Would you get a Double buggy or not?

[Elisabeth3468]

Baby due in Jan , son will have just turned 3 years old.
He currently loves walking but we use the buggy too- mainly for safety because he loves running off!!!
He will walk to places but gets very distracted so if we need to get somewhere on time he goes in the buggy.
I'm more worried from a safety aspect. Eg trusting him to walk and having a baby in the pram and he runs off.
I was thinking of a buggy board with a seat?
But others have said to get a double buggy?

I made the mistake of getting a double buggy when I had DC2. DC1 was almost 2 and still used the buggy enough but that bloody bugaboo donkey was the biggest mistake I ever made. I used it a grand total of 0 times. If DC2 needed a rest he went on the buggy board. With DC3 I learned from my mistakes and had him in the carrier or in the buggy with DC2 on the buggy board.

from my experience, don’t bother

It can be hard wrangling two and I felt more confident going out with two in my own if I knew I could strap them both in. e.g. if the baby needed quick a nappy change on the grass, and I didn't trust my toddler not to run off, I would pop him in the pram with a drink/snack. It also meant I could get around faster, not waiting for little one to walk slowly and keep stopping to look at a stick. I also liked being able to keep them both warm to/from places, I had my second baby in the winter.

You could consider a buggy board, maybe?

I've got a 2 year old who will be 3 months short of 3 when new baby arrives. I felt the same, wanted to try with a buggy board with a seat but he finds it hilarious to run off and I don't want the extra stress. I bought a double from Market place second hand yesterday and got an amazing deal. They are so expensive new I couldn't justify it. There are also companies you can rent from per month which I thought about but the double I bought cost the same as 3.5 months rental and I can sell on so that was my justification. You could allays get a buggy board now and see how he gets on with it?

Absolutely not. I had a newborn and a just turned 3 year old it didn't cross my mind once to have a double buggy.

I didn't, there's just over 2yrs difference between my dc.
Often had oldest in buggy and youngest in buggy then youngest in buggy and oldest walking.
You can buy buggy boards and buggy seats now though!

It will be winter and you have a bolter. Either newborn goes in sling or a double.

I'm thinking of rainy days, carting all the stuff around if he has tantrums. It's just easier to have them secure in a pushchair. I walked as much as possible though and very little car use.

That's what I'm thinking .
Also very little car use as try and walk as much as possible to get my steps in. So it's about 25 minute walk there to the stay and play on a Monday for example.

Buy a decent 2nd hand one and if you sell it on I doubt you'd lose much money.

Double nipper is good or a Phil & Ted.

Age difference between mine is just under 3 years and a buggy board with a seat was perfect. I also got a good carrier for the newborn so I could walk with my DC if we were just going for a walk or to the park

I'd absolutely get a double given everything you've said. I had 2 years between mine and I used it every single day, except one. That one day reminded me why I needed one.

Depends how much you walk. We walk almost everywhere and rarely drive. I had a buggy for my older one until they were 4. Large age gap so a double buggy was not needed, but I'd definitely get one (second-hand) for a 3yo prone to running off. Why make life harder than it needs to be?

Our children were your ages and we didn't get one, which i am really glad about. Our baby lived in a sling/carrier for the first c. 6 months, and we used a little ride on scooter thing for my daughter which we could push, and that kept her contained enough to keep her safe (she is very fast and active). As she's gotten older it has gotten much easier. She walks most places or brings a scooter. Her listening ears for commands have gotten so much better. Our buggy is almost destroyed after 5 years of intensive use but I am so glad we didn't get a double, and we didn't deal with the hastle of car boot space etc. We did try the ride on back board thing, and our cheap knockoff on Amazon wasn't very good. We've used it less than 5 times i'd guess.

My DD will be almost 2 when my baby arrives and I'm not planning on getting a double buggy! Will make use of a sling/buggy board and hope for the best x

I would. I was baby sitting a 2.5 and not yet 1 year old. Went to a playgroup only 20 minutes away, with a single pushchair. Was a complete nightmare. From my experience the older child can only walk for so long, before getting tired. Or in a situation where there's a tantrum (which I experienced) it's almost impossible to push the pushchair and hold a child at the same time.

Get a second hand double. You'll be shattered, the weather will be miserable and he'll want to dawdle off left right and centre.
It also doubles as excellent storage for coats and shopping. I kept the double until my eldest started school.

We had a double age difference just under 2 years. Definitely the right decision.

My dc are just over 2 years apart, we had a double buggy for a while then a buggy board when dc1 was a bit older, it was brilliant!

Mine are 2 years apart and I used the double until eldest was over 4, we still had two single umbrella buggies then I use d both a bit, plus my large metal framed mamas and papas I used until youngest was 5, they actually climbed in together a lot

There are 37 months between my dc.
DC1 was still a good napper when dc2 was born. He was also too tall for a buggy board - we borrowed one and tried.
DC2 was born in the October. For that first winter, the double buggy was invaluable for getting DC1 to nursery, and for strapping them both in when we just had to get out!

I bought it second hand on eBay, sold it a year later for £7 less than I'd paid

I would absolutely get a double buggy (second hand). So much better to be able to strap them in. Especially as they will be learning to manage a new born. Yiu may be recovering from birth. Our kids our now nearly 4 and 2 and it is still brilliant.

2 years 9 months between two of mine and the out n about double was a life saver. If like me at that time you walk a lot and enjoy getting out without the car then I'd highly recommend a double. Sometimes you just need to get jobs done and it's great to be able to just speed off with both children in the buggy.

We had a smaller gap but still used a double buggy up to 4. We don't have a car though and it was great for shopping.

I did tend to carry my toddler on my back or the little one on my front but the double buggy allowed us to do so many more adventures together. We had a Phil and Ted's jogger.

i didn’t have one with an age gap of 2y10m, quite happy to tire out my toddler instead of me using all my energy walking then having her just ready to burn off energy when we got back!! Also didn’t use a buggy board as it was too cumbersome - toddler just got used to walking long distances very quickly and it was fine.

Also found it worked so well that I also ditched the buggy completely before dc2 turned 3. Having said that, neither were bolters particularly, though I do think walking from an early age is also useful at teaching road safety/sensible behaviour early on - maybe not a priority when you’ve got a newborn though.

Thank you !
Yes we go out mostly with the buggy and I'll easily walk 1-2 miles each way as just don't like using the car if it's local !!
I think I will look at second hand double buggies

We had a two year gap and I used the double for approximately six months. Normally I would say yes but at 3 I don't think you will get much use. I'd maybe reccomend a buggy board and maybe a sling to use with the stroller.

If dc were the other way round it may have been different. Dd2 still used the a pushchair when we were going to nursery. As dd1 was in reception we were back and forth to school more. We probably would have needed the double longer of dd2 was the older child as she just didn't walk as far or as well at a similar age.

If you do go for a double I second pp and get one second hand, if you treat it almost like a rental you will probably be able to sell it for similar to what you paid for it. (I was able to do so a few years ago).