To think that three years old is quite old to be using a buggy?

[Butternutsquash22]

Relative of DP was talking about how her buggy broke, so was going to have to find money for another one, find one she likes etc etc.

But the child in question is three which I would assume is old enough to walk places rather than buying another buggy?! Fair enough using it if it's there but if the buggy breaks she's probably too big for it...

Would you have bought another buggy at that age? She's an only child, with no immediate plans for any others yet.

nope, no overweight 3yo here either.
"lazy people use buggies at that age": that's the sort of ridiculous sweeping generalisation that gets RIGHT on people's tits - and is so smugly, dogmatically judgeypants it's a bit tragic.

Perhaps you have a better behaved child than I do gardeningmum05, but today I went out without a buggy and I spent a lot of time with my DD swinging on my arm, lying down on the floor because she didn't want to go that way, and crying to be picked up. I had to factor in extra time to get places, and I had to fork out for a bus because I couldn't stand another hour of that behaviour for the walk home (which takes me just over 17 minutes with a buggy).

Okay, so I could probably adjust my life to suit walking with a young child everywhere I need to go, but it would mean missing out on things (we swim, go to the park/soft play and attend playgroups), not being able to get to places on time (I help my mum out around the house after I drop off my DS at school) and would generally just be a bit of a pain. Most of these things I would drive to if I had a car, taking into account that I have to be there at certain times and I have to travel to get to them.

This is not to say she never walks anywhere, but there are times it is convenient to have her in the buggy. If this is the case when she turns three, then so be it.

Really it depends - going out all day with a 3yo on public transport for example, or simply without a car, or if you have some ground to cover, a buggy may still really be needed!

DD is 3.4 & is great on her scooter, but if we were to be out & about for the day in London, with lots of walking & buses, it could all go horribly wrong without a buggy.

having said that DC2 is due RWD (Royal Wedding Day) and I'm def NOT getting a double, so we're going to have to work this out very soon. I suspect a buggy board will be required.

think it depends on the child/circumstances.
all mine got to just over 2yo and wanted to walk everywhere-it could take anything upto 2hrs just to pop to the shops!!get to about 2.6yo and suddenly they wanna go back in the buggy!!

ds2 is 3.6yo, and although willing to walk, he is a very small child for his age, he still gets tired, and still has naps in the afternoon on the odd occasion.i still take the buggy with us just in case, not that he ever wants to go in it-even to go up the massive steep hill to our house! but its good for the shopping!

My DS is coming up for three and I think he will still be using the buggy for the foreseeable future.

His walking is fine but sometimes I need to get somewhere on a deadline (e.g. collecting DD from school) so I'll put him in the buggy for the walk there, and then let him potter home again; sometimes he has a meltdown about his shoes/coat/bag so we run out of time and I just load him in the buggy in order to override his objections; sometimes I have a long shop planned (e.g. for DHs recent birthday present) and it is easier to put DS in the buggy for all or part of the trip instead of running around the clothes racks playing hide and seek.

BTW he is positively petite, just a regular independent and stubborn little boy who sometimes has to fit in with my plans instead of me fitting in with his.

Depends if you drive everywhere or not. Yes a 3 year old will walk round a shopping centre. But they won't necessarily walk 30 minutes there and back as well. I know a 5 year old who's still in a buggy sometimes. Each to their own I say.

Gardeningmum05 - with all that walking your judgy pants will be getting a bit loose.

I won't be using a buggy at 3 as we haven't used one since he was 5 months - exclusive sling-wearing for us. Does that make me better than you?

[polishes halo and waits to be challenged for position of least lazy parent in the world ever]

Yeah, I think it's unreasonable to judge the OP's friend. Three year olds can be pretty slow to walk with, and though she may not have any immediate plans for another child, she may still be planning to have more at some point.

But maybe I'm just being touchy, because I'm dreading meeting my mother today, and all her judgy pronouncements, such as "You should have them walk with you instead" about my twenty-month-olds. All the way around town. And back. (And I live up a steep hill- no car here.) And I know that I was in a pushchair until I was three when she went shopping. And she constantly

But hey, it's different when it's someone else's life being impeded, isn't it?

Kungfu.....sling???? I jolly well hope you don't use it when your baby can walk! Lazy, lazy baby

Yes Seth - it is women's haircuts, and their clothes, and prams that are unnecessary expenses - never anything macho like cars.

In the same way that it is all these prams that get in everyones way - obstructing pavements and taking up space on buses. People pulling their luggage never get in the way

Can't believe this thread is still going!

Sorry to the people who were annoyed by my asking, didn't mean for I to become to judgy, was genuinely wanting an answer to the question in my OP and am happy that I've got it, and happy to be told I'm wrong!

[hangs head in shame]

Bonkers20 - sometimes I even carry him short distances just to get there quicker.

I think his legs might be in danger of atrophying....

Butternut - I think more people were actually annoyed by gardeningmum's holier-than-thou smuggery, tbh.
And if not yet, they will be.

We didn't use the buggy much after DD was 2.5 but there was a lot of "carry me" going on after that for some time! My shoulders are a lot stronger than they used to be :) Personally I think it's a personal decision according to circumstances and child. I think if the buggy broke at age three though in our case we wouldn't have bought another one, unless there was another little reason on the way to do so.

