How do I encourage my 3 yr old to give up the pushchair?

[NottsMum]

My DD is VERY attached to her pushchair and 9 times out of 10 prefers to ride than walk. The problem is that DD2is due end of August and of course she'll need the pushchair then. I want to encourage DD1 to walk over the next 3 months - any tips for this? But I realise there will be occasions after DD2 is born when DD1 will be needing / throwing tantrums if she can't go in it. I can't really see how she's going to suddenly stop wanting her pushchair altogether and I'm really not sure what to do. I've read the various threads about twin / tandem pushchairs and the main issue for me is that DD1 is no lightweight so either type will be a nightmare to push (esp. the tandem type), I don't want a buggy board because of it causing bad posture and as I chipped a vertebrae skiing 4 years ago I don't want to aggravate it (though I've been lucky enough for it to have healed 100% and only on the odd occasion it has given me backache). I also saw someone with a baby and 3yr oldish boy with a buggy board on a M&P pushchair like mine and it looked a nightmare. She looked knackered and her posture was terrible! So, has anyone got any ideas of what I should do?

TIA

I have to admit that anyone who saw me bellowing 'come ON' to DD1 would quickly revise their opinion of me as live-for-the-moment laid-back mummy. And sometimes I do end up shouting horribly when she's just not up for walking. I did borrow a double buggy over the winter for the walk home from the childminder too (that's something else - lots of people crawl out of the woodwork with doubles to lend, I found!). But I do love pootling along with her most of the time. It is fun.

Hello Nottsmum,
I use a babybjorn sling with a pushchair. I find this sling great even with a dodgy back.
best wishes

Ha, I would end up beating my child to death if I relied on his walking anywhere. He walks at literally a snail's pace (actually would probably be outrun by anything but an arthritic an elderly snail), stop dead and stares into space for long periods, then wanders back in the direction we've just come from. Refuses to hold hands. Sometimes just lies down on the pavement. Stares at ants. If I tried to drag him it would be like one of those scenes of ancient times, usually involving wild horses, with the prone body of a toddler being dragged along the ground. NOT good! It could literally take me half an hour or more to walk at ds's pace to the park at the top of the road - normally roughly a 3minute brisk walk.
All of you with lively toddlers who run along in the right direction - YOU ARE VERY LUCKY!

put it away until the baby comes and deal with the snails pace. kids will moan, thats what they do - but its tough. i suspect that you willnot do this and so suggest one of those wheelie things you put on the back of a buggy that toddlers stand on whilst you push the pram.

i really would just put the thing away and tell your kid its not an option

I'm the opposite to most posters here. I've got a ds aged 2 who regularly walks more than a mile without complaint. However, sometimes he is really too tired to walk somewhere or I want him securely in the buggy for his own safety or because I need to move faster - being late to pick up older children from school is not an option Even my 4 year old still has the buggy to come home from swimming and regularly falls asleep in it. I view the cut off line as starting school and thinks it's unfair to be chastising a young child who is too tired or slow to walk. I inherited a lightweight Maclaren double buggy from my sister. Whilst not perfect (what buggy is?) it was cheap, light and easy to manouevre.

I'd give it a whirl without a buggy on a few trips. Then you'll get an idea if it's going to be workable without a buggy for your dd.

Well, at the risk of repeating others, I do think that it really does depend on what type of person both you are and what type of person your child is. I just can't put up with the whinging/whining/moaning that can accompany longer trips, and being in an extremely urban environment I can't just say, "okay, I am going now". Also, we only walk places, and have to have a buggy. I have a 19 mth gap between my two and I would say that the sling in combination with the buggy board seemed easiest. Of the two, I think the BB is less stressful on the back (after the first 3 months, when the babby is getting heavy). Ever tried to lift a protesting toddler into a pram when you have a 20 pound baby strapped on your front? If you do get a BB, make sure you have it attached as close to the pram frame as possible as this gives you more stride room. We did use a pram with a toddler seat on it for a while, it was great. Emmaljunga do these, but I think there are a few others out there too.

Hi NottsMum,you could try a baby carrier that will not aggrevate your back, will give your new baby total head support and leave your hands completely free...It's called a Hug-a-bub. I still use it on my 18mnth old and don't feel her weight at all...check it out at www.bio-bubs.co.uk

nottmum, will you be venturing down to herts at all in the next few weeks. i have an emmaljunga with removable toddler seat pram which i'm selling for £20. if you are interested then contact me djmisdee(at)hotmail.com i bought it but find it really heavey when dd1 (she is 4 but sometimes needs a buggy) and dd2 were in it, but they both weigh 16kg, but i would think it would be fine for a new born and a 3yr old.

sorry, buggy has gone.

Just to say I tried the sling/single pushchair combo for a bit but actually found it totally exhausting, i was recovering from a c section & dd is heavy for a 2.5 yr old. Also you can't carry anything else. Got a tandem then found ds had outgrown the baby section by 4 months old. Now got a 2nd hand double 3 wheeler, which is fab as we do a lot of walking & I like to walk fast when they're both on board. There are loads of 2nd hand doubles around, 'cos lots of people are in the same situation, ie needing something to bridge a gap for a few months. Try ebay & your local small ads.

DS1 was almost 3 when DS2 was born and I used the buggy board a lot, he loved it