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!

@SpidersFromJars great post. These threads are so incredibly annoying.

Well, the buses here, you have to pay extra. Although sometimes a driver will waive the ticket for a child's scooter, not all do. Nor are scooters allowed in the supermarket, even if carried (which is not practical anyway).

It really depends on your child or lifestyle. My DC2 napped until 4.5.

If it's pissing it down and you need to do the 45 minute trip to the shop...

If there's only one bus to get back home and you can't risk missing it because of a dawdling child.

There are many situations when people wouldn't think twice about sticking their kid in the car seat and driving to.

In awe of the supermums bringing back a shopping trolley plus two shopping bags, oh and pulling their DC uphill on a scooter because he's tired

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You’re planning on buying a new expensive buggy for an already turned 4 year old to use ‘for as long as possible’.
YABU.
I appreciate you have no car, so you adjust your outings accordingly surely, not just stick in him in a buggy for several more years.

Another vote for a scooter.

For shopping, if there’s limited public transport, how about Internet shopping.

Which county are you in? I've never encountered or heard of any charging extra for a pushchair or scooter. We've lived in or visited a few different counties. I'm pretty sure you're making this up, it'd make the papers with the outrage from parents!

If it's raining, the child puts on their wellies&jacket, maybe leave half an hour earlier to account for all the puddle jumping! Or if you can't, you explain they can't as you're a bit late and don't want to miss the bus. Hold their hand and make a game of running through the rain if youre really running late! Let them know they can jump in the puddles on the way back. They understand.

Not everyone who is saying they are too old drives. No need to drag a 4 year old on a scooter uphill, I wouldn't fancy it. They can just use their legs and walk. If necessary you can bribe/motivate with the promise of a hot chocolate when you get home. 😁

For shopping, if there’s limited public transport, how about Internet shopping.

Thank goodness for people like you with so much wisdom. I'm sure this has never occurred and she will be eternally grateful for your input.

I am shocked how many sanctimonious, self-righteous people come crawling out. She asked for advice on what buggy to buy. Not for opinions on her choice. Does it make you all feel better about yourselves by fooling yourself that you are so much better than somebody else.

Why can't people be kind or shut up!

It is wonderful all these preschoolers who can walk miles without difficulty. I did let mine use a pushchair aged 4. Their school and nursery was a hilly 0.7 miles away. In nursery they could only do half days so they had to do the journey 4 times a day (collecting older siblings). People did occasionally make comments whilst loading their child into a car . On good days my child would walk all the way and the pushchair was just a bag carrier. Some days they would run there. On bad days they hopped into the pushchair.

As they grew older it became apparent that they have an invisible disability. I say invisible, it is not invisible on the months when they need crutches, but those are just the worst days, the disability is always there but people don't always see that. They don't see the fatigue and sheer effort it takes to walk some days. They think that because some days they can run a 5k for charity, on days that they can't they are faking it. We don't live rurally but even in a town a bus doesn't always go from A to B. It is 2.5 miles each way by car and public transport, would involve two buses and wouldn't get there until long after school started.

Just because the child doesn't have a visible disability apparent now it doesn't make the journey easy. Hopefully OP's child will not have a disability but at that stage even as parents we did not know for another six years. I am pleased that I did not give in to the judgement and comments that I received because I would feel an awful lot more guilty now if I had. Please consider this before making comments as until you walk a mile or even 0.7 miles in their shoes you will not know.

I really don't get this I don't drive public transport is really crap where I live and both my dc walked 2 miles to nursery and further for school. Ds also has hyper mobility and could still do it at 4 and more.
Don't be that parent, the more you get your dc to walk regularly the more they can walk it's all about building muscles and stamina

The Uppababy Vista has an upper weight limit of 22kg (about 3.4st). My 2yr old prefers to walk and my 4 yr old likes to climb in on longer walks ... he’s too big obviously, but not ridiculously too big.

Op have a look at the Silvercross Pop. Yanbu to buy a pushchair if you think you’ll need it. We used ours for ds2 until he was 5. He didn’t need it all the time but in some situations it was necessary.

@infinityforever ignore those who don't understand. My kids also occasionally used a buggy right up to school age. The Maclaren XT is tall and reclines well and folds easily. I don't know the weight limit but my kids were skinny kids. Also my P&T was great for them. My kids are really fit and active and used to being outdoors. No harm came to them! Lol.

