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.

I feel bloody judgey as it so happens. Judgey of the parent who forced a child crying with pain to take exercise because it made her feel good, being able to tell herself she was one of those brisk no-nonsense unsentimental mums that rear perfect children.

Yes, that's me.

the perfect children bit didn't work though

I walk about 2 miles a day. I don't drive (yes I am a MORON). To drag my 3y/o DS around for TWO MILES would make me a cruel mother.

HTH thank you.

ulyanka- I'm Ukrainian too! (Zvidky vy? Ja z Lvivska oblast, Rozvadiv)

In our village it seems the fashion to push 'babies' around (while wearing a mini-skirt) for as long as possible. In high-heels! And there's only one paved road in the village. Mad.

bupcakes it would also make you very late indeed .

Sometimes there aren't enough hours in the day to leave enough time for a dawdling toddler.

Whether a 3 year old needs a buggy depends entirely on your circumstances.
I have a 3 yr old. He never uses a buggy, even when out shopping in town. Going to the shops/going for walks etc. HOWEVER on the school walk he sometimes uses one. That's because it is a mile walk there and a mile walk back. He can usually do it but a 2 mile round walk is a long way to expect him to always walk, as he can easily get tired on the walk back, and he's not the lightest of people to carry a mile back, I'd buckle lol!
So don't hoik the judgy pants up just from seeing a snapshot of people walking down the road, as you don't know how far they've been/are going etc.

It takes me ten minutes to get him to the end of my street. He likes to examine every leaf/pebble/car we pass. Sorry but when we need to be somewhere, the wheels come out

Stroller for 6.5yr old/8.5yr old necessary?

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2664194

I am with you 100%.
It is a good 3 miles there and back to town (not including the walking about in town). My ds2 was out of the buggy by 2 1/2 (not much choice as we needed it for his sister) Yes it was slow, yes he got tired from time to time but he is very fit and healthy and has boundless energy possibly as a result of getting so much fresh air and exercise. With a little bit of gentle persuasion (of the, oh my goodness did you see a squirrel run down the path, variety) and little stops to have a drink and snack if needs be they can manage it. It is just about going at a pace that suits them.
If the child in question has no health problems and there are no safety issues as in mmmitsdelicious's post above then let her use her legs, heart and lungs. Imo keeping a child of that age in a buggy is for the parents benefit not the child?s [run for cover].

Obviously, my DC went to a very posh prep school. We used to walk the 3+ mile round trip twice a day. My younger DD was often very tired by the end of the day (an August birthday didn't help as she was younger than most) and so I usually brought the pram (big silvercross one) for her to ride in. LOADS of other parents remarked that she was too big but they all drove their DC to school and regarded THAT kind of not-walking as totally acceptable. So riding in a car = good. Riding in a pram with the chance to walk = bad???? WTF? Incidentally, I quite often had 2 x 5yos and 2 x 3 yos all in the pram together on the way home as I used to walk a neighbours' children too and they loved it. Luckily they were all very skinny as usually they walked.

bupcakes - 2 miles is about 40minutes at adult pace. NOt exactly far.

I expected my 3yo to walk that far and he did - still had plenty of energy left over. Seeing it as cruelty is just ridiculous. Plenty of children can walk that far.

Armadillo

Are you familiar with hyberbole/sarcasm?

And I can do 2 miles in 25. You're obviously slacking.

and ime most people who say 'oh my child can't possibly walk that far' are people who drive everywhere and think more than 5 minutes is far too far to walk.

People are far too reliant on cars in this country.

Ha ha I don't have a car so stick that up your chuff.

fair enough.

I do like a nice stroll rather than a brisk pace tis true. Pisses dh off no end.

Probably why I have no problem walking at toddler pace.

But what if, say, you need to be at the doctor's at 12.15. DS finishes pre-school at 11.30. You do not drive. It will take at least an hour and a half to get there if DS walks. You have 45 mins.

Pushchair.

I think there is a good case for looking at the individual child. I had no idea my dd had health problems- but what should have been blindingly obvious was that she wasn't coping with the walking I wanted her to do. I simply couldn't handle that: her 2yo cousin was already walking long distances, so it was clearly just a case of making her walk.

Bupcakes agreed - same for start of school day. And also the inevitable fall and injury and claims of "I need to be carried"......so much easier in a pram.

My DC cried when we finally gave the pram away and they were about 6 and 8 by then . Oh, the younger one (the one fondest of the pram) is now an ace cross country runner.

TheArmadillo Sun 27-Feb-11 17:35:53
"and ime most people who say 'oh my child can't possibly walk that far' are people who drive everywhere and think more than 5 minutes is far too far to walk."

We didn't have a car. I have never had a licence. But had put in plenty of hillwalking. Children still differ in their physical abilities.

Exactly right, tooposh. DS will walk a certain amount then he will complain of broken leg/hamstring injury/creeping death and insist on being carried. I do not carry anything weighing more than balloon very well.

Pushchair.

And FWIW, my DS isn;t fat or lazy, before anyone starts. He never sits still. He just isn't particularly enamoured with walking very far...

My sister has a 3 year old, nearly 4 yrs now and he still goes in the buggy. I think its too old. . . but then its what ever suits i guess.

I really dont see why it matters if they go in a pushchair or not, as long as they're not in their teens. They will all learn to walk and learn to walk decent distances when they have to. My son broke his leg when he was 4 1/2 and one of the first things he said as he came out of hospital was along the lines of 'now I'll get to go back in my buggy'.

cory you are totally right that kids differ in their abilities? For some reason though that doesn't seem to apply to the anti-buggy brigade on here. Not that long ago I was having a conversation about this very problem and a poster just would not accept that my DD can't walk all the way to school. I kept saying that she just can't do it, and she just kept saying well she should be able to do it. Like the fact that she thought my DD should be able to walk that far in her opinion, was actually going to change that fact that my DD can't!

It's a weird sort of buggy snobbery and I just don't get it. I find it rather pathetic actually.