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Pushchairs

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Original poster

Help! Need a buggy for a large 3 year old!

79 replies

OopsDoneItAgain · 19/11/2010 19:27

My youngest is just 3 and struggles to walk the school then pre-school run twice a day. I have a lightweight stroller that Im using, but it is not coping -it keeps collapsing! He is a big (and heavy!) boy and so I need something that is a. a bit more comfortable for him, b. more sturdy and c. as easy to push as poss. So not asking much really! A friend lent me an old mamas and papas but he is just too big for it...any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

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Hello,

We've noticed this thread is quite old and some of the product recommendations are a little out of date. We've spent weeks speaking to parents and testing out pushchairs and buggies. Read our round up buggy reviews to see which stroller was crowned best buggy Spoiler alert is has a 25kg weight limit.

Hope that helps! Flowers

MNHQ

OP posts:
RiojaLover75 · 19/11/2010 22:10

this ooh get you!

I didn't say it was wrong to use a buggy all the time but for every journey too and from school I think is excessive.

Yes it's easy, convenient and quick to get a 3 year old into a buggy for the walk to school BUT it is not good for the child to be wheeled everywhere FFS!

ShadeofViolet · 19/11/2010 22:13

I have a Silver Cross Pop and my DS2 who is nearly 4 uses it everyday - he isnt too tall but there is plenty of growing room in it.

thisisyesterday · 19/11/2010 22:15

sorry, but it really winds me up.

as I said before, no-one on here has said that they use one for every journey have they? did the OP say that? no.

maybe you could explain why it isn't good for them? hmm?
genuinely interested here in how i am harming my child by allowing him to have a rest when he is tired......

MrsVincentPrice · 19/11/2010 22:18

A decent McLaren may well be good enough, unless he's really huge - it may just be a case of getting a good quality buggy instead of a cheap and cheerful.

RiojaLover75 · 19/11/2010 22:20
Biscuit
thisisyesterday · 19/11/2010 22:21

thought as much.

Jareth · 19/11/2010 22:37

Hmm... lots of namechangers about tonight, aren't there Hmm

mamaduckbone · 19/11/2010 22:39

I second the microlite mini scooter - my ds would go miles on it at 3, and was the main factor in ditching our buggy.

RiojaLover75 · 19/11/2010 22:42

No name changing here going on.... just opinions given Smile

onadietcokebreak · 19/11/2010 22:53

Yet op didn't ask for opinions about her buggy use but suggestions for which buggies were suitable.

No wonder the roads around schools are so clogged with cars if other mothers judge a decision to put a tired pre schooler in a buggy on the way home

Out of interest how old are your dcs Rioja?

ShadeofViolet · 19/11/2010 22:54

My Mum has a Jane 3-wheeler and he fits in that very well too, although he is struggling to fit in the straps, they are close tho the maximum.

RiojaLover75 · 19/11/2010 23:01

Eldest 5.4, youngest 3.6. We drive to a local place, park and walk the 0.5 mile to school.

I stopped taking DS2 in a buggy just before he was 3.

ShadeofViolet · 19/11/2010 23:03

I suppose if your not pushing a buggy it leaves your hands free to polish you halo.

onadietcokebreak · 19/11/2010 23:08

Round here it's not uncommon for walk to be on country roads and several miles.

0.5miles is naff all.

RiojaLover75 · 19/11/2010 23:12

Exactly ona not far at all!

Jareth · 19/11/2010 23:13

Rioja, didn't mean you were the name changer - there are a few about tonight though.

"I didn't say it was wrong to use a buggy all the time but for every journey too and from school I think is excessive."

That's your opinion. Which nobody asked for.
get off your high horse please.

