What age did your child start walking a decent distance ?

[mollyfolk]

My 3.5 year old can run about all day but try and get her to walk in a particular direction for more than 10 minutes and there is war. We have put away the buggy and are using a scooter. She is fine going places on the scooter but I always end up pulling her home. I have a baby in the buggy so this is killing my shoulder. Just wondering how much i can expect her to do at this age. We walk a lot and I'd love her to be able to go 25 minutes there and back!

My youngest isn't quite 3.5 yet but he goes on 2ish mile walks with us. You have to build up their stamina though and be firm about the 'no more carrying' rule!

Somewhere between 2 and 2,5 dd could walk to my mum's which is a 30ish minute walk at her pace. We do lots of 'can you rub/skip/ march to the next lampost'

Around 2 I think.

Try a buggy board for when legs get tired?

Oh I never carry because I'm pushing the baby in the buggy. It's too light for a buggy board unfortunately. Pulling her on the scooter was my compromise. Maybe I need to be firmer and stop doing that.

That's amazing Teabelle - very impressive. I had to pretend the double buggy had broken because it was getting ridiculous - she wanted a lift everywhere. She tells me her knees are sore usually on the way home from somewhere.

DD is 3.5. We can do 2.5 miles reasonably comfortably with distractions, so a country park where we might see a frog, a bird's nest, a few muddy puddles, a woodland bit where there might be fairies or wicked witches. We usually have a stash of emergency sweets and a drink in case direct bribery is needed if she gets tired or we go further than we'd planned to, but we haven't needed them for a few months now. The walk to Grandma's, which takes me about 15 minutes alone, so probably about a mile, is a 40 minute bloody slog.

I once read that 1/2 mile per year of age can be used as a rough guide and this seems in line with what dd and ds1 are capable of.
Based on this your DC should be able to manage 1.5-2 miles.

We went out for a walk that was around 1 hour 15 mins today and my (almost) two year walked for over an hour of it.

About 2-2and1/2. I can't remember how we did it (probably the promise of an ice-cream at the other end of the lakeside walk ). At 6&4 they're still not perfect though - they can and do walk fairly good distances but whinge a bucket load on the way!

TheOriginal - I'm reassured by that. I'd heard a mile per year plus one, and I think DD would struggle with that.

DD1 is 3.5 and DD2 is 22 months. DD1 hasn't been in the buggy since DD2 was born (refused it) and DD2 hasn't been in it since 18 months. I think they can probably manage around 2-2.5 miles (with a bit of whinging!). I couldn't pick DD1 up as I was either pregnant or had a baby, and DD2 has never asked to be picked up (in fact if I do she shouts 'walk')

Some just can't manage it. I had one fantastic walker at that age and one who struggled.
If it was me, I would do double buggy or baby in the sling and DD in the buggy. If she's struggling, she's struggling. They all manage things at different times, she won't be in the buggy forever, don't make life hard for yourself unnecessarily!

My eldest was about 4 before we could go out for a day without wheels (pram/scooter/push along bike). Anything more than a 10 minute walk was a struggle.

My youngest has always been more independent, age 18 months she'd walk the 2 miles to/from school with my eldest. I'd have the bigger one complaining it was too far and the youngest happily walking along!

With my eldest I just linked walking with rewards, if she walked where I wanted without complaint (within reason of course) then she'd have a reward which varied according to distance. We have created a rod for our own backs now though because she equates exercise with rewards but it keeps her moving

DD1 is 3.5 and can manage about 1.5 hours max in a day, but will complain bitterly. She couldn't walk until nearly 2 though so has had a lot less practice. She can't scoot very well yet.

She will still hop in the buggy sometimes if it's vacant from her sister- has yet to totally drop her nap so we couldnt go out for the whole day without a buggy. We don't have a car so no ad hoc napping there.

I was stressing about it but she is slowly getting better. I wish I'd got a double when her sister was small rather than struggling (she's 8 months now and the moment has passed!).

I have an almost 3yr old and a 1yo. I would strongly recommend getting a different buggy that will take a buggy board. DS can sometimes seem to walk miles and other times not at all.

My ds is 3.5 and can comfortably walk 2 miles (according to Google!). He's always been a good walker and, as don't drive he gets a lot of practice. Last weekend he walked 2 miles to the next village, had a play in the park and wander to a cafe where we had some lunch. He had a nap then walked probably another couple of miles home.