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?

But it is normal now to see children on devices in buggies, at meals and I guess in cars. Even on walks to woods you see children who get out of the buggy to run in the play area (so can walk) actually in the buggy on the devices going past lakes full of swans etc not even looking up or being spoken to by the adults who are chatting away, on phones etc ignoring their child. Maybe if the child walked the adult would at least be saying hurry up to them and watching them so you might get a look at that bird.

Basically: I think it's fine for nurseries to raise the issue of children who are being treated to an extended babyhood by parents who are not toilet training, encouraging walking and giving proper cups.

However, I think it's reasonable to ask nurseries to distinguish between:

a) parents who stick children in buggies for hours out of convenience or to baby them
b) parents who make some sensible use of buggies at 3-4 in order to have a lifestyle that involves plenty of walking and less use of driving

Because these are very different phenomena.

Where I live (Tokyo) we generally take kids to daycare/kindy by bikes with seats on the back. Are we "allowed" to do this, in the opinions of the nursery workers on this thread? (Note: this is not a genuine question, because I don't actually care whether you approve of us or not). In cultures which make less use of cars like the one I'm in or many European countries, biking little kids about is generally how we nip kids about from place to place and to nursery in the morning, because mornings are busy and most of us are off to work. There is plenty of time for developing walking and running skills at other times, but the mad morning rush is not the time or place. Walking kids to nursery is the exception not the rule over here as well.

I've sometimes made temporary use of British nurseries during trips back to the UK. Am I able to bike there with my kids? No, because of the car-based culture which is hostile and dangerous to cyclists and their children. Walking is dangerous and unpleasant for similar reasons. As for balance bikes and scooters, they are not safe for very small children for the same reason - all it takes is one careless move by a child whizzing off the end of the pavement into the traffic. Every house has a car that could back out over my child (and people mostly don't even reverse park in the UK). Pavements are broken and chipped because drivers park all over them and it breaks the pavement, making scooter use difficult anyway. So yes, I used a buggy because I needed to get my child to nursery quickly and safely and not for it to take all morning when I was paying through the nose for childcare, and wanted to be able to fit in park time after we were finished.

Then challenge the use of the devices. Don't shame all parents who use buggies without even attempting to distinguish between those doing this out of laziness and those making some judicial use of a buggy to facilitiate a walking-based lifestyle.

Blimey. And there was me thinking nurseries might have met 3 year olds before. It's not like they are a group known for sitting still for hours on end.

Around that age, the buggy is handy for shopping and coats and for letting them hop in and out of as their energy levels and boredom requires.

I would speculate that children in buggies might actually spend more time running around than those driven everywhere.

I recall schools 10+ years ago complaining about about children not being able to feed themselves/use the toilets properly etc etc. Also, schools ask children to bring in bottles of water, they dont use open cups anymore. Perhaps schools should encourage the use of cups again if that particular thing is a concern.

In.any case, these are separate issues.

not true (note the date.)

This complaint is wheeled out every five to seven years and it is a tale as old as time, always is. Complaints about feckless parents ‘these days’ compared to the exemplary parenting of 2014!

And even if we were to put forward an argument that somehow suddenly the children starting preschool and school this September - so aged 3/4/5 - are very behind, are we honestly not acknowledging a fairly major global event might have played a significant role in that?

I do think COVID gets used as a useful sort of whipping boy to blame everything on and it is possible some children are further behind than others for this reason, I don’t know. I do know that I’ve been reading complaints about children in nappies with dummies in pushchairs since I started my teaching career which was way back in the early 2000s! It’s become white noise to me now.

@allthewaythroughtheside other than children with SEN have you ever actually seen a child start school in nappies?

Between age 3 and 4 I'd be expecting a child with no disabilities to be able to walk/scoot to and from nursery for about 15 minutes. It could be that they have a few tantrums about it but they do need to be walking independently.

To those arguing that children in buggies are usually also given a mobile phone thats not the case with my child nor have I seen any kids holding a mobile phone sitting in their buggies on the way to my kids school.

Screen usage is a whole other issue.

What a rude overstep by the nursery, it’s none of their business. I would ignore. Personally I would be tempted to email them back -but that’s just me and maybe not the most diplomatic!

I would not be trusting a toddler with my stupidly overpriced mobile phone 🤣
I have also seen them from time to time OP. If parents don’t start this it doesn't become a thing. My kids are older now and still know my phone is mine only.

