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!

Could be far longer in traffic. And it's a bit of fresh air and he can jump in and out as he wants. Once in while it's not a huge deal.of he regularly sat fir 3 hours in a buggy down the pub of agree. But a one off to go do something special when he can have a little doze if he needs to is not that big a deal

Wouldn’t we be better off as a planet if older children were routinely given a buggy option rather than the car! Imagine if no one made car journeys of less than 5miles. Brilliant OP and well done for getting out and doing things with your child.

Car drivers who judge mums (always mums!) for getting some exercise and allowing their child a rest after a busy day have no moral high ground in my book.

There is no logic behind it at all.

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

Quite. I also get pissed off with the black and white SN comments, as if children are born with their SN stickers firmly in place. It's not always that clear cut to understand why a child is struggling, or to get assessed when you can see there is a problem. Why can't parents just be allowed to make decisions based on their knowledge of their own children? The OP was asking for recommendations, not parenting advice. I hope you are being selective with the posts you are paying attention to, OP.

I also get pissed off with the black and white SN comments, as if children are born with their SN stickers firmly in place. It's not always that clear cut to understand why a child is struggling, or to get assessed when you can see there is a problem.

THIS. Average diagnosis time for my children's condition is 10 years from first seeing a doctor. Dd was 8. That was a good many years of getting judged for carrying her on my shoulders or doing anything else I could think of as a non-driver.

Also THIS:

Wouldn’t we be better off as a planet if older children were routinely given a buggy option rather than the car!

What is a motor car if not a buggy for able-bodied people, with the added function of destroying the planet?

As SaraTancredi points out, the buggy allows for far more activity than a car: the child can walk for as long as he is able, then have a rest, then walk again. Once you're in a car, you have to use it to reach your destination.

Hi OP,

I know plenty of 4 year olds who use a push chair from time to time. No big deal.

i’ve also seen lots of parents with a wagon as an alternative to a stroller for older children or those with multiple ages. Not sure if these exist in the UK but they are certainly popular here, most people use them for carting stuff around like at sporting events or going to the beach. A couple of mums on my school run use them for the kids - ages 3+ to sit in if they get tired at the end of a long day and also helpful for holding multiple bags etc. You would have to pull it as opposed to push. They collapse down for getting on and off transport.

You could also take a little scooter with you and pop it in there with him.

www.amazon.com/s?ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_3&sprefix=wag&k=wagon&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I have a running buggy for my 5 year old. They’re 3 wheelers but they’re very sturdy.

God people are soo judgemental, no-one would bat an eyelid at a tired 4 year old being put in a car at the end of a long day!! What’s the bloody difference!! Makes my blood boil!!

You either need to learn how to drive, plan journeys better to include public transport or use uber/taxi or cycle/scoot
It's not always that simple. Not everyone can afford a car even if they can drive, or to take a taxi everywhere. And public transport is rubbish in some places. My GC is nearly 4 and does walk nearly everywhere but sometimes he gets in the buggy because we have to get to school pick up quickly from an activity he has walked to which includes going up and down quite steep hills. A bike or scooter would be completly impractical and there is no bus. I don't see what is wrong with him using a buggy if we didn't it would mean he couldn't go because we wouldn't get to school in time to pick up his sister.

Also all these comments about scooters make me laugh, nothing worse than dragging along a tired child while carrying their scooter and helmet, and not very practical if you want to go into a shop or carry back a couple of bags of shopping!

no-one would bat an eyelid at a tired 4 year old being put in a car at the end of a long day!! What’s the bloody difference!!
I completely agree!

My favourite post on this thread is someone suggesting the OP learn to drive. I’d love to hear the environmental, developmental or cost benefits of that one. Stick the child in a bloody buggy if they need it and keep walking.

These threads always make laugh at the knots people will tie themselves in to suggest anything but a buggy. I remember one with a poster who had a very tight schedule in the mornings and needed to move her preschooler fast but had no car and wasn’t confident to cycle in heavy traffic. Someone actually suggested buying a bike with a child seat any way and pushing it along the pavement with her preschooler on board, because that was completely different to using a buggy and somehow totally acceptable

I was lucky that DD was so titchy for her age when she was 4. She was well under the weight limit for our old Bugaboo and was toddler-sized so attracted less judgment. She used to nap in it too (lying flat!) on her non-nursery days when we’d walk for miles running errands and seeing friends. We gave it away the May before she started school, and astonishingly she’s neither fat or lazy now at age 7.

