To not have a buggy for my three year old?

[TheBirdintheCave]

My three year old son has always been happy to walk and hasn't used his buggy since we went on holiday last summer so we sold it at Christmas.

We've since had a baby and bought her a YoYo buggy to use as our day-day-pram. Son, who I think is a little jealous, has since been complaining about walking when we go on day trips which is something he's never done before.

I recently joined a YoYo group to ask opinions on getting a buggy board attachment for him as I'm anticipating lots more complaining when we go on holiday in August (we do city breaks with lots of walking).

The replies were surprising! A lot of people were telling me to forget the board and that I should be buying/hiring a buggy for my son as 'he's only three' and 'still so little!' There were also lots of comments from people who said that their four, five and six year olds still use buggies.

I suppose I don't see my son as 'little' any more as he is fairly self sufficient (potty trained, can use cutlery, has a good grasp of language, can entertain himself etc) and feel like he's definitely 'upgraded' from toddler status now.

The only other children we know who are older than our son stopped using their buggies at a similar age so I think I just assumed this was normal?

I think now I'm worrying that I'm assigning his reluctance to walk as just jealousy that will pass when actually he's being genuine when he says he doesn't want to as he's actually too tired?

So, am I being unreasonable in not having a buggy as an option for my son? Should I really be looking at hiring one for our holiday? 🤷🏻‍♀️🧐

Up to you really ,if your planning on walking loads ,is he going ti want to
be carried everywhere ?
Aa I couldn't be bothered with that and I would get a cheap stroller
If you think he's going to be happy to walk then don't bother .

I think the board should be fine, but try it out before your holiday to check he'll use it! You don't want to be dealing with resistance to it while you're on holiday.
My 3yo never liked the buggy, always wanted to walk and we'd end up bribing her to get in for long journeys/days out. Haven't used it for ages but recently she's started wanting to be carried all the time and has been quite happy to be offered the buggy again! Which is annoying as I don't really like using it... Bit annoying for you to have two buggies so would definitely try out the board first.

Depends on the child. My 2yo niece is determined to walk everywhere, whereas my 6yo DD would still happily get in the buggy nevermind my 4yo.

Or would you be prepared to take a back carrier for if/when he gets tired?

Would the oldest fit in the yoyo?
The other variation is to have a sling for one child.
FWIW, we had a double until the kids were 1 & 3. Then we were on a single.
But, I hired appropriately sized slings from the sling library if I thought we might need to have both off their feet.
Last time we borrowed was when DS2 had just turned 4, and I remember having to carry the 6 year old at some points..... thankfully he was slight!

It's your child, your choice. Using a buggy is fine, as is walking instead if your child is happy to. People use buggies for all sorts of reasons - long walks, lack of car, disabilities (mental and physical) even though some idiots don't understand this and think every child who can walk should walk all of the time. I can't believe it is going the other way now and having a child walk is wrong too. You can't win.

I don't think there's any unreasonableness either way.

DD1 was nearly 3 when DD2 was born and we never had two prams, or a buggy board, and we do lots of walking.
If he's not had a pram since last summer and is now complaining despite you always doing lots of walking, then I'd say it is more likely to be jealousy. That's not to say you should ignore it of course. But I think his own special big boy buggy board will probably solve the problem.
Maybe get a sling for the baby, so he can go in the pram if he's ever really tired though.

We did the same as you but when baby came along we bought a baby carrier so when the eldest got tired on king days out , they went in the buggy and the baby went in the carrier. Perhaps something to consider.

Only you know your child the best and their abilities etc.

We bought a buggy board for eldest who turned 3 a couple of months after sister was born. It was never used.

Will your youngest be OK in a sling / carrier?

We did the same, it folded up really small in the basket of the buggy, so came everywhere just incase.

Speaking from experience of one dd and Gdcs, I’d miles rather have a buggy than a 3 year old who’s constantly whingeing about having to walk/sitting down on the pavement and refusing to move/demanding to be carried.

I once ended up buying a buggy while on holiday for 3 yo dd2, it was a monumental saver of hassle. By contrast, dd1 always hated sitting in the buggy from the time she started walking at 12 months!

No my grandson is nearly 2 years 4 months and not used a buggy for ages now. My DD doesn't have a car either so he's quite used to walking.

