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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

320 replies

infinityforever · 13/10/2019 22:52

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!

OP posts:
NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 14/10/2019 06:52

The reason people judge someone for using a pram for a 12 mile journey with a 4 year old (As opposed to car/public transport) is simply the time. 12 miles in a pram is around 3 hours of time that child is sat down physically inactive. 12 miles in a car is maybe half an hour at most, leaving the other 2.5 hours to be physically active.

Very few 4 year olds in the UK nap so it's not like a toddler where you can argue you were walking for a couple of hours where they needed a sleep.

PlugUgly1980 · 14/10/2019 06:54

Scooter (invest in a good one, eg micro scooter), or a light weight pedal bike, or just walk! My 3 and 5 year old walk miles. My 3 year old would rather ride his bike, but whilst he can pedal it well he's not got the sense for road safety yet, so we walk or scoot. Waterproofs and wellies like someone else said for puddle splashing in the rain. The only way they build up stamina to walk further is by walking all the time, everywhere. We also walk 'for fun' at the weekend, along the coast, dales, etc. My 5 year old can do a good 6 miles now and my 3 year old not far behind. The key is to make sure you leave time for them to do it in their own time.

Solasum · 14/10/2019 06:55

A scooter with a pull along strap would work.

nestisflown · 14/10/2019 06:57

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland when did OP say that her child would sit in the buggy for the whole 12 mile journey? You do how that buggies have an excellent mechanism where the child can get out, right? OP clearly explained that she needs the buggy for when her child is over tired.

I have a buggy for my 6 month old. But I take a sling with me wherever I go, and shockingly, I'll sometimes let my 3 year old sleep or sit in the pram when they're exhausted. Judge away.

SarahTancredi · 14/10/2019 06:59

I wonder if the same people berating the op are the same people who arrive at school 40 mins early just to be sure they can park outside the school and their kid doesnt have to walk more than 6 ft....

As long as hes not in the buggy the whole time, and not in it every day for really short journeys as well as the long ones then what's the problem?

There will come a time he really wont fit though so a bike or scooter is a good idea. I'd get them.now and start practicing though so by the Time he cant fit in the buggy any more hes not at the " omg this takes even.longer than walking wtf is he doing " stage GrinWink

Absoluteunit · 14/10/2019 07:10

If you are wanting to use it for a while I would go for a buggy designed for older children with SN. They aren't cheap though. There are a couple of Facebook groups for buying and selling second hand SN equipment if you are in the UK.

I don't drive either and DD has SN so I get it. Unfortunately she was a buggy refuser but it would've been so much easier. We went for a scooter which was a PITA at first but she got faster.

Good luck

Kahlua4me · 14/10/2019 07:11

A scooter might be a good idea, they worked well when my dc were younger. We used to walk to town a lot and the last part of the journey home was tough for both dc when they were that age.

We also had a landrover pushchair, which has a higher weight limit and although it’s a 3 wheeler I found them easy to use on public transport.

It is better to be using a pushchair for part of the journey rather than resorting to using the car or a taxi.

1busybee · 14/10/2019 07:12

Have you seen the micro trike? Bit different but might fit well

CecilyP · 14/10/2019 07:14

The only way they build up stamina to walk further is by walking all the time, everywhere.

Nope, the only way they get to build up stamina to walk everywhere is by their legs growing. Something that will happen regardless of how much or how little the walk as pre-schoolers.

RachelEllenR · 14/10/2019 07:16

I wouldn't worry too much about the negative comments. We have a double we still put our 4 and 5 year old for walking home after a dinner out - they both fall asleep and transfer into their own beds. They scoot on the way in (it's 3 miles). I haven't worried about the weight limit and will keep doing it while it works for us. The 4 year old goes in it sometimes when I run too.

bookmum08 · 14/10/2019 07:24

We used a buggy for various reasons up to the age of six and you know what? NO ONE CARED. Teachers, school friends, random strangers - not interested in why. If you need one use one.
We had a basic £20 argos one which folded down really small which was great for public transport.

DonPablo · 14/10/2019 07:25

Making parents lives easier. That's what this site is about. Not pile on parents who make different decisions to you.

Check out uppababys. They're pretty big and have high weight limits. But know that you will be judged.... Just look at this thread....

OneForTheRoadThen · 14/10/2019 07:26

I wouldn't get a new buggy for a 4 year old as I don't think you'd get your money's worth. I'd buy secondhand - tons of bargains on Facebook marketplace - secondhand baby joggers go for about £50 and that should last you I think. I have one and they are massive.

