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Parenting

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Original poster

Walking with toddler

17 replies

PlantDoctor · 31/05/2021 14:21

I used to love my long walks with DD and the dog when she was little, but now she's 18 mo she doesn't want to sit in the pushchair as she loves to explore and pick up rocks and sticks. It's very sweet, but the problem is neither I nor the dog are getting a decent walk each day!

Usually when DH finishes work I cook dinner while he plays with DD, then it's bedtime routine. I typically work from home in the evenings, so daytime is pretty much the only time available for a walk.

Parents of toddlers, what do you do for walks? Do you just stick kid in pushchair with a snack and put up with grumblings once the food has gone? (I'm talking a normal dog walk, not hours and hours!) I have a carrier but she's very heavy for carrying on the front and I can't get her into the back position on my own. Do you just accept you can't walk more than a few hundred metres a day? Please let me know

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LikeAnOldFriend · 31/05/2021 14:25

My DD 14 months is also loves a ramble on her feet and as you say it makes for a much slower walk though it’s lovely!! We do a mix of them and buggy walks although the one other thing we have that she really enjoys and lets us get a good paced walk is a trike with a push along bar, it’s such a big hit that she doesn’t mind not walking!

CupcakesK · 31/05/2021 14:29

I bought a proper back carrier (a littlelife S4) for walking the dogs. My DS loves being up high and grabbing leaves from trees and the dogs get a decent walk when they aren’t sniffing/pooping/weeing

Gibbonsgibbonsgibbons · 31/05/2021 14:32

I used to back carry (with a wrap) until we got to an interesting place & then let them down for a potter, then expect them to walk with me until they wouldn't then back on my back. My kids all walked long distances from quite young & I'm sure it's because they would walk as far as they could knowing they could just go back on my back when tired.

Scavenger hunt type things were good - easy to find a printable with pictures to tick off

Practice with your carrier or find a sling library to help you find one you find easier - I can still carry my 6 yr old (who weighs as much as my 10yr old) so it's definitely about finding a sling that works for you.

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Brunilde · 31/05/2021 14:38

My little boy hates the pram now but loves the toddler trike. We can still push but he feels a bit more grown up I think. We also put a bell on the handlebar which he loves

dopeyduck · 31/05/2021 14:54

My 18 month old will use a buggy board. I get him to jump on to cover some distance and then he can get off to explore at convenient points.

Shelovesamystery · 31/05/2021 15:09

I never really gave them a choice 🤣

Until they could walk at an acceptable pace (little legs allowing) they mostly had to stay in the buggy. This wasn't really for exercise reasons but because I didn't like holding people up on narrow footpaths or busy shops etc. I think they whinged a bit about wanting to get out but c'est la vie. My youngest is 3 and we still have to take the buggy for some things. I'd take toddlers for short walks to quiet places without a buggy though.

In your situation I would strap DD in for the first 2/3rds of the walk (get a decent distance and pace in) then get her out and let her amble along and explore for the rest.

RainingZen · 31/05/2021 15:12

Age 23 months my son was already using balance bike. Now it's dry weather, could you try that? My son would happily sit in the pram once fed up of the bike, and j balanced the bike on the back of the pram.

Ihaveoflate · 31/05/2021 19:47

Sling or back carrier if we're walking and make sure we build in some time for her to get out and explore.

Getawriggleon · 31/05/2021 20:33

Can you time it with a nap? I used to either pop mine in the buggy and walk until she dropped off or let her walk for a bit and then when she looked tired stick her in the buggy and then do my walk. Not sure how feasible that is with a dog though.

Snowpaw · 31/05/2021 22:09

I hear you! One thing I do is drive to a big field near my house and I say “right let’s go for a run!” And I jog along and she thinks it’s hilarious and wants to run with me, and I just run in big circles until we’re both tired, then back in car and home. Most days I end up just standing about on paths while she looks at rocks though. On those days I go out for a walk by myself in the evening while DP puts her to bed.

Mamabear04 · 31/05/2021 22:31

Oh I feel you! I miss the long walks and miss the extra exercise! I let my 18mo wall for a bit and try to tire her out and then stick her in the buggy or the backpack. I give her a couple of sticks to hold or a snack and constantly talk to her. Point things out like "oh look a red car!" "Oh can you hear that plane?" "It's very sunny today". Its hard work but keep them amused and it can be done (most of/some of the time)

Rosebud1302 · 31/05/2021 22:32

Mixture of walking, pushchair (snack bribery), trike and (the BEST option for distance) balance bike! Best thing I've ever got him. We have a dog and it's always been part of our routine to give her at least an hour's walk - a decent walk not a toddler hour's walk 🤣. Mostly toddler will walk but bribery has definitely been needed some days to get dog a good walk.

BertieBotts · 31/05/2021 22:38

What carrier do you have that you can't do the back position? I found 18 months was about when I could start to do it by myself. It takes a bit of practice but it's worth persevering. (Asking so I can hopefully help with tips if it's the same type I had!)

MindyStClaire · 31/05/2021 22:47

In out, in out, try not to shake them all about...

But yeah, into the buggy, walk to park/beach/forest, get then out for a run and then bribe back in with snacks for the way home is the way here.

sweettalkingwoman · 31/05/2021 23:08

My dd went through a phase of point blank refusing to get in the pram, at that sort of age. Screaming etc and having to be pinned down and fastened in. Then one day I let her climb up into the pram seat by herself and suddenly she was happy to go in it again, now I always tell her to climb up and she generally is happy to go in it. Shes 2yo this week.
As pp, usually walk somewhere like a park, let her play and then offer snack in pram when it's time to leave

Lazypuppy · 31/05/2021 23:15

Learn how to put her in the back carrier yourself, game changer.

I would carry my dd at the start, then put her down so she can run around with dog, then when she starts dawdling then i put her back on my back.

ArcheryAnnie · 31/05/2021 23:42

I got my DS a little toy pushchair, one of those umbrella-style ones, and he would push it for hours (with nothing in it), which meant we could have a good walk. As he got older he just wanted to push the big pushchair, which made it weird for people walking towards us, as they'd see me walking beside a pushchair that was apparently propelling itself...

Honestly, that toy pushchair was one of the very best things we ever bought him. He loved it, and it was so useful for getting him walking a long way.

When he was 3, we got him a microscooter, and by the time he was 4, that meant the 40-minute walk to his school was easy to do.

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