As you said it's probably due to the fact the baby has a buggy

At 3 mine could walk a good few miles over the course of the day, but I took a carrier on city breaks because so much walking and in unfamiliar places can he hard on them, particularly in the heat! If I didn't use a carrier I would have taken a buggy. Tbh in your position I'd try a buggy board more generally so he has the option and doesn't feel.so pushed out

At 3yo, DD1 climbed Snowdon
At 3yo, DD2 sometimes struggled with the 15min walk home from preschool.

Everyone's lives are different, everyones children are different.

OMG - literally...
I know that's cultural differences but as a foreigner from a poorer country I can't conceive of a healthy 6 yo using a buggy ...

My DD always walked everywhere. We had a double buggy for a while when DS was a baby (DD was 2 years and 7 months, when he was born), but we soon gave it up as she never got in it and it was a total hassle to manage on walks.

DN, a month older than DD, was staying with us and we went for a walk. DD walked and ran the whole way - DN sat in the buggy with DS!! So I agree - it is totally individual and not age dependent. But to answer your question, I’d go with the buggy board, ‘cooler’ for your DS and easier to hop on and off.

i think there's a difference between doing short walks locally and expecting him to walk all day on a city break where it could be hot and he might be out of routine too. A lot of people still take them on holiday or out for day trips even if they don't use one regularly at that age.

I didn't say she DOES use the buggy, she hasn't in years. She just very very happily would. We ditched the buggy for her younger sibling when she was 5 and she'd still ask the odd time even though the answer was always no. My DN is equally as determined to never use her buggy again, even though it would make life easier at times if she would.

OP personally, I wouldn't have gone away with either of mine at 3 without a buggy just so we could go further and not be tied to the distance they could/were willing to do in the heat. But if he's usually a good walker and you have a buggy board then that would be fine. You probably don't want to reintroduce him to the idea of the buggy at this age, he'll want it when you get back.

I think a buggy board would be fine. My DS had just turned 3 when DD was born and I didn’t think there was a need in a double buggy when he was 3. DD had the buggy (it was a travel system thing with a pram bit) and DS had the buggy board. He used it until he was about 4 when he stopped needing it. I found it really handy when he was 3 and there was a lot of walking or he was tired

Do you think that you might have increased your walking speed since you started pushing your baby in the pram? Rather than walk at your 3 year olds pace because you only have him?

We still use a buggy for our 3.5 year old on days when we’ll walk lots or need to get from a-b quickly.
We also used it abroad as walking in the heat is more tiring for little ones.

We wouldn’t use it to walk to nursery or local shops but if we went on a city break or a whole day out to a zoo or something we’d bring it.

There’s 3 years between my children and we only had a buggy board for my eldest as she was a child who didn’t like going in it from early on and preferred walking. My youngest had to be strongly encouraged to stop using the buggy but by 3.5 I was keen he mostly walked. I hate seeing older kids in prams tbh

Thanks for all of the replies so far! Definitely some more balanced responses 😂 I think the strangest reply I got on the buggy group was 'You need to let him enjoy being a child!' 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

We do have a sling for the baby but she's not a huge fan. We're working on getting her more used to the idea and hopefully she'll take to it when her head control is good enough for her to be forward facing.

I couldn't put son in the buggy without changing the newborn pack to the 6+ pack which takes time to do and we also wouldn't have the luggage allowance to take both packs on the plane. The baby also naps really well in her buggy so I wouldn't want to interfere with that.

I never thought about my walking speed but yes I probably do walk too fast. I will try slowing myself down and seeing if that helps. We do also stop lots as son likes to look at flowers or pick up sticks (endless sticks!)

It seems like a buggy board really is a good halfway house here so I think I will plump for that :)

How old is the baby? Generally the newborn pack with the yoyo is outgrown around 4/4.5 months. I don’t know a single person who used it until 6. Even a smaller 5 month old looks huge in it and the harness has quite a limited adjustment.
So pretty soon the baby will be in the outward facing seat and then if your 3 year old is tired on longer days he can sit in the pram.

I’ve a just turned 3 year old and an 8 month old, we use a buggy board for local trips but it’s a bit cumbersome.

I'd say buggy board is a good in between.
Both my kids stopped using buggies at about 2 years. I haven't taken on out in the car for ages with my 2.5 year old. Day to day she uses a scooter or smart trike if we do a longer walk.
We did still take one on holiday with my eldest when he was 3-3.5 years old but more as so we can keep track on the travelling than actually using it when we were on holiday.

My son wouldn't entertain a buggy from being about 2 - it was a pita to be honest but here we are 😂