What age did your DC ditch the buggy? Do I really need to get another?

[cookiemonstress]

Have 2 dd. Youngest 18m and eldest 3 and bit. Very long buggy saga involving a brief fling with Phil and Teds when dd2 born (sold due to dd1 perpetually undoing straps and escaping)followed by a couple of second hand double buggies.

In a fit of pique I gave my last double buggy away as was hopeful it was soon to be redundant given dd almost 3. Thing is that dd is suddenly demanding to go in the buggy (ironic she has protested from about 13 months about going into it) so much so I am considering another double buggy.

Not having a double buggy is making me v dependent on car which I don't always have and now summer is here I want to take dc out more. I have a buggy board but find it really awkward and dd not that keen either.

Am reluctant to invest in another buggy though if in a couple of months I may not need it? Would be interested in other experiences!

MNer I am PMSL, you are naive I am afraid. DD1 could have a totally reasoned conservation with so therefore would not run off, DD2 would never dream of not be within touching me, dd3 I bit more adventurous but generally tameabe - then I had dd4 - I yell stop/wait etc she stops turns and grins at me and then runs off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The pushchair comes along as being the threat that ensures she does behave but I do have to carry out my threats regularly - ie non-compliance equals being strapped screaming in the pushchair.

You may have another child who is similar to your first or you may have the complete opposite...........

Lol MNersanonymous.... You simply cannot trust 3 year olds 100% with not running off / running into the roads etc.They might comply 90% of the time, but there is still the other 10%. It is still very young you know!

Re OP: I ditched pushchair at just turned 3 - but it is very difficult with walks longer than 1/2 mile!

Erm I have a three year old so am talking from some experience. (I might have given you the impression he is younger as I was talking about him at 20 months).

However, granted I am only talking from experience of my own who by nature (not anything I have done so I am not taking credit) is not the running off spirited type.

I'm so glad I've amused you both though.

Belive me it's just the more you have the more you realise they are all so completely different from birth, training/parenting skills seem to have little to do with it! My friends ds got knocked over when he was nearly 4, he always held onto the buggy and then one day he just ran across the road straight in front of a neighbours car!!!! Fortunatey he was fine just concussion.

DS2 was in a buggy until he was 3.5 when he went onto a buggy board after DS3 was born. It was really because it was quite a long walk for him to nursery and we were always in a hurry! He didn't go in it all the time obviously.

I think the things with buggies is that they serve more than one purpose. Sometimes you need it because the child can't walk that far but sometimes you just need them to restrain your little darling while you walk round M&S. I did use the car more when he was at the in between stage but I'm back to waking now he is at school and I just have DS3 in a pushchair

Yes CArgirl I agree it's nature not parenting skills...hence my comment re ds being this way not because of anything I have done. It's just luck.

I will surely get a runner offer if I ever have another one!

But at some stage no matter how spirited they are they are going to have to learn to not run off aren't they, unless you keep them strapped in a buggy until 7 or whenever they get more sense.

pushchairs are also handy for the 2 swimming kits and 3 book bags to carry, they have their packed lunches in their backpacks but I don't like the older ones carrying anything else when they are cycling or scootering.

I def use my pushchairs for carrying stuff, restraining or getting their very quickly when running late!

My DD is 3 1/2 and hasn't used a buggy for at least a year, although my mum thinks I'm potty and as I'm about to be made redundant and will probably have to lay off using the car may have to revert back for the 1.5 mile trek to nursery.
FWIW according to a book I recently had out of the library about raising kids Montessori style - they reckon LO's should be able to walk a mile for each year of their age without getting too cream crackered!

Agree with Smee, it depends on how far & how often you walk. My DDs are 2 & 3.10 but we walk everywhere, often up to 4 miles a day and there's no way DD2 can do that so I always use a single buggy. DD1 normally does walk or scoot (scooters are a lifesaver!) but she gets tired, especially if she's been to nursery so I also use a buggy board.
I have a P&T but rarely use it nowadays unless I have loads of shopping to carry or we are walking a particularly long way (ie, 2+ miles in a single stretch). I find pushing the two of themm v hard work (I'm also pg) but it's a trade off with the extra speed gained from not having to walk at DD1's pace...

at MNa

most days dd is an angel, she walks, holds my hand or the buggy and knows when she has to stay close and when she can run a bit ahead (we live in the country and there are lovely big stretches with huge grass verges on the opposite side of the footpath to the cars so i let her run along on her own)

but then there are the times like last month when m mom was with her and she ran across the middle of a crossroads (corner to opposite corner) in the middle of town when she saw my aunt going into the shop

she means well and tries her hardest but as i keep saying to my mother (who clearly doesn't listen ) she's 3, she hasn't got the sense to think before she acts.

i manage ok with her because in reality she's the only one i have to keep my eye on when we're walking. when ds is walking too though it gets 10 times harder as they feel the need to go in opposite directions at all times. i can't imagine how moms cope with more than 2 under the age of about 5/6 as until then they really have no sense on roads.

i do feel i should have clarified my earlier statement, i was refering to the kids you see being wheeled around shops and supermarkets by moms who don't appear to have any other kids with them but who just want them out of the way while they clothes shop. reading back though i seem to have neglected to say any of that in my origional post on the subject i was rather sleep deprived last night, possibly i thought i'd telepathically communicated that to you all to save on typing

Chucked mine out at 3 and just didn't walk too far

I think you are being a bit mean laughing at me....I'm so glad I've provided amusement but I was just expressing my opinion based on my ds and other kids I know who ARE 3!

