my 4 yr old still wants go in pushcahir

[lis103]

hi i have a son whos nearly and still wants go in his pushchair, is this common who is it rare for a child at 4 yrs old.. please help ? the pushcahir i use is quite old near enough on its last legs, and thought its not worth getting another dont know what to do now.DO i get another 1 i mean if i still got use 1 not being snobby least i want a decent pushcahir for him ,hes quite heavy so with shopping as well that i atach to the pushcahir puts bit of a strain on it is there buggys for older children or should i refuse to let him still use it ,it was going to the tip but what do i do
thanks

I think that most physically able children by the age of 3 should be walking most places unaided with a back up plan for longer walks or when they are under the weather (eg. buggy board on younger sibling?s pushchair, or a light weight umberella pushchair, backpack carrier etc.). It is just habit and stamina. If you get them used to walking further and further, they will get become fitter and stronger. The earlier you wean them off the pushchair the better in my opinion.

I am no fitness freak and could do with losing a few pounds myself, but I take my girls out every day for a walk of around 30 mins to an hour. My DD loves the freedom of walking on her own - esp. on country walks where she doesn?t need to hold my hand and can pick up stuff like twigs and conkers. The freedom factor is a big incentive for independant minded kiddies.

Like many, I would say chuck the buggy in the bin, buy a really cheap folding lightweight umberella one for longer journeys if you really need to (only about a tenner from Mothercare) and get him used to walking sooner rather than later! Good Luck.

Sheila - I would get tough and start insisting he walks when you know he is not so tired that needs to sleep or rest in the pram. You are only making a rod for your own back if you give in, even for a little carry. The sooner you get him used to walking, the easier your life will be - honest Even a bit of bribery would be worth it if you can get him out and used to walking for himself. Don?t mean to sound patronising or judgemental, just really think you are making hard work for yourself by not making him walk. It is hard dealilng with a mexican standoff when they refuse to walk (been there, gone through planty of tantrums with mine) but they soon learn and adapt if you stay tough

We got ds out of the buggy/pushchair pretty much when dd arrived and he was 2 and 4 months. Since he was about 2 1/2 he hasn't used it at all. We have a buggyboard that he still sometimes uses, but mostly he just walks. I worried at first that he would get too tired, but then when he was about 2yrs 8 months we went on hols and did several really long walks and apart from a bit of help on his dad's shoulders he walked all the way. So I reckon they can do it, but then again if I had someone to push me around, I wouldn't want to walk either.

I ditched my tandam buggy when my DS twins were about 2.5yo, as it got so heavy, and I could go more places without it,I've always had to use public transport and it was just a pain.
We took a twin stroller on holidays with us when the boys were nearly 3, because we thought we would be doing alot of walking and they would get tired and want to go in it, but it was a total waste as they never wanted to go in it.
They are now 5, and will walk really good distances, we often go walking for a few miles, in the Brecon Beacons on the weekend and they never moan about walking, in fact they run most of it !!!

I ditched the buggy when ds was 3.5ish. He wont walk if the buggy is there so I hid it in the car boot and told him it was broken. He has walked everywhere since. I think the exercise is healthy and the further he walks the earlier he is asleep.

just to say im 16 and rely on a maclaren major pushchair. coz i have bad joints in my legs and yes i do wish that i could do without it. you can understand how i feel sometimes going in the pushchair regards it being not cool i dont think about it at all. i hear comments but have learned to ignore it im really small for my age ( same size as a 8 year old ) thats why i still go in the pushchair and not a wheelchair also iits easy for my mum to usebut out of choice i wouldnt want go in a pushchair hope this helps

for walks to school I found a bike with stabilizers a good replacement - I put a long belt through and round the middle of the handlebars, so I could help steer (pulled along behind me) and also it didn't whizz off downhill. when child more confident then took off the strap. P.S. when buggy is falling apart, talk to child about it showing them the joints that wobble, they will be quite acceptable that it isn't safe, rather than it just dissapearing.

my DD is 4 and she ALWAYS asks for the pram/buggy i have just decided to ditch it altogether as she needs the exercise that a walk gives her and she is quite capable of walking long distances-she just doesnt want to! i have told her her pram is broken and cant be used and she isnt exactly accepting of that but has just got on with walking around

i say go with what YOU think. if you dont like to use the buggy then your DS will have to walk. simple as that he will adjust and forget about wanting the pram when he is out soon enough