Anyone else's nursery say they shouldn't be bringing child to nursery in a buggy?

[Gizmo2015]

As per the title really, just wondering if anyone else has been told the same?

I started my DS turned 3 end of June to my older childs primary schools nursery in September. Received an email addressed to all parents a few weeks later to say they were shocked to see parents bringing kids in in buggies, and we should only be doing so if they have special need. Buggies are recommended up to the age of 3 and all kids are over this age now and children should be learning to gain strength in their legs etc etc. Now we have a 15 min walk in to school (30 mins if little one is on foot) and I have to get both kids in on time. We do usually walk home. Many parents drive their kids in to school or drag them in on a scooter, is this better? My eldest went to the same nursery and I initially brought him in in a buggy no issues, we stopped using a buggy before the end of nursery which is what I planned on doing with my youngest.
So, I'm just wondering if this is becoming quite widespread now among nursery aged kids?

I agree it’s probably a clumsy attempt at encouraging fitness/school readiness. I imagine the fact cars aren’t being mentioned is that parents driving in might need the car for a longer commute to work? It could have been better phased as ‘ if you are able to walk to nursery, we encourage children to do so because of these benefits’

personally, buggies are my idea of personal hell. Makes me hot, sweaty and stressed just thinking about it … I’m entirely convinced they were created by men to stop women being able to just get places without needing doors opened for them and help up steps. 😂 used it once and my daughter kept saying ‘ don’t worry mummy, a man will help us’ and it’s been angrily chucked in the shed ever since.

Ah yes, the school was brave to take a swipe at the low hanging fruit whilst avoiding mentioning people who drive in (it's generally accepted some live too far away to feasibly walk or have to head to work after- even though this isn't always the case).

If the issue is concern around children walking to school then surely speaking with parents would help, if it's that children in buggies probably don't walk much then again, talking to parents would help. I didn't have a car when DS was younger and used to get so much judgement from a sports club he went to; when I said yeah it's a 30 minute walk for me (who walks quite fast) but I was trying to avoid getting a taxi etc they soon shut up. We walked everywhere otherwise including some quite long walks, but when he was 3 DS walking an hour plus at his pace each way at 7am wasn't appealing. If we had driven in no one would have batted an eyelid.

Shaming parents with an email isn't going to change anything is it? Its performative, where's the actual support?

They are giving you their opinion, it's not a dictate.

You've assessed what your DC is capable of doing and how the journey needs to happen in order for everyone to be where they need to be at the right time. As a result of that you are using the buggy.

Over the course of the year you may decide that he's ready to do part of the walk and use a scooter for the rest, or all of the walk, or none of the walk. You'll make that decision as suits your family and situation.

When my dc were a little older, say 6 and 9, there were endless exhortions from the school to instruct parents. Walking/not driving. exercise, diet, the Blair initiative to involve schools in table manners, set the HT onto acid, etc.

By the time the DC were 6 and 9, DS had been moved to the independent sector due to concerns about the quality of education (dd followed) and I dropped ds to school at 8.30, got to the primary by 8.50 for dd's 8.55 start and had to swing to work for 9.15. I recall writing a polite note to inquire how that might be achieved on foot within the available time-frame.

There were many lifestyle and parenting instructions from a morbidly obese HT who had bad teeth and, could not string together a grammatically correct sentence.

It's a great shame imo that many schools don't focus on actual teaching.

Note: the school in question was a top of the league tables, leafy, middle class holy grail. The head went bonkers for every nanny state initiative. It was mis placed.

I agree with this actually, it’s a good post.

Exactly this!

What an odd thing to be occupied with, as a nursery! I've never heard of a case like this...

I can’t see how a buggy is worse than a car.

I think it would be unusual / impossible to spend most of the day in a car but some children do end up in buggies for hours and hours.