In my experience, children who walk “everywhere” aged 2 or 3 walk a couple of hundred meters, to a car, bus or train, often with a sahp (so loads of time). People who seriously walk usually have experience with buggies, carriers, scooters on a leash etc

Forgot to add earlier, I've got a silver cross Pop, DS is three next month, 15ish kg and tall and he fits in it fine. I think they go up to 25kg, it's awesome, would definitely recommend.

Still laughing at the posters disgusted about a buggy but ending with "if they were tired we'd drive/bus/metro" etc.

Baby jogger elite is great for larger kids or have a look at a special tomato jogger . It's a special needs 3 wheeler but takes up to 8 stone and very easy to push .

Baby jogger elite is great for larger kids or have a look at a special tomato jogger . It's a special needs 3 wheeler but takes up to 8 stone and very easy to push .
But my son has special needs and I don't everything I can to not use one . I got a 3 wheel scooter and he uses that as much as he can .

We've also got one of these. Rubber wheels so no awful noise, DS can bike but the parent handle steers properly so you can drive it the same as a buggy and click the wheels to non driving etc. It's quite a nifty bit of kit

Little Tiger Trike forgot to add the link.

In my experience, children who walk “everywhere” aged 2 or 3 walk a couple of hundred meters, to a car, bus or train, often with a sahp (so loads of time). People who seriously walk usually have experience with buggies, carriers, scooters on a leash etc

Agreed. Our children are in and out of the pushchair or whatever, in and out, in and out, on journeys, gradually walking a greater proportion on each long journey, before the pushchair finally bites the dust.

We had a Maclaren XT and both of mine hated it, the seat is really shallow unless you clip the leg extender up and then it's long enough for legs to hang uncomfortably off the end.

It is also impossible to push with one hand. Three wheelers are much more agile.

What about a bike trailer for the 2 mile walk to/from public transport?

My four year old still fits perfectly in my baby jogger city elite. It’s a fantastic pushchair for all terrain long walks. They don’t make them anymore but they are still easy to pick up online. I think you really have to be a mummy without a car to know what it’s like to walk long distances with a small child. Don’t get the judgement personally.

My daughter is 4. She is nearly 3 stone and still fits in a Joie nitro. It says it can hold weight up to 22.5kg. Generally pushchairs can take more than what is stated on the manual

Also, don’t let anyone judge you on using a stroller. DD still uses one for long walks, shopping etc. She does a minor physical disability but she gets tired and it’s worth it. If you walk a lot, their legs are only little and using a stroller is better than a tired Whitney child or you straining your back carrying him.

DS Still used a stroller at 4, he’s 8 now and he’s a perfectly healthy, physically strong child who can walk for miles now. So it really doesn’t matter!

Also I think the silver cross pop goes up to 25kg

These threads always make laugh at the knots people will tie themselves in to suggest anything but a buggy. I remember one with a poster who had a very tight schedule in the mornings and needed to move her preschooler fast but had no car and wasn’t confident to cycle in heavy traffic. Someone actually suggested buying a bike with a child seat any way and pushing it along the pavement with her preschooler on board, because that was completely different to using a buggy and somehow totally acceptable

I was once on a board with a lot of very crunchy granola mothers who seemed to be very against prams in general (even for babies).

One mothers seemed to feel that she needed to "justify" her use of a pram because it was good on days when you have to haul lots of stuff about, like going to the beach.

Cue all these poster sharing pictures of these "cart"-type things that you load up with children and stuff and then pull rather than push. They really seemed to think that this was somehow different and better. People are weird!

Also, with a buggy, you can just dump your bag inside and have your child walk alongside it until they really need it, and then they can hop in when they really need to. With a car, you generally have no choice other than to have your child sit in it all the way to your destination, since you can't ask a child to walk "alongside" a car and there are only limited places where a car can be parked.

Children whose parents do not drive or do not drive much and who use a buggy until a later age usually walk a lot more than those who are driven everywhere!