your opinions about upper age limit for average toddler to be using a buggy?

[monkeymoma]

My DS will be 3 and 3/4 when I have no2
he's quite capable of walking, however if its late in the day or after picking up from nursery its a nightmare, he just stands or demands to be carried! He still gets tired particularly on long walks (don't drive at the mo so often will do 5k round trips to town on foot). I don't fancy kicking a buggy board all the way home, and at least in a buggy he can be given a snack!

I feel he's too big for a double buggy? what's the age limit in your opinion?

I was thinking of getting something that lies flat but can quickly be converted to an upright seat so I can put the baby in the buggy flat, then if DS gets tired, straighten it up and put him in there and the baby in a sling?

is that the most reasonable option for this age group?

thanks

get a balance bike. dc1 got kicked out of the buggy by dc2 at just 3 and he took well to his balance bike. dc could go good distances on it, as it doesn't tire the legs as much and also the speed was a good walking speed instead of this whiney, pull-along speed.
it took a couple of weeks of road awarenes training (stop before curbs, stop when I say stop, using the brakes) but in general it was a good investment and dc did really well.

I would get a phil and ted. See if you can get a second hand one. My 5 year old would still happily sit in a buggy if he was really tired. Like on holday or days out etc.

I think the upper limit for a child without disablities is four years old. Although 5K trips around town is asking a lot of a pre schooler, especially if your area is hilly.

Could you get a sling? That way if the older child really can't cope you can use a single buggy. A scooter is another option to get a small child to travel distances.

I have a 3.6yr old and a 22 month old and I have a phil and teds. I don't drive either and walk for miles everyday, so the double buggy does get a lot of use. But I also take a scooter along with me ( a mini micro) so he can scoot most of the time and sit in the buggy if he is too tired. Especially as he is dropping his day time nap now, he really needs somewhere to sit and rest for awhile when we are out and about.

As long as it is only used for an "I'm tired and not walking any further" moment rather than using it all the time and it comes with lots I encouragement to walk then I don't see an issue, a phil an teds type sounds a good idea

I'm worrying about the same thing - DS will be 3.5 when next DC is born and I really really want a double buggy but worry that it won't get enough use to be justified. I haven't decided what to do yet (is a toss up between Jane Twone or a phil and teds or just not bothering) but I have to disagree with getting the balance bike!! DS can get up to some serious speeds - much faster than I could walk pushing a pushchair comfortably - I'd have to be running to keep up with him and I wouldn't trust him not to go careering into the road at every opportunity! Just my experience but I find scooters are a bit slower (though he doesn't have one so I can't really judge). Sorry - just my experience.

I'm another non driver who walks everywhere, and I live in a town with hills and narrow pavements. Scooters and balance bikes are a nightmare on the hill.

I used a buggy for my girls until they were five years old. Much younger then that and their little legs simply don't keep up with my walking speed. Now my girls are 6 and 8 and very good walkers. Ds is three and a half and regularly walks a mile after school but he finds that tiring, so any further and a buggy is useful.

I find that the people who look down their noses at children in pushchairs are mostly people who drive everywhere, and simply don't have a realistic expectation of how far small children can walk.

DD is 4.5 and still goes in the buggy sometimes although not very often now maybe once a week.

It's usually when we go to the library as its too far for her to walk there and back and pavement too narrow for scooter (it's on a main road).

I don't drive either and she does a lot of walking/scooting on school /nursery runs each day.

balance bike/scooter only works if he's not to tired to walk anyway, then I end up carrying the scooter AND him back if I don't have the buggy with me!

"I find that the people who look down their noses at children in pushchairs are mostly people who drive everywhere, and simply don't have a realistic expectation of how far small children can walk." - that makes me feel better! I shall make that my mantra , afterall the reason I am buggying him back home is usually because he's been out being active all day!

The last part of our walk home is up a steep hill so its a right pain to carry him plus scooter/bike back, or else it takes an age of cajoling him to MOVE while he drags his feet at a snails pace!

also on his 2 nursery days I pick him up at about 5.30, its quite late after a busy day at nursery and we then have to walk through a part of town that.. well lets just say I quicken my step (over a railway bridge then under an underpass IYKWIM), so I tend to buggy him home from there to get it over with

(although, I will be able to shorten his days there whilst on mat leave wont I?)

My eldest is 3 years 8 months and she still rides in a pushchair on long outings, but equally she doesn't ever have 5k to walk. I use mine a) for my sanity when shopping b) for her safety near busy roads and c) for the safety of items in a shop and thus my purse namely china / garden centres!

The end is really in sight for us but we have: an iCandy Peach Blossom which is a fabulous single pushchair too, and could be bought second hand. The seat is large for a toddler as the hood pushes up the chassis and the seat liner removes to give good space. But this may well be too much. A Mountain Buggy +One. Fantastic as an occasional seat and also as a single. A Bugaboo Donkey - tall seats and easy to push. The Jane Twone is easy to push with a lot of weight in and would be fine for an older toddler. Micralite are also bringing out their Twofold this autumn which would be good for a toddler and baby as there is a proper built in board option as well as two seats and a carrycot option. I dont get on with buggy boards....they affect how I walk and over longer distances that isn't good!