To bring a pushchair for a 5 yo on holiday?

[Fancycrab]

I’m going on holiday with my 5 and a half year old soon. It’s just the two of us, it’s going to be 30+ degrees most days, and some days are going to involve a lot of walking, sometimes in busy, crowded cities. I know this is going to trigger a LOT of whining, crying and constant requests to be carried. And generally make her tired and grumpy. The places we’ll be walking are places I know she’ll love but she’ll hate all the walking in the heat. I still have her old Yoyo buggy, it’s super light and compact. Would I BU to bring it? She’s tall for her age and weighs around 21kg, would it be hard work pushing her? Would she even still fit? (I haven’t tried yet as the buggy’s at my mum’s and I can’t get it back till the day before we go). Any advice much appreciated!

Do whatever it takes to make life easier. We saw lots in Disneyland of similar ages (and older).

Take it, there is no point in being miserable,dragging her about or carrying her if she gets whingy and hot.

If she can still comfortably and safely fit in it I'd take it.

Thanks, I’m more worried about how difficult it might be to manoeuvre and push. I just checked at the weight limit is 22kg (which is nearly her weight) and the height limit is 102cm, which she is way above

Do whatever you feel is best for you and DD.... it's your holiday and you both want to enjoy it. It's nothing to do with anyone else. If it works for you then take it, the Yoyo's are quite small though so you might be better to get something a little bigger and check it in with your luggage as I assume DD won't need it at the Airport?

So she's already too big for it then 🤔

Can you borrow or hire one from where you are staying?

Depending where you are you might be able to hire a sturdier pram .

Airports have a lot of children who looked much older than my 5yo pushchairs! So you wouldn’t be out of place.

If it gives you a better holiday I don’t see why not.

We have a 5yo and a younger child and on our recent holiday they swapped who was in the pushchair or on the buggy board if we were out all day.

Does she like a scooter? Could you pack it in the suitcase if you do? We find our 4 year old is much happier to go further if the method of transport is fun, and having been on many holidays with my nieces, this worked well for them too.

I would only do this if I knew there was no cobbles in any of the places I'd be hoping to visit. Otherwise you'd be carrying kid and scooter.

We have a 5yo and a younger child and on our recent holiday they swapped who was in the pushchair or on the buggy board if we were out all day.

This is what we do but without the buggyboard (we ditched the buggyboard about 18m ago). My 3yo walks further than my 5yo. If 3yo gets tired, DH carries them on his shoulders.

I think the risk of injury plus the fact OP will end up having to run after her would make this miserable. 5 is too young. Plus if the holiday is in Europe, there will be too many cobblestones for this to be practical.

I’ve been on a number of (hot) city breaks with my anti-walking DS when he’s been 4/5/6. I have no issue with a buggy per se but when it’s just me and him, I found it far too much trouble to carry it plus the bags. I generally plan an itinerary around public transport to minimise long stretches of walking and break up any longer walks where possible. Frankly, I also wouldn’t have wanted to push a child that much as I’d get so hot and tired. I’d rather do less on holiday.

We do a lot of city breaks and I'll be honest I was glad to ditch the buggy, hard work on uneven surfaces and a nightmare if you're going up and down steps. Can you use the bus or metro system to get round? My youngest is the same age and is fine with a few decent breaks to grab a drink and snack and we'll often hop the bus a few stops to save little legs.

Try her in it first and if she can still sit comfortably in it then absolutely bring it. We brought our pushchair when dd was 4 for similar reasons as I knew she’d be complaining. You’d often see children squashed into their old pushchairs on holidays for similar reasons and they always seem fine and happy . Enjoy the holiday

It doesn't sound like a very child friendly holiday. Can't you adapt the itinerary?

I took a buggy to Egypt for my 4yo. It was 50 degrees some days. Was a game changer and I had never owned a buggy (used carriers). Also cool towels, a hand fan, a rechargeable round the neck electric fan with a couple of power banks to keep them going, and a drink bottle with a spray button so he could spray his face. Was very glad to have prepped because it was HOT!

See if you can borrow a Babyjogger buggy from someone... they fit kids who are taller and heavier than a Yoyo. We took ours to Australia this year and the 5 yr old fits easily in it. It was a godsend for really long days out and no one judged us (or if they did we didn't notice) I was knackered with long days out and walking back from the beach and the days we didn't take it we had to carry him back falling asleep on our shoulders!

I mean I could not imagine my 5 yo on a buggy! He hasn’t been in one since under 3. His little sister has just turned 3 and we are encouraging her to walk more as the baby needs the buggy (14 months).
but then perhaps my children have had to grew up faster as we’ve had siblings

What isn't child friendly about it? All kids are different. I took my 4yo to Egypt, we travelled on sleeper trains and visited 4 different cities staying in a different hotel every 2/3 days. It was incredible, extremely cheap and we had a proper adventure. He still talks about it now. People told me I was silly doing this kind of holiday with him but honestly, it was awesome.

Get a second hand city mini gt, my 5yo has frequent hospital admissions via a&e and I would be lost without that pram when he’s unwell. I would definitely be tempted to take it on that type of holiday, it will be so much more enjoyable. Have a great time

Agree with this, actually I would drop the whole idea for a while. Either go somewhere else, or wait a few years till her behavior is easier to be around.

That's your answer. Nothing wrong with using a pushchair, but if she doesn't fit in one, that's not a solution.

Everyone would much rather see kids in pushchairs in airports than creating chaos.

It might be hard finding a cheap one she fits. But otherwise I see no problem with it.

I used an out n about nipper