Medianoche · 14/10/2019 07:33

My youngest was still in a buggy at 4 for doing sibling school runs, not because he couldn’t manage the distance, but because he couldn’t manage emotionally and would frequently bolt in the wrong direction.
We’re car-free and some things we’ve found that help are a Micro scooter, a mini buggy lock to chain up the scooter in a bike rack (so you’re not carrying it in shops) and a MiFold car seat for the very occasional trips that might need a taxi.
Every judgy look and ‘well-meaning’ comment I had about using a pushchair at 4 came from car drivers.

DtPeabodysLoosePants · 14/10/2019 07:33

Hi OP, my ds is 4 and three quarters now and weighs 16kg. I'm a single mum who doesn't drive and it's a 2.5 mile trip to school. He was ill last week and I was glad of the buggy as he was too poorly to walk with me to take his older sister and I had no one to either take dd or stay with ds. I don't get any funny looks on the few occasions I still use the buggy. What I did notice though is that once he turned 4.5 he was suddenly able to walk much longer distances and would do 5/6 miles no problem. However when we go on long train trips I take the buggy to carry all the luggage and give him somewhere to sleep should he need a nap. I will sell it soon but last week I was glad we still had it. He's a great walker and walks to and from school every day which none of his class mates do as they all go in the car. It's up a series of big hills too!
You do what's right for you and your child and ignore the posters with no concept of what it's like to not drive when you have a small one to get about.

It's a baby jogger versa btw but I need to check the weight limit as think he might have outgrown it now weight wise.

MoodLighting · 14/10/2019 07:34

Get a scooter for shorter walks and a kid seat for your bike for longer trips. Sorted

Becky11 · 14/10/2019 07:34

Should probably have thought about this before living so remote with a child and no car.
@Thegracefuloctopus you ridiculous person

Becky11 · 14/10/2019 07:37

Should probably have thought about this before living so remote with a child and no car.
@Thegracefuloctopus you ridiculous person

LolaSmiles · 14/10/2019 07:42

It's not so much the 4 year old in a buggy that's unusual to me, but the attitude of "stick them in a buggy as long as possible rather than adapt plans accordingly" that I find unusual.

Does a 4 year old need play dates so late to bedtime that require such long walks?
How necessary are these million mile walks up and down hills in the pouring rain?

We didn't have a car when my dad worked away and it was simple, we walked or got the bus or we didn't do it. Plans were made around the fact our mum didn't drive. Sometimes we'd take bikes or have a trailer bike tagged onto the back of our mum's for longer distances.

It's each to their own, but seeking a lie flat buggy for a 4 year old is unusual to me.

Beveren · 14/10/2019 07:45

Do his legs work ? If yes, let him use them, he is not a baby or a toddler.

Do your eyes work, @Lowlandlucky? OP said "I sometimes walk for miles and miles where there is no public transport option and he'll walk a lot of the time but without the buggy, we couldn't do the last part of the trip". I suspect this child walks far more than many of the adults criticising OP on this thread.

Ihatesundays · 14/10/2019 07:49

I love it that posters are suggests OP gets a car and driving him around in that is okay, but a buggy isn’t. Ridiculous.

I remember going on day trips with DD at 4 (and older) and her sleeping on the way back in the car (and trains). No way could she have stayed awake. She even slept on way back from softplay sometimes.

I can see why it’s helpful at that age for long trips.

There was a mum at school who put her DD in a buggy until they were 5/6 and I was judgy - but that’s because she was doing a 2 minute walk to school in it.

DtPeabodysLoosePants · 14/10/2019 07:49

@LolaSmiles some people live in hilly areas? Some enjoy walking? We live next door to the Peak District. It's hilly. It rains.

catlady3 · 14/10/2019 07:49

So putting a child in a car to avoid them having to walk long distances seems ok, but a pushchair is somehow not? Fascinating.

EveLevine · 14/10/2019 07:54

@infinityforever have you looked at the Silver Cross POP? Weight limit is 25kg, and they have a lovely big hood which is fab for keeping the sun/wind out.

I used one with my DS until he was 5, with no problems size wise.

TheScruffyDog · 14/10/2019 07:57

Use the money for the buggy to learn to drive

Got to admit I did LOL at that. As if spending a couple of hundred quid on a new buggy will somehow instead stretch to driving lessons, passing a theory and practical test, buying a car, and insurance, and car tax, and then a car seat anf petrol Grin

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