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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to ask - how do you lug stuff about after DC have outgrown a buggy?

57 replies

AndAnotherUsername · 05/09/2020 06:10

Younger DC has just outgrown the buggy and we are struggling to come to terms with the practicalities of lugging stuff around!

Can no longer easily go to the shop after kids’ pickups, as then would have to carry heavy shopping as well as nursery bag+school bag+lunch bag and hold kids‘ hands.

It’s a pain to carry the football with us so they can no longer have a quick kickabout through park on way home.

No longer take them out with scooters as no longer have the buggy to plop them on top of once abandoned.

If going out and it’s warm but it’s going to rain later, do you carry 4 coats with you in a massive bag?

Bottle of water, spare clothes in case of accidents, pottete, football boots if going to football class, snacks, picnic blanket if going for walk at the weekend, allergy meds... all these add up in weight to carry.

I miss the buggy so much! I loved being able to bring everything we might need comfortably, and go out walking locally for a few hours incorporating multiple locations and activities.

Did you find your lifestyle changed a lot post-buggy? Am I missing any obvious solutions?

YABU - This is a non-issue
YANBU - I feel your pain

OP posts:

DryHeave · 05/09/2020 06:14

Take the buggy.

Original poster

AndAnotherUsername · 05/09/2020 06:18

Lol @DryHeave. We still do sometimes, but it is going to be a bit ridiculous soon, and I will still want to carry these things about with me when youngest is 5 (ok maybe not the pottete)!

OP posts:

FredaFrogspawn · 05/09/2020 06:18

Shopping trolley? There are some very cool ones on the market.

Cabinfever10 · 05/09/2020 06:18

If they want to take scooters ect then it's up to them to take them not you also ditch the potty and all the rest of the junk kids carry there own bags you get a good rucksack for yourself and everyone a waterproof jacket that folds up into its own pocket.

bronzedgodesswannabe · 05/09/2020 06:19

I'm dreading the day my youngest grows out of the pram
I don't know what I will do 😭😭

Bellesavage · 05/09/2020 06:19

Yep continue to take the buggy until they're old enough to carry their own bags with a decent amount in them. Also get lightweight - packamacs, don't take the change of clothes, decant meds do only taking one dose if you can. I have a 5 and 1 year old and tend to only take bottle of water, wallet, keys, phone, mask (!) Nappy and one reusable wipe for most trips. Worst case I have to buy a new outfit bit it hasn't happened yet.

TW2013 · 05/09/2020 06:27

Just get them to carry their school bags, they don't need loads for school. I would put it all in a small rucksack so they can pop it on their backs. The school did moan at first but I pointed out that I was walking 20 mins instead of driving and that ergonomically it is not good for children to carry things unevenly, much better to put it on their backs. Have a slightly larger rucksack for yourself to put shopping in. Get online shopping and meal plan so you don't need to pop to shops. If you can go to shop after dropping them off rather than at pick up.

Original poster

AndAnotherUsername · 05/09/2020 06:30

I would love a push along shopping trolley that was kind of shallow and easy access. Not sure I’ve seen anyone under 80 ever use one though.

Packamacs, yes I suppose, sometimes I get cold myself though, in those sunny-but-windy days recently it was so handy being able to bring a jumper just in case.

OP posts:

Caspianberg · 05/09/2020 06:32

I think it’s a non issue. I use my sling way more than pram and just put baby and my stuff in rucksack. So much better hands free

For days when it’s cool, then warm or drizzle I would take a small folding rain jacket and a jumper each, in own small rucksacks. So you aren’t carrying x4 lots but just your own.

Guineapigbridge · 05/09/2020 06:33

The Tern ebike with panniers and room for kids amazing. I use it for all short trips. With or without kids and/or stuff. It carries everything. Zero carbon, free to run, easy to ride.

Guineapigbridge · 05/09/2020 06:35

Term GSD

EatDessertFirst · 05/09/2020 06:38

Back pack for you, kids carry their own stuff in their own backpacks. Pare it down to what you actually need. I've done this since my youngest was 3 when we stopped using the buggy.
Definately do online shopping.

