To ask if you think a 3 yr old....

[PinkAndViolet]

Can walk 20 minutes easily enough or is it too far?

My 2.5yo will happily walk for hours. It takes longer to cover a distance though, the 7 minute walk to 6yo school takes 20 minutes with the toddler, so an actual 20 minute walk would need plenty of time but he'd be fine doing it.

At 3 dd2 was walking way more than that with school and nursery runs. Sometimes took the night for speed in the mornings but not on the return from nursery or the later school run to get dd1. Way more than 20 mins.

Well my great-nephew did a sponsored 4km walk aged 3, so I think it is entirely reasonable. I also assume his parents practised with him first. He certainly knew what he was doing and why.

Yup, DD is 2 and would be fine with loads of dawdling obviously

Yep absolutely fine. A scooter is good if the route permits and you want to reduce the dawdling.

The 3yo's that can't walk for 20 minutes are the ones strapped into a buggy 24/7....

Yes but it may depend on certain factors.
My daughter did not do afternoon naps and I have walked her the mile and a half home from nursery since she was two.
My son would always walk there no bother but I often took buggy to pick him up as he'd fall asleep.

So yes, a three year old should definitely be able to walk for 20 minutes but equally, if the journey was through a city or along a busy road I could see why a buggy might be preferable

YANBU however my eldest always made it look like I'd made her walk 10 miles for anything more than a 10 minute walk. She's absolutely fine - just lazy! and still is

Youngest would will walk for ages, and has done since refusing the pram at 18 months. No two children are the same.

My 21 month old walks to her friends house, a route that would take me 15 mins to walk on my own. She’s perfectly capable and happily trots along pushing her kid size pushchair.

Not on her own obviously…

My then 2yo took 30 mins to walk 300m. It involved a lot of lying on the pavement screaming. It was tempting to join in really Unfortunately due to SPD I couldn't push a buggy or carry him at that point and was reliant on his non-existant enthusiasm for walking.

I had a buggy avaliable for hopping in and out of until they were 4 and they're great walkers/ runners as they've gone through childhood (it turns out that DS1 is hypermobile) Scooters were also good for speeding them up to some kind of tolerable walking pace.

DD1 couldn't have done this but has a mobility issue. DD2 at 2.5 no problem, would probably ask to go up a couple of times but how much distance we can cover without being distracted by dogs, sticks, lorries, etc is another matter.

Yes they can. But they may not want to.

A 20min walk with things to look at in the sunshine is fine.
A 20min walk along a boring road in the rain is hard.

Allow extra time, and if doing this for a school run consider taking a pushchair.

You need to give a distance. If it’s the distance an adult would cover in 20 minutes then that’s probably going to take a 3 year-old at least 40 minutes.

I have a 3 year old and it completely depends on too many other factors.

Is it hot/cold? Sunny/rainy? Uphill/down hill ? The time of day or day of the week?
Is his sister coming too?
Is there is bribery involved?

Just because he can doesn't mean he will happily! Alas I don't drive so he has no choice

@Marvellousmadness

The 3yo's that can't walk for 20 minutes are the ones strapped into a buggy 24/7....

Or they are in a buggy because they can’t walk for 20 minutes.

Of course. I'd find it weird if they couldn't!

Can walk 20mins or will reliably walk 20 mins at decent speed in the direction you want them to go without getting distracted?
They're 2 different things.

DS would walk for a few hours most days at 3, he was late walking we would walk to the shops go for walks in the park/to the beach he didn’t mind where he was happy walking

But my niece you struggled to get her to walk 200m

My 3 year old will easily walk for an hour or more if he's interested. I have a 10 minute school run and have had to fireman carry him for it in the past, but only when collecting his sister...

Just because they can doesn't mean they will because they've just discovered having opinions and potty training gives them the idea of say something get instant attention...

My three year old will happily walk for an hour but will only cover about half the distance I would alone.

School run there and back for older sibling? Most definitely

My son at 3 could walk for 20 mins but would only make it to the end of the street , as he would find and pick up every stick and stone on the way

Yes. Ds isn't quite 3 and he walks home from nursery with me twice a week. It's a half hour walk my time, 45 min hour walk his pace. Sometimes I give him a shoulder ride just to get home faster. But he's perfectly capable.

Depends on the child. My middle child absolutely no problem. The other two it would be much more conditional on where the walk was, if they had their cousins with them, was there a dog to play with, was it raining/cold/hot/snowing etc etc. I always carried a sling for the youngest which I found useful for increasing stamina (walking until asked to be carried then in the sling), the eldest had tantrums or was in the buggy.