DS is 3 and he can walk the 1.5 miles into town, and can sometimes walk all the way back, but most of the time not.. (3 miles is a bloody long way for a toddler) and he only gets into the buggy under duress unless tired. I'm not going to leave the buggy at home as I'd end up with a very tired tantruming toddler who's too heavy to carry.

hester · 19/11/2010 23:16

I don't want to personalise it, Rioja, but 0.5 mile is not a long walk! And you drive, so you can make a judgment call for each journey on how to get your children there. I don't drive, and we walk pretty much everywhere. As it happens, we have good bus routes, so I pretty much dropped the buggy before 3 because I usually have the option of getting a tired child on the bus. But I kept the buggy for a lot longer, because there was always the odd day when I would need to drag my dd further than she could reasonably go, and I reserve the right to do that without being guilt-tripped by people who ferry their kids around by car!

RiojaLover75 · 19/11/2010 23:22

Not trying to guilt trip anyone! Drive if you want, walk if you want but kids need exercise and I for one am fed up of seeing big (older, larger) children in buggies.

Jareth · 19/11/2010 23:23

Fine, but don't pass judgement! For all you know the kid you see in a buggy has just walked 2.5 miles (more than enough for a 3yo!)

[swipes back judgy pants] Wink

thisisyesterday · 20/11/2010 09:39

kids need exercise.

well i don't know about you Rioja, but my kids get plenty of exercise ASIDE from the school and nursery runs.

I will repeat again, because you're either ignoring the fact or are incredibly stupid---- NO-ONE ON THIS THREAD HAS SAID THEIR 3 YEAR OLD NEVER WALKS AND ALWAYS GOES IN A BUGGY.

do you understand?

my kids walk a LOT. to school twice a day and to nursery twice a day. sometimes my 3 year old gets really worn out and goes in a buggy

am i going to stop because YOU are fed up of seeing it? ffs... can you hear yourself?

I am sick to the back teeth of seeing kids ferried around in cars, clogging up the roads and teaching them that they needn't walk more than half a mile to get anywhere.

so i think you should ditch your car and get walking you lazy slattern. it isn't good for you or your kids

thisisyesterday · 20/11/2010 09:42

i just am astounded at the "kids need exercise" comment.

really...

do you honestly think that because you see someone with a child in a pushchair that they never exercise?

i want to tell you that you;re a moron, but i won't because that wouldn't be nice... but really. listen to yourself

detachandtrustyourself · 20/11/2010 12:45

My emmaljunga pushchairs have been very roomy, strong and easy to push, with high backs e.g. 'grizzly'(sometimes still see them second hand). Emmaljunga'scooter' is good (pushchair, not a scooter), also seems to be called 'sulky', must be the translation from swedish. You can even push them in snow with ease. Used for all my children and they are very comfy for them even at age 4. Landrover pushchairs sound similar. Big pushchairs are very useful for child to get into when tired Especially if you walk everywhere as do not have a car, and you do lots of walking up and down with children different ages walking as well, different start and finishing times at school, nursery, playgroup etc.

My youngest is 4 and fits in silver cross pop as well, mentioned by other poster earlier. Not as easy to push/roomy as emmaljunga, but big enough, not too bad to push and easier to buy.

If a pushchair is big enough but straps are tight, you can still get those harnesses that attatch to the D rings in the pushchair.

Original poster
OopsDoneItAgain · 20/11/2010 13:59

Crikey, didn't get time to come back to the thread last night, and it got all heated in my absence! Thanks loads tho for all the buggy suggestions, I will look into all of them and see if I can find something for him.

Rioja - "Oops at three he should be walking! " Oh the arrogant self confidence needed to tell a total stranger how to parent!

To reassure you Rioja my DS walks plenty everyday and tbh you entirely miss the point of needing a buggy - its so we can continue to be able to walk rather than using the car when he is tired. Even I find the walk hard going - its hilly and takes nearly an hour to do school then pre-school. We do that twice a day of course. Is that an acceptable amount of exercise Rioja, given that he walks most of it most days? I rather think so. A LOT more than your 0.5 miles Id say.

OP posts:
Meglet · 20/11/2010 14:05

0.5 miles isn't really a walk though.

I would rather keep my phil & teds until DS starts school than get the car out all the time.

mousymouse · 20/11/2010 14:15

sorry, I don*t have an idea about pushchairs but my 3 year old takes his balance bike for longer walks and the school run. he has fun and it is not soooo slow...