To still use buggy for 3 year old DD?

[pennypineapple]

DD goes to nursery four days per week. She turned 3 in April.

We recently bought her a scooter, which she loves. But at the end of the day at pick up she often says she is too tired to ride it and we have tears and tantrums and her demanding to be carried all the way home.(Due to our working patterns, 90% of the time DH does drop off and I do pick up so it's me who gets the pleasure of this).

The walk home from nursery is just under half a mile and there is no way I can carry DD, my work bag and the scooter so the journey home is torturous.(Just to add to the fun I'm also pregnant!)

I think we should reintroduce the buggy. DH is adamant that DD is too old and points out that very few of her peers use a buggy now, they all walk or use scooters (and he is right).

I honestly don't know if I am being unreasonable or not to think that it's ok to keep using the buggy for a while longer. Is she too old? AIBU?

darlings around until secondary!!confused

No wonder you're confused because nobody said that.

I am exaggerating the point obviously!!!!!

I don't criticise all parents who use a buggy, however im also open to the fact that there are plenty out there who do so at times when their kid could walk, but the parent can't be arsed to make them walk.

At what age do we suddenly expect kids to be able to walk in dark/cold?

I can imagine a day that includes 10 hours nursery & 1.5 hours transit, I just can't imagine how that day has time for a child to be get dressed & clean teeth in the morning, be undressed, bathed & perhaps have a story at bedtime and have enough hours sleep. This is logistics I struggle with, not the fact that someone is willing to walk etc.

My husband was a bit like this when ours were little. Very scathing about little children in buggies past what he deemed an ‘appropriate’ age.

He once walked to work to pick me up with our then two year old twins. I was pregnant. It was only a mile or so but they were tired from walking there and so on the way back we had to carry them, plus my work stuff.

Using the buggy when they were three and the baby was born was the only way I would have managed to get them home. They’re ten now and not lazy, totally fine walking a long way, slim and fit.

Tell him if she’s old enough then he can collect her. Without the buggy. Otherwise he doesn’t get a say.

Whatsforu I get your point.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland, if you can’t imagine how people can make a long walk + kids work, maybe think twice before concluding they “just can’t be arsed” if they do make it work but use a buggy.

At what age do we suddenly expect kids to be able to walk in dark/cold?

Depends on the situation and the children, surely. For mine usually:
5 minute walk to bus stop - 18 months.
Walk to shops/library - 2.
Walk home in horrible weather after a long tiring day at nursery - 4.

I’m sorry if this has already been suggested but would a good compromise be a buggy board? She can stand on that and it will be handy when your new baby comes along. Your husband will have his way over not using a pram too.

53rdway you haven't actually answered me. There aren't enough hours in the day, yet people on MN will abuse anyone who says they need to use a car in that situation in order to get their kid in bed on time.

Where did I say all parents can't be arsed? I didn't. I have said throughout that of course there are some parents in situations where clearly a buggy is the best/only option. I just do not believe this is ALL parents!

Are you seriously saying every one with a 3 or 4 year old has no other option, and there are NO parents out there who don't want to put up with whinging, or don't want to spend a few weeks having to coax a reluctant child to walk, or who prioritise their own desire for a long walk for exercise, or who can't be bothered learning to drive etc etc.

Just as there are a ton of parents out there who shove kids in the car to drive 2 streets away.

53rdway you haven't actually answered me

Christ, really? Nobody is ‘abusing’ you for driving. I’m just asking that you show a little bit of understanding of other people’s circumstances being different to yours. I already gave you an example of the kind of nursery trip where I used a buggy, and you said “I would use a car or public transport”!

I will give you a rundown of my daily schedule if you really are desperately interested, but I don’t think you are.

It's more MN generally that is very anti car. Its not actually your schedule i questioned, its one that asdq posted. I understand some people's requirements are different but sometimes it feels like on MN that is considered ok to do anything if it means not using a car (eg spend so long walking top of a long nursery day that it's a real struggle for the kid to actually get as much sleep as many kids need) , but if people take a similar approach to trying to reduce buggy use, this is considered judgy or unreasonable.

I understand cost may be a factor (but then people on MN seem to spend huge amounts on pushchairs) but it isn't always. Just as someone upthread referred to people seeming to compete about how little they use a pushchair, I see far more of people describing crazier and crazier situations where no one should possibly consider doing anything other than spending about 3 hours a day pushing a buggy!

My girls haven't used their buggy's since they were about 2.5 (unless out for the day with grandma).

However when I was doing nursery pickups with both of them I often used to put the youngest in a sling and back carry them home to avoid tantrums. Just do what you need to do to manage the nursery run, lots of parents still use buggy's at age three. When your baby is born you could look into a buggy board or similar?

Still use mine for my 3 nearly 4 year old. Why fight unnecessary battles

My son used the buggy until he started reception. It made life much easier!

Because kids have to learn to walk distances at some point! I’d rather have dd whinge a bit at 2 when I can still carry her etc than a 4 year old I can comfortably lift up. This way she’s getting used to walking a mile or so a day. It’s good for her and by the time she’s 4 it will be the norm. Excellent all round I think.

I cant comfortably lift up that should say

Because kids have to learn to walk distances at some point! I’d rather have dd whinge a bit at 2 when I can still carry her etc than a 4 year old I can comfortably lift

How is she learning to walk distances if you end up carrying her?

Mustard creams. You don't have to have a whinging 2 year old. Mine used the buggy when tired up to 5. At that point that was no whinging about giving up tne buggy, thete was no coaxing or tears I didn't need to get him ready for giving up tne buggy because he was physically ready to give up the buggy. If I has gone your route and made him give it up age 2 it would have caused him a great amount of unnessisary stress.

If walking is causing a child unnecessary stress then fair enough. But dd enjoys the walk to nursery, but she’s also 2. She whinges at everything, if I spent my day not allowing her to whinge she would eat nothing but chocolate and toast, wear only pjs and wellies, would never sleep and would have hideous yellow teeth. You get the idea.

All kids are different of course, but being active and healthy is so important. I don’t let me 2 year old smoke, the same way I won’t allow her to eat crap and passively sit whilst I push her around when she is perfectly capable of doing the nursery run.

Sorry that doesn’t make much sense! With the recent studies showing obesity causes cancer in a similar fashion it is of utmost importance to me that exercise becomes a daily norm for dd.

In a similar fashion to smoking. Jesus I’ll get there eventually

At 2 my son was also active and healthy. He ride his bike, scooter, ran round tne park for hours, same at soft play, played outside constantly. But he was only 2, afterrace all that activity he needed a rest and often a nap not a 30 minute walk home. It is possible to be active and still need a buggy.

We still use our double buggy, our children as 2 and 3 1/2. Nursery is a 25min walk away so if I have to drop off or pick up without the car I need to take the double buggy. For long walks we always just take the double then there's the option to let her get in if she gets tired. I've noticed quite a few parents do the same, walking children to nursery in a buggy.

Where I live the child stands still on scooter while adult pulls scooter via something like a webbed dog lead wrapped round handles & center strut. Would that work?

Again, 2 year olds using a buggy is fine. As I have said many times previously it’s the 4/5 year olds still being carted around that is slightly ridiculous.