Baby jogger, they also have a 4 wheeler. ignore all the “oh my god, a 4 year old in a buggy“ people. they either use the adult buggy (also called car) a lot, or don’t really walk. even my very fit oldest didn’t manage more than 3-4 miles at a reasonable speed that age. And 3-4 miles is not nearly enough exercise for an adult.
now, age 6, he easily walks that and much more while all the „i haven’t used a buggy sine age 2“ brigade kids still only walk the same short distances since they and their parents have gotten used to not walking

Silver cross pop has a weight limit of 25kg.

In answer to your actual question OP, no I wouldn't actively use a buggy when my kid was over the weight limit. It'll be hard work to push if nothing else!

Not sure what the issue is with 3 wheelers but the phil and Ted's sport has a weight limit of 25kg, it's a great buggy and you can often pick them up second hand for peanuts. Otherwise the cosatto woosh also has a 25kg limit

At that age I often had my DD in a bike trailer. No judging. Same journey in a pushchair, I would have been judged.

Their current school is a two mile walk. I'm thankful to have the car. The majority of the way home is uphill, very steep in parts. And unsuitable for scooters or child bikes downhill as it's not to an A road in the countryside where the footpath has no separation from the road.

@Thegracefuloctopus don’t be ridiculous. using the adult buggy (car) for every journey has a massive impact on exercise levels and obesity rates. give the child a year or so, and 4-5 miles are fine to walk (because they don’t want to be in a buggy). use the adult buggy for every journey, and he‘ll never learn (why would he?)

@myself2020 stop trying to. Make 'the adult buggy' happen, it's not going to happen!!!
At 4years old they're fine to walk now, just adapt the route/distance/where you're going until they can handle it

Wow, thegracefuloctopus, driving isn’t the answer to everything. I can’t believe the people horrified at a child in a buggy who are fine with using a car instead. No wonder we’re destroying the planet. OP no buggy advice, but I think using one is perfectly sensible to back up walking for tired children. And a lot better than driving from A to B. I’m amazed at the virtue signalling on this thread!

Hear hear SpidersFromJars

It’s such a weird judgement from people here about buggies, along with the suggestions that the child should miss out on going out to things purely because they might be seen in a buggy. Scooters and bikes also require the child to have enough energy to use them, and sometimes children get tired. There’s not always public transport either, and even if there is, why should anyone use it when they can have fresh air and exercise for as long as the child can keep going? Why do they need to pay for that to avoid the ‘shame’ of a child being sat in a buggy?

Keep all the judgy comments to yourselves!

how about Internet shopping.
When DC was 4 (and in a buggy
) they didn't deliver to us because we were one village, a.k.a. 5 minutes drive outside their delivery zone.

They can just use their legs and walk.
Ha ha! Have you forgotten how stubborn 4year olds can be. That only works if you have plenty of time and don't need to be somewhere.

Yes, running and making a race works. Maybe once or twice. But when it's a reality day in day out, or if DC is tired as they've not slept, or a bit under the weather, then you've missed your bus.

@SpidersFromJars excellent post.

I hope all of you who are judging OP get your nasty little kicks. How wonderful that your child walked 24 miles a day from age 2 without a buggy or car. I'm glad OP is putting her child's interests first and not yours.

In Spain you see 4/5/6 year olds in buggies all the time. The lifestyle is a lot more outdoorsy, and relaxed where families often eat out/ stay out at the beach/park until late. And at the end of a long, active day for children, they'll need a buggy. Rather than restricting the child's life and day so they can avoid a buggy at all costs, they do what makes sense. The UK is so judgemental and nonsensical at times. I'd understand if the OP had a car and was suggesting a buggy for a 4 year old- that it might not be necessary... But I don't understand in these circumstances how anyone can not think a buggy is the most sensible solution.

My 4 year old is very active but hates walking. If we are walking long distances I let her go in for a bit, I really don't see what the issue is. It's no different to letting them sit on the bus or driving.

I love the MN buggy threads.
I used a 3 wheeler until mine were 4.6. We walked a few miles a day. No, I didn't have time to walk slowly or change my plans and use the car. I was once told to get up earlier on here so we could do more without a buggy 🤣.

Better a non polluting buggy they can hop in and out of than a metal internal combustion engine that drives them from A to B.