It's not like I have a 1 year old and am naively discussing 3 year olds with no experience of them. Yes some 3 year olds are more spirited by nature than others I agree.

BUT you are going to have to get them out of buggies and teach them road safety/ not running off at some stage. My view is by 3 they are old enough to do this. That's all.

Now quit the laughing at me.

Thanks for all messages. MEant to add in original post that have buggy board but it has just broken.

Most of the time DD is happy to scoot or walk but shopping is a nightmare and we are a good 20 min walk to our closest park and we live in hilliest part of london so there are times when we are all defeated by the prospect of being out! I also use public transport a lot and because my daughter is politely described as willful at the best of times, I've realised that I need her in a buggy sometimes for all our safety (plus for those days when I absolutely need to get us to the nursery on time be at work on time!). The downside to this realisation is a additional slice of working mum guilt. Ho hum.

I agree with you MNer, my minded 2.5 year olds were quite capable of understanding that when they got out of the car, that they would stand still beside the car and NOT MOVE until I said. MY mindies don't run off more than once, our mantra is "if you can't see me, I can't see you, then you might not be safe"

They learned road sense very quickly and by 3.5 were protective of other little ones and were leading by example.

IME most minded children are expected to quit the buggy and walk as soon as they are proficient walkers as someone ususally takes their seat! Minders are also very hot on road safety training.

How about a single and a buggy board. I have kept my buggy despite not using it for ages. Then ended using it a few times when my five year old was very very poorly, it was quicker to put him in buggy and walk the five min walk to the hospital as driving would of taken us 15 mins with all the traffic lights and problems in hospital car park. Also when he was very ill (pneumonia) I put him in the buggy to take ds2 to school as no where near school to park and he was to weak to walk from car. I was so glad I didnt get rid like I nearly did

Orangehead

I agree. I use the buggy when ds is really ill (He was recently) but I need to go out for something. I think I will keep it for a while too. Also they can be useful on holiday even for an older one- say 4 years old when you go out in the evening. It gives them soemwhere to sit if you are out late and they get tired

Arsey!

My dd was about 2 and a half when she gave up the pushchair.
Perfect timing because ds1 was about to be born.

I bought a seat to go rather than a buggy board so that she could sit or stand.
I can remember just one occasion when she was too tired to walk and she actually fell asleep sat on the seat.

If I were you I would get the seat to go and save your money.
I think I paid £25 off ebay for a new one but even full price they are only £40/5.

MNer and ali.... you might think we're being a bit unkind but surely it's even ruder to presume that everyone here who has had their toddler run off is completely failing to teach them road safety?

i'm very strict with dd, i have to be with the amount of walking we do. she still makes a dash sometimes, today for instance i was picking up ds's bag after toddler group and she squeezed out in fornt of another mum and ran out of the playschool building on to the road (very quiet country road and loads of other mums to grab her thankfully).

she's been told better, she's been told not to do it, by me, dp, gp's, other mums and teachers but she still does it. she's 3... she just doesn't get it.

Children are not considered reliable near roads until they are at least five. You cannot know what goes on in a child's mind, you cannot know what they will take it into their head to do next. Most children of three have the self control not to suddenly dash into the road. Some don't.

And if I found out my 2.5 year old was put, unheld, near a road and told to 'stay still' I would raise hell. Ds1 would be DEAD if he had been treated like this .... ds2 could do it now, ever since he took his first step.

My dd was in her buggy at 4 1/2
We always went out for several miles at a time though

Also all the CM's i know are in agreement that minded dc are so much more compliant for their CM then their parents it is the way of the world IME.

I use my buggy for teaching my dd the consequences of non compliance when walking and have been doing for nearly 12 months. I often think we have made huge progress then she has a "naughty" day and I feel that the pushchair will be around until she starts school (although she starts reception 3 weeks after her 4th birthday!)

We never had a double buggy, DS1 had stopped using his buggy by the time DS2 was born.
we bought a buggy board as a standby for when "the bones disappeared" from DS1's legs

DS1 was 2.5 when DS2 was born, he is now 4 and uses the buggy board occasionally on the walk to and from school (1 mile each way)

not sure if that is any help to you at all.

We walk home from school with one of DD1's friends who is the most well-behaved, responsible, unlikely-to-run-off child I know. Terrifyingly well-behaved.

When they were in Reception, she suddenly decided she wanted to go into town and ran straight into the (busy) road. It was TOTALLY out of character. Terrified the life out of her mother, who thankfully managed to grab her in time.

Not sure this adds much to the pushchair debate, since they were well out of buggies by that stage anyway. But it made me very wary of making ANY assumptions about how good my child is at staying where I ask them to.