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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Mainly walking, ditching the buggy - how old was yours?

43 replies

Gem13 · 04/12/2003 13:04

Still pondering on double buggies (it's a hobby!) and I was wondering how much long term use I would get out of one considering DS will be 18/19 months when D? arrives.

So... when did you ditch the buggy because you knew your child would want to walk?

Actually, I'm wavering about the Kiwi explorer...

OP posts:

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fio2 · 04/12/2003 14:37

side by side pushchair are definatley easier to push. I did have a 2nd hand tandem but it was SO HEAVY and when dd broke her leg I couldnt fit her in it. Luckily there was a 2nd hand side by side in the paper for 15 quid. I have certainly got my money out of it!

I have also got a buggy board for the stroller which is very useful but your little one may be a bit young to know he/she has to hold on all the time at the moment

M2T · 04/12/2003 14:39

Phew! I thought I was going to have to get a whip to make ds keep up with me!

I don't think I'll get a double buggy. I'm HOPING ds will be a faster walker by then.... fingerscrossed. I do like the buggy board idea though!

suedonim · 04/12/2003 15:45

Mine were about 3ish when they gave up the buggy, although istr dd2 was nearer 4. The winters are so cold here that even at that age, it's easier to pop them into a buggy than slide about on snow and ice. Also, a buggy is handy for the shopping even when they're mostly walking. I've never had an 18mth age gap but I think I'd have used a double buggy for a while, at least.

zebra · 04/12/2003 16:04

WE have 2 kids & no car. No Big Deal.
DS is barely 4yo and just lately is almost reliably out of the buggy (though has used it lots last 2 days). I had to drag him down the High St. last night when he refused to walk or go in buggy.
DD is barely 2yo and walks everywhere, only goes in the buggy when she's about to fall asleep.
YMMV.

Rhubarb · 04/12/2003 16:07

About 2.5 when she started walking more and more and I could take her on the bus without the buggy. Now she's 3.5 and the buggy is under the stairs collecting dust. But this is something that was mainly instigated by us, I hated getting the buggy on and off the bus and couldn't wait to get rid of it, so she was really encouraged to walk from an early age. She does moan about it, but she can now walk around 2 miles quite comfortably.

M2T · 04/12/2003 16:11

Zebra - Its a big deal when you and your hubby work 40 miles in opposite directions and ds's Nursery is in the middle, I can assure you of that!!

codswallop · 04/12/2003 16:19

M2t get him on a bike! ds1 on his at 2.5..carrries his cat int he basket (toy)

M2T · 04/12/2003 16:22

I am assuming you are joking Coddy. I'd like to see a 2.5yr old riding a bike big enough to carry 2 large bags, a pack lunch box and a Laptop with all my paperwork in it! lol

M2T · 04/12/2003 16:24

... what is the difference between struggling with a buggy on the bus or struggling with a bike?

codswallop · 04/12/2003 16:25

yes maybe 2.5 is early but he is3 and a bit and rides toschool every morning

codswallop · 04/12/2003 16:26

Oh and regarding prams _ I always wished I got an Emmaljunga soooooo easy compared to Mamas and Crappas I got.

altho mine is the blue and orange chassis that has a kick step that ds1 rode on for a while

M2T · 04/12/2003 16:27

Thats the point though Coddy. It isn't walking distance though..... and add to that the Scottish Winter???? NO WAY!

codswallop · 04/12/2003 16:30

yes ok

zebra · 04/12/2003 17:28

I'd be pleased if my husband had a job 40 miles in any direction.... We make a lot of decisions in life so that we can avoid having a car, though, that' liberating for us, and why having kids and no car isn't so difficult (for us). I imagine that regular car uses can ditch buggy sooner... but presumably the little Houdinis then expend a lot of effort learning how to wiggle out of their carseats....

I think what I really wanted to say in this thread is that so much depends on the child. DS is extremely uncooperative, is only recently seeming perhaps reliable to walk or cycle where we would need him to. Certainly never cooperated to use the buggy-board. Just as he seemed to be getting better, has a tantrum yesterday and I had to drag him along the High Street, provoking critical comments and looks, but what else do you do with a child who will not use buggy or walk for you? Eventually he acquiesced and agreed to go in pushchair (his baby sister meanwhile, walked miles). She goes wherever is asked of her. She would have used a buggy-board without question. I can't envision ever having to drag her anywhere.

Back to buggies: I prefer tandem because better in small shops, narrow pavement, larger shopping basket. But side-by-side have their advantages, too.

kmg1 · 04/12/2003 18:54

ds1 stopped going in a buggy mostly at 2, and completely by 2.5. (I don't drive, and we walk a lot.) BUT we had 22 mnth age gap, I had bad back, he was heavy, and I found double buggy very hard work.

Ds2, however, still sometimes needed to come home from nursery in his buggy when he was almost 4 ... 0.6 mile was a long way home. ALSO ditching your last buggy is harder, because then you have nowhere to put stuff, and YOU END UP CARRYING EVERYTHING LIKE A PACK HORSE. So I preferred to have a buggy with me, which sometimes ended up with a child in it.

zippy539 · 04/12/2003 19:19

DS was 20 mnths when dd arrived and without a double or the sling/buggy combo I would have been completely stranded on several occasions. He's 2.3 now and still uses the buggy everyday (we don't have a car). I got a bit paranoid about this issue when I noticed that all ds's contemporaries at playgroup were arriving by foot - until I realised that their mums were all parked in Sainsbury's about 20 yards around the corner! I use the sling/single buggy for buses and the kiwi for walking. Lots of times ds wants to walk beside the buggy but even if he is, I use it as a shopping trolley. I think 18/19 mnths is a bit young to abandon the buggy altogether - especially if your ds (like mine) regresses a bit in response to the baby and refuses to walk anywhere!.

Furball · 04/12/2003 21:49

We have a car, but DS 2.4 loves to walk, we very rarely use the buggy now. He bursts into tears at the sight of it and says 'no buggy, no buggy'.
I then warn him that if we walk he MUST keep hold of my hand at all times, which normally works and the mear threat of the buggy makes him grab my hand again.

misdee · 04/12/2003 22:28

had a double buggy for a year, only used it for 6months when dd2 was born, as dd1 wanted to walk a lot more after that and the bus routes are better. i still have 4 (oops) buggies, have two small buggies, for when both kids are with us on a long trek somewhere, plus my 3 wheeler (dd1 sits on the step on the front) plus a double stroller. the double rarely gets used except when i'm on my own with both kids and dd1 is feeling tired.

dd1 is 3.5 and cant reach the peddles properly on her bike, she cant peddle a trike further than down the rd, so if i have to walk her to nursery (over 2miles) i tend to take a buggy for her. tho the other week i picked her up from nursery her sister was in the buggy so she practically ran all the way from nursery to town and then back home, a lot longer walk than nursery. and she slept well that night lol.

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