To think that a 4 yo and a 6 yo don't need to go in a stroller?

[princessalbert]

Saw this on tripadvisor earlier

^Hi there. I have a baby jogger elite and am thinking of going to Paris.

Did you face any issues?

I have a 4 and 6 year old and that is why an umbrella stroller is not an option but having just came back from Tokyo, the stroller really saved our backs (imagine having to carry a 4 and 6 year old that you can't expect to walk the whole day)^

I cannot imagine putting my Ds in a pushchair at age 4, let alone 6. Am I the only one who found this bizarre????

Maybe they have SN's. I have a 5 year old who uses a wheelchair and I can't imagine anyone would use a stroller/buggy for children that age unless they needed to

I can't imagine any 4 yo and 6 yo WANTING to sit in a pushchair, but maybe they have mobility issues [clutching at straws]

I put my children into a stroller at 5 - when on holidays and walking about town after dinner - they could sleep if they wanted to but most of all they didn't whinge and we could make like it was pre-kids days!!!
Ordinarily they wouldn't use it but exceptions like the one above they would.
YABU as it really isn't any of your business what works for other people

I don't think so.

A subsequent post mentions that they didn't want to have to carry the children when they got tired?

i think it depends entirely on the particular 4 and 6 year old in so many ways, what sort of distances they would be expected to walk and the physical condition of the adults who may or may not be able to give occasional piggy backs.

not bizarre at all. i find your reaction bizarre but not the discussion on tripadvisor.

We ended up buying a stroller for dd age 6 on holiday. It was really humid and hot, she whined and moaned and we were walking a fair distance. It was really busy so if she lagged behind a bit I was scared of losing her in the crowd.

Day 3 we bought it for $15 and it saved the holiday !

But can't imagine planning to use one.

For a long day out sightseeing I would take the stroller for my 4yr old and no doubt my 6yr old would sit in it to rest her legs when we stop walking. I would turf her out when it came time to move again. I think to take a double buggy with the intention of both children - assuming no SN - sitting in it all day is completely over the top considering their ages.

dd couldn't walk far due to stretchy ligaments making her legs ache
she's started D of E now :D
good luck with that, dd

:o

This is a perennial mumsnet row.

You'll have people coming on soon talking about how their 10 year old likes to sleep in a buggy when they are on holiday walking in the Himalayas.

In reality, I can't think of a single child of school age who would be prepared to get into a buggy.

My 3 year old thinks she's too big for a buggy. Which she is, because her baby sister is in it, and they won't both fit.

My DS was/is very large for his age - so wouldn't have fitted in a buggy.

Okay, so I can be lenient on the 4 yo. but 6? How can a 6yo not be expected to walk all day? What happens at school??

We took a stroller on holiday for 4 year old DS. Mainly for if we were out in the evening, hoped he'd fall asleep in it. It was also really handy before our flight home which was at 2am and we had to out of our room by 12 noon.
My DS is the most whingey of children if his legs are tired and we like to walk EVEREVERYWHERE so in a day where we could cover 6 miles or so it was worth having otherwise we'd be carrying him.

So long as they're not asking you to push it why would you care?

at chivetalking. Quite.

I guess all children are different and some aren't great at walking long distances and it is less trouble having a pushchair. I see lots of older children in pushchairs in central London and I do sometimes find it odd but that is because I stopped using one pretty soon after 2.

Yep, you'll always get the 'how dare you make poor little BABIES walk' post...me, I chucked both of them out of the buggy before the age of three. I'm hard, me.

(And no, before you ask, I didn't drive them everywhere either.)

Yes this is MN.

There will be mnetters along in a bit to tell you their children walked 15 miles a day at 18 months old.

But meh,I can't get worked up about other parents using buggies for however long they want.

JoinYourPlayfellows you aren't trying hard enough! I get my 4.5 yo and 3 yo in the same buggy (single graco).

DD1 is nearly finished using the buggy but today we walked so far I wanted to get in. I encouraged her to get in on the way home from school as I was in a hurry as I needed to collect an extra 2 children for a friend and DD1 was tired.

Of course I could have used the car and no one would have commented.

I do think, actually, that it links in with the whole issue of child obesity and the low levels of child activity. We live in an extraordinarily anti-walking culture, and we accept huge children in buggies as the norm rather than the exception. This isn't doing them, or us as a society, any favours.

Motherinferior - Unless you're putting your child in a buggy after a 2 mile school run (walked) and are on the way to a Karate class and the child just needs to relax for a few minutes Wednesday

Sod the kids- I'd quite like someone to push me around after a day's sight-seeing.

It seemed more trouble than it was worth in this instance.

Surely taking a twin buggy on the underground system, up and down escalators/lifts/stairs would be tricky?

The only benefit I can see would be, as mentioned upthread, for the DC to nap in.

Children have loads of energy, no? I am sure that in this case - a 6yo, in particular could walk around Paris/Tokyo or wherever. The reason they may whinge is because they are bored, not because they 'can't' walk.

usual I am that parent! DD hasn't been in a buggy since 18 months and she could walk 6km at 2 yo (probably longer but I get knackered and need rest. I know she is weird though, and most of her friends still occasionally use buggies at 3yo.

I agree with saucy I want pushed around.

For Disneyland Paris ds went in a stroller aged 4, mainly so i didn't end up doing the carrying & he could sleep if necessary as they were long , tiring days!

My school-age child happily sat in a buggy today on the school run. He is off school sick and I have no alternative childcare. I either pushed him there or made a sick child walk.

If I was going on holiday and doing a LOT of walking every day I would consider taking a buggy for 4 year old.

I think motherinferior's point is wrong. In my experience it's the mothers who rely on walking to get them from A to B who rely more on their buggies. My children get in the buggy if they need a rest or we're running out of time and have to get somewhere quickly. If you use a car a lot you don't need a buggy and the children aren't getting any exercise at all.

My ds2 is 4.5 and asks to go in his buggy if weve been out for a good while and he is tired.

What's it to you OP? Shall i tell my ds a stranger on the internet does t understand the choices he makes?