Tell me about buggy boards

[Panda368]

We are expecting no2 in early december when no1 will have just turned 3.
No1 is pretty good at the moment and happily walks 1mile+/ rides his balance bike about 3 miles on good days but still gets tired sometimes or wants to be carried.
With him getting heavier and after no2 is born carrying a 3YO plus bike and pushing pram will be 100% not possible.
Im thinking about a buggy board but they all look like they would be a huge pain/crack my shins when walking.

What are peoples expierences? Was a buggy board useful with a 3yo?

They are a fucking nightmare! We had the same age gap and it was like pushing a tank - I soon got rid of it.

There is no easy way, double buggy, buggy with buggy board, buggy and sling, bike/ scooter and buggy are all really annoying in their own way. Buggy board wheels make lots of noise, awkward to fold buggy, don't go up curbs, get in the way of your feet, dc unexpectedly jump off etc. Practise walking (as you are) so your eldest builds stamina and take your dh when you can to carry eldest on shoulders when needed. I walked everywhere, I think it's easier in a way if you drive, park and only walk around until 3 year old is tired. When your eldest is 4 years old they will be able to walk a lot further in my experience and it gets easier again when youngest is 2 and they want to walk a lot too.

@Thatwentbadly 😂 did your older one just have to suck it up and walk after that?

If your getting a new pram for baby some have a built in board which makes life easier

I thought about a buggy board and also one of those clip on the side toddler seats but I bought a £50 city mini double from Facebook. I’ve had my £50 worth.

Buggy boards are not the solution they seem. You have to stand slightly too far away and it hurts your back with time. Single buggy with sling for the first 6 months and then the older one is much less likely to need the buggy. My three year old often sits on the footrest of the buggy.

I quite liked our buggy board. We had a Lascal one on a Bugaboo Bee. Didn't get in my way too much. It did make my older child quite lazy though and I ended up taking it off as she was barely walking anywhere.

We have a mountain buggy swift atm which has been 90% retired so we are planning to reuse that with the parent facing attachment for no2.

I think this actually allows enough space for it to be possible for 3yo to sit above the front wheel so that might solve the problem.... will have to do some experiments closer to the time.

I guess double slinging in an emergency could also work as we have a back carrier for no1 currently when we go on big walks.

They're a pain in the backside in my experience. I couldn't take proper steps and had to take little dolly steps. I borrowed one and literally got to the end of the street before I had a tantrum and went back again and took it off.

A double buggy was much easier and meant I had room for shopping.

I would honestly just build up there stamina. I did get a double and it got a bit of use but not its money worth. Wouldn't bother with a board for the above reasons. My 3.5 year old walked 4 miles the other day... Just slowly built it up. And I always have the carrier packed for emergencies where I can wear baby and he can sit but that's never needed to happen.

[quote Panda368]@Thatwentbadly 😂 did your older one just have to suck it up and walk after that?[/quote]
Walked or used the scooter. I could balance the scooter over the pram handles but from the youngest being 6 weeks to 7 months she was in the sling as she had extreme reflux and needed to be upright and then screamed in the pram.

I agree with the PP who said you can just sling the baby and your older kid soon won’t need the buggy. I had a 2 year age gap so the buggy board was more helpful and I did use slings a lot for both of them. Never bothered with a double because I didn’t drive and didn’t want to have to manoeuvre a double buggy on the bus.

I think they grow so quickly from age 3 that you can have your 3 year old walking or on the balance bike for much longer.

I had a similar gap and loved the buggy board. Majority of my walking was pavements and not hills though. Scooter balances easily on the handlebars of the pushchair. It was a lifesaver for the first few months.

DD turned 3 just after DS was born and the buggy board was very very useful! Our buggy board is shaped so that you can walk slightly to one side of it without cracking your shins on it and I’ve not found it to be a problem.
For the first few weeks I used the sling a lot but once baby DS got bigger I found it difficult especially at the park to be playing with DD; much easier to have him in the pram.
I didn’t find it too heavy although our pram is quite lightweight and even now DD is nearly 4 I still use it to get to nursery quickly. I do get her to jump off for hills though.
DD found having a sibling hard and it helped for her to feel
Special on the buggy board.

You can get a scooter that attaches to the mountain buggy swift. So he can scoot along and then attach when tired.

I loved mine, it was an oyster and clicked perfectly out of the way when not in use, didn't get in my way when in use

We had one and it didn’t bother me at all, seemed useful. But as others have said, a sling for the baby and buggy for the toddler is easier for the first 4-6 months anyway and you can hopefully build up the toddler’s stamina so they can walk most places.

I have a bugaboo bee with the bugaboo buggy board and it’s good - it’s off to one side so you don’t bash into it when walking, and it folds up when not in use. We have a 2.5 year age gap and had the baby in the sling for first 6 months as pp has said. Baby is now 6 months and toddler about to turn 3 and we’re now putting the baby in the pram now she can sit up and she absolutely loves watching her big brother on the buggy board. He also rides a balance bike which we can just about fit under the pram, or over the top of it and shove baby in sling if needed. I think if he’d been 2 when she was born I’d have got a double buggy but I’m pleased to have avoided that and don’t think it would be worth it at all for you.

I used one as a childminder with two little ones in a double buggy and my own 3 year old walking for school runs etc as an option for them to hop on if/when tired.
It did get in the way quite a bit though. Sling for baby might be better but I always liked being able to wheel sleeping baby into the hallway and leave them asleep!

I couldn’t get on with a buggy board at all. I got a secondhand Joovy double buggy where the older child can stand or sit behind the front seat. Loads of space for shopping. I loved it, could also clip a car seat on for the baby.