How old was your dc before you ventured out without a pushchair?

[maviscrewit]

Just interested in your experiences as I am fed up with double buggy or single buggy and backpack for walking the dog (not far just round village!) Dd 1 will be 3 in March and dd2 is 16 months. I would love dd1 to walk and just have dd2 in pushchair but she refuses to go very far at all! I do have a buggy board but its not suitable for off roading!! Am I being too optimistic or will I have to wait until dd1 is 4??

unhelpful I know, but I think it does vary a lot from child to child. DS has not been in the pushchair at all since he was about 30 months (and even then it was quite limited) - fortunately he's on the small side which makes carrying him when he tires feasible. I asked him this morning whether he thought we still needed the buggy, and he said "just sell it mummy", so I guess we won't be using it again.

I took ds out without pushchairs from about 18 mths for short walks - longer ones from about 2 years to walk the dog properly. I only have one child though, so it is easier . He is almost 3 now and never uses the pushchair.

lol legalalien at "just sell it mummy" ! Am jealous of you both - I guess my dd1 is just awkward. I did try going it alone a few weeks back and she downed tools at the furthest point from home! Getting back with her, the dog and her sister took some time I can tell you! Maybe when the weather is better I will just have to be firm and say her sister is in the pushchair so she'll have to walk. If she hasn't got the option then she'll get used to it I hope.

Dd2 is 16 moths and not walking at all so I can't expect her to walk just yet!!

yes, I think DS is going to be a marathon runner when he grows up (he, on the other hand, thinks he's going to be a pilot). I was apparently a horror and wanted to be pushed everywhere.

I suspect that with siblings there's a bit of an issue with "DC2 is being pushed, I ought to be as well". You may have to "big up" the grown-up-ness of being able to stand on a toddler board.

Yeah ds walked at 10 mths which is quite early but he is also just a typical boy and hates to sit still for even 5 seconds - that means walks are great but restaurants are a nightmare!

ds1 is 2.5 and I have only put him in a pushchair twice in the last 6 months (both on very longs days out when we had the pushchair for ds2 who was then carried).

I know that all children are different but I also think that expectation has a lot to do with it. We told him he was a big boy and that big boys don't go in pushchairs and he just accepted it. We walk lots as I don't have a car and he is fine with it. At first he used to walk between me and ds2's buggy so he could "help push" ds2.

In fact it makes me a bit when I see older children strapped into buggies.

So I do not think you are being too optimistic - just make her feel like she is being grown up and hopefully she'll rise to the challenge. Good luck.

DD was booted from the pram at about 2 1/2. She complained a bit, but did become quite a good little walker.

DS will be 3 in May, and I think he might get an eviction notice for his birthday.

lovetosleep - I felt the same when I saw Dnephew (nearly 3) strapped into a pram for his zoo visit over Xmas. But to be fair to his mum, he is enormous, and she just can't carry him around if he decides he's too tired to walk, or falls asleep. So it can be a difficult one.

Ds is 3. He will walk to the post office not too far away and walk to playschool, but if I am going into the City, he will go in the pushchair. I think my worry is him running off when I am trying to pay for something or that he will get lost in a big crowd.
I am making more effort lately though. He has a doll's pushchair which we take out instead, this keeps him busy!

Was going to say DD1 would have been a lot earlier if it weren't for DD2, far easier to strap them both in.

DD1 was about 3 when we stopped using a double.

I agree a buggy board might be the way forward as it gives them the option of riding if they get tired. My DS1 hasn't been in the buggy since the day before DS 2 was born when he was 2.3 - the buggy belongs to the baby now.

When we were on holiday over christmas we just took a backpack for DS 2 and whenever DS1 got tired he would ride on our shoulders. He actually managed to fall asleep doing that a couple of times with his chin on the top of my head. Very heavy after a while!

Btw don't get me wrong I still HAVE the pushchair and I take it if we are having a day out somewhere so I can put him in it if he gets too tired. He is very tall and I can absolutely not carry him if he needs a nap. I just make him walk if I know we are going to be out for under about 3 hours (no hard fast rule, though).

