How do you bring two kids for a walk?

[momtoS]

Sounds like a dumb question...but yesterday I brought my 23 month old and 4 year old for a walk. There is still way too much snow to walk on sidestreets so we went on one of the more main streets. I got nervous because they wouldn't really listen to me, hold hands, and one would speed up and the other would stop to splash in puddles. I ended up having to pick up dd2 and run to dd1. It was so frustrating. How do you teach children about cars backing out of driveways...busy streets etc???

[ChetMC]

What We Do

Often we go for walks as a family... so we have two adults to supervise.

When I walk our oldest to preschool, I wear DS on my back or in a sling, younger DD rides in the stroller and older DD walks holding the stroller.

When our younger DD wants to walk and I'm on my own, I often have both of the kids hold the the stroller. We walk to the park and they can run around and splash in puddles when we get there.

[limabean]

Could you wear the toddler until you're able to walk in places where it's okay for her to get down and explore?

[Ks Mama]

Sling, stroller, wagon, or stay off the busy sidewalks/roads. I've got a 21 mo & 4 yo & know exactly what you mean. When you need exercise for the 1 yr old, let them run in a field, run around the house, bounce on the sofa cusions (on the floor).

[HarperRose]

Get harnesses for them
Walk w/ dh, too
Stroller
Wear one

[Heavenly]

http://www.mypreciouskid.com/toddler...k-harness.html

Toddler harness. My 3 year old wears one every time we go for a walk or to a busy place. IMO anyone who is against child harnesses has never had their child almost get hit by a car or run away and get lost in just the blink of an eye. We have a puppy one and she loves it. When we say we are going for a walk she always says, "I'll go get my puppy!"

[mags]

Double stroller. I know it's very un-MDC to suggest it, but I have two kids who bolt as well. It's a safety hazard if they won't stay next to you, esp if there is still snow around, it can make visibility for drivers difficult to see small children as well.

[dantesmama]

Unless we're going for a very short walk, my 19mo goes in the stroller. Hopefully by the time he's too old for that, my 3.5yo will be more "manageable".

[HollyBearsMom]

OK this is going to sound trite but.....

practice, practice, practice.

Toddlers learn from doing and modeling. The more you walk the more they will learn. I constantly was pointing things out.

"Do you see that big truck? See those red lights, he's backing up. We stand far away when a truck backs up"

"Oh oh, look at that big snow bank. How are we going to get around it? Do you think we can walk around it? Lets look and make sure it is safe to walk around it. Look both ways, look both ways again, and always hold hands with a friend"

"parking lots are big and little boys are small. Cars are so much bigger than little boys so we need to be safe. We always hold hands in parking lots since mommies are bigger than little boys and cars can see mommies before little boys"

[Village Mama]

I don't drive at all so I have no option but to walk everywhere. My boys are 7 and 5 and I still feel stressed if I am on a busy road in the city.
I wore my toddler for as long as possible. I have been freakishly consistant with road safety rules all along. If the boys werent being safe then I would insist that they either ride in the wagon or stroller, hold the strap of the stroller beside me or hold my hand. Then we would set a time a few blocks away that we would try again. Walks take such a long time at that age and I always suggest bringing another form of transportation along with you just in case.... sling, wrap, wagon, backpack or jogger stroller. It does get easier! Now my boys can do the 3 km walk that we do daily in less than an hour.

Just wait... next comes bikes!

[HarperRose]

Originally Posted by Village Mama

Just wait... next comes bikes!

That's giving me grey hairs now! We're keeping at it, though, and the kids are learning road safety (even though we ride on sidewalks because I walk/push the stroller).

[Multimomma]

Originally Posted by HollyBearsMom

OK this is going to sound trite but.....

practice, practice, practice.

Toddlers learn from doing and modeling. The more you walk the more they will learn. I constantly was pointing things out.

"Do you see that big truck? See those red lights, he's backing up. We stand far away when a truck backs up"

"Oh oh, look at that big snow bank. How are we going to get around it? Do you think we can walk around it? Lets look and make sure it is safe to walk around it. Look both ways, look both ways again, and always hold hands with a friend"

"parking lots are big and little boys are small. Cars are so much bigger than little boys so we need to be safe. We always hold hands in parking lots since mommies are bigger than little boys and cars can see mommies before little boys"

:

You really can't teach them about the dangers of backing cars, if you don't see any. At that age, just to say that they exist is not enough, you'll need LOTS Of practice walking together. If you wind up carrying the toddler anyway, you could just sling for a while while you practice with JUST the four year old (and the toddler will start to pick up the directions just being there)

One thing that made an impression on my kids at that age, was having them stand behind a parked car and pointing out how high their heads are, compared to the bottom of the car window. "If your head is not taller than that window, how will the driver see you?" You want them to be able to explore, but they also need to listen. Set out your expectations before you leave...."Ds1, I need you to walk beside me, or we will go home." If he runs ahead and you have to run after him, take him home right then.

