To carry 8 year old Dd?

[tentotwotwenty]

Went out with some friends and their dc today, long day and lots of walking so Dp ended up carrying 8 year old dd on his back at the end. One friend strongly commented twice that she was too big and didn’t need to be carried at her age as she wasn't a baby.

Obviously she doesn’t need to be carried
and is perfectly capable of walking but she wanted to be and she isn’t too big, DP can carry her easily, I can easily carry her.

Its really annoyed me especially as she worded these comments to dd not us. I can’t understand the motivation other than wanting to embarrass and upset dd.
Surely she wasn’t actually concerned she was hurting DP or being damaged by being carried at 8.

Is it unreasonable to still carry an 8 year old occasionally?

Your attitude and total disregard for hygiene, anyone else and safety says far more about you and what kind of person you must be…. This is one of the cases where I’m extremely grateful I don’t know people like you in real life

jess Christ woman - calm the fuck down. your food is transported in less than sterile conditions, has been on pallets, handled, dropped on the floor etc all before you place it into the non-sterile trolley with your non-sterile hands.

I absolutely wouldn't carry an 8-yr old, reminds me of those people still "baby wearing" school age children (SEN and disabilities excluded)
Also - a 9yr old in a trolley is absolutely ridiculous. Just parents who can't say no! If my 7yr old asked I would tell him absolutely not - he's spent all weekend playing at the park with friends, visiting our friends for a play date and trampolining, morning at soft play, tea with Grandma, lots of cuddles. Children can have fun and lots of love without a nearly secondary age kid being in a trolley.

I'd rather see a child in a trolley than running round getting in the way of those big home shopping trolleys or cages that staff are trying to manoeuvre so they can restock shelves or charging in to some poor innocent shopper. Not saying all children do this but I saw an awful lot of it when I worked in retail.

I don't care what other people do with their kids so I wouldn't have commented and your friend was rude to do so. But I agree that she doesn't need to be carried anywhere at that age. My daughter is 6 and I can't remember when she was last carried anywhere.

Exactly! Trolleys live OUTSIDE, they are not exactly clean 😂 I do wipe the baby seat down before I put my PFB in it though

You seem great

My almost 9 year old still tries to get me to carry her 😂She is nearly the same size as me though so it is getting a bit difficult haha

I'm glad to know that I am in fact everything that is wrong with Britain! Thank you for bringing this to my attention!

Personally, I think that's quite a leap. It's quite possible for an eight-year-old to be tired and bored and to ask nicely for a piggyback from her dad. I don't think it's fair to call it a strop. Not even if she was a bit whiney.

Your username is apt.

An 8-year-old's legs aren't even close to an adult size. Walking long distances up steep hills is harder for them. It's fine to give a piggyback on occasion if it helps.

It’s the rat piss on the trolleys you really need to be concerned about, not little children’s feet.

It’s not a hygiene thing, why you’re not supposed to let children sit/stand in the basket of the trolley, it’s a safety thing in case it tips and the child in question smashes their skull in on the supermarket floor.

You are wrong, it's a thing by 8 they should be able to walk as far as an adult.
Their shorter leg length isn't really a factor, short legged adults can walk as well as normal as adults of longer leg length Ed , and in any case their youthful energy and lighter weight should more than make up for it. Stop treating your kid like a baby, you are doing them no favours at all!

I have a seven year old and haven't carried her in years. She still jumps into my arms for a hug from bed or sofa sometimes but she wouldn't ask to be carried.

We walk a lot and if walking I'd be wearing a rucksack so that makes piggy backs difficult.

Can't say I've actively avoided it but until reading this it wouldn't occur to me to carry her.

Fucking hell, so bizarre that some posters on here are furious about a dad giving his kid a piggy back!

Madness.

Nobody is ' furious'

Perhaps not furious but may be fair to say have soke very strong opinions about piggy backs...

No unreasonable at all.

One day she'll stop asking and you'll notice and miss it.

I can't lift my 10yo DS anymore and I miss it.

I read on here, a long time ago, one of the saddest sentences;

One day you will put your child down, and never pick them up again.

I would say all the time you can, and they want you to, crack on.

Fine to carry her if everyone is happy.
But…. would there have been any undercurrent from friend that you had been ‘babying’ her all day and your friend wanted to encourage you to help your daughter grow up?

I can still piggyback my 11yo despite being short and him only being a few inches shorter than me. He holds himself up and out of the way- that side of it is easier than when he was a toddler! He is getting a bit dense now though, so I only have about 200m in me these days.

He's prone to plantar faciitis so I'll carry him for a few minutes when his feet are having a bad day to give him a bit of relief. He can still slither in and out of trolley seats too.

I'm not worried about his fitness; his 5k pb is 22 mins

This won’t go down well, but was the ‘friend! Who made the comment either:

1. got Daddy issues
2. (possibly lone parent)
3. or has a crap partner who is too lazy carry her child

people can be weird and jealous, let the little
girl have a carry off her Dad, I think it’s a lovely
thing to do.