Buggy for 4 year old.

[funinthesun19]

My 4 year old DD is currently in the process of being assessed for ASD.
Getting her out and about is a real struggle. She won’t walk anywhere and doesn’t like to hold my hand. I have to carry her and I’m absolutely exhausted.
She has older siblings who we take to school in a morning and pick up in the afternoon, and she is at nursery in the mornings until lunchtime. We do her buses, but for all of us this becomes expensive. And she gets overwhelmed on the bus because it’s so confined and there are too many people on it. She doesn’t like the bus at all.
I don’t have a car but it’s something I’m working on. I can drive but it’s just getting the money together to buy one.

I was thinking a buggy will help. To be honest I don’t know why I got rid of her buggy last year. I think I just fell in to the whole “4 year olds shouldn’t be in one at that age” and decided to soldier on without one. But she’s not like a NT 4 year old who has no trouble walking so I feel like these normal rules don’t apply to her and she could still do with a buggy.

Has anyone got any buggy recommendations for a 4.6 year old? I need to weigh her, but her height is roughly about 100cm if I measured her correctly (not easy to do).

I just want her to be happy and for me to be happy. At the moment I feel isolated and it’s not fair on any of us including her older siblings too. 🙁 Help!

If you are looking for a ‘normal’ buggy baby city jogger is one of the bigger ones.

If you are looking for a SN buggy there are lots of options e..g McLaren Major, Excel Elise, Special Tomato, Special Tomato jogger, Mobiquip XL. If you go down this route there are charities you can apply to for a grant, although if won’t be immediate.

I think it will probably be one of the SN ones I will go for.

What I worry about is if people judge and/or other children laugh at her being in a buggy. I worry for that reason I will ultimately be doing her a disservice. It’s a tough one. She just won’t walk anywhere though and becomes really frustrated or just tries to run away in a different direction. Dangerous near roads. She won’t hold my hand and I can’t keep picking her up and carrying her.

I’ve tried making it fun for her to e.g with a scooter and tried playing little games as we walk, and I’ve also tried rewards. Nothing works.

Forget about what other people think, do what is right for you and DD. It’s harsh but some people will judge you either way, some are just as likely to judge DD running off/having a meltdown.

DS1 is far older than your DD and he uses a SN buggy. He has a wheelchair too, but prefer the SN buggy.

A Maclaren Major is what OTs/Wheelchair services generally issue to children with ASD where I live... I work in Special School and a fair few of our nursery to yr 2/3 children arrive in them for exactly the reasons you describe.

They are also a cheap option, (compared to many others) and can be picked up on ebay. My DS2 (ASD) used one for years!

You’re right. People judge no matter what. I’ve seen people staring at us in the street already without the buggy, so I guess it’s one of those times where you have to do what you want because people will judge no matter what you do.
It’s arriving at the school gates that worries me. DD goes to nursery at a mainstream school and this is also where she will be going to school in September. None of the children are in buggies and it will just be my DD in one, so I have no doubt parents and children will look at her. I feel bad for her as she is already “different” to the other children, and this will make her different even more.

I’m going to speak to her teacher and the SENCO about it too and see what they say. They might say there have been other children in the past who had the same mobility problems.

Thank you. This message is also very reassuring. I’ve been having a good look at the different options and the Maclaren Major looks good for her.

If it would make your/DD’s life easier ask the school if you can drop off and collect 5/10 mins early or late &/or from a quieter entrance.

Yes that’s a really good idea. Partly why I would like to speak to them really.

I know it’s not the same, but my DS broke his leg last year, and he was in a wheelchair for a while. I took him in through a different entrance and picked him up at a different time. So the same principle really.

Luckily I had my eldest DS to push his brother all the way to school while I dealt with DD. Bless him, he was such a massive help during those few months!

Do you think the Baby Jogger City Tour would be a good option? It looks quite big. I just need something big enough for her not to scrape her feet on the floor.

Personally I would look at a SN buggy.

i was thinking that too. They just seem quite difficult to get hold of! Maybe I’m not looking properly. Do you know where the best place is to buy them from?

It depends on what type you want, for some you are best buying direct from the company, others can be gotten from mobility or healthcare shops. There’s often second hand ones online e.g. ebay, Facebook etc. or via someone at your local SEN group.

There are several charities that give grants e.g. Newlife, Caudwell Children, Boparan Trust, Whizz Kidz, Florence Nightingale Aid in Sickness Trust. Although these won’t be immediate.

You could ask for a referral to wheelchair services too, but again this won’t be immediate.

There's a good Facebook group for looking at secondhand SN equipment so might be worth you looking on here. Maclaren Majors and Excel Elises (very similar) come up fairly often.

Hope this link works:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SNEUK/

This is my little boy down to a T I'm trying to find him a new pram as his current one is shaking and I think he's made it wobbly. Doesn't seem sturdy any more. Only coming up 3 but he hasn't got any common sense for danger at all and if I am to let him walk he walks for 5 minutes and he starts having tantrums then trying to run away or chucking himself to the floor. His feet do turn in ways and falls all the time but he doesn't care he is very much use to falling -.-

I don't want to get a SN buggy with him bring little still but I need a sturdy enough pram that will last for the next year or 2! He's also been referred to pedatritian and Speech therapy.

@Laurenr99 you could look at the Baby Jogger City or the Baby Jogger City mini.

Personally, if you expect DS to need the buggy for a few years, I would consider a SN buggy.