I guess people co ing in cars live further away or are going straight on to work afterwards. Also the parent is going to have to park probably a little distance from school,so the child going to ha e to walk a bit, not be pushed right up g o the gate.
Finally prams are for babies, cars are not.The parents pushing their kids are sending out the wrong message to them and probably babying them in other ways eg the op referring to her 3.5 year old as a toddler.

Are they really bothered about how the children get to school though or are they fed up with parents wanting to leave the pushchair on school grounds during the day? We had a similar letter when DD was at nursery a decade ago and it was mostly because people just left the buggies strewn in the bike shed.

Yes, but you can't tell that from the nursery run is the point. There could be parents who use it for that because of logistics/time constraints or because the route isn't overly safe for walking/biking etc- or it could be yes that the child never walks anywhere. Hence talking to parents rather than a blanket email is useful if they're concerned. Lots who drive in won't live miles away, and no doubt habitual driving encompasses other things that could be walkable (seen as though we're making assumptions). It's a snippet but not the whole picture.

No I agree @Laptoppie - I think the nursery have totally crossed the line but k can see the general difference between car seat and pushchair.

Well it would be unusual and not at all common for a 3 year old to spend hours in a buggy.

I'm a nursery manager and it would never even dawn on me to send an email like that. A lot of our 3 year old are still in pushchairs. My nursery is in a very busy urban area so putting over excited, or over tired 3 year olds in a pushchair is often safer, especially when a lot of parents have to then collect older siblings from primary schools.

I don't drive and have always had a pushchair for my children, right up until age 4. Did they use it all the time? No, quite often they walked however when they were tired putting them in a pushchair is easier than juggling three under 5 and their bags. A child being in a pushchair for a commute is no different to them being in a car seat for a commute. My kids get plenty of walking in during the day, but when you are on a very tight schedule toddler walking is often not possible

It isn’t - it might be for you and for everyone you know but there are a lot of children who spend most of the day in buggies, and I can see that isn’t a good thing.

Maybe we are trying to send children to school too early ?

When my eldest was small we had a buggy for much longer than my subsequent children. The difference was in the meantime we moved from walking distance and bought a car. Buggies are great, load them up with bags, hang scooters off them, tired children. Buggy board for older one. Otherwise you end up carrying everything and everyone and it ruins your back.

Are you in a deprived area? It is a common issue of kids being strapped in and not encouraged to walk- leading to weaker legs and round tummies and a lack of road awareness. Three year olds should not routinely be in buggies.

if you can do it in 30 minutes with him on foot I think thats reasonable to do.

Just because it can be done in theory, doesn’t mean the op’s younger dc will have read that memo and be fully on board! The next thing would be an email from the school or nursery, or both, about kids being persistently late.

@ResultsMayVary

🙄🙄

which has nothing to do with what I said!!

I didn't say 3 or 4 year olds should never use a buggy! I said it was a good habit to get them walking the short distance to school.

I mean, ultimately it's up to you and nothing to do with the nursery.

I would agree with them though, I don't think there's any need for a big child to be in a pram for the majority of the time but I guess kids aren't agreeable and we all have places to be so I can see why parents would opt for the pram for an easy life!

Maybe a scooter? 🛴

How many kids are you following about all day?

I used to walk everywhere with my ds from the age of about 18 months. When he was tired, i put him in a carrier on my back. He hated a buggy but it would have made life easier!

To be fair, his behaviour was and still is a lot better if he's had a decent bit of exercise before school - maybe that's one of the reasons they want to encourage walking?

However, fresh air even in the buggy has to trump a car ride, if there is no way you can do the 30 min walk with them then I'd ignore. At least you're walking home when presumably fewer time constraints.

Maybe by spring when the weather is better and mornings lighter you'll be ready to walk both ways?

This is a real issue in socially deprived areas!! Most HVs/ social workers/ teachers will tell you.

I think nursery is fine. When they start school I don't think they should be in one. We have children in year 1 still coming in buggies and given bottles.