4 year in buggy

[lisa270988]

Hi
My little boy is 4 years 4 months old but very very small for his age 91cm tall 11kg weight.
He starts school in September.
I worry because he isn't very good walking and gets tired! He can walk short distances but still uses he buggy a lot! Luckily the school is only 5 minutes walk away so he will manage that ok.
I have spoken to health visitor and he been checked over no reason medical as to why he gets tired probably just because he very small for his age! He was born 10 weeks premature.
The health visitor says the fact he still needs his buggy most of the time isn't a concern ad long as he is able to manage to walk short distances and can manage the walk to school it's fine and because he is so small ge might need the buggy longer and just to encourage him as much as possible to walk but not overdo it! She said he around the size of 2 year old so he is going to struggle more then others and the fact he was born early.
I just worried that the buggy should be long gone by now but it's still used daily!

I wouldnt worry, it’s a non issue. My daughter is about to turn 4, starting reception in sept and like your son, is small for her age. She loves to walk but I still bring a buggy for when she’s tired- I’d never go out all day without it for example, I’d end up having to carry her. Who cares what people think? They’ll get there eventually. (Also selfishly I like that I can dump bags and shopping in the buggy!) Xx

Has he been tested for coeliac? Can i.pact growth and lead to being tired
Has he been tested for any syndrome which might be the reason for small size and his prematurity and maybe he has hypermobility or hypotonia?
Anyway if he needs buggy use one
But get physio and paed assessment and ask for tests to rule out certain conditions

We still had the buggy at 4. No one will bat an eyelid at it.

My Adult dd was premature and tiny we used the buggy up until she started school, her nursery was quite far i didn't drive so we had the buggy, I don't think it is a huge deal,if you are still worried about your sons physical development once he starts school go back and get him checked over.

My dd was still occasionally in the buggy for school runs on the days we didn’t drive. I had a double as have a now 2 year old and some times dd was just tired (or we needed to rush) but she didn’t need it for long once she got into the school routine and adjusted to the days.

do what works for you

Its fine op. No one says anything when children are driven everywhere. If he needs it he needs it.

Does he actually get tired, or does he know he can jump in the buggy as it’s there? What happens if you go out without it?

All children are different- My DS2 sat in his pushchair until the day he started school when I told him he’d better leave it at home because “nobody else will be going to their first day at school in a pushchair and the other children might laugh at you”! My DS has always had a lazy side to him and it was just convenient for him to sit and watch the world go by. DS2 is 6 now and still doesn’t like walking but the pushchair is long gone. My DSIS was the same, sat in her pushchair until the day she started school when my DM gave it away and said she couldn’t have it anymore. DS1 was walking everywhere by age 3.

He will walk then ask for a carry

No medical reason for his failure to thrive? I’m sorry but I think you need to get a second opinion. Have you explored all
nutritional/ GI/ endocrine/ ENT routes? He must be well below the 5th centile for a 4 year old. I wouldn’t be bothered about the buggy query, I’d be more worried about everything else you mentioned.

My Dd was still using the buggy at 4 to say walk to the park a mile away amd back. Shes get out at the park and run and play them get in for the journey home. The more practice he gets the stronge his legs will get. Her sister was born aged 3.5 so then she was standing on the buggy board if we were all out together. I

The believe it's due to be born early and having sga/iugr in the womb

I’m sorry but that’s not a cause at 4 years old to be 11kg. Saying this as a medical professsonal.

What about a push along trike type thing?

He was only a 1kg at birth

I think it’s fine but the best way to build up stamina is for him to walk, and push past the point where he would normally get in the pram. If he never gets the opportunity to build up strength then he won’t.

DD1 has a friend who was taken everywhere by pram, even once they started school she would get in the pram for the 15-min walk home, and consequently if we go for a day out she’s constantly complaining about having to walk normal distances because she’s just not used to it. I’m often surprised by how little walking some of my DCs’ peers seem to do, as whenever they come to us for an after school play or whatever they all seem to struggle with a 10-15 min walk that my two wouldn’t bat an eyelid at.

SGA in the womb is not a cause for low weight in preschoolers. Catch-up growth usually happens by 2 years old in most children, this does not explain why he is a low weight now, he is well below his corrected age as well. I’m sure you are exploring this and this would be the main focus rather than your original query.

I'd look into the weight issue for a 4 year old at that weight a lot lot harder. That would place him well below the bottom 1% of boys (about 12.5kg) and so seems like something you need to investigate very heavily. No judgement on the buggy if they need it - but you should absolutely dig into the weight point more as being small when born should have evened out by now...

I will keep pushing for him to have more tests

Agree with pushing for more tests. Otherwise I agree with building up, get him to walk a bit further each time before giving in and carrying or buggy.

I agree with this. I’d try to reduce the number of times you take the buggy out. Obviously for now you’ll need one if you’re out all day but other trips try not to.

Have you tried a scooter?

And if you say no or only carry him for a few minutes?

Great. The use of buggy, lack of energy/ tiredness is most likely a consequence of his low weight. I wouldn’t push him too much. It’s not behavioural I am sure, and he won’t have much stamina with his low weight.

Just wanted to say as you are getting lots of comments about size and testing. My 2.5 year old is the same very small for age( below the 0.4th) born 3 months prematurely. Not all pre term babies catch up by 2. Our consultants have came to the same conclusion lack of growth in womb and IUGR (590g birth weight) with all tests coming back clear. Some babies/ toddlers are just small and are going to stay small, ours gets tired easily too.

There’s a difference between a 2.5 year old and a 4 year old.