nursery the year before she started school as she was small and didn't have enough strength and energy so I used a double buggy and sometimes a buggy board and would also carry her a bit. Having those optiosn meant that she was able to build up her walking as she felt able.

As long as you aren't having to drag her down the road and she's not going all that way crying that she is tired and her legs hurt and she not underweight (in which case too much exercise isn't a good idea) then I wouldn't worry about what other people say.

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