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Original poster

WHEN WOULD YOU EXPECT YOUR CHILD TO STOP USING A BUGGY???????

107 replies

drosophila · 07/08/2007 18:42

I'm in a quandary. DD is 2.5 and her buggy has died. I have a bad back so need something light and easy to push. I have been looking at 3 wheelers as there is less rolling resistance but everywhere I look it suggest suitable for up to 3 yrs old.

DD is going to a Nursery that is 20 mins walk away for an adult so I imagine even as a 3.5 yr old she will need a buggy. Am I raving?

OP posts:
Tutter · 07/08/2007 19:49
dissle · 07/08/2007 19:51

yes, its like your child is retarded because they cant walk 3 miles to the shops aged 3! Its a bloody long way for tiny legs!

Nemo2007 · 07/08/2007 19:53

DS has been out of pram from about 2.5yrs, DD1 is 19mths and prefers to walk most of the time so cant see her being in one past 2 even with the walk to school nursery for ds from sept.

fillyjonk · 07/08/2007 20:03

(to dissle) and the people who say it all have CARS that they use to drive 3 miles to the shops. So yes their kid is out of the buggy. it'd be a bit odd otherwise really

ohhhh yes

(this has touched a nerve, as you can see _

LadyVictoriaOfCake · 07/08/2007 20:08

i have a cityscape area that needs new back wheels (£26 from m&p) you can have for postage. any good?

LadyVictoriaOfCake · 07/08/2007 20:10

oh and dd2 was i na buggy till over 3years old, i expect dd3 will be out of hers within a year, but seeing as we are unsure on how much longer we will have a car for i wouldnt actually place bets on that.

i think dd2 would've been in the buggy longer if i hadnt learnt to drive, as dd1 was almost 4 when she gave it up totally. actually dd2 (5 in a couple of weeks) was in the buggy at ikea last week. and does hop in in crowded places, or sits on the foot rest above the front wheel.

berolina · 07/08/2007 20:17

We have a simple, lightweight Chicco, that has survived well over a year of intense use. ds is 2.2 and (usually) a fab walker, but can't do car-less city living (walk of 10 mins to city train stop or 15 mins to bus - pavements often filthy with dog shit) without. dh usually takes ds in the back carrier, but I am 34 weeks pg so don't have that option. When baby is here he will go in the Ergo and ds (by then ds1 ) will use the buggy for as long as he needs.

ChasingSquirrels · 07/08/2007 20:34

my ds1 stopped at around 2yo, and went in it once after that at 2.3y. BUT we live in a small village and drive to get anywhere, so he doesn't have to walk to places, just walk around when we get there.
I expect my 18mo to continue to use his through the winter on school runs (about 10 mins at my pace - ds1 now goes the same pace as me) for ds1, but I don't expect him to be using it by next Sep.
If I am walk down to the park (by the school) I don't take the pushchair for ds2 now, but I often carry him half the way back.

belgo · 07/08/2007 20:34

filly, I have friends who drive their three year olds to the shops, and then STILL put them in a pushchair to walk around the shops. Some three year olds really never walk at all.

FrannyandZooey · 07/08/2007 20:36

It depends on the child and on how frequently / how far you walk. I don't drive so needed to use mine until ds was pretty old - he isn't one of these children that would happily trot about for hours (I know some do, but some don't). Plus my work means I have to dot about sometimes and be places at certain times with not too much time to spare in between - a 3 year old isn't always capable of walking a mile quickly.

myjobismum · 07/08/2007 20:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Peachy · 07/08/2007 21:00

Should be workable, ther are two easy modifications to that which i found helpful with mine (13.5 months between ds1 and ds2)

  • if he wants a buggy when baby is tiny, a sling and buggy combo helps prevent double buggy
  • Woolies do little backpacks with straps that are like a mroe grown up reins and bridge the gap between walking independently and needing a buggy- might be worth investing a tenner
myjobismum · 07/08/2007 21:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NannyL · 07/08/2007 21:10

I stopped letting my large and lazy 4 year old charge use his buggy after his 4th birthday.

He is 4.7 now abd will start school in a months time and even now his parenst let him in the buggy sometimes but not me, i make him walk!

