Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
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:
myself2020 · 14/10/2019 07:58

Mumsnet children seem at the same timebe extremely clever (at least gold reading level at the end of reception) and extremely dim (fall for the same ruse several times every day for years, for hours at a time (let’s race to school).
the more logical conclusion is a lot of rose tinted glasses from parents looking at the past, and not a lot of reality

SimonJT · 14/10/2019 07:58

Buy second hand from facebook etc if you can, it’s much cheaper.

I hope these people who say four is too old for a pushchair make their four year old walk everywhere instead of using a car, bus, train etc.

OneForTheRoadThen · 14/10/2019 07:59

Sorry, I forgot to add that I recommend the baby jogger city mini 4 wheeler. I got mine from Amazon. I did have the 3 wheel version but I didn't like them either. The 4 wheel version is great.

Nanny0gg · 14/10/2019 08:02

Why does the OP have to adjust her outings just because she hasn't got a car?

If it would be ok to drive somewhere then it's ok to use a buggy

myself2020 · 14/10/2019 08:02

@ CecilyP sorry, you are wrong. lazy kids who are ferried everywhere are way more likely to become lazy, overweight adults when active kids who do a lot of exercise and walking (i used to be a researcher in the field)

UnicornPug · 14/10/2019 08:05

My son used a pushchair until he started school. We didn’t walk particularly far, he just didn’t like walking. I weaned him off it in the summer before he started school at 4.6. He was an average sized child and I don’t remember anyone commenting, ever. I had a Jane Slalom Pro (which doesn’t fit your bill as it’s a 3 wheeler) and the seat was so huge I’d often get him and his friend (same age!) wedged in together if we were on a day out.

I find the judgemental attitude around pram and pushchair use bewildering! If it makes your life easier, go for it. I can honestly say, I’ve never judged another parent for their decision to use a pram.

LolaSmiles · 14/10/2019 08:07

DtPeabodysLoosePants
I used to live somewhere hilly.
My mum didn't take us out in the pouring rain for miles on end so we could have play dates close to bedtime.
There's be loads of people walking, scooting, trailer biking, having a push and scoot along sit on toy, but not 4 year olds in buggies in the rain in the dark. I'm all for keeping kids active and am not a fan of the "PFB couldn't walk more than 10m so take the car" approach, but part and parcel of living somewhere without a car is that surely you're accepting that you can't do the same things as someone with a car. A kid in a car for 20 mins is different to kid in a buggy for over an hour for example.

Maybe it's upbringing, where I lived as a child you walked, scooted, rode a bike, got a bus or you didn't go. There wasn't a culture of 4/5 year olds in buggies so I find it unusual.

hopityhopity · 14/10/2019 08:08

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.

My children are younger than that and are used to a healthy active lifestyle. If they turn 4 and suddenly decide they're lazy, tough luck, they'll still have to walk, although I can't see it happening! Or them even wanting to go in one when they could be running and exploring.

I make sure we don't miss the bus, if we have to leave earlier or run to the bus we will, if we have to leave earlier. In reality if you can't make this work then you really need to adjust your attitude, take the dummy out of their mouth and treat them their age! Imagine trying to get on the bus with a baby in a pushchair but some idiot decided to use the last spot with a 4 year old 😳😳

hopityhopity · 14/10/2019 08:09

Only on Mumsnet do you hear of 4 year olds in pushchairs, I wonder if it's just posted for fun to see people's shock!

happycamper11 · 14/10/2019 08:11

What's wrong with a buggy when travelling a distance on foot that the majority would normally put their child in a car seat and drive. OP I'm sure baby jogger do a 4 wheel version. Their seats are huge and the same buggies are tested to a much higher weight in the US. Phil and teds are also big and weight carriers. They are 3 wheelers but having had to rely solely on public transport when my dc were small I can guarantee there's no issue with it

Beveren · 14/10/2019 08:12

Only on Mumsnet do you hear of 4 year olds in pushchairs

100% not true.

CecilyP · 14/10/2019 08:13

No, myself2020, I’m right. It’s a scientific fact that the longer your legs, the further and faster you can walk. As I find myself trying to keep up with a tall male colleague occasionally on our way to work.

maccaroni · 14/10/2019 08:13

There’s a reason for the weight limit! At 4 he doesn’t need a pushchair, get a scooter and he will whizz along. Get a really good one like a micro scooter. Mine used to scoot miles with no fuss.

