3 year old still use a buggy

[lisa270988]

Hi does anyone 3 year old still use a pushchair a lot? My little boy is 3 years 4 months and he does walk a lot but still use a pushchair it's 50/50. I'm worried he should be walking more.
Also does anyone else have to take there child to preschool in a buggy

I was laughing at the idea of mums using “stealth buggies” by dragging the scooters then realised that I used a buggy board in a similar way!

My children all used their buggy until at least 4 for long days out ,holidays etc . I was in no rush to give up their buggies.

I didn’t know there was a big thing about getting them out of the buggy.
My youngest is very nearly 3 and I still put her in the buggy, usually when I’m in the shop and she’s in her worky ticket mood.
Round the park etc she’ll run around but I won’t get rid of it for a good while yet.

My eldest is almost 4 and still goes in the buggy because we have a younger child. This means that we often take the double buggy, so she can just jump in. Also if we need to go somewhere, it's boring for my youngest to sit in buggy for ages as she's inspecting every dandelion on the way, and he wants to get out too. This is fine sometimes but when I'm by myself by a road I get nervy about them both being 'loose' - ds in particular has very little fear or road sense.
Most of my friends with kids that walk everywhere by aged 4 don't have a toddler as well - they either have an only child/older kids or a bigger gap and maybe have a newborn.
I don't care what people think!

@lisa270988 Do whatever works best for your family OP 😊 as PP said - others are driven around in cars constantly so why is a buggy any different?!
DS was an early (and confident!) walker, we live in a pretty small town with no public transport around the residential areas and I don’t drive so he’s been walking decent distances for a good while now (he’s now 4). We haven’t used a buggy for daily life since he was around 2ish. We have a 1.5mile walk each way to town and back and to nursery and back.
When he started nursery at 3 he was comfortably able to walk there and back or go on his balance bike but we live on the west coast of Scotland and get some pretty awful weather so I still kept a buggy JUST incase for the first winter 😂 it came in very handy a few days when the weather was particularly bad!

We actually do a weekly walking group with nursery and by the time we’re half way round the walk it’s very easy to spot the ones who are always ferried around in the car!

When I picked my 4 year old up from reception he would often climb in the buggy with his 2 year brother. It's fine! There is no "time limit" on using a buggy. If it works for you that's fine!

I think it depends on a lot of things, including the child.

DS hasn't used one since 18 months but he really wasn't a fan and generally walked well. Also have easy access to public transport for a rest if needed.

My mum did with my little sister. She had to walk me 1.5 miles to school, walk back half that way up to the nursery with her, then pick her up at lunch walk home and walk back another 1.5 miles to collect me and home again. So like 6 miles of walking a day it was a lot for a 3 year old. I would take my daughters buggy when we went places at 3 but very rarely used it and she never napped at that age. Xx

@Calliopespa it was buggy board all the way for my eldest at age 4-5, so the scooter compete with a lead seemed like the perfect solution for my second when the buggy was gone 🤣....it's definitely like pulling a naughty puppy along some mornings but it serves its purpose, especially when in a hurry!

Yes I have enquired with a health visitor about that and it’s approved by them for long journeys, rain and sleep but providing they have plenty of time out of their buggy walking on foot freely as well of course. My son is never in his for long I make sure he does lots of walking too. He will not be needing it for long.

My boys were out of the buggy before 3, but just youngest still uses it at just turned 4

She's extremely tiny and just doesn't have the physical stamina that her brothers had

The biggest problem I found with quitting the buggy is you can't kick your pre schooler out in the supermarket and pack the bottom and canopy folds with shopping, and then put a bag on the seat and strap it in. Plus one or two hanging over the handle for good measure.

My son is just a couple of months older than yours and hasn’t used a pushchair since he was 2 and a half. He bikes or scoots everywhere for miles. We walk a lot, only use the car for long journeys, and he’s always either on the bike or scooter.

But we’ve had no input in this whatsoever, it’s just the way he is. He has a lot of energy and loves being on his bike. Kids are all different and it really doesn’t matter. He’s still little.

My little boy is 3 years and 7 months old and we rarely go out without his pushchair and I can’t see that changing anytime soon 🤷‍♀️ When I take him to nursery I just leave the pushchair there and he’s usually ready to get straight into it when I pick him up and is often fast asleep by the time we get on the bus!!

Dd is 4 and tbh she is a flipping nightmare on foot and I don’t drive so she’s in the pushchair a fair bit. It definitely needs to go fairly soon though

DS can walk 3 miles, and has done since he was 2, but if I take the pushchair he decides his legs are too tired.

Yes, I need to get her to nursery in the mornings quickly to get the train to work. Anyone with a 3yo will know getting them out the house and moving is like herding cats. It's a 10 min walk that doubles if she's not in the buggy. She walks home usually and I just push the buggy. We aren't in an area with great public transport and shops etc are 20 mins down (then back up ) a huge hill. I think it's better to use the buggy a bit than drive. My son was out earlier but we lived in a better area then with everything you need within a few blocks and flat terrain. Bloomin property market priced us out. She'll be out by 4.

I have just got rid of our double buggy and my eldest is 4 (looking for a buggy board though so he will still have options).

I think the judgey parents are always the ones that drive everywhere... obviously their child hasn't needed a buggy since they learnt to walk, that makes sense if the only walking they do is from the car park to their activity or short strolls around the park 🙄

We walk everywhere as I don't drive. I chucked out my twins' buggy before their 3rd birthday.
Worked for us. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I think this is something people feel weirdly superior about. But also weirdly defensive over, with a rush to say “well people who don’t use a pram just drive everywhere!!” rather than just accepting that some children walk further than yours for whatever reason. It doesn’t matter.

I agree. My 3 year old bike or scoots everywhere and we’re rarely in the car. He can go all day. This is just the way he is and he could easily have been a child with less stamina.

It’s totally fine. I still use the buggy with my 3yo when we’re walking longer than 5 mins. Otherwise we would never get anywhere on time.

What’s worrying you about it? 3-year-olds are tiny and get tired. They grow out of it.

To be honest, I find buggies for children over three years old a bit strange. Whenever I see one, I expect to find a baby or a small toddler, but instead, I often see a child cramped in with their legs almost hitting the ground. Especially these days, when there are more comfortable options available for carrying a child.

I think it’s more about the convenience for the mother than anything else. My daughter stopped using a buggy when she turned two, and it became a bit of a hassle—I had to carry the diaper bag, travel potty, and all the other essentials, plus pick her up when she got tired. Eventually, I got her a trike, which she used when I was heavily pregnant with my second child. Now, I use a buggy board when I’m out with the baby, and I make my daughter use it, but that’s mostly for my convenience.
We walk a lot—going on hikes and such—and my 3-year-old can walk quite far, probably because she’s so used to it.

I understand that some children might not enjoy walking as much, but I believe that using a buggy for older children can sometimes discourage them from walking as much or make them rely on it more.

Bear in mind that some children will have disabilities.

DD was out of the buggy at about 2.9 because we needed the buggy for DS. She'd still hop in occasionally if DS was in the sling.

DS was in the buggy till about 3.5 for the school run and longer days mostly for my convenience, we live 10 minute walk from school but with a 2 or 3 year old that was at least double and some days we just didn't have time for a lovely stroll to examine every paving slab.