Original poster

AndAnotherUsername · 05/09/2020 06:40

I guess rucksacks will be the solution, and we will probably make more, separate, specific trips out, e.g. go out to play football, then back home, go straight to shops and back etc.

We have got more into bulk shopping with lockdown anyway but are not organised enough to not need the shop most days

OP posts:

RedRumTheHorse · 05/09/2020 06:40

@Cabinfever10

^This

I don't know why so many parents indulge school age kids by carrying their stuff for them.

Particularly by the time they start school they simply need to be told "your stuff you carry it".

Then every single time they try to hand stuff off on to you, hand it straight back to them and tell them they carry their own stuff.

Mumdiva99 · 05/09/2020 06:41

I have a rucksack which has adapted its content over the years but fits 4 water bottles, picnic, change of clothes (1 tshirt, 3 pants, shorts either boy could wear, leggings.) - we wear coats if cold, I have thin waterproofs if in between....and i do end up carrying those sometimes. However by end of trip when food is eaten they go in bag.

I think we are luckier than you in that we have a car so extra supplies can be kept in their on a big day out. But i was thinking about a day out on the train for comparison.

It's not long till your kids can start to carry a bag each too. Decathlon have great cheap rucksacks in different sizes.

As for scooting they either are or they aren't. We choose and then make the route suitable. (I also scoot with them)....occasionally my dauggter will be the only one scooting and I sometimes carry it or push it for her. But typically she'd rather scoot than walk.

Oysterbabe · 05/09/2020 06:43

I'm going to hate this. Its so convenient having the buggy.

Original poster

AndAnotherUsername · 05/09/2020 06:44

That bike does look amazing @Guineapigbridge

OP posts:

Mumdiva99 · 05/09/2020 06:44

.....as for school bags.....mine were thrown on the buggy. Kids had to carry their own from year 3 (once it stopped being book bags and lunch box and started to be rucksack each). If I knew there was a lot of stuff once buggy had gone then I used a big shopping bag to carry the stuff.

When kids go to the school library and come out with a massive thick book i used to ask the teacher to keep it in class and not let it come home......because those things are heavy!!

WhereDoWeGo · 05/09/2020 06:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AbsenceOfBlinkinLight · 05/09/2020 06:51

Get them kid sized rucksacks and help them decide what goes in and learn to pack them. You say it has to include water bottle and jumper, for example, they can add snack and (probably in separate bag, given the size of rucksack that will be comfy for them) football if they want. Less for you to carry, and gives them some independence and practice in packing for a trip out (which is an important life skill).

FippertyGibbett · 05/09/2020 07:04

I’ve seen much younger people using shopping trolleys, the type you pull behind you. You can get them in modern patterns. I wouldn’t bat an eye lid if I saw a young person pulling one.
Plus I’ve seen people in town pulling small suitcases, they put their shopping in them instead of carrying bags.

pylongazer · 05/09/2020 07:10

Cut down on the amount of stuff you're taking with you. Thin jackets if needed, packet of wipes and a bottle of water to share (although I only take water on long trips). If they want to bring any other random junk they should carry it themselves.

kavalkada · 05/09/2020 07:14

My kids have kid sized rucksacks, and I have one big rucksack for me. That is when I'm out with them.

I don't have a car, so shopping trolley has been a life saver for me. I bought my first one seven years ago when I was pregnant with my first and would never go back to a life without one. Just now I'm going to the big Saturday shop with rucksack on my back and shopping trolley in my hand.

Tumbleweed101 · 05/09/2020 07:15

I remember really missing the buggy the first few months after stopping using it. But the kids need less as they get older. I put essentials in a rucksack and made them carry their own stuff as much as possible. I never let them take scooters etc unless we were driving straight to a park as couldn’t be doing with the fuss they could cause.

Original poster

AndAnotherUsername · 05/09/2020 07:28

Thanks all, so more efficient packing, rucksacking and maybe a pull-behind shopping trolley for the football and shopping (push ones seem more comfortable to use, but I will have to wait til I’m properly old).

Looks like 52% agree with me which us some comfort!

OP posts:

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