AIBU to buy pushchair weight limit 2.4 stone, child is 3 stone but.....

[infinityforever]

Have already had to spend far too much time looking for a buggy.

Child has just turned 4 but will need a buggy for as long as poss as we go on massive trips and no car.

Been using a Maxi Cosi that i've only just realised he is 0.6 stone too heavy for. He's really cramped in it for lying down, a key feature for us. Mama's and Papa's Armadillo has loads of room but same weight restriction, WIBU unreasonable to buy it? I've heard that the US often certify pushchairs for much higher weights just because they have a better system for assessing them (or something?) than the UK has.
Please help, pushed for time!

Sarah
I don't think it has to be as black and white as that.

We're all products of our upbringing. When I was a kid and we didn't have a car, we just adjusted life to factor that in. We used busses, or did what was in reasonable walking or biking distances or we didn't go. So for me the idea of walking 12+ miles in the pouring rain and requiring a buggy to do play dates ending getting home just for bed is really weird because I know my mam would have just said no on that occasion and made different plans.

I still find buggies for school age children SEND aside to be unusual and generally think that transport or lack of is something to consider when deciding where to live. When I lived rurally you'd regularly see people walking a couple of miles between villages, but you wouldn't see older children in buggies.

And for what it's worth, I also think buggies at Disney are bizarre too. Why not plan a holiday that the kids can manage?

Obviously each to their own, but to me the logical thing is to adjust plans accordingly.

My 5 year old son rides in his sisters baby jogger buggy from time to time. It's a City Mini Gt. I see nothing wrong with it!! He's still a small child and gets tired sometimes. I'm ok with spoiling him and giving him a lift :)

OP was asking about realistic weight li.its for buggys not asking people to take the moral high ground over whether or not a four year old should be in a buggy. Tell you what if I was needing to walk miles without access to public transport or car then you can be guaranteed I would be doing the same. Children get tired and whitney and that along with shopping etc is a a recipe for the day from hell. 😁

OP Have you thought about a pony and trap?
Or how about jumping on the nearest hot air balloon next time your son gets tired and doesn't want to walk anymore?

Talk about judgemental comments, how do you know whether the child has a problem or not.
My don was in a buggy until nearly 5, he also looked much older.
This was because he had a painful umbilical hernia, which kicked in after an amount of walking. He couldn't have it operated on earlier because of medical issues.
He had a lovely silver cross wayfarer, it was 25 years ago, but best pushchair ever. Size and comfort wise.

Lolasmiles. You say people should adjust their plans accordingly, surely this up includes using a buggy if needs be. I don't drive, when mine where 4 and 5 I took a buggy if we had plans that included a long walk home, why shoUldale they have missed out on something fun just because a random on tne Internet thinks a bugly is not appropriate. Also I did adjust plans, the plans included using a buggy. Like I said before my DS is now 11 and walks or bikes everywhere because I still don't drive so using a buggy age 5 has has zero negative affects on his life.

You're going to need an out and about or a Bob revolution. My 7 year old still fits in our revolution. You can lock out the front wheel for getting on and off the bus. You're not going to find a four wheel buggy with a high enough weight limit. I wouldn't do the armadillo. I have a 3 year old and I won't be ditching the buggy any time soon because I don't fancy carrying that much weight nor do I wish to curtail our walks in the countryside.

You honestly can't win in these situations tbh. I don't drive and the walk to school is almost a mile. We can get the bus I suppose but we have to leave the same time and then wait around for the school to open and its costs 16 quid a week for the privilege. My 4 year old walks to school and I push her 1 yr old brother in the pram. I have had comments about it been to far for her to walk, how tired she must be etc. I then had one mum saying (behind my back but not quiet enough for me not to hear) that she hates seeing my ds(1) been stuck in the buggy all the time. I'm still unsure what she wanted me to do, make him walk? Carry him for the 2 mile walk? Or just do what she does and drive everywhere. You honestly can not win so just do what is best for you.

Bloody ridiculous posts from some people. I live 3 miles from my nearest town. There is a bus once every Tuesday, leaves at 11am returns at 14pm. Not everyone has a public transport option.

my2bundles
To me the adjustment is not taking school aged kids on 12 mile walks in the rain.

But that's just based on what was the norm in the area where I grew up where it was common to have one car or no car families and dads working away so essentially no car families.

I don't get why it's desirable to drag kids for hours walking in the rain and wind or pushing them in a buggy in such weather for things that arent essential.

It's the same with "why is a car better than a buggy" arguments. I couldn't care less on timing the morality of seated time, but think it's a bit daft to be doing things with no transport when the option is to push them home in a buggy for ages in bad weather. It's just like taking a child who can't do a day on their feet to Disney. Why not have a different holiday until they're old enough to enjoy the full day?

For shorter distances, most 4 year olds can walk. For longer distances, especially in bad weather it just seems silly to me and now I'm an adult I totally understand my mam's approach when we were younger.

Should be walking everywhere at 4. I didn’t drive until my youngest was 9, my eldest was walking miles at 16 months. I also have joint issues

So miss out on a once in a lifetime holiday the kids would absolutely love and talk about for years to come unless you return to the hotel every day at 6 for bath time story and bed ? Rather than let them rest in a buggy fir a bit?
Sorry that's just bonkers. People adjust their.lives in all.sorts of ways but missing out on a kid friendly holiday that would bring days of enjoyment is preferable to having a kid sit in a buggy rather than a car seat?

