At what age do toddlers not need a pushchair anymore?

[Lovethesea]

So, DS arrived a week ago and DD is 19 months old. I am planning to order a double buggy in the next week or so and envisage using it for some time.

DH, however, has a colleague who says her DS stopped using a pushchair around DD's age.

When did you stop needing a pushchair for your toddler? Did it depend on how much driving/walking you did? How early a walker they were? Whether you had another child to contain care for?

Did you use it for them to rest in? To nap? To hold them when if they had a meltdown?

My back isn't great so it's not realistic to use a sling longterm for me. Thought please!

Keep it for a bit - sling a sling in the basket. I have to say, I had my second when DD was 19 months old and she still needed it till she was three when she was tired.

My lovely but lazy 3.5 year old (second child) has finally had to give up the buggy as the wheel fell off.

My first child had been turfed out by 3 as DD2 was in back pack and was bit much doing both.

It basically depends on whether you have to get anywhere in a hurry and / or shop for things in tins in town.

Depends how far you want to walk and how good your toddler is on their legs..

DD amost never goes in a pushchair now, (almost three) though up to about 2.5 used to get a lift up hills on the front of the Graco off roader (now she gets a helping tow)

if i was in a hurry though, used the double bbuggy & bucket seat.

My dd was 2.3 when ds was born. She's now 3.6 and I still use a double (very occasionally) or the buggy board. Mainly when I just need to get somewhere on time!! She's not a very good walker and I suppose would get quicker if I ditched the double/board but we'd be late for everything!!!!

I have a similar age gap and really regretted not buying a double buggy. I thought we could make do with a buggy board but it was a right PITA.

It does depend on the child and your daily routine, but I would have got at least 12 months of use from a double buggy.

Last time DS1 sat in a pushchair was when he was 3.5. DD1 was born when he was 2.4 and I used a buggy board for him from then until 3.5. I didn't need a double buggy.

DD1 was 15mnths when DD2 was born. Used the double for a year.

DD2 was 2.1 when DS was born and only bought a double when we went on holiday when DD2 was almost 3yrs old! It just wasnt needed. DD2 would go on buggy board or I would have DS in sling and DD2 in buggy.

I would go for a double without a doubt!

I don't drive and my DD is quite small for her age so at 2.3 we still use a buggy pretty frequently. I can't expect her to manage a whole day out walking around and I like to have somewhere for her to nap. If you drive most places and only walk short distances with no time constraints then you might be ok.

Personally, for ease I would get a double buggy. For the moments when you just want some peace with your thoughts, you can stick them both in and go for a long walk and with a bit of luck they might both fall asleep and you can have a coffee/read a newspaper!

not used a buggy for dd since she stopped napping at about 28 months.
what about using a single buggy and a sling - baby can go in buggy when toddler is walking, baby can go in the sling and toddler in buggy when he's tired.

btw we don't drive so do an awful lot of walking.

DS is 3.7 and still hops in the back seat of the phil & teds double. We'd never get anywhere walking at his speed. We live near our town centre so never take the car for day to day errands, I'm not keen on getting stuck in bad weather waiting for him to dawdle along.

I don';t use a buggy for DS 2 yesterday as his sister will hog it, he is ont interested much anyway.

depends on your situation but if I had my time again would definately have bought a phil and Teds type buggy and blow the expense due the amount of stress and hassle it was for me to manage two under three for longer walks, melt downs, feeling tired etc. but every passing month it seemed more and more wasteful to buy another buggy although would still have been helpful until even last year.

DD has been walking (rather than cruising) since the end of February so not long - and slim for her age so maybe her stamina won't be great (yet to see signs of her running out of energy but haven't tried to walk too far).

I do like the idea of going for a walk for my sanity with them both secured and able to go at a decent pace. The comment on leaving it and then thinking each month it would be more a waste to have one is a good warning too.

Hi, my gap is similar to yours. We have a double and a single with a board.DS is now 2.5 and still uses the board or hops in the phil and teds.We wouldnt manage well without!!

Hello Lovethesea!

I had 14 months beween dd1 and 2, and dd1 wasn't walking when I had dd2, so a double was pretty essential.

We don't drive, walk everywhere and I too have a bad back, so alhough use a sling occassionally, would find it hard for the amount of walking we do.

Our Phil and Teds has been an absolute lifesaver, and we still use it now as a single (dds are 3 and 4) and will use it for the school run when dc3 arrives (2 weeks to go - yay!).

I found when dd1 started preschool, she would get very tired, so would hop in and out. She also had a run of illness (asthma attacks) which left her really worn out so she would use it during these times up until quite recently.

