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!

Hellish - a hot massive child being pushed up hills, down stairs and over cobbles. I would use the metro/ public transport and bribe and break up with rests rather than do that.

At nearly 6!!, with no additional needs, I wouldn't. I'd be too embarassed, I'm afraid.

Hello

You need to make your own post so it’s not lost.

You are being financially abused and are in an awful relationship. I hope he is salaried and doesn’t have his own company? Makes it easier to get the child support you deserve when you split.

Good luck

Sometimes with a child who whines and make a fuss about walking there can be an underlying physical issue though. E.g. something like hypermobility is very common and can cause fatigue. DS has mild Cerebral Palsy but wasn't diagnosed until age 5. He met his early milestones, he walks and runs and climbs and isn't obviously disabled, but he always got much more tired than my other children when there was walking involved. We used a pushchair until he outgrew it, he now has a wheelchair.

One of our group took a pushchair for her then 5 5 yr old to New York. What a nightmare.
Firstly, I don't know what buggy it was but it was difficult to push due to child's weight.
Secondly, they kept holding everyone up as the child had to keep getting in and out as they couldn't get it up the kerb.
And New York is pretty fast paced and busy, and they did cause a few people traffic jams. And she was slow pushing it.

The last few days the mother ditched the idea and the child walked with us just fine.

This. Why choose a holiday destination /itinerary thats woefully unsuitable for a young child if you have a young child!
Surely when considering where you go on holiday and the sort of things you do, you take your childs needs into consideration?

How about one of those fold up trollies ?

Would probably still fit. I remember my toddler was pushing his big sister around in our YoYo as part of some silly game and she would have been 5 or 6. But I personally think there come a time where you have to consider your kids fully on holiday and actually plan around their wants, needs and stamina, and unlike when they’re babies, you can’t just drag them around in a pram whilst you do your thing and I think at 5 you’ve reached it. Also pushing a pram with a heavy kid in it in hot weather (are there hills and cobblestones also?) sounds awful for you. I’d forget the pram and scale back your plans and expectations- if your 5YO is hot and flagging it’s time to stop for an ice cream in the shade not push on to see some monument.

I wouldn't. I'm genuinely surprised at a lot of the responses saying do it - I'm not having a dig btw, just surprised. Wouldn't it be better to organise a holiday that suits her needs, age and ability, rather than putting a 5 year old (yr1 presumably) into a pushchair?

That doesn't sound like a fun holiday for either of you. 5 is too old for a buggy if no special needs. Adapt the itinerary around public transport.

this sounds like a recipe for an absolutely miserable holiday, if she’s not ready for the walking it’s not the right trip.

a 5 year old will likely be too tall to sit comfortably, her legs will be too long, making it uncomfortable and risky.

if you know whe will likely the destination, use public transport.

I assume you are going to another country?

I have found that children in Europe are not "babied" as much. How will your child feel sitting in a pram, when the chances are that other 5/6 year olds are also there and just getting on with it.

Does the place you’re going to have decent public transport and taxi services available? If so, I would plan the itinerary around NOT needing to walk about very much, especially during the hottest part of the day. It isn’t fair to make a 5 year old walk around in the heat or risk sitting in a pram that she’s too big for. You need to adapt your travel plans to be a bit more suitable for your daughter.

We used a double one at Disney when DD’s were 6&8 (but small for age). If she fits why not

Aww, that was so nice of you to respond to this, without being nasty about the mix-up 😘

I agree with this and similar posts. You appear to have deliberately booked a holiday you know your child won’t enjoy, and will actively complain about. Why would you waste your money like that?

They are too big for the buggy so you need to change your plans and find things to do that don’t involve loads of walking. If you post your destination and situation in the Holidays forum, I am sure posters will come up with great ideas.

Way too old.
Adapt the holiday.

I can’t imagine you’ll get a 5yo to go in a pram!

We brought one to Spain for our 2 year old but landed up hiring another one because our 5.5 year old wanted in it too. She would never usually use a buggy but exactly like you say, all the walking and the heat is just a recipe for miserable, whinny kids. I'd definitley bring it

Why so much walking? Surely she’d (and you’d) be happier and more relaxed at a fun resort with pools/a beach.
Yes, it may not be as cultured, but who wants hard work on holiday?!

When DS was in Reception, he hurt his foot. I took him to school a couple of times in the Yoyo. He was over the height limit, but I don't know what he weighed/measured. I pushed him fine, but it was a 15 min flat walk. He didn't like walking at the time, so went in happily, in contrast to my eldest who refused from around her 2nd birthday!

Do you do lots of regular walking?

Unless she has a disability she should be able to walk a couple of hours with a rest/ drink/things to occupy her?

She will fit. My older DC were always getting in the YoYo and we had a buggy board on the back too.

I had a 5 and 3 yo squeezed in to the seat together, and a 7yo on the buggy board at one point and it did not break (ok it was hard work pushing and only worked because the paths were smooth (theme park), but less bad than dealing with all the moaning!)

I'd adapt the holiday. It's just two of you but it doesn't sound suitable for a 5 year old. Sometimes with kids you just need to take it easy and pick your battles. Or do the same places but use more public transport than you would if solo, or plan your day carefully to minimise walking and ensure there are rest stops and suitable activities.

I have a 5 year old and wouldn't take a buggy. She can walk a pretty decent distance - I imagine she could do up to 8km a day without too much difficulty, based on our last city break when she hadn't quite turned 5 (there, we did a long walk which was about 5km over the course of a few hours, and then we had more walking later in the day). However, she is slow and I make sure I plan the day in a way which she can manage. I find a plentiful supply of snacks helps too.

My DC hasn’t used a pushchair since her third birthday I think, by her own choice she has always wanted to be the ‘big girl’. This means she has been travelling through airports, on trains across country, around theme parks and every where in between on foot or scooting since she was three with occasional breaks on someone’s shoulders.

I think it’s great honestly, I wouldn’t want to be pushing a pushchair around on holiday, especially with a five year old in it!