Having worked in childcare for over 30 years yes children are less able then they used to be. The children affected by COVID are now nearing 4 not 3 and under. So why are the early 3s not outstripping the 4 and 5s.

I'm well aware of the various ACES at play.
We do expect less from children nowadays why for example are children of 6 and 7 being dragged to along on scooters? it used to be that they scooted not stood on a board for a parent to pull along, a 7 year old should have as much physical energy as a 30 year old on an hour's walk. Why are schools still asking young children to come in pe kits when before they wore uniform and changed? Children of the 70s were far more active than the 80s ones my own children had less freedom than me but were far more active and independent than those 10 years later.....the only thing they are physically better at is screen usage but scissors and cutlery is worse.

No it's all part of modern parenting

They moan the first few times then realise your not giving in the walk gets quicker and easier.

The cups are about water being spilt on desks the old days were an open cup at lunch no drinks between leaving home and lunch then wait to get home except for a mouthful from a fountain at 10 or 2 if you remembered. It doesn't mean parents can't use a cup at home ..which used to be the norm in the 90s until anyway up cups were invented.

3 year olds can normally walk for over half an hour and the more you walk the more they can do. But children will prefer the easy life just like the adults.

Exactly Jannier. During the 70's you could have warm milk for elevenses, lukewarm water from disgusting furry metal jugs at lunchtime and that was your lot for the day. It was not a sweet spot of childhood.

I mean the first few times was 3 months for me but yes!

Unfortunately a growing number of under 3s have their own. Why anyone needs a phone before they can travel or be on their own is beyond me.

No it wasn't we used to have to lay the tables in year 6 and put water out for all you also had to eat everything on your plate even the fish pie with pink gravy instant mash....that turned to runny pink slop and watery overcooked greens.
The free milk was often sour and lumpy
But you didn't spill a drink

Lol....but they got there

If you haven't developed the gross motor skills and core strength you are not ready to sit upright at desks and learn or do fine motor activities running, walking and climbing are how you develop the core strength and coordination. Doing activities that involve coordination of the whole body and crossing over the body come next. That's why babies who start walking don't play with things they just toddle around...so toddlers aged about 18 months. That progresses into running...if your toddler of 18 months can toddle for a morning they will have the strength to do a 15 minute walk.

The cups at school were to allow water on desks without getting spilled by groups of children nobody ever said never give your child an open cup that's just the parents who won't insist on sitting to drink and often give juice. Parents are supposed to teach children life skills instead they are leaving it to schools. How do these 3 year olds manage the walking outing in pairs 4 to 1 adult that takes them along a pavement to the local shops that are often further than the walk to school?

My kids could walk and run for hours at three. The trouble is that all the stopping, messing about, picking up random things from the pavement, flopping down and refusing to move, and running off in the wrong direction meant that it often took AGES to get anywhere. So when it came to the morning rush to daycare/preschool where I have to start work at the right time in order to keep my job, I stuck them on a bike (and in the UK, where biking is mostly not safe because of all the bloody cars I stuck them in a buggy and legged it). We walked plenty at other times. And I do not give kids my blinking phone.

I'm still waiting for any of these nursery/Early Years type opinionators on here to inform me as to whether they think it is acceptable for me to put my kids on the back of my bike or not to go to daycare/preschool, and if so, why?

My Tokyo nurseries used to take the kids to all the local park (as they both lacked outdoor space) and I was impressed with how far they walked every day, making their way to some very distant parks. Neither of my nurseries used this as an excuse to nag or pressure me about bringing my child to nursery in a particular way. I imagine that this is because they had enough sense to realize that it's a completely different situation. A daycare can afford to let the children take their time; a parent rushing to work has to get there by a particular time and can't afford to stand there cooing at a child who has discovered a dandelion and has decided to sit down on the kerb and play with it. Daycares are also helped by the fact that the children are in groups and therefore respond to peer orientation; the kids at my children's daycares used to walk in groups, holding a special cord with handles, and they all understood and followed the rules because in institutions, that is what happens. Children don't always follow parents' instructions in the same way.

The answer is he gets tired after our hours walk. Make it ridiculous if you like, four hours walk and he needs to sit in the buggy for a bit.
Can't stand people who have an opinion that should be kept to themselves.