Dd2 went through a phase of running off and huge tantrums (around 2 1/2) and it was very useful, if she was having a meltdown in Waitrose to bundle her in the pushchair and scarper!

I think with a 19 month gap a double would definitely be a good idea. There are often threads on MN where people say that their 2 year old walks 5 miles a day etc etc, and that is great for them, but it wouldn't work for me. Dds are great at walking on the whole, and scoot a lot too, but the double is great if you are in a rush,it's raining, everyone is knackered/driving you crazy/on a big day out etc.

Sorry for essay - hope everything is going well with your new arrival

We have a 30 minute walk to school each morning, which DD could reliably manage by about 2.7. She could walk it by 2 but not reliably, so the pushchair was used on and off. That stage really peed me off. One minute in, one minute out, grrrrrrrr! Journey took forever. Was very glad to ditch it.

We have a car so we don't walk everywhere.

I have a 19mth gap between 2 of my DCs and I couldn't have managed without a double pushchair, I bought it 2nd hand and used it until it fell apart. I can't remember exactly how long I had it for but it was over a year.
I think it very much depends on your lifestyle and where you live, I didn't have one for my first 2 DCs as I didn't do much walking (I worked full time) and wouldn't have used it much.

i would get something like a p&t then when your older one doesnt need the buggy you can still use it as it goes into a single
i had age gap of 17 months so similar to you and thats what i got, and ds1 still in the buggy most of the time although starting to get him to walk a bit more now, he is nearly 2. can't imagine having him totally without a buggy for a while yet though, he does nap in it and we walk everywhere pretty much. my friends who drive have got their dc out of buggies earlier, but if you do walk a lot i think its more difficult for them and just makes life easier for yourself having a double. you can sell it on afterwards anyway so dont think it would be a waste of money even if you only used for 6 months or so (if you walk a lot you would probably use it more though)

If you don't drive and have back problems then absolutely get a double buggy - I had a 24 month gap and still used my P&Ts to death - passed it on to a friend when DD was three and a half. It gives you much more flexibility. If you walk a lot it's worth investing in something good quality with inflatable wheels, not a horrible McLaren side-by-side with tiny wheels which really will knacker your back.

Apart from anything else, keeping a toddler under control while pushing a pushchair can be a complete nightmare, and there are times when it's much safer to keep them strapped in.

You have to do what is right for your child and not worry about what anyone else thinks.

My son was in a pushchair until he was four years old. He was quite late walking and was under a child physio between 24 months old and three and half years old. He really could not walk the distances I needed.

How long has your 19 month being walking for? My son wasn't walking at 19 months and some people's children walk at 9 months. Children's development varies so much. Some children are potty trained at 18 months, but other children have no speech.

You have to think what is developmentally appriopate for your child and b*gger whatever the rest of the world thinks.

It is cruel to keep a child in as a form of containment when they are excellent walkers, conversely its cruel to have unrealistic expectations of a new walker. As a mother you are the best judge.

No "oughts" here. Depends on your child and your lifestyle. personally I kept mine in push chairs as long as possible - we walk a lot so they could alwqays have a ride if they got tired. And there was somewhere to put the shopping!

I don't like the premise of the question, it's too individual to have a one-size-fits all answer about what's "right" age to ditch the pushchair.

I'm currently transporting 6yo DS to and from school in a pushchair. It's only just over a half mile each way. He's perfectly healthy and mobile but on the chubby side -- I'd like him to get more exercise, actually.

But he argues with siblings, shouts, cries and sulks the whole way, I am fed up with the strops and stresses of the journey; he's walked most the last 2 years, but I gave up on him walking recently.

Our journey to and from school is now predictable and low stress.

(Not really a pushchair, but a cycle trailer he's in, there's no real difference if you asked me!)

I don't have an age in mind when I think DD SHOULD be out of a pushchair - I'm just clueless on when she will get to the stage of decent walking ability. Obviously it varies hugely but it is helpful to know when others found they no longer needed it as it gives me a rough idea to work from.

I do drive but I like walking and I can see it as a sanity/exercise moment in my day. I was just surprised by DH's colleague's comment and wondered if I was being daft not expecting more walking ability from DD soon.

Will order one soon - probably a nipper 360 double. Seems the closest to my britax vigour that I have happily walked miles with.

I bet your colleague drives everywhere. We don't have a car and walk to shops/station etc.

A 19 month old need a pushchair if they're going to do any walking. They need somewhere to go when they're tired or if you need to get somewhere quickly (a 19 month old walks very slowly and stops every time they see a leaf). They may still nap in the pushchair.

Mine had a pushchair until they were over 3.