Starting reception, hypermobile 4yo, walking to school

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I hope this is the best topic for this. Sorry for the length! 🙈

Since birth, our HV has suspected DD1 (4yo at the end of June) is hypermobile. We had our first physio appointment a few months ago, where the physio told us it was looking very likely but that they wouldn't formally diagnose until she was a bit older. They have agreed to see her again in Aug in preparation for starting school in Sept, and in the meantime to build up her muscles and strength with lots of physical activity, swimming, ballet etc, which we were doing anyway, even before the physio advice. When you see her run next to her peers, it is very obvious as her joints are all over the place.

She will be going to a school that is 15-20mins walk from our house. We live in London and so don't need a car but the school is a bit awkwardly not on a bus route. Taking a bus as far as we can won't really save her that much walking.

I'm sure by the end of reception, she'll be coping fine with the walk to and from, but when weve practiced walking to and from school, she has really struggled. And that's without a full day of school on top. I'm starting to worry a bit. I'm wondering what others in a similar situation would do at the start? Conscious that I don't want to set her up to fail by her getting so tired by the walk to school that she then cant concentrate during the day. Everyone tells me how tired kids can get, especially at the start, even if (like DD1) shes been in FT childcare since she was around 18months.

We have a cheap scooter for her, although she struggles a bit with it (i think due to her knees). We've bought her a bike for her birthday but im not sure how shes going to get on with it. Our morning routine will be to drop DD2 at nursery on the way so potentially she could hop on the buggy board on the empty buggy? But i was hoping to switch to a smaller buggy really and get rid of the buggy board and I won't have the buggy with me for school pick up. Should I buy a more robust scooter so that she can stand on it and I pull her along? Buy a wagon so that she can hop in if tired half way home but then it at least doesn't look like a buggy?

Probably massively overthinking this but I loved school, have always loved learning and really just want to set her up for a great start!

Could you consult physio about whether it would be appropriate for her to have a wheelchair temporarily? That way it’s age appropriate and not like she is turning up as school in a ‘baby’ buggy. You could leave it at school for the day until pick up then?

You could practice it with a scooter if you are nervous, which is completely understandable. You can put your hand on the scooter handlebars for stability.

I would opt for scooter and then pull her along when she gets tired. My son is 6 and he has hyper mobility mildly. Some days his legs hurt more than others but scooting everyday has definitely strengthened his legs. I just pull him along when he gets too tired and also no one will questions it as a lot of children use scooters and get pulled along by parents.

If you ditch the big buggy and get a smaller one, she could work to nursery and then go in the buggy for the remainder?

My son's hypermobile (didn't know he was at 4) and we used the buggy board for part of the walk, same total distance as you. He was v tired from school (is dyspraxic but again didn't know it then) but the walk did him loads of good too and was a nice way to transition from the school day. I think we only needed to use the board for the first term.

Also have snacks and give enough time if you can so you can stop.

I also vote scooter. If she’s tired on a bike it’s a massive pain to carry it and her, but you can just pull/push the scooter.

get a decent scooter. What shoes is she wearing?

Thanks everyone - it's so helpful to hear from others about what you have done. Our scooter was just a basic decathlon one that she got for her 2nd birthday i think? So sounds like a decent upgrade might be in order. @PeppyTealDuck - yes, a practice for me as well!

@CarrotNosed we will definitely be talking to the physio for their advice too. Just conscious that if the appointment isn't until later in Aug, it doesnt leave much time to get ourselves sorted so would like to go to the appointment with at least an idea about what others do.

@boulevardofbrokendreamss at the minute she wears proper trainers with a supportive sole. We have a Clarks near us so will be going there for school shoes nearer to September. Reception uniform does allow black trainers I think or black school shoes and then only shoes from year 1.

This is what we hoped the scooter would do but it has taken a long time for her to even be able to scoot confidently to the end of our road and im nervous that there isn't actually that many weeks until Sept term!

Snacks are an excellent idea and your point about the transition is one that i totally agree with. Some of our neighbours drive to this school, but I've read lots of research about how walking / scooting to and from school is very beneficial for their learning because its good for wellbeing, MH, getting the endorphins flowing etc. There's a playground halfway home so I'm thinking we can stop there for a snack and a swing before setting off again?

My ds2 is hypermobile and didn’t walk until he was nearly 2. When he was 3 I got him a micro scooter with a strap and I just pulled him along when he got tired, when he started school. He also had a balance bike, I kept persevering with that until he had the hang of it then he transitioned to a pedal bike age 5, just before he went into y1. He’s 7 now and usually prefers going by bike to school now, I think because it’s quicker and less tiring than scooting. So I’d recommend practising with bikes as much as you can.

There’s nothing wrong with a reception age child using a buggy board though.

DTs are both hyper mobile.

had little boots, European brand beginning with P, can remember right now but will update. School shoes / trainers don’t give the support needed. They then in primary had permission to wear DM boots that were recommended by the paed.

re scooters we had decathlon ones and they were just too big and unwieldy. Got them micro scooters and they were off!

Good luck

This is potentially an out-there solution but it’s very ‘London’ 😅

My daughter has hyper mobility as part of a wider condition and I cycle her to school, originally in a bike seat (yes you can get two kids in bike seats on your bike) but now we have an electric cargo bike which has a rear seat designed for two kids (could literally carry an adult on there) and is very easy for me to cycle. It was pricey - circa £3.5k but worth it for us. I use it everyday!

Piedro boots?

the right shoes made a big difference to my youngest (hypermobile - didn’t stand until she was 2, walked a few months later).

you are right to be thinking ahead about building up stamina and muscle tone.

id be prepared to have a number of options - board, scooter etc as they can get very tired and overwhelmed as the weeks progress.

and good idea to talk to the school in advance about the need for slightly different school shoes. DD didn’t wear standard shoes throughout primary and her school were fine about that once I explained.

Definitely not out there - i have actually been looking at these! DH isn't very confident at cycling though and isn't keen for the two days a week that im working in central and he's on school run duty. His view was if we were spending £4k on a bike, we should just buy a second hand car and him finally sort out passing his test.

I've never heard of these but will look into them - thank you for the tip!

Also sounds like a micro scooter is the way to go!

I can understand the logic but actually a bike will be a lot more reliable than a cheap car, and easier to park! I say that as a very confident cyclist though so I understand it’s not that simple.

I'd also recommend a three-wheeled scooter (we have a Mini Micro) and strap. It's very easy to pull them along, and they just lean to steer. The strap can then be used to carry the scooter home if required!

Buy a trikadoo type bike if they still make them. Much easier with bags and kids and the stand up on end so not much space to park at home.

bring pulled along on a mini micro scooter is very socially acceptable for this age group.

100% recommend the mirror scooter with the pull along strap.

Also our physio recommend kicker boots for the ankle support.

Definitely the micro scooter. I pulled DC to nursery for about 2 years and it was really easy to control the scooter with the strap. They don’t even need to be that confident on the scooter as they just stand and hold.

Ask for a referral to orthotics so they can check if she needs insoles/heel supports, they’ll also recommend the best footwear. We are a mix of DMs and Merrell trainers. One of my DD needed a full disability buggy starting school, then a wheelchair, for her joint hypermobility syndrome, another was fine with a balance bike (when fatigue kicks in, being seated can make a huge difference) they both already had daily exercises/strengthening routines set up by physio before starting school and school were fully cognisant of the fatigue and pain management issues/plan and provided additional support.

My daughter has HM and physio was the worse thing for her!!
Wwas advised walking was good for her and she’s always walked to nursery and then school as we had no choice, once she could ride a bike we cycled