30 min walk to nursery?

[CCrowe]

Hello,

Anyone done a 30 minute walk to and from nursery with a 3 year old? We might not get into our first choice nursery and our second favourite option is 30 minutes walk. We have a family car and my husband drives so he could drop the littler guy in the morning sometimes or pick him up in emergencies but I don't drive (I'll never be able to drive for physical ability reasons).

I love to walk and usually walk at least an hour a day anyway but right now our currently 2 year old boy is tricky to walk with - he loves to walk but also loves to wander off and see things and is very strong and heavy to carry! Did you find by 3 your kids were easier to walk with? How did it go if you had this kind of commute in all weathers? Thinking we might buddy up with someone else for lifts in exchange for other help but not a guarantee that will work out...

Our other option is a closer nursery that doesn't have as good a reputation and doesn't have trees and green space around it, the outdoor play is by a road. Still potentially a good option and 16 mins walk from our house...just weighing up our choices here, know we're lucky to have the choice.

30 minute walk at your pace or at tired 3 year old pace? DS's nursery from age 2 - 3y3m was a similar distance; we usually drove but sometimes walked if DH needed the car.

I usually took a pushchair as DS would take far longer than me to walk that distance, and walking home after nursery was very tricky as he was knackered and really not up for it. Pushchair & a snack made for a far easier journey home.

We had to walk alongside and cross a busy road, so scooter/balance bike wasn't ideal (we tried a few times, one memorable rainy day he refused to ride & I had to carry him & the bike while getting soaked...). Might be different if you have a good listener who rides well already!

Can you not use a buggy?

Use a pushchair.

I’d do a brisk walk / slow jog and put him in a pram, combining it with my exercise.

We had a similar walk and I just used the buggy, it would have taken a lot longer to have dd walking and more stressful. We'd walk some of the way home but for getting there in the morning we needed the quickest and simplest option. We used a raincover and they'd get there perfectly dry in downpours.

I'd definitely pick the better nursery and not opt for an inferior one just because it's nearer. The nursery makes such a big difference to their early years education and sets them up for school.

If you are happy to sometimes spring for a taxi or arrange a lift (snow, ice, storm) and your dc will go in a pushchair and you aren’t rushing to and from work, it’s doable. It would be a stretch even for a 4 year old to do a 30 minute walk overtired and hungry at the end of a day at nursery, so even when older, it’s going to be pushchair or scooter or similar.

I think I would probably want Dh to consider flexible working to do the pick ups and drop offs though, or would do longer days so he could collect him at say 5:30pm, or if not possible, I’d consider a closer nursery. It’s charming to have a long walk in nice weather. It’s different doing it in the dark and high wind and rain in December.

Use a buggy surely? Or could you cycle with a child. Seat or trailer?

Thanks for all the replies!

Yeah, he's not always keen to get in the pram at this age but I think it could be done with the right snack and toy! Did you find pram refusal was an issue?

I guess there is still the weather / icy days to handle but on a full icy / snowy day I think the nursery would probably be off anyway - we are in a snowy area and the schools tend to close on very rough days.

Sounds daft but I guess for his first year there he'll be 3 then turning 4 and I had 4 in my head as a bit of a cut off point for the pram - did folk find it OK using a buggy for early months as a 4 year old?

PS I work from home free lance in a creative job so there's my time to think of too but I'm trying to keep in mind it's for a shortish time and we could look at other ways to make up my time over the nursery years, maybe a little extra babysitter time, etc.

My boys got very fidgety in the pram after 15 minutes, it would have been hard to keep them in the pram that long every day. If you have no choice, have you thought about a trike? We got a kinderkraft one off amazon around 18 months, they can see more than from the pram, they both loved it.

What about something like this if he doesnt like the buggy? It then converts to look less like a buggy.https://doona.shop/products/doona-liki-trike-s1-grey?variant=16000539230274&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20496771736&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4_7Ty63KlAMVlZRQBh1wdiunEAQYAiABEgJi1_D_BwE There are loads of similar ones from different brands on google. You get more control at your speed but he can feel like its a scooter or a bike. My eldest struggled with the 20mins walk at the start of reception - she would not have been able to manage it at 3y and she was exhausted after nursery anyway. Its nice for her to have a rest on the way home.