[mbhf]

When we take walks, my 2yo rides in the stroller, baby in the ergo, 4 and 5yos holding on to the stroller. if we are going somewhere that is not very stroller friendly, my 2yo goes on my back and i hold the big boys hands. if i just had the middle two, i would put the 2yo on my back and hold my 4yos hand.

[Storm Bride]

I agree with posters who recommend constant education - and modelling. I might occasionally cross against the lights or jaywalk (if it's clear, obviously), but I never, ever do that when my kids are with me.

However, during the time it takes for that to "take" (and it varies from child to child - ds1 was more traffic savvy at 2 than ds2 is at 3.5), I've used all kinds of things. When I've taken more than one for a walk, I've used various combinations of carriers (Ergo, Snugli, backpack, etc.), stroller, harness, etc. It depends on how far we're walking, how old the kids are, and what we're doing (eg. dd might be in the stroller if we're going shopping, so that I can then use the stroller to carry something back while she walks - but if we're just going for a walk, she'd be in the harness).

A lot of people are against harnesses, but our harness saved my sanity during the first month or so after ds2 arrived. I'd had a c-section, and couldn't wear him, and couldn't chase dd very quickly. So, ds2 went into the stroller, and dd put on the harness (she loved it, fortunately), and then we could get in a small outing. Without it, they'd have been fully housebound for about a month...maybe longer.

[3pink1blue]

my little two (19 months and 6 months) go in our double stroller. it has handles on the side, and my 4 year old holds the handle, while my 7 year old rides her bike or walks right in front of the stroller. i also hook the dog up to the parent tray on the stroller so i don't have to deal with him. (sometimes he ends up in the cargo area because he's a fat lazy chihuahua.)

i don't know how we'll do it with number 5 - hopefully this one will be a sling baby. my first three were but my little one much prefers to see the world from the stroller. our stroller is great in that i can rearrange the seats however i want, so he is usally facing me and my 19 month old faces out, unless she falls asleep, then I lay her seat down and flip her around facing me too.

all of that said, we live in the middle of nowhere and walk on roads with very little traffic (also no sidewalks.) i don't think i would comfortable with this arrangement in the city, unless there were wide sidewalks, maybe not even then.

[lilyka]

be consistent. if they do not hold your hand and follow the rules turn around and go home. repeat daily.

some other things that might help is a sling, a tether/harness.

but mostly making it an everyday thing. and also be clear that they need to hold your hand or you will go home. once they have mastered holding your hand without fussing then you can let go and let them stay close by.

[flapjack]

If they won't willingly stay alive (by good management rather than good luck, I mean) then we use a harness. A lot of this is practice, though- my eldest started walking at a young age, and was good at holding hands, then his brother copied him, then my daughter copies her brothers and so on.
Also, puddles get to be less exciting the more time you spend jumping in them. You do need to let go of your expectations though- you need to double the amount of time it takes to travel when you have toddlers in tow.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by flapjack

Also, puddles get to be less exciting the more time you spend jumping in them.

*sigh*
This worked with ds1 and dd, but ds2 seems to have a permanent infatuation with them. He's puddle junkie. I don't mind that much, except that, at some point, he invariably looks at me with his big blue eyes, and says "pick me up"...mucky boots and all. Blech.

[Freefromitall]

I put ds (18mo) in a stroller, and dd(3.5-ish) holds onto the stroller when crossing streets, or in a busy place. In my other hand, I have 1-2 leashes
I used to put a harness on dd, as a back up, but we haven't done that in a long while now.

Or you could put them both in harnesses, that way if one slips your grip, you know that they can't go too far.

Or a double stroller, but I hate the width of the side-by-sides and I know some have issues with the ones where it's one kid in front, one in back...b/c of things like how they fit, or one kid kicks the other, etc etc.

Or with two adults but around here, that's so rarely an option!

[LynnS6]

Originally Posted by Village Mama

Just wait... next comes bikes!

So true! Both of my kids learned to ride bikes last summer. The 7 year old was fine. The 4 year old, on the other hand.... I looked up one fine summer evening to see her going down our hill (which ends in a T intersection, i.e. she was going to go shooting through an intersection) as fast as she could, with her legs up on the cross bars of her bike. ACK! The worst was that she really couldn't understand why I was so upset that she didn't have her feet on the pedals (foot brakes on bike). OR why I insisted that if she wanted to ride her bike down the hill, she had to have a grown-up around to watch for cars. It was a long 6 weeks before she got it.