to worry about seeing older and older children in buggies?

[mariebl]

In the last couple of years I've really started to notice many more children in buggies, some of them must be almost school age.
I also very often see them looking unhappy and bored and trying to get out and being told off for being "naughty".

I'm beginning to think it must be my age as not too many years back there didn't really seem to BE any buggies for older children, babies went in prams, when they started toddling they had reins and when they got tired people picked them up and carried them for a bit.

I appreciate that there are children with conditions where having that transport is helpful and necessary but I also believe that having older and older children in buggies is a recent trend which is in danger of becoming the norm. We are also told we have a child obesity crisis and are told that children do not get enough exercise.
Am I being judgemental to say is this kind of trend a part of it?

On the other hand, why schedule things so that you can't get there with your children? Most people will understand that you can't keep a tight schedule with children, but we guilt trip ourselves that we can't let anything slide due to kids.
Why can't we mums do less busy stuff, chill out a bit and enjoy our kids without feeling the world will end if we don't get 50 things done each day?
It's partly the schedule driven society we're in, making us feel we've failed if we can't fit families around life, personally I'd rather fit my life around my family, sorry if I get places late or make fewer appointments.

NorthernGirl's point about the increase in single parent families is a good one. Personally, I belong to the anti-buggy brigade and would love to see more children walking at the earliest possible age. Mine do. However, there are exceptions. Shopping, or other errands with small children can be a nightmare without a buggy. If you have no alternative but to do the weekly shop with toddlers / 5yo kids in tow, then a buggy might well be reasonable.
Those same lone parent families are still at liberty to go for long walks around the park, to the play area etc when they have down time. Aside from sickness and disability I fail to see a reason why anyone would object to that or need to drag along a buggy for the 5yo.

Well, often there are 50 things to be done in one day!

And sometimes us mothers sadistically enjoy to put our children in the buggy just to hear the sound of our own thoughts for 15 minutes!

Strangely enough I'm not in charge of scheduling the time that school starts, and my drs are funny about turning up for appointments late, ('what do you mean i can't see the dr now, but my lo was enjoying hunting for snails!!!')

I used to think the same about older children in buggys. Dd used to hate getting in and would walk everywhere.
We only lived a short walk from town.
Ds gets tired after quite a short time and asks to go in.
He is 3.6.
Since dd started school we have a 45 min round trip.
There is no way he could do that and I can't carry him. I have another baby in the double and am pregnant,so it's just a lot easier to have him in the stroller.
I do wonder if other mums judge me for it...and then I think, fuck 'em