Hey Cory and soloovely I see what you guys mean, Cory I'm sorry about what happened with your LO, it is a very unfortunate thing that you were not aware of your LO's health problem. For me your LO would fall under the children who have exceptional circumstances as I pointed out to DP and I understand that there are different causes of low muscle tone. The low muscle tone I was referring to is the kind that results from a lack of excercise from as young as when the LO starts walking, not as a resulting factor of a health problems. I have known kids who get ferried everywhere by car for instance and end up very lazy and with the kind of low muscle tone I mean.

As for the Asthma, I think someone responded but I can't see the post. I don't think it is as simple as just getting the child to do lots of excercise straight away, it should start from a young age and be a gradual process of consistent excercise, this will greatly help and every doctor my family has ever had (I have also had asthma) has advised this for the asthma sufferers in my family. This does not mean pushing too hard, but gentle excercise like walking short distances to longer and longer distances as time goes on. Pandering to the asthma with constant thoughts of "oh the LO should stay in the pram in case of his/ her asthma" is not helpful, the excercise is even more necessary with asthma to strengthen the lungs and heart.

As for exposure to children and my having my first, I have had exposure to babies and their rearing since I was very young. My younger sibling who had these problems is ten years younger than myself and I played a big part in his upringing and still do (especially as my west African culture means older siblings help with the day to day looking after of younger members of the family). Not just him either but other siblings's children and extended family members's children. I understand what it is to arrange trips to the supermarket, cinema, playground and trips abroad with kids in tow. I have been looking after children in my family home since I was 10. These are the experiences I am basing my opinion on, the children all around me in my family, none of whom I know to have used a pushchair frequently after 3. I know you didn't mean to be harsh but I do find it patronising that you think I don't understand childrens development because I haven't had one myself when I have been taking care of children for the major part of my life. But it is understandable as this kind of family structure doesn't really exist in the west.

I think nurture plays an integral role in childrens development and parents now pander too much to what they think the childrens natural needs are, without realising that sometimes children actually need to be pushed a little in order to make them more independent and stronger, physically, mentally and emotionally. If children can do it in countries where the mothers cannot afford to buy pushchairs then they can definitely do it here.

Sorry for essay long response

LDNmummy Sorry if it sounded patronising. In my experience though most parents are surprised by some aspect of how things are when their children are born and as they grow. Your children are not always how you think they will be (if you are athletic they may not be etc) and also some children may actually respond worse to "being pushed" then they would be if they were left to develop at their own pace. You might be determined to breastfeed but it just might not work for some reason. You might be keen on getting your children into books but they might hate them. You might be determined that they will eat veg but they may vomit every time you do. You might not want them to use a buggy but find they wriggle free of your grip and run straight in front of the nearest car EVERY time you leave the front door.

I think they thing is that they have their own personalities and won't necessarily go along with the things you think they should be doing. That's no bad parenting, just that they have their own likes and ideas. I think it is good to be a little open minded about how things will go otherwise it's extremely frustrating and a shock. You have to take it a day/week at a time.

You are completely right though in that your kind of family structure is not something I have experience of.

What I do have experience of though is this:

• I wanted to breast feed but couldn't due to physical problems that couldn't be overcome.

• I thought my children would love walking (as I do) but they don't due to low birth weight and the lasting effects of that.

• I wanted to be able to get through the day without being covered head to toe in vomit, but couldn't due to reflux.

• I never in a million years thought I would feed my children anything but the healthiest of foods but due to being small was actually told to by the hospital.

• I thought that I would have a happy baby if I was happy, baby though screamed in pain for months

That's just the first 5 I thought of.

This is probably all just as patronising so I'll stop now!

Dont you just love sweeping generalised statements like from gardeningmum [sceptical]

What the fck does it matter how old a child is in a buggy to others? Did someone die and make you the Buggy Police gardeningmum?

Most normal parents will decide Im sure what is and not appropriate for their own child, my DS is 3 past in December and can walk perfectly well - and I still use the buggy if I need to - and hes not overweight either! Failing to get how parents who use a buggy are lazy as well - as jumping in a car for smaller distances would be lazier surely.

For example I had a hairdressing appointment on Saturday morning - which I took him in his buggy to, didnt fancy having to leave at 6am in the morning you see for the hours it would have took to walk there, stopping to examine every stone he no doubt would have tried to pick up. Hasnt suddenly put on a stone in weight either.

sooolovely I understand that you didn't mean to be patronising, as I said, my type of family structure is not usual in the west so most people would not expect me to have experiences of getting up for 3am feeds and the difficulties of getting household chores done with a new born or the school run over with limited stress all before I have my own LO, but my traditional upringing means I do. I was probably the only 10 year old in the area I grew up in who knew what breastfeeding, colic and the soft spot on the babies head were all about, but I did and I do. I know children have personalities of their own and I know they develop differenlty. I am not saying that you should push in the sense of forcing the child, I just don't think much of pandering either. There is a good middle ground that can be reached from mine and my family members' experiences.

Please excuse bad grammar!

LDNmummy well you sound prepared! That's a hell of a childhood, so unusual but must have been amazing too.

Newgolddream I know, I am actually speechless at gardeningmums post.

"my 3 year old regularly walks 5 miles a day,he has legs and enjoys using them.both me and him are not overweight because of this. lazy people use buggys at that age!"

Ha ha. And only Thicko McThickingtons from Thicker Street, Thickville, Thickshire make such wanky generalisations.

Moron.

sometimes you express things so perfectly Bupcakes

Why, thankyou ma'am.

oooh bupcakes - that was spot on!