This dad who’s always carrying his reception aged DD

[isithey]

It is really cute, however gives my DD ideas of being carried too and I just can’t !

there is quite a walk from the car park to the classroom at my DDs school and this one dad ALWAYS carries his DD the whole way there and the whole way back.

wherever my DD sees this, she wants to be carried too ! But she’s absolutely huge. She’s only 5 but already bigger than the average 6 year old. The little girl being carried is much, much smaller than my DD.

I can barely carry her anymore.

when do people generally stop carrying their kids ?

I occasionally carry my 3 year old, but not a lot. I enjoy it, I must admit. So I do get why this dad does it. Super cute.

how long did you carry your kid around ?

We live in London so very rarely use the car. I stopped using the buggy with all of mine before they were three so they just built up stamina walking and scooting out and about with me. It meant when they were 1, 2 & 3 I had to be patient while they plodded along slowly, stopping to look at every insect and pebble.

With park run she doesn't run the whole way around. We run for a bit then walk then run. As time has gone on, her periods of running have gradually becone longer.

You will be judged if you're carrying your school-aged child unless there's a disability or injury

Right up until he wouldn’t let me pick him up anymore 😄 he was a Velcro baby and even aged 5 he loved nothing more than being on my hip. He got to about 7 and I had to stop picking him up luckily my husband is a larger man and he used to put him on his shoulders right up until he was about 8 ❤️

he repays the favour now and is forever throwing me over his shoulder for a spin just because I am so small in comparison.

I’m not sure. My son is 2. He will be 3 in June. He did a 5 mile walk yesterday with no carrying. Today he was obviously more tired so a trip around the shops involved some small amount of carrying. He is heavy (and tall not overweight) so long distance carrying isn’t my thing. I’m not sure the distance from the car to the classroom would justify a carry unless massively tired from some form of activity.

It’s nobody’s business how someone else parents their own children.

I’ve seen parents pick up reception age children at times, never thought anything of it until this thread.

I think this is a different grown ups have different abilities thing.

I can't carry my 5 year old niece very far these days and haven't been able to for a while, including when she was 4 and refusing to walk from the car to the playground to collect her sibling.

I used to carry for a bit and then set her down to walk for a bit. Hasn't been an issue for a while. My words were usually 'my arms aren't strong enough' or 'I can't carry you all the way to school'. There's a difference between what I could make my body do in an emergency and what's reasonable day to day.

I also wouldn't pick a Reception aged child up in the playground unless injured or something - bet there's a point quite early on where that becomes embarrassing with the other children.

My first reaction is why does he do this, unless genuine reasons of course. Always best for kids to walk, which most do.

I had mostly stopped carrying my eldest by the time she was 3.5 because I was pregnant with younger DD. Younger DD was always big for her age too so couldn’t carry her really past about 3.

I second this! My reception child can also run junior park run, has done some hard mountainous hikes, and runs like a mad thing for hours with her friends. She also really really wants cuddles sometimes, especially just before school when she knows she'll be separated from me, or just after when she's missed me all day, so I carry her. Never occurred to me that people would be judging me!

I’m currently stopping carrying my (just turned) two year old. He’s on the 98th centile and just too heavy for me. More importantly, he’s perfectly capable of walking and I want him to build that skill! I did the same with my now five year old and she’s a great walker now, she can do a 6 mile walk with ease.

I would try to make a big deal of how your DD is walking by herself and how cool that is. It’s also fine to be straight up and say ‘you’re too heavy, I can’t carry you’. Personally I think carrying a 5 year old is a bit ridiculous unless they have additional needs.

I still carry my 4-year old granddaughter sometimes, e.g., she fell asleep on the school run last week and I had to carry her from the car to the playground and back. She does still love to be picked up, but I draw the line at carrying her upstairs!

I used to carry my daughter up till she was eight just to get across the busy main road to the bus stop on the way to school, and on the way home if she'd nodded off on the bus I would carry her off the bus. She was the youngest in her year and very tiny too.

I didn’t carry mine much at all after she could confidently walk at around 19 months! Not unless she was ill, hurt or tired and we needed to cross a short distance like car to house. And mine was quite small. I just didn’t see the need. She had legs to use! Either that or she would be in her buggy. Plenty of hugs and snuggle time, but not being carried around, no.

Unless there's a disability, it's not cute, it's infantilising. They are not a baby. They are at school and should be walking properly to demonstrate that they are no longer a baby.

To look at me as a kid I probably looked pretty much like any other kid but I had a dodgy heart. My Mum piggybacked me up our hill to school until I was about 6/7 then we had to get a bus until she got her drivers license. At age 12 the school principal & sports teacher took turns piggybacking me at school camp on the big bush walk so I didn't miss out (this was many years ago but I'm sure teachers wouldn't be allowed now) For the average child I would be encouraging them to walk but being carried by Dad might be a fun/special thing ???

If you can manage it, give her a piggy back?

I'm 5'1, DS 8 is up to my chest and I couldn't carry him with my arms or on my hip but I can give him a piggy back for a little while

“Demonstrate” to who?

Deflect. Get a scooter.

Demonstrate to whom?

DS is disabled and only learnt to walk unaided a few weeks before starting school. I 5'1 had to carry him on one hip and my DD then a baby on the other. We were allowed to park in the only disabled bay when the wheelchair bound mum wasn't in the space. To be fair, some of the other mums would leave the space next to it for me if they saw my car. Try telling your child that the child being carried has a special need that requires her to be carried. That might be physical or it might be mental, but she needs additional support so he gives it.

I carried my DD until she was about 3. Sat her on my hip. And I would have continued to do so but I ended up with a herniated disc 😩

Gosh, I didnt know that adults do that!

It really surprises me the lengths that some people will go to as to why other people shouldn’t carry their children.

Oddly I don’t think I’ve ever sat on anyone’s shoulders as an adult.

My younger child isn’t physically as able as her peers. She is not disabled she simply doesn’t have the same energy levels. I suspect it may be partly as least because she has v severe eczema & a number of allergies so it think her immune system is busier and probably takes her energy.

It isnt anyone’s business how someone else choose to parent. Just leave people alone.

This thread just a reminder that one will be judged on every little thing as a parent, so may as well crack on 😅 Jeez