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?

A 5 year old should not need a buggy

Caucho

Me too. I'm funny about pushchairs because I see more and more older kids in the town where i live, crammed into pushchairs in school uniform. You have to live within 0.5 miles to get a reception place in those schools so most are either lying to get a place or aren't walking far. My mum is a teacher and struggled in the latter years of her career with more and more kids coming to school very unfit and whinging if expected to walk even a short distance eg on a school trip.

We have a population that don't do enough exercise and habits are formed in childhood. Yes for a minority with less common circumstances a pushchair could be needed a bit longer but for many it really isn't the case.

A 5yr old needs a buggy if they can't keep up with a parent who needs to get from A to B quickly. Better than being late or using a vehicle.

And alk these people saying their 5 year old gets "tired" are they tired? Do they get enough sleep? Or are they unfit because they are not used to walking regularly. Fitness isn't something you grow into magically when you physically cant fit into a pushchair or are too heavy to be pushed. Fitness is built up by walking more and it's hard at first so the child may moan that they are tired

Sometimes it's batshit crazy here.
Who cares op? Do what you want to do to make your life easier. You're pregnant as am I and I just popped my nearly 3 year old in a pushchair to go to shopping. It's hot and im not carrying him around. Some people are so far up their own asses

Meglett better than using a vehicle in what sense? For the environment? Maybe. But what about for the child? I'd rather a 10 min car journey than 45 mins sat on their bum inactive. In terms of the environment, isnt it possible that in the long run, the more active child is probably going to be fitter and less reliant on a vehicle later on? Swings and roundabouts.

A 5 year old should not need a buggy

but fine in a car seat driven around? Care to clarify the difference for us?

Magnus the difference is TIME and how the child spends it.

E.g. 3 mile journey.
Option 1: 45 mins sat in a buggy.
Option 2: 10 mins sat in a car seat, followed by 35 minutes riding a bike/playing outside/generally active

Not true for every one of course but how it works for me & many others.

Well sometimes you have to go in a car. You can’t compare the 2. Even I wouldn’t make dd walk 200 miles or the 50 to her grandparents where there is no public transport.

A car seat is a safety product. It’s illegal to not use one. Not illegal to make your 4 year old walk.

It's like I could say to people.... why are you flying 4 hours to visit family abroad/to go on holiday? You could spend 3 days on trains/ferries etc and it would be better for the environment...

I’d push mine in a dog crate if it made things easier under those circumstances

Use the buggy. 3 is still young.

Well sometimes you have to go in a car. You can’t compare the 2.

of course you can compare the 2. Some people chose to drive, others chose not to.

Don't pretend parents only ever use their car when they have to travel for miles.

Well I presume people use a car because it is too far to walk. However a 1-2 mile walk should not pose a problem for a fit 5 year old and they should not need a buggy.

Use the buggy.

DD was in hers until she was around 4.5. She's nowhere near obese (I have to buy clothes 1-2 years below her age) and she always prefers to walk rather than take the bus.

Well that’s lazy of the parents to choose to drive over walking isn’t it? The same with putting a 5 year old in a buggy.

What I’m saying is you can’t compare the two for necessary car journeys. I make no comment on people who drive everywhere even 5 minutes down the road.

We do lots of walking, DD would be too tired to walk/bike all the way to soft play, play for two hours, and walk home again. She gets travel sick so buses aren't always good for her. The one we went to last weekend is a 4 mile round trip.

And we don't drive.

What I’m saying is you can’t compare the two for necessary car journeys. I make no comment on people who drive everywhere even 5 minutes down the road.

but that's the point that we were talking about. Comparing what is comparable.

Most routine car journeys are totally unnecessary (see threads about the school run), parents are just lazy. Judging someone who chose to walk and get some help from a buggy is ridiculous.

Forgot to say she is 3.

I haven’t judged op in the slightest if you actually read what I posted. I agree she should use the buggy.

What I said was 4 year olds and older using buggies. It is lazy, no matter how many people want to justify their use for themselves.

My daughter is nearly 3 and son 4.5. We sometimes take the buggy for a day out...mainly to carry all the parapohanlia that goes with such events but when they all run out if steam...DD goes in the seat. and DS goes on the buggy board. Apart from these events we don't use it much anymore. OP do what you need to do to take care of you all in this weather - even if she is on her scooter- dump all your bags in it

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland, I’m not attacking you for using a car, but when you criticise parents who use buggies (often because they don’t have cars, often because they are walking much more than you do) as taking the easy lazy way out and encouraging sedentary lifestyles, you have to expect a bit of “hang on a minute”. Especially when you say you literally can’t imagine walking as much as many of us do on a normal work day!

I would always have expected my 3-year-old to walk half a mile if we were walking to the shops on a nice day. I would have put her in a buggy for half a mile on a cold, dark, sleety evening in February on the way home from nursery. Anything in between that, would depend on the situation.

3 Magnums (nice name btw)

Equally, plenty of people put kids in buggies as long as possible because they can't be arsed going through the phase of getting a kids fitness up/coaxing them to walk, putting up with some whinging etc.

Not everyone who uses a buggy is morally superior and people will inevitably judge some people

This thread is reassuring. Thanks mumsnetters. Xx

I find it quite strange how things have changed over the years. Don't dare put any refined sugar in your childs lunch box but it's ok to push the little darlings around until secondary!!. Children build up their fitness unless not allowed to do so.