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?

@Jojobears I don’t drive and barely use the buggy now. Dd is 2.6. It’s fine! Just plan ahead for rest stops if she needs them/loo breaks etc. We often go and visit my sister in Birmingham (we live down south) and she manages perfectly well. The only thing I miss is having the buggy to store all my bags/shopping in.

"I got my come uppance with ds2 who was a buggy refuser from 16 months"

Ha ha - I thought my DD was the only one!! People used to tell me it was just a phase and she'd go back to it, but she never did. A friend of mine offered DD a ride in her DC's buggy recently. DD wasn't having any of it, even though we'd been out in London for seven hours and she was falling asleep on her feet. World's most pig-headed child!

Thanks for the thread OP, I was wondering about buggy age myself. My DS is about to start preschool, he can walk all the way there but it would take him forever and if I put him in the buggy and walk quickly, we can be there in 25 minutes, plus I can use it for shopping on the way home.
I was worried it might make him look babyish to his peers though. Not sure if 3 years notice this stuff or not?

Not being unreasonable I've a very lazy just turned 5 year old and we brought buggy on holidays so I don't end up carrying once school starts on September that's it

Yanbu. Mine used it until 4.6. We walk a lot and I didn't have time for dawdlers most days.

This proves mn is a different place to rl. Of course three years can go in a buggy. My dd is three very soon. We still use a buggy, she walks alot and does hill walking at weekends but having her in buggy is safe when youve busy roads. All her friends go in the buggy too. I dont know a single mum who doesnt use a buggy with trips to and fro parks, nursery playgroups etc.

Let her use the buggy
I have 2yr8month twins and they go in the buggy to childminder and home. It’s just 0.6miles. I’m dreading having to get them home without the buggy half of it is along a busy road (don’t like them scooting here with only 1 adult to supervise) and they are always tired at end of the day. They walk the last 0.2 mile as we are on the quiet street and it takes AGES which is not what you want at the end of the day.
When I’m not working we hardly use the buggy. Take them on the bus, sometimes drive, they scoot. We don’t actually “just” walk many places.

My dd is 3 and loves her buggy. I can't see us getting rid of it anytime soon. Just use it.

My DD notices that her friend rides in the buggy and she doesn't, but she certainly doesn't look down on it or think he's babyish, Teapot. I don't think it would ever occur to a three year-old to think "ooh, he's a bit old for a buggy", unless their parent had said it in their hearing. DD always insists on pushing her friend if he's in his buggy - it's just a game to her.

I remember dd had just turned 3 when ds1 was born, and I still got a double buggy. Didn’t use it all the time, but it helps when they’re tired. I also think a buggy can be safer beside busy roads.

I was still using carriers and buggies at 4, increasingly on a hop on/ hop off basis. I saw no point in battling over walking and a few years on I have very fit, active walkers/ runners. At 8, my oldest literally gives me a good run for my money at 5k parkruns.

Walking is a normal function for travelling short distances to us and absolutely no harm was done by being flexible about assisting with walking while they were younger.

No she’s not too old to use a buggy she’s 3. Used ours right up until DD went to school , so did other moms. Children get tired. When you have your next baby invest in a buggy board .
I think people forget how tired little ones get. She’s 3 , when I was 3 I didn’t go to nursery , I was at home with my mom and if she took me out it was in a pushchair .

Oh absolutely use it. My DS' nursery is 0.5 miles, I walk him there but on the way home he jumps on the buggy board as I also have a 5 month old (DS1 is 3.7). He did used to walk both ways, but it definitely makes life easier for him to get a "lift" back when he's tired. He's not the only one, and I know some of the parents with older children in reception sometimes "pram" their children too.

Of course use the buggy for a 3 year old if it suits you. Use it for a 5 year old if you want. Do what suits you and your child.
People just look for things to criticise.

Thanks so much for the responses! I'm reading each and every one. Really interesting to see the different viewpoints. Tomorrow is the day DD doesn't attend nursery so I will use the time to have a think about what to do when she's back on Thursday.

DH does feel really strongly about this and I have made the point that if he cares that much maybe he needs to take on more of the pick ups. To be fair to him he did agree with me and is going to look at his work calendar tomorrow and see when/if that might be feasible (he'll still do the morning drop offs too as I have to be in work early and it's usually not negotiable).

teapot DH is convinced that DD did notice she was in a buggy when her friends weren't and that she felt "babyish". Honestly I don't think it bothered her at all!

Good ideas on trying the scooter strap and buggy board, those could both be a good compromise.

"I saw no point in battling over walking and a few years on I have very fit, active walkers/ runners."

Whilst it's not always the case, I think some kids can actively get turned off exercise by parents who turn walking everywhere into a battle from a very young age. As I've mentioned above, my mother didn't believe in buggies or carrying after babyhood, and we didn't have a car til I was older. Most of my early childhood memories involve me or my sibling whining because our legs hurt. It didn't do us any harm but it meant that I was in my twenties before I realised that walking can actually be pleasurable.

My dd is 3.5 and we still use the buggy every so often as we live in London and tend not to use the car for shortish journeys- for example she does to a tennis class about 1.5 miles away, I don’t want to use the car as it is less than 30 mins walking for me but she could never do it and it is still too far to scoot. I always feel aware that she is big in her buggy but I don’t care, it makes my life easier and isn’t polluting the air!

My 3.5 yr old uses a buggy on occasion. Couldn't care less if we are viewed with scorn for it. When she's knackered she can be an absolute little turd and needs tethering to something. Buggy does the job.

I don't see any reason why my daughter should have been consistently late for/unable to attend after school dance and swimming classes, medical appointments, sports matches etc just because she had to travel at the walking pace of her youngest sibling.

And I don't see why a family regularly walking long distances together at a fairly brisk, purposeful pace with a very young child hopping on and off a pushchair according to energy levels is more likely to lead to obesity than all of the family driving, using public transport or just staying in because it takes too long for the 3 year old to walk.

Op my dd would definitely not want to be around her friends who were walking whilst in her buggy! But she'd soon jump in round the corner!

I personally find it uncouth for children of that age who have no disabilities (I know not all disabilities are visible before I get that particular pile on). Should have suggested it on the what makes you common thread. I can see the usefulness in certain circumstances like long days out on hols with lots of walking but it does tend to be certain people who do this. Its kind of a convenient and self serving thing to do but don’t think it’s beneficial to infantilise young children growing up. I’m being a judgey bastard though

My DD (4.5) has been in the buggy now and then. She has also been in the Tula recently too. Who cares what people think
It is not morally inferior to use a buggy.

Definitely used buggy here until age 3 or 4. Primary school near very busy road. Safer and quicker. Also, used in shops and shopping centres.

If she’s tired and will go in then yes it’s fine. You do what suits you at the end of the day. Don’t let strangers on the internet decide.

I work at a preschool and can tell you plenty of parents use buggies with their 3+ year olds. Especially those who have public transport to catch/walk long distances. Definitely not heard anyone being picked on because they were seen in a buggy. Do what is right for you and your child.