Aibu to ask for ideas about transporting 4 years olds

[Bburago]

Take my twin 4 year olds to nursery every day as I work full time. It’s a 3 mile round trip. They are great little walkers but very slow. I currently use a tricycle with a handle on the back for me to push them which they love and is fine but it’s a little rickety and old, I cannot see one online that is bigger or more of a robust design.

Ican’t drive as there’s no parking at nursery (and it’s insane traffic every day: near to motorway) : nearest car park is pay and display which would soon add up. They’re too big for the buggy now. They can’t use balance bikes/scooters as there’s too many busy roads to cross (and then I’d have to walk home with 2 balance bikes and helmets?)

I’ve googled endlessly and really don’t think there’s another solution but thought I’d ask the wise people of mumsnet anyway. Any ideas for transporting 2 x 4 year olds?

Mine used micro scooter (3 wheeler ones) at that age. With a strap to pull if they got tired. Not sure if you could get foldable ones, or carry bag or strap for them (how do you get the tricycle home?). If they don't know to stop at roads and junctions, you'll need to start teaching them that ASAP on quiet roads and parks now.

@SleepingStandingUp

I don't get how balance bikes use up less energy / are overall quicker than just walking

You clearly haven't been out and about with a 4 year old lately!

Are you going back home after the nursery run to get the car to drive to work or is it on the way to work and you walk or use public transport?

Where do other parents who drive to nursery park their cars? Have you asked as there could be somewhere you're not aware of? I bet they're not paying and displaying twice a day.

Could you drive as far as you can and walk the rest?

I am all up for walking but if it's making it tight, fitting in work with the walk there could be options to make it quicker.

The bus?
Or the scooters that fold into a backpack?
The trainers with wheels on so they can glide rather than walk.

Sorry- just saw you're WFH, didn't read that bit.

If you're happy walking I'd go for the balance bikes/ scooters and they'll learn quickly. If it's a pain in the arse and too time consuming I'd look for places you could drive closer and park. Other nursery users must park somewhere.

You clearly haven't been out and about with a 4 year old lately! my then 4 yo on a balance bike would not have been quicker than walking, esp given the main roads op mentions so it's not like they can go masses ahead esp with two of them. Do parents run alongside then? What if one stops anf the other keeps going? Genuinely curious as I'm dreading it when my twins are that age although it's only a mile each way

They need to walk really! They're 4, I think they're too old to be pushed around unless there are additional needs. My youngest is 4 and walks great, she can also easily cycle a few miles but I think that's possibly rare at her age. Maybe give them incentive to walk a bit faster?

Honestly, double umbrella stroller suitable for tall children. Yes, kids should be encouraged to walk as much as possible, but this particular walk sounds slow, unsafe and unpleasant. I still put my very active 3.5yo in our old travel buggy (gb pockit) if we're walking alongside congested urban roads with fast-moving traffic.

double umbrella stroller suitable for tall children if anyone has any recommendations for these, please holler and link. Our out N about is dying

The maclaren ones are usually bigger than others.

Micro scooters.

They aren't too heavy and you could fashion a strap for one and scoot home on the other. Or beg nursery to leave them there all day. If they have any outside space surely it wouldn't be a problem.

A family at DS's school use one of these - seems to work for bigger children.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B08BLJM5YL/ref=synsddonsitemobilewebb112?ie=UTF8&adId=20041274603103&qualifier=1632683387&id=7268036495770384&widget=sdonsiteemobileweb&spPl=1&psc=1&pdrddw=nnxYc&pfrddp=fe301414-e18d-49ae-b63c-fe618d21d092&pfrddr=ZQG6FG8YJ58GH788TN27&pdrddr=989f39bb-e328-4a39-9417-d24f1309c014&pdrddwg=TqmRn

I took my 4 yr old twins out for a roughly 3 mile scoot today. Admittedly it's Sunday so there was no time pressure for work but we had to cross lots of roads, and they were fine, they are well trained! We go for lots of walks and have done since they could walk. First by taking turns to walk/go in the buggy. The one walking wore one of those Little Life backpacks with the strap for me to hold and also had to hold the side of the buggy. Then very short walks round the block (both wearing back packs) then build up to crossing roads. Insist on holding hands. On scooters you can say "stop at the postbox" or whatever and they think it's a bit of a game. Lots of praise when they do it right. Maybe practise in a quieter area, park etc at weekends before taking them to nursery.
I sympathise though, going anywhere with small children is slow and stressful!

Bike trailer either towed behind your bike or one you can push. I had mine in ours until 7&5

My 4 year old scoots but I don't let her scoot ahead of me - she scoots next to me by roads and I just walk at a brisk pace.

Personally I wouldn't let twin 4yos shoot off ahead and just hope they are sensible/well trained enough to stop at roads....

@SleepingStandingUp

I don't get how balance bikes use up less energy / are overall quicker than just walking

@Sleepingstandingup Oh they are definitely quicker, my boy could zoom along on his even at 2.5 years. And they use less energy than walking once they get good at it because they push a little bit then lift their feet up and freewheel along with their feet up. They take much less effort than a pedal bike with stabilisers that has no freewheel.

@SleepingStandingUp. No personal experience but I have friends who have used the Maclaren triumph for older twins. I have a gb pockit for my single DC which is super light and compact so I can sling it in a backpack if we don't need to use it.

Oh, and I would never let twins scoot/ride ahead at busy roads. It only takes one slip, not even silliness or disobedience, for a tragic accident to happen.

How close can you get with the car, can you get a mile away? If so, I’d do that and make them walk as it will pay off in the long run. I have two three-year-olds and they walk all the way, about a mile. We don’t scoot since they aren’t 100% compliant and there’s traffic. I tried both on an adult scooter, me walking but they kept moving.
Otherwise, foldable camping wagon from decathlon.

A 3 mile trip is quite a long walk for two 4 year olds especially at home time after a full day. I’d be nervous about balance bikes tbh. My 5yo still really needs 1:1 supervision and she’s quite sensible but perhaps not as confident as others on her bike.

With that distance it may be that you do need to keep the buggy for as long as possible and ignore the naysayers. I say this as someone whose children have been out of theirs well by 3. What will you do for school next year? Is it closer?

We have a bike trailer that you can push along as a buggy. Ours is a Burley I think but a quick Google of "bike trailer that turns into a stroller" tells me there are loads of options of various different manufacturers.

Although rereading your message, it's 1.5 miles each way so I would just walk with them. My almost 4 year old does a c.2 mile walk at each end of the day.

If you do go down the balance bike option (or are just taking them to the park!), buy two straps with clips, thread them through the bike wheels and sling the bikes upside-down over your shoulder like you would a bag (clip helmets to bike wheels). Makes them so much easier to carry .

@SleepingStandingUp

I don't get how balance bikes use up less energy / are overall quicker than just walking

Same way an adult riding a bike is faster/uses less energy than one walking the same distance! That is literally the point of bikes isn’t it?

I can’t run as fast as DS can ride his balance bike. Admittedly I’m a slow runner. But he is going at least 10kph at top speed. Obviously he keeps stopping to look at things, because he’s 4, but it’s still way quicker than him walking.

My 4yo scoots the equivalent distance to school most days while I push the baby in the pram (so I don’t have hands free to hold on to her) it took her a couple of weeks to really get the hang of it but now she has it has cut down the time it takes to get there/home from 40mins to just over 20mins and that’s only since she started school earlier this month. She’s significantly faster than me walking now. A bike would be similar but I prefer the scooter because it is easy to carry and they often fold up or the handle detaches for ease of transport or storage at the other end