Mine still went in the buggy sometimes at nearly 4 as it was a 2 mile round trip to her sibling's primary school twice a day. I'm a teacher and all for children's independence, walking at an appropriate age etc. but no one judges when you're driving. Also taught her to ride a pedal bike at 3 so that was an option some days - a balance bike would also work.

Is cycling an option where you live?
I used to use my bike with a baby seat a lot for getting to nursery when they were fed up with the pram but too little to walk reliably. It gradually transitioned into me walking/jogging with kid(s) on balance bikes and then eventually cycling together. It was great for getting them safe and confident at cycling.

The people that drop pushchairs early tend to drive / use buses more.
Keep a pushchair for whatever journeys you need it for, until you don't.

Think about the reality in winter. half hour walks ...twice a day in teeming rain, wind, snow, ice ...at toddler pace. On way back tired toddler possibly refusing pushchair ride and having a tantrum. I would go for the shorter option every time.
Also, reading these boards, most harassed mothers with toddlers themselves will give an odd lift as a favour in an emergency but don't want to be tied to such an arrangement everyday.

DD was fine sitting in the buggy even after she turned 4, it was comfy for her and there was never any judgement. She was only in nursery for a few more months after turning 4 as she has a summer birthday. A scooter would have been an option but it was far easier for me to push a buggy uphill than pull a scooter!

Honestly I think this would be such hard work, when it’s windy, rainy etc. Also you will have to walk there and back twice on some days presumably.. that’s a lot of time.

Also after nursery he will be really tired and will just want to go home.. 30 mins is a long time at the end of a busy day for a little one.

Have you thought about a local childminder? It never crossed my mind with my DS1, I just assumed nursery was the default option so we went with that. But we weren’t happy with the nursery and moved him to a childminder after a year - it’s worth meeting a few so you know your options.

Agree with pp about bad weather, tiredness etc. Our youngest went to a nursery that was walking distance from our house. For various logistical reasons we didn't actually make the journey on foot very often!

Also, are you planning to have any more DC while he is there? If so, are you happy that the round trip would be doable with a baby in tow as well?

Is this for mornings or all day? Regardless, it’s 2 hours out of your day which is a lot of time. What is the route? Is it cross country or on a pavement? If pavement, can he use a scooter or cycle? Not that that helps with it being a big chunk of your day done.
If he’s turning 4 this year, does that mean he’ll be starting school in Sept ‘27 or, given the snow, are you in Scotland? If so, when will he start (I know enough about the Scottish system to know there is some flexibility around start date but not enough to know if this will apply to your DS)? If he’s only going to do a year or so at nursery, which school will he go to? Will children from the 16 min nursery be going to the same school as him? What about the 30 min nursery? I think both of mine found the transition to school much easier moving there with a bunch of children who they knew from
nursery.

Yeah the tiredness after a day of nursery....crankiness is one thing but you're in danger nap zone too, especially if he's nice and cozy in a big fluffy winter jacket in the dark at 5pm, it's perfect nap time lol . If they fall asleep in the pram for 10 minutes at 5pm, God help you when you're still trying to put him to bed 11pm and he won't 😆

Mine is 3. Nursery is 8 minutes walk for me but 20 minutes for her. She wanders off much less than a year ago but she still just can’t walk as fast as me (obviously). We walk a lot and I’d say she gets very tired after about 1km if it’s the end of the day.

Also 30 minutes walk is a long way for you if you need to get there in an emergency.

Personally I’d pick the closer one. We just ruled out a great school for the same reason. (I can’t drive for medical reasons).

My 3yo has scooted to nursery and back for some time. It has a strap on so I can pull her up hills if she gets tired or keep a hold of when we are in busier sections. She can easily do quite long distances that she definitely woudn't walk! She scoots everywhere, it's been a great purchase! We never drive anywhere if we can walk/scoot even in the rain.

Ride on scooter, easily pushed with one hand if they want to walk and you need a hand free to hold theirs. Easy to get them on/off if they want to walk but you want them contained for crossing busy roads

I've also cycled with her in a bike seat before, she loves that.

Our nursary was 25mins away. By the time they were three, they wanted to walk there and use the pushchair on the way back to sleep in. School is a 35 min walk so wanted to build the stamina in them.

By 4 it was running there and back.