he just drops and dangles....

[colditz]

... and it looks so awful!

I end up dragging my 2.5 year old acroos the road by one arm because he just lifts his feet with no warning.

I am scared that one day I will dislocate his arm, and social services will think I have been abusing him, because it always reddens his hand, but I can't stop in the middle of the road and reason with him, and I always have the pushchair in my other hand.

He does this on reins as well, he has had a graze on his shoulder before because of dropping to his knees with no warning.

Can anyone think of a solution?

i mean, a rope burn type thing on his shoulder, where he has pulled on the reins really hard.

Do you hold his hand walking along generally?

I trained DD1 well, but I can't remember how (!) and so I am trying to remember at the moment with DD2 who is 18m and does this quite often.

At the moment, I try and get her to hold my hand at all opportunities, even when we're in a safe walking environment. She needs to learn how to walk holding my hand whenever I ask her to. So, it goes along the lines of holds hands. Drops, gets dragged. I stop, say to her "Walk nicely or I will pick you up. Stays limp. I pick her up and then say "Do you want to walk?" She nods. I say again "Walking nicely, holding my hand" and she then does. Repeat as necessary. Threaten with being put back in buggy if no nice walking is forthcoming. Slowly but surely she is getting the point.

I think you can rely on the fact that this age group want the indepedence of walking, more than buggy / holding etc. So if you pick up, put in buggy as the "threat" then they can see the advantages in walking nicely quite quickly. Something like that.

DD was the same until I stopped using the reins but made her hold my hand or the buggy. Now the threat of them or beign strapped into the buggy (she wants to walk everywhere!) is enough to make her walk o nth e whole - although we have had some tantrums which necessitiate a buggy ride with straps. she is 2.5 btw

I have threatened to put him in the pushchair and strap you in until I am blue in the face, he still does it. He scares me rigid sometimes.

I am getting a bit desperate now, because I have a baby due in 6 months, and don't want to be buying a double pushchair!

Thanks for your tips though.

I walk a lot with my ds1 (3) and ds2 in a pushchair, about a mile home from nursery and am finding it a nightmare too, if he drags along, I sit him on the path and say "you will hold my hand" and repeat this over, or "walk properly or we're going back to nursery" and turn the buggy around as if to go back, sometimes he just runs off and scares me sh*tless too. I hope you find a solution. I must look like the crossest person there is on the way home. good luck

Colditz do you actually carry out your threat and put him in the buggy? If you do it each time he drags his feet without exception - having warned him before he starts walking and periodically along the road maybe he will get the message. Sorry if this is what you already do and I'm not being helpful