(we have a phil and teds which is easy to become a double, but i either... dont put on the doubles seat at all OR have too many bags which sit in the doubls seat )

IME 3 year olds can sit on buggys if walking long distances.... 4 year olds (with healthy legs etc) walk!

fruitful · 07/08/2007 21:16

Ds was born when dd was 2y9m. She went on the buggy board or walked, with the threat that if she didn't hold on to the pram then I would put the reins on her. (Sometimes she asked for the reins so she could be a horse). It worked fine.

We were on holiday last week, lots of sightseeing around old towns. So we got the buggyboard out again (dd is 5 and ds is 2.5). They took it in turns to ride in the pram or on the board and entertained themselves "being a train" while we got to sightsee. Great!

I have to say, I like having the child in the pram. You can go at your own pace, gaze at the sky and daydream... Once they are walking they are free and you have to watch them (and stop to look at every blasted leaf).

motherinferior · 07/08/2007 21:19

I think they should be out by three at the latest. I suppose I would make an exception for a walk of over a couple of miles.

madamez · 07/08/2007 21:25

My DS is 2.10 and we have been gradually phasing out buggy use over about the past 6 months. He's an active kid who loves to walk, and we are car free so go everywhere on our feet or on public transport. However, for long days out I still take the buggy (lightweight McClaren folding one) because it's quite nice to dump all the bits and pieces of changing bag, snacks, my kit for the day etc - and it's still handy sometimes to be able to put him in it and know where he is for a moment or two as well as being somewhere for him to sleep if we end up staying out a bit late. I've been saying that after the Gathering I'll freecycle the McClaren and stop buggying altogether but a bit of me is sort of dreading it as there are times when it's just sooooo much easier to stick him in there rather than having to squabble/threaten/bribe at the checkout queue to stop him hauling on the rains and flinging himself on the floor in boredom...

Pitchounette · 07/08/2007 21:37

Message withdrawn

dissle · 07/08/2007 22:01

Filly, dont quite understand your post about the 3 miles to the shops....are you that i would drive 3 miles???

TBH we do alot of walking "socially" we are walkers as a family, (the Lake district, walks where we live) and that doesnt feel like a walk because it is in forrests/woods with paths to explore and what not, however i do use my car for general out and about stuff.
We also catch the bus and get the train to the next town just for the afternoon out and some thing a bit different IYSWIM.We got the ferry across the river on Sunday, took all of 4 mins but was different and ds loved it!

I just think that it is utter torture to make them walk miles as i remember it as a kid because no one had cars in the 70's when we were growing up so we walked every where.

Peachy · 07/08/2007 22:20

Oi Filly I didn't have a car then and it was 7 miles to anything but a post office!

But- and this was really a huge but- we used the bus

(btw all that complaining about the lack of recomendations for the blinkin vango ventyre tents, you missed that we suggested one to tortoise and she went for it- tk!)

ChasingSquirrels · 07/08/2007 22:31

I read Filly's post as saying that those people Who smuggly say that their 2.5yo is not in a buggy and your 3.5yo shouldn't be (you are a bad parent etc) DO have cars and drive everywhere - so it would be pretty odd if their kids then went in a buggy after being driven wherever.
Though I had to read it twice to deduce that meaning - and it is probably wrong anyway!

dissle · 07/08/2007 22:33

Ahh, thought that was what she meant!

ta

aloha · 07/08/2007 22:34

My dd asks for a 'cuddle' (aka 'carry me') a lot. I think a pushchair is better than carrying a two year old for miles. Also, having a pushchair it means you can buy things and not carry them.

LyraBelacqua · 07/08/2007 22:40

DS1 stopped using a buggy soon after he turned 3 but then he had the buggy board on DS2's pushchair for when he got tired.
DS2, who's just turned 3, will be in his buggy much longer. How would i get back from the shops with a tired DS who wants to be picked up all the time, plus shopping bags, DS1 etc. I'll miss that buggy when it finally goes.
I don't understand why there's such a rush to get them out of buggies, unless they really need the exercise.

MrsCarrot · 07/08/2007 22:42

DD was four and still in her buggy as I had a long walk to university and her nursery was on campus. There's no way I would have got there in time after dropping ds1 at school if she walked. I think it depends if you have time to amble along or if you really have to get somewhere and don't have a car etc. Yes, there's a bus, but that would have been an extra five pounds a day, I would definitely still have a small buggy for a three year old for those times when you're in a rush/they're tired etc.

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