"We're all products of our upbringing. When I was a kid and we didn't have a car, we just adjusted life to factor that in. We used busses, or did what was in reasonable walking or biking distances or we didn't go. So for me the idea of walking 12+ miles in the pouring rain and requiring a buggy to do play dates ending getting home just for bed is really weird because I know my mam would have just said no on that occasion and made different plans."

I grew up in place with very limited public transport, no car, and parents who were very determined to be out and about. We brought an old-fashioned pram/buggy with us for a long time, or older family members carried the younger ones, it wasn't a big deal. I used to carry my younger brother around a lot.

People in the olden days used to walk far longer distances than they do now, and my parents were nothing if not old-fashioned.

This attitude stood me in good stead when I later gave birth to a disabled child WHO ISSUED FROM MY WOMB COMPLETELY UNLABELLED. I didn't know she was disabled, I just noticed she got tired and couldn't walk as far as we needed her too. I took her to the doctors, they didn't find anything. Went on for years until we finally got to a specialist.

Yes, plenty of people commented, plenty of people thought we were weird and wrong because we couldn't claim the excuse of SN.

We could have given up on the idea of ever going anywhere, but we happen to be rather fond of the great outdoors and live in an urban area.

Please ignore the rubbish comments op, every families different, why must you basically either end up in agony with your joint problem having to carry him arround when he's too tired or plan only shorter trips and not be able to get anywhere. Do whats right for your family and just ignore the judgemental looks, I do when my son meltsdown or we have the walk of shame when late for school. People don't know your families situation and have no right to judge. As for weights i should think if its exactly same metal etc as the US one should be fine ;)

We live in a tiny village with no public transport. DS is one so currently at an ‘acceptable age’ for using a buggy. I don’t know if he’ll be up to the 2 mile walk along footpaths to the big village to the shops/drs/library when he’s 3 or 4. I know the off-road buggy is though. Or what about when I want to go for a run? A three year old is very unlikely to be able to run 10km. I find it preposterous that it’s so awful to use a buggy but fine to throw your kids into the car whenever you like.

Mine was one of the last being buggied to nursery. I switched to a three wheeled scooter, with a strap thing to pull him along. I think you get some with seats also! I noticed a lot of other 3+ year olds wpuld ride home on the buggy board of their younger siblings buggy, but I wasn't having another child just to facilitate that!

He’s four. He should be walking.

Phil and Ted's. I bought the explorer for ds4 who has send. It's up to about 6 stone I think.

I've found pushchair are awful to push when you exceed their weight limit

What are you going to do when he’s slightly older?
The trips are inappropriate, you can’t rely on a buggy forever.

So miss out on a once in a lifetime holiday the kids would absolutely love and talk about for years to come unless you return to the hotel every day at 6 for bath time story and bed ?
Or simply wait until they're old enough to properly appreciate the day and the facilities and the experience.
It's hardly missing out to give it a couple of years.

OpheliaBee
I've seen a few people at parkrun with running buggies, someone has a double one. I don't know how they do it because they're bloody brilliant and still seek to get 25min times.

corythatwas
I'm guessing though you'd not be deciding that 12 mile walks in bad weather were the norm though.

I'd never comment to someone because it's rude and you don't know if someone has a disability or not, but if there's a separate discussion about the topic then it's fair to share views.

I just don't think it's reasonable carting kids out for hours in the rain and wind when they're tired or doing long walks for miles in bad weather, pushing to bed time rather than say no and make other plans, especially not for the sake of some play dates.

Just like I don't think it's horrifying to suggest that a child is better off doing Disney when they can do the day than being pushed around aged 5 in a buggy and kept out later to make the most of it.

Horses for courses, we all have different approaches.

@SpidersFromJars

I agree with you 100%

Definitely wouldn't go over the limit, as they are put in place for safety. Then if anything were to happen the company is no longer liable if you haven't followed guidelines.

And by the time they can manage to walk around all of it and stay out later they have grown out of even wanting to go to Disney land, or their older brother/sister has moved out so they never get a family holiday anywhere or God forbid the mum or dad or the grandparents gets sick or has an accident and ends up barely even able to get to the local shop or has to look after them on top of work and running a house let alone even think about a holiday . Ever. And then they never get to go. But so long as they never use a buggy hey

Good grief no wonder there are so many snowflaky people out there next thing will be teachers having to change nappies.

Oh yeah that actually happens !!!

I probably wouldnt take a four year old out late in the first place.I childminded for years without a car and if we wanted to go anywhere special it normally meant walking.Children see so much whilst walking.They learn to be more resilient too as in walking even when tired/bad weather etc..Allow plenty of time when possible and make it an adventure.Its of course your personal choice to continue to use a buggy but sometimes maybe planning less walking on trips might be preferable to using a buggy.Bikes and scooters fir unavoidable trips.As fir children not stopping at pavements they need to be taught this.Stop and go games.They dont stop they have to push the bike or scooter.Lots of learning opportunities