I guess my "never uses the pushchair" was slightly inaccurate , but I really meant for dog/walking, and most everyday activities - excursions are different!

DD1 must have been 2, but DD2 was about 15 months. She flatly refused to get in the buggy, ever, had the screaming ab dabs if she even saw it, so I took it to the tip. Was sometimes tricky holding in to both her and her sister, and bags of shopping, though! I think it all depends on the child.

I hate pushchairs and used to walk DD to and from nursery as soon as she started at 2 years. ( 10 min walk which used to take us about 20)
BUT once my other two boys were gone to school i never had to whizz her anywhere and was able to do it because I could take as long as it took IYSWIM.
By the time she was three she was as fit as a butchers dog. Threw the buggy away when she was three. ( hate hate hate those damn things!)

I sympathise... my DS1 is nearly 3. Will walk happily most of the time & we have a buggy board for him if he get's tired but there still is the odd occasion wheh he has a 'sit in' on the pavement and I have to try and get him home.
Or like this am peeing down with rain and had to go to supermarket - out came the double buggy again!

DD is 2.9 and we have only taken the pushchair out twice since last August. Generally he is fine, but there are times where we end up carrying him because he is fed up of being dragged round town. For longer dog walks, etc..., we have one of those trikes with a handle, but when we go out on general excursions - to fly kites, visit trains (as you do with a two-year old) or just out and about, he walks/runs and generally throws himself around.

Agree with love2sleep - I worry when I see big toddlers in pushchairs as I think walking is great way to give them exercise. But I only have one and it is not so bad keeping track of him when in town - I have only lost him once, for about 10 seconds .

I had both my DC out of the pushchair by the time they were 3 with extremely limited use from 2 1/2. With DS this was partially because DD was due and I wanted it clear and established before she was born. With DD I decided it had worked for DS, so she could do it too. It does take some perseverance but can be done - neither were the type to opt out of their own accord.

DD managed two long days at Legoland without a pushchair at just turned 3. She was also fine on our summer holiday that year.

Can I just make a gentle request?

I know this will have been said before but, as the mother of a SN child please don't react when you see big kids in pushchairs. There may be a good reason.

I've just been wondering about this. I only have the one DS, he's only just coming up to 18 months but is a big lad and getting heavy to push up hills (keeps me fit tho ).

Yesterday we walked all the way to the post office - normally takes me about 5-10 minutes, took us at least 30 mins. He was exhausted and gratefully sat in the buggy for the return journey. Mind you, he is still at the nappy waddle toddle stage rather than walking. He seemed to enjoy it

My mum said that I was walking by the pram at 2 as my brother was in it by then. She had an old Silver Cross and would sit me on the end when I got tired.

Yep, and brother number 2 didn't walk until nearly 2.5 and was enormous (he's 6ft 6 now). My mum said she got the odd funny look pushing him in the buggy

Yes, fair point pagwatch. I certainly don't judge other parents over this (who has the time for that anyway?) because I know all children (SN or otherwise) have different temperaments, rates of development and also living situations (i.e. I was in a quiet village when ds was little so walking was a relatively easy thing to do). Just wanted to let maviscrew know what happened in our family as she did ask, and what our experience was.

we stopped using the pushchair for shorter journeys when DS1 was 2 which is why we were confident when DS2 was born 6 months later that we could manage with a buggyboard.

We only did this because DS1 was a very confident determined to walk type of toddler, he never liked being just sat in the buggy.

another point for the OP. I had a 3.3 year gap which meant that I had time to establish DS out of the pushchair before DD was born. I think it will be more tricky for you because of having your DD2 still needing a pushchair.

Ds stopped going in the pushchair at about 2 years I think, although trips to the shop are MUCH longer now than they were when we could push him round. He started trying to get himself out of it, so we hardly use it at all now (2 and a half). That said, when he was poorly last year, it was great to be able to wrap him up nice and snug and get out for fresh air. As he's an only child, I suppose he doesnt feel that he's missing out by NOT being in the buggy, whereas if he had a sibling, I can imagine that he'd want the same treatment iyswim