SarahTancredi · 14/10/2019 08:16

Imagine trying to get on the bus with a baby in a pushchair but some idiot decided to use the last spot with a 4 year old

I didn't drive til a few years ago. I've spent years of my life getting buses..up to 10 buses a day during school/pre school runs.

I've seen all sorts. People who insist on the biggest of prams and then block.the aisles.

People who put the empty buggy and shopping in the wheel chair space so no one else can use it even though the kid isn't in it.

People who watch people .struggle with a new baby and all the stuff that goes with it while they sit there with a wide awake toddler in stroller then promptly get off a few metres round the corner at the next stop.

But I haven't seen anywhere near as many 4/5 year olds in a buggy on the bus.

People who live 5 mins.down the road driving to their local.school on the other hand...well that's a daily occurrence..

PrincessHoneysuckle · 14/10/2019 08:18

If he hasn't any mobility problems then he shouldn't be in a pushchair

Mamagunner · 14/10/2019 08:20

I would look at getting him a scooter in all honesty my daughters used to walk to school and back my youngest at three obviously had to do the school run with me for her older sister so she'd ride her scooter 8 miles away 2 mile walk there and then back for school drop off and then again school pick up and you can get scooters that fold up easily to take with you on public transport.

CecilyP · 14/10/2019 08:22

Why does the OP have to adjust her outings just because she hasn't got a car?

Indeed, there have been so many suggestions here that she change her entire lifestyle when a simple non-polluting wheeled invention has made her lifestyle possible and she is just looking for recommendations.

megletthesecond · 14/10/2019 08:22

Scooters don't carry shopping though. A buggy doubles as shopping and child carrier. And it's it's hard to safely control a child on a scooter if your hands are full of bags. Better for a child to hop in and out of a buggy.

WingingWonder · 14/10/2019 08:24

Scooter

GymNovice · 14/10/2019 08:25

I make sure we don't miss the bus, if we have to leave earlier or run to the bus we will,

As I said, that only works if it's your eldest child and you don't have somewhere you have to be at a certain time. Or should I have left the 5 year old unsupervised in the school playground before school so I had longer to walk to the bus?

nestisflown · 14/10/2019 08:28

@LolaSmiles

Do you realise that not everyone has to do what your mum did? My mother didn't drive and we didn't miss out on much because of it. With 5 of us though, a buggy was essential even until the youngest was 4. What your mother did was fine too if it worked for her (restricting you're activities because it's a lot of effort to go some places rurally). It's also fine for OP to decide not to restrict those activities and take a buggy as a back up because she wants to make the effort to attend things despite the difficulties caused by her location.

People have different priorities, and just as OP doesn't judge your mother for accepting that you couldn't do the same things as someone with a car. You shouldn't judge OP for wanting to ensure she and her child can do the same things as someone with a car.

nestisflown · 14/10/2019 08:28

*your

Sunshine1235 · 14/10/2019 08:30

Wow this thread really exposes the privilege of most mumsnet users that most can’t seem to contemplate a scenario where a buggy for a 4 year old might be acceptable.

I used to live in a village without any public transport, the nearest bus stop was 2 miles away and the walk was mostly along main roads without pavements so not suitable for a child with a scooter. I had a car so it wasn’t a problem but if I didn’t I can well imagine using a buggy to get out and about past the stage where it’s socially acceptable. But according to this thread I should have just stayed at home and not dared to try and do the same things that people with cars do?

BellaBattenburg · 14/10/2019 08:31

Just ignore the comments OP and concentrate on the recommendations.
Ds2 was in a pushchair later than other children as he was SO SLOW. We had no car so he had to walk the school run with his brother and he would turn that from a 15 min walk into a 35 min walk and threaten to make DS1 late for school. Then we would walk onwards to his nursery, another 10 mins walk that could take him 25 mins. He got plenty of exercise, we were in the park every day, he always walked when there was no time pressure or need to be punctual. A scooter can help as they get older if they have road sense and you are confident they will stop at every junction etc.
OP - do exactly as you see fit- and don't feel the need to justify yourself to the critics.

Footle · 14/10/2019 08:34

@SpidersFromJars , brilliant post!

Swipe left for the next trending thread