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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

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

81 replies

princessalbert · 15/11/2013 16:36

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????

OP posts:

WowOoo · 15/11/2013 17:21

An over excited 6 yr old that hasn't slept enough could do with a rest on a walk-intensive holiday. Why not?

I really miss having a buggy to put all my shopping on!

OHforDUCKScake · 15/11/2013 17:25

My nearly 7 yo would happily go in a pushchair all the time. Hes lazy like his mother . Where as his little brother cant imagine anything worse. He is energetic, like his father.

Ive let ds1 get the buggy before.

hellokittymania · 15/11/2013 17:26

I have SN and was in a buggy til about 9. Mainly for Disney though.

I used to loooove seeing the buggies at Disney:)

Late, late bloomer here

WaitMonkey · 15/11/2013 17:29

I can't get upset about things like this. As someone upthread said, as long as your not asked to push it, why do you care ?

lljkk · 15/11/2013 17:31

My 4yos not good walkers, heck 6yos not always great. I would curtail walking to suit the needs of the 6yo and maybe consider a stroller for the 4yo.

Most adults walk very very (VERY) little so I don't see why folk are surprised that many have such low expectations of children. Focusing on kids is wrong, it's adults who need to get better at walking.

Mylovelyboy · 15/11/2013 17:32

I think a 4 year old is fine. But a 6 year old sitting in a stroller! Might look a bit........ I went to see my sister in Spain when ds was 5. I put him in my sisters kids pushchair one day.......My sister hit the nail on the head "what are you doing - he looks like he has something wrong with him when clearly he is able to walk about at 5".

Meglet · 15/11/2013 17:35

I've seen 5 and 6 yo's hope in buggies after school, while their toddler sibling happily dashes around.

Mine were in the buggy until well over 4. I don't have the time to walk slowly.

DavidHarewoodsFloozy · 15/11/2013 17:37

Why would you even be bothered?

The mum could have mobility issues, or the kids, maybe it,s safer in a stroller.

Central Paris can be a nightmare to navigate.

Gileswithachainsaw · 15/11/2013 17:48

You can't say anything without knowing the kids. There could be motibility issues, they could be very small for age. Maybe ones sick or they or one of them has sn.

Or maybe they are bolters and having them strapped in while they navigate a foreign country and may not therefore be paying full attention to the dcs is just safer for them.

FanFuckingTastic · 15/11/2013 17:49

I'd still have 5yo DD in a stroller if I could, especially on holiday as you tend to get around more and they tire easy. She is on the autistic spectrum though and runs off.

meisiemee · 15/11/2013 17:50

If they are sightseeing imagine how exhausted the children will get, then ratty and moany, so yes sorry I think YABU

YoureBeingASillyBilly · 15/11/2013 17:51

MLB why would it look like there was 'something wrong with him' and why would that be a problem? Lots of people have something 'wrong' with them meaning they need help getting around.

LiegeAndLief · 15/11/2013 17:52

I put my 6yo in the buggy once when he was very poorly and I needed to get dd to preschool. Blimey he was heavy. Got stuck in the road at one point because I couldn't bump him up a steep curb. Hope they have light kids, and good luck to them.

Jinsei · 15/11/2013 17:55

My dd walked around Paris at the age of 3 and Tokyo at the age of 7. No buggy and no moaning!

Having said that, I do know a mum who put her DS in a buggy for the school run until the end of year 1 - so, 6ish. I always felt a bit sorry for the lad, but maybe they had a ling journey, or she couldn't be arsed with him moaning about tired feet. Not really my business, is it?!

dustarr73 · 15/11/2013 17:56

Its one of those things they have to learn to walk sometime.All mine were out of pushchairs at 18 months except ds5 he didnt walk till he was 2.Hes out of it now and loves walking,i dont know myself i can go shopping ,on buses wihtout worry bout folding a pram.

LuciusMalfoyisSmokingHot · 15/11/2013 17:56

My DD (6) would be right offended if you suggested her using a buggy, she'd just walk, mind you she is a good walker, shes got really strong legs, so manages quite well.

Some kind might not be able to, so using one might be helpful for parents.

Soldierskittle · 15/11/2013 17:57

I think the assumption they can't walk distances is a misnomer.

I had a friend who banged on about not needing a double, well no, she went from house to car to shop. We on the other hand would go a 2 mile dog walk, a school / nursery run, a trip into town, back to school, back out with the dog. I wouldn't think many 2 or 3 yr olds would happily stride along for 8 or 10 miles a day

Jinsei · 15/11/2013 17:59

Actually, though Paris & Tokyo were no problem, we could have done with a buggy in Disney. Heck, I'd have sat in one had someone been willing to push me!

Glittertwins · 15/11/2013 18:00

Can't say our pair had a problem around Paris last year when they were 4.9. The sight seeing buses are best for getting around on and save little legs. Forget trying to get a side by side down near the grands magasins with their amazing Christmas displays!

confusedabouted · 15/11/2013 18:02

my 3,nearly 4 yr old jumps into our out and about nipper double,when i am in a rush to get the older ones from school or just if shes tired from doing something else.

dc5 will be in there from december though so she will just have to get used to walking all the time,im sure it wont be an issue seeing as she walks about 70 per cent of the time anyway.

Mumsyblouse · 15/11/2013 18:03

I used a pushchair when I went to London with my just 5 year old, most of the time she walked about, but we did some long treks between attractions and on the way home she went in the buggy. I did feel a bit embarrassed but she really was knackered and I didn't want her inability to walk a long way to stop us doing things.

Littleredsquirrel · 15/11/2013 18:04

we went to disney when ours were four and six and took the double buggy that had been in the back of the shed for two years. it was a godsend. They were tired form all the walking around all day and DS2 in particular often feel asleep towards the end of the meal or on way home. we'd have really struggled without it.

teacherwith2kids · 15/11/2013 18:09

If the children had SN, no problem at all.

IME if walking is important to you as a family, you train your children to walk - in pre-school days with my 2, DD at 2.5 did 3 x 1.5 mile round trips each day (distance to school / pre-school - up in the morning to pre-school, back at lunchtime, straight back out to drop DS off and home again, then DS's end of day pickup and home) plus general walks out, up to the playground, over to playgroup etc etc. As I knew she'd have to do that - and as we lived in the country, so no safe pavements, lots of muddy fields and stiles - we put in the effort and time to get her used to it from her earliest toddling days.

I suppose, had I not bothered to do the 'training' - and yes, that meant a certian number of slow and frustrating walks as we gradually increased distance and stamina - my other alternative would have been to keep her in a pushchair for those journeys. My reasoning was that she'd have to be able to do it at some point, so the earlier she got used to it, the better for allk of our fitness.

(She's 10 now, slender as a willow wand and capable of the 15 hours a week of dancing she does at the moment without blinking)

TartyMcTart · 15/11/2013 18:10

Nope, it's nobody else's business and nothing to the OP but nof many things in life are! I'll admit that I would completely judge if I saw kids of around 4 or over using a pushchair although it's obviously none of my beeswax

misspontypine · 15/11/2013 18:14

I think they need to reconsider their holiday expectations and choose to go somewhere that the kids might enjoy.

Where I live parents with pushchairs go on the bus for free, you see 4,5,6 and even 7 year olds in pushchairs all the time. People buy a baby/toddler pushchair and then buy a bigger pushchair for their child once the get past 3ish.

It's ridiculous in my opinion.

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