How much walking do you manage with a toddler?

[dogindisguise]

DH and I used to be keen walkers though since having DS we rarely walk more than about 1.5 hours at a time anymore.

DS is now 18 months and quite likes walking, though not always in the direction that we want him to go in. Last summer we went to Devon and did some longish walks when he was happy to be carried for quite a while.

I was just wondering what other parents find practical with a toddler about this age. Do your toddlers manage to walk for a little while, or are they happy to be carried for a long time? Do they want to be up and down all the time? We'll be going to Skye when he'll be 21 months old, where we plan to do some fairly short walks. We will have a Littlelife backpack and also a soft-structured carrier.

Our DS2 (just gone 2) is happy as larry in the backpack, especially if we time our walks so that he's mostly asleep while we're out. He's then a right grump when he wakes and is happier having a biscuit and little walk. He's got used to the idea that he'll be in the backpack most of the time, even gets quite excited when we get it out of the cupboard.

DS1 is now almost 6 and walks and loves going out for walks, though they still tend to be fairly short (a few miles maybe), mainly as he's off clambering over every rock / fallen tree etc. Lots of fun but not a conventional grown-up walk. Always worth wearing an extra layer or two while we stand around watching him play :)

I actually found the hardest stage was around 3-4 years - too big to carry,and want to be independent but can't go too far. I have 2 who are 18 months apart,so for a long time I got by with a three wheeler with the tiredest having a rest when needed (even when older than you'd normally have a child in a buggy).

I modified where I walked to allow this to be possible. When on an even smoother route,I used a buggy board.

It's frustrating but every little bit they get to walk helps build them up. Now at 6 and 7 I have a couple of good walkers,who surprise many with how far they will go!

At 18m I did a mixture of sling carrying and him walking.
I struggle now hes 3 and too heavy for me too carry for a decent length of time

mine is almost 2 and goes dog walks almost daily, will walk about a mile or so, without wanting to be up and down, if we keep it interesting and fun (play with dog+sticks etc) and will happily be carried in his little life back pack for a an hour or two at a time, so can do a reasonable amount of walking with that combination, but it is a different kettle of fish to pre-kids walking.

We hope to keep it up so he is used to walking lots as he gets older.

Yes, 3-4 is the awkward age. There are some good books which can help you build up their walking - there's a series Walks with Children, these have info on pushchair-friendly routes, loos, refreshments, interesting stuff for kids etc. If they'll still go in a buggy, cycle paths are good too, obviously.

Another good book for lake district walks with kids is Rocky Rambler's Wild Walks - googling for it just now looks like there will soon be a website which may be worth looking at when its ready.