What do you do when kids too old for pram but too young to walk far?

[Coriandersucks]

I’ve got a 4 year old and nearly 3 year old. Ditched the buggy a few months ago but have found it difficult when wanting to go on a long walk or visiting somewhere like the local farm place we went to today. I dug out the old buggy and thank god I did because my youngest would never have made it around - we were out for over four hours and it was quite hilly and whilst we stopped lots to play on the different rides, they were both really struggling.

They are both over the weights for the buggy, it has a flat tyre and was creaking all the way round whenever he sat in it so what do you all do at this stage? Is there another buggy size I’ve missed or do I just have to wait until they’re older?

I honestly don’t know what I would have done had I not thought of taking the buggy with me as we were over a mile from the car at one point and I was on my own with both of them.

Bikes or piggy backs.

Make sure you plan walks with plenty of rest stops and snacks.

Watching with interest as we have the exact same issue. I'm dreading the school run with eldest in Sept as youngest will be 3 then and already absolutely giant/barely fits in the current buggy!!

Scooters work fairly well. But at 3 we still had the buggy for biggish days out.

For normal walks I would suggest a balance bike. And perhaps don’t return to that farm for at least a year!

Balance bikes. My 2 and 4 year olds will go for ages on them.

Make 'em walk! 😂...just adjust length of walk to start with.

I had my second when the eldest was nearly two. Always just had one pram / pushchair.

Scooter with a pull-along strap.

Hey there,
When my eldest turned 3 we started reducing buggy use and got a scooter. Even now at 4 years old she will sometimes huff and puff about walking small journeys but will scoot for ages. We stop for regular rests and snacks (if out for longer). We also practised pavement safety, stopping when told to so that now her younger sister is wanting to spend more time out of the buggy I know my eldest won't scoot out into the road and is aware of her surroundings

Carrier in my bag for tired legs. Last time I used it I they were 5, it was a dark three mile dash across a Spanish city at the end of an already very long day of travelling, we’d never have made it otherwise. They could walk for miles, but their legs were only small.

I bought a new buggy for 3 year old! Thought I was being very extravagant but we used it on holidays so we could go far further and for long walks. Didn't use a car much at that stage so did shopping etc. on foot.

Never try to be in a rush!

The scooter has been a breakthrough for me though it has taken a lot of perseverance as DS (almost 4) didn't "get it" for ages and I ended up carrying it.

He has built up more stamina in the last few months with allllll the walks, and does seem to be slowly learning that it's best not to spend the first ten minutes sprinting and then be shattered for the rest of the way

I’ve got a 3.5 year old and an 8 month old and I take the double buggy everywhere. If ds walks quite a bit at least all the stuff is in the buggy and I don’t have to
Carry it.
I purposely got one that take children upto 25kg although he is a bit squashed in there

Toddler/pre-schooler sling. There was no making DS2 walk or use a balance bike - most sloth-like child on the face of the planet - so he went on our backs until he was almost five.

No, it doesn’t make them want to be carried forever. He’s six and walks/bikes/scoots for miles now.

We had a backpack thing for DD1 but now our twins are 3yo and it's just a matter of planning days out accordingly! We limit them (days out) to what we think will work for the children, gradually pushing longer and longer. We take snacks and water and spare clothes but otherwise, just plan walks that are 1h or under, really.

I know you can get carriers for two children but my pelvic floor says no! And I am seriously done with buggies.

You can get toddler and preschool size slings - connecta/integra are good for folding up in the bottom of your bag.

Scooter with a strap

We don't have a car so regularly took the Maclaren buggy on days out when the DC were 3.
It sagged and strained a bit but we managed! They then graduated onto scooters.

DS is nearly 3 & is still ok in our buggy/pushchair but when we're out & can't or don't want to take the buggy/pushchair we use a Toddler Tula carrier. We walked up the tallest waterfall in England (apparently) yesterday, up steep, uneven steps & DH had DS in the Tula all the way up. They are a godsend!

Scooter and/or being realistic about how long/far we could go until they built up some stamina.

I also would end up with a 3yr old on my shoulders/back
on a regular basis which gets old pretty quickly.

I’m intrigued by the slings will look into that.

We’ve got the balance bikes and scooters which have been great for the long flat walks (mostly - I carried a toddler and a bike over a mile home once...) but this place today made me realise how much stuff I had to carry and the thought of one of them having a tantrum or falling over or just flat out refusing to walk just made me panic and think how useful the buggy was.

Maybe I’ll hold off on the annual pass for a few months and work in building their stamina...

I’m still using the Maclaren buggy. He turned four last month. We’re a forty minute walk from the shops. There’s no way he’d do that both ways plus walk around the shops, park etc. Glad to be re-starting my driving lessons soon!

I have a 4 and 3 yr old and we ditched the pushchair a year ago. Both can easily walk 3-4 miles inc hilly walks. They take longer because obv they have little legs! But adjust your thoughts on how long thjngs should take, take snacks and a drink and you might be surprised! I find it they're getting tired a sit down for 10 mins does the trick. We have a picnic blanket (or just coats!) to sit on if we're on a walk.

If we're shopping I now have an old lady shopping trolley to put all my stuff in. I make the kids push it. Best purchase ever!

Toddler Tula was what we had. I’m sure they do a slightly bigger pre-schooler size as well but the toddler size got four year old DS2 around London and Paris (including thousands of Tube/Metro stairs) with no problems and he’s always been at the taller end of the spectrum for his age.

Don’t get one of those things that look like a rucksack with a frame in them from a hiking shop. Way too cumbersome. Slings/carriers can just be rolled up and stuffed in a bag when not in use. Those hiking things need their own postcode.

I don't drive so the short answer is my DC's have had to get use to walking a lot. Snacks help as do regular 'bench breaks' (I insist they sit and rest for a few minutes if we come across one).

I don’t really understand the race to ditch the pushchair on MN.

My DC had a buggy until they were 4 (but we had no car and walked everywhere). They would walk when they wanted to and sit down when tired. I also had somewhere to put the bags for a day out.

Win win for both of us. Why make life more stressful?