3 and a half year old in a pushchair?

[SecondtimeMama29]

Is this acceptable? Especially on holiday? At what age do kids not have a pushchair. My son hates walking and always wants to be carried 😩

I remember a man commenting on my 3 year old being in the buggy and the 4 year old being on the buggy board (this was during lockdown when I felt like I was losing my mind). He called my kids 'lazy'.

Wish I'd said something but just didn't have the balls at the time.

Mine are now 6 and 5 and walk happily for miles but who cares. Do what's right for you and your child

A 5 year old can of course walk 2 miles. But it will be far too slow for the parent, unless they are also naturally slow.
Kids have tiddly legs that simply won't cover the same distance as fast. I'm a fast walker so didn't have time to wait most days as I had lots to do.

My DS is 3. He mainly walks, but we have a buggy board on our stroller for the baby, so if DS gets tired he can stop for a while. He generally runs instead of walking and can make it about half an hour before wanting a rest. If we were going somewhere like the zoo with loads of walking all day, we'd bring our umbrella stroller for him.

When you stop using a buggy they become fit enough to walk. Most children in the world manage to walk, so I would power on through for a couple of weeks otherwise you are making a rod for your back. There was one child in my DC’s school who went in a buggy for reception and Yr1. It is the exception, for children with special circumstances. When my DS had a knee operation age5 he was provided with a wheelchair for 3months because he was too old for a buggy and it would have been embarrassing for him.

My 3 year old is still in a push chair - he is very very big for his age and regularly gets mistaken for a 4/5 year old - and we definitely get some funny looks! But what people don't realise is that he actually wears a prosthetic leg and the pushchair is like his wheelchair for now! Who cares what others think OP, if you think he'll need it on holiday then definitely bring it! :)

Yes, well said.
We took our buggy on holiday when DS 2 was over 4, specifically for Disney. Pushed it round all day with stuff in the basket area. At night he got in it to sleep while we watched the fireworks. Several families near us were grappling with overtired preschoolers and no buggy. We definitely made the right choice.

@Maray1967 places like Disney are different. Most people don't regularly do that much walking in a standard day.

Mine came out the buggy at 2.5 but I did carry him on my shoulders at times if he’d walked a long way and was tired, until he got a bit bigger and built up the strength to walk longer distances. In general I don’t think it matters as long as they’re getting enough exercise. They do adapt quite quickly once you stop though.

Absolutely fine. My son gave his up the week before he started school.
He is 27 now lol

Of course it's fine! DD used to go in DS' puchchair on occassion untill she started school (almost 5). That's obvioulsy different because we wouldn't have had it with us if it had just been her, but she defintiely needed it. I can't rememebr when we put it away after DS, but I would assume he was 4. Holidays etc are occasions where things get hectic, everyone is direct, and you just want to make it as easy for yourself as you can. In general I am quite relaxed about this as long as the child is getting a good amount of exercise and it's not just used for restraint!

Not a problem. Worse than this is older children in a cargo bike - now they really are annoying!

100%!

My four year old cycles to school and back. It’s 45 minutes each way. I sometimes get comments that he should be cycling on the road and not the pavement.
Whatever you do, shitty people will have a shitty comment.
It’s not a reflection of you or your son.

When you stop using a buggy they become fit enough to walk. Most children in the world manage to walk, so I would power on through for a couple of weeks otherwise you are making a rod for your back.

How so? Walking more doesn’t make their legs grow longer any faster! They will eventually grow out of the buggy so the problem solves itself!

Just been away on holiday and I've seen so many people carrying children, scooters, buckets, spades and bags, if I could have waved a magic wand and produced a pushchair for them I would have done.
It was so hot weather wise, far to hot to be carrying tired kids take a pushchair and make life so much easier.

Upside is it also holds you up when you're feeling shattered to.

Mine stopped using hers by around 2 but she had a scooter. Drawback was I would sometimes end up carrying her an the scooter. But I don't think there's a rule on it

You're making the assumption that all those 6/8/10yo kids were once 4/5yo's who got pushed to school in a buggy. There's no way you can say it's a direct cause and effect. Many many younger children may get pushed in a buggy sometimes but still be perfectly active in all other areas, if doesn't automatically mean they're jeopardising their motor skills and fitness fgs!!!

Eg a mum might choose to push kid to school in a buggy because - let's face it - I it's a lot quicker and less faffy than trying to negotiate with a young child who may or may not be in the mood to walk a mile or two. Or maybe the kid chooses to ride sometimes, it doesn't make them lazy. They run around at break and lunchtime and at the park or in the garden after school.

A 5yo who NEVER wants to walk and always has to be carried or pushed clearly has different issues - but this is not what most of us are talking about. Most of us are just pointing out that buggies are convenient and there is no harm in using them a sensible amount of the time.

My 3.5 year old is still in a pushchair once a week when we go into town, I don't drive and town is a mile away she walks plenty the rest of the time

Not making assumptions. We see these kids before they start both as siblings and in the community. The ones who are pushed everywhere have poor physical skills. A bit of running at break doesn't do much.

Genuine qn, how do you manage with everything you have to carry? We have 3 PE bags, 3 reading bags, 3 water bottles, an o2 cylinder which I have to carry, sometimes school projects. I can't fathom how to hold all that or make it reasonable for the kids to carry whilst leaving both hands free for reins / hands. We cross to massive roads so no option of letting them just walk alongside without homding

I would have thought a buggy for a 3.5 year old was essential on holiday. Mine where all great walkers but sometimes it was just nice to have them strapped in one spot for a while, eat a lolly on the move and to have somewhere to sling the 70billion bags of their pruck I aways seem to end up carrying. I missed having the buggy when they all outgrew it 😂

reading bags, water bottle and smaller bags tend to fit in a decent size adult bag, and you just carry the lot on one shoulder.

When you stop using a buggy they become fit enough to walk. Most children in the world manage to walk, so I would power on through for a couple of weeks otherwise you are making a rod for your back.

why does it have to be everything or nothing?
No one is saying the child needs to be glued into his pushchair, but they are very handy in the middle of the night, when the child is tired, when feels like sitting down.

I would blame car seats and people driving everywhere a lot more than a parent pushing the occasional pushchair.

Which is where I carry the o2, I hadn't really thought about using my hiking back pack and putting the o2 and everything else in that too

Yes but car drivers get to be morally superior over people who squandered their lives failing to be as good as them.