To ask at what age did you stop using a pushchair?

[alwsysri]

How old is too old for a child to need a pushchair?

We had a running buggy, they went in it for Parkrun or when either of us took them out running. Mostly early morning whilst the other slept. Otherwise we carried both our boys in a wrap or Tula carrier. We generally walked everywhere in the town we live in. There is 3 years apart in age so by the time the 2nd came out eldest could walk to most places we needed to go.
Their grandparents used a pushchair if they picked the oldest up from nursery for the younger one. By the time he started nursery he was making the trip to school and back twice a day. So was walking the best part of 2kms a day at 4. They now walk 2 miles a day to school and back plus anything for activities on top.

Probably 3ish day to day, but 3.5/pushing 4 for days out and shopping trips. Much easier to whizz around town with a buggy to put child and shopping in than carry everything and chase after a small child.

I really miss the buggy now, it was handy!

4.6 for both of them. I walk fast and walk a lot.

Until you can replace it with something else like a scooter or balance bike

My DD stopped using a pushchair at 3. My DGD was even younger, about 2.5 I think. She's 18 now and I think she'd love to be wheeled around in a pushchair now 😂. Seriously though,I'm always surprised at the number of kids I see nowadays who must be aged around 5/6/7 who are in a pushchair. OK,I know that there's always the possibility that they may have a disability,but every single one of them?

Depends! My youngest is 8 and still needs a buggy, but she's disabled so it's a wheelchair buggy. She can walk a bit but not far and not without discomfort.

My eldest moved to a scooter/buggy board by the age of 3. She would have gone in the buggy occasionally after turning 3 but hardly ever.

It depends so much on the individual child, and your circumstances. I don't think there's a right answer, or that people should judge.

I have to say, I've not really noticed that 🤷‍♀️.

My eldest has Down’s syndrome, so used a buggy regularly until she was 7 - partly because she tired easily and partly because she was a runner. I guess she was about 5 when we switched from the Joie Mytrax to the Maclaren Major. I never had any comments about her being in a buggy, but I remember at a car showroom once when she was nearly 3 and crawling, an elderly couple commented how "surely she should be walking" - she could only walk about a dozen steps at that stage. They were very embarrassed when I explained.

My youngest used her buggy until shortly before she started school I think.

2 for normal local walks, 2.5 for day trips. I miss being able to chuck everything underneath!

At 2.5 when I had my second but we got a buggy board which worked well. He also got really good on a scooter so would scoot or buggy board a longer distance.

My youngest is recently 4 and occasionally uses the buggy. He's petite and complains his legs hurt if walking a lot so will use it if lots of walking or I need to get somewhere quick. I feel like he's probably too old for it really but sometimes it's just easier.

Only use mine now at 3.5 for library trips so I'm not carrying all the books! I feel it'll have to go by 4

I used mine until mine were 6&4, they would both climb in (petite girls) but in my defence, I didn't drive, dd1 is autistic and dd2 was plain lazy, the (cheap) double fell apart a couple of years prior.

I think it makes a huge difference if you drive places or walk eg a kid of 2.5 can typically walk around an average park and play in the playground but may not manage a 15 minute walk each way as well, as I didn't drive I used my pushchair

Ages
3.5 didn't drive
3 didn't drive
2.5 did drive but often walked long distances
Nearly 4 , no reason other than dc was stubborn if we walked to supermarket I'd have bags and they'd refuse to walk. No amount of talking or bribing worked. Couldn't carry them. However we generally took the car for this reason as was more stress free

We didn't think we'd need the pushchair/stroller much when we went to live in the US when DC was 3. However, it seemed much more common for 3.5-4.5 year olds to be in strollers. Our backpack with rein strap often caused funny looks, although I thought kids on Gameboys (this was just pre smartphones) looked odder.

I think we'd have given up for all but long journeys at about 3 in the UK. Putting this in context, DC was tiny premmie who still wore age 2 clothes at 5.

I should add I gave mine away when they were 5&7 and I did probably use it for my eldest once or twice having meltdowns, if your child is smaller you can get away with not using a special needs buggy, by 7 the meltdowns were less frequent but more violent so i wasn't able to put her in a pushchair and carry on!

Age 3 for both of ours to use regularly BUT we are huge theme park fans and do use one occasionally for them. We just used a double buggy in Florida every day for DS6 and DD3. We did 20 theme park days in a row, averaged 10miles a day in 30 degree heat. I'd have got in one if I'd fit 🤣

I think 2.5 - 3. DS was a good walker.

Around 3, but I had to buy a 2nd pushchair for 3 1/4 dd2 when we were on holiday, because she would get tired and want to be carried. It was a lot easier to push her!

Dd1, OTOH, would hardly ever sit in a pushchair once she started walking at 12 months.

As long as they fit and are happy to go in it.

I'm not a massive fan of seeing kids staring at a screen while being pushed around but it's not my business.

I have an ASD child so will probably use one for longer than average, but I'm not allowing screens in there generally, especially when we're walking about. But some kids need that to be able to cope.

If you see a child that looks "too old" they probably look older than they are, have shitty parents, or have SN. And if it is that they have shitty parents, at least they're getting taken out and about, getting dressed, enjoying some fresh air. Rather than being neglected at home where nobody can judge them.

This varies so much depending on lifestyle, other children and needs and temperament of the child.

DS1 was booted out aged 2.5 when DS2 was born (but did use a buggy board). DS2 used it longer as the nursery/school round trip was about 3 miles walking morning and evening.

My youngest was born when my eldest was nearly 3, and we never used two prams or had a buggy board thing. So I guess a couple of months before she turned three.

DH doesn't drive (due to visual impairment) so DC have always been used to a lot of walking.

I stopped using the pushchair for ds1 a month or two before ds2 was born. Introduced him to the buggy board instead. He was also a pro on the balance bike. He was just under 3.

Ds2 was older, but definitely from 4 I'd transitioned him from the pushchair to the scooter. He didn't walk until he was 2.

It also depends on if they can use a scooter or balance bike etc as that helps hugely.

SEN buggies are fucking expensive. The majority of SEN parents will absolutely cram their child into a normal pushchair until they absolutely have to pay out for a SEN one. Not to mention psychologically as a parent, it feels very different carrying on using a normal buggy to conceding that your child is disabled to the point they need a mobility aid.

We used our baby zen yoyo til DS was around 4 or 5 then moved to a McLaren major elite but that wasn’t suitable so then had to go to a more sturdy specialist pushchair. The yoyo was about £200. The specialist disability buggy is £900. I can assure you that SEN parents will use a normal buggy for as long as they possibly can, and the judgy comments are quite ignorant.

2.5, that was the age they got good at riding balance bikes if we needed to cover distance. I didn't "go shopping" or potter around the town centre as a leisure activity, they sat in the trolley at the supermarket. I did lots of walks but we live in the country side, i either accepted i had to slow down for them to walk or they rode bikes/scooters. I can't think of any day trips we did where a pushchair would have been useful- we did things like trips to the beach where a pushchair is more a hindrance than a help.

What did you do instead? Sling and drive?