Should I invest in a tandem stroller?

[Lit Chick]

DS1, age 3, loves to walk but when he's done he's DONE.  The last few long walks we've taken he's taken over the DS2's stroller (7 mos). We have a few events coming up that involve many hours at once of walking.  Is my oldest too old to make a lower-end tandem worth it? Should I just get an umbrella as a back-up for him? 

[zebra15]

How about a sit n stand type stroller?  Joovy makes them.

[Monkey Keeper]

Are these two it? That'd make it harder for me to justify the cost of a double of any sort. 

Could you wear the baby once DS needs the stroller? That would be my solution.

[DahliaRW]

A sit and stand is great with those ages.  And you can get them for a decent price (last week target had one on sale for $109).  We like having the double for vacation or when we're going to the zoo and such.  Even my 6yo will ride when he gets really tired sometimes.  You may be able to get a good deal on Craigslist.

[LaughingHyena]

Maybe a buggy board would work attached to your current single.I found it OK to push and of course not much bigger than the single in terms of doorways and such.It was a pain going up and down kerbs but handled dropped kerbs OK. The downside we found was that when DD was really tired she didn't want to stand. The double also had the advantage of being able to strap her in and her being able to eat a snack. Both handy when we needed to leave the park.

I'd say check around and see what you find used.. If you only need it for a few days out then you could probably sell it on again without it costing much.

[Eclipsepearl]

I wouldn't invest in a double unless 1. the children were really close in age and 2. we did a LOT of walking to justify it. 

I really didn't use mine much, even with a third, closely spaced child. Wearing the little one and pushing the older one, when s/he was tired worked for us. 

He's almost out of this age. I'd do the buggy board, which has the added advantage of the child being able to pop on and off at will.

[Mom2M]

We got a double when DD1 was 4 and DD2 was a newborn and loved it! But, we do a lot of walking/running with our dogs and DD1 could run for a while when we first got it and then wanted to ride the rest. As she's gotten older, she has been able to run farther and farther but not the whole way and she still gets in to take rest breaks. It's been awesome, I would never get out to do as many miles without it.
We got a Bob dualie revolution and I don't think I could have justified the expense new but we got it off craigs list and it was a terrific deal. If you do a lot of walking, I totally recommend that brand because it is the easiest stroller to push and I can still run with both of them in it.

[TheGirls]

I wasn't planning to get a double with DD and one sibling (2.5 year spacing), but got one when we found out it was going to be twins.  The twins are 5mo now and I just bought a triple.  DD is nearly 3 and loves to walk, but we walk a LOT and I like to go for long walks and she gets tired.  Plus she'll nap in a stroller and doesn't nap much otherwise.  So a triple stroller will allow me to get in a long relaxing walk while getting all three kids to nap...  i think it will be worth it.  I babywear too, but all three kids enjoy the stroller so it's sometimes nice to just push them. :-D 

Plus we're seriously thinking of a 4th, who will hopefully be close in age to the twins...

[Lit Chick]

My two boys are probably it in terms of kids... there's a very very very slim chance for a 3rd, but I only seem to want one more when I'm ovulating, lol!  I do wear DS2 for shorter outings, but there is no way either he or I could tolerate all-day wear, esp in heat.

I was thinking of a sit&stand, but can an exhausted child nap in that?  Most of the time we'd use the stroller DS1 would probably just need some breaks, but there are 2 huge trips coming up that involve pretty much all-day walking. First is Disney World with our Florida family, and that's days of epic walking. I know that both boys will pass out at some point, and while I'm hoping we'll be able to take mid-day breaks this time, last time we were there from dawn until fireworks and I want a plan in case we cannot ditch the fam for naps.

Would traveling with a tandem be worse than with 2 strollers?  Most outings involve another adult, so we could just use 2 strollers... but it seems like carting around 1 item would be simpler than 2. 

[Shantimama]

 I loved our double stroller. My first two were 18 months apart and #3 came 22 months later. Having the double stroller meant we could walk as I needed to whether for errands or mental health and the oldest could hop in when needed. When #3 ws born I wore her for the first several months and by the time she got too heavy for that my oldest was fine to walk for longer distances. When folded up the double stroller was only a little bigger than our single and so was easy to travel with. My kids found umbrella strollers uncomfortable so we avoided them. They didn't nap as easily and there was a lot more fussing and whining involved so we stuck with the double stroller.

[Emma Bryan Fuller]

We loved our double jogger. Joggers are great for big kids and there were times when I pushed a 6 yr old! When sick and needing fresh air etc. Mine were 18 months apart. Call around consignment stores and check e-bay. I actually went thru two as the 1st was used so much!

[Lit Chick]

Thanks for the replies!  I'm thinking a jogger is the way to go, and I've seen some well reviewed and reasonably priced new ones.  I'll keep an eye out for used as well - but in our area it seems like people bought the super-high end ones so even used is out of my budget! 

[greenemami]

I got a double jogger as a gift and I love having it, even though mine are 3 years apart. I like to walk for exercise and walk around town to the library, errands, etc. and it is just nice to have the option to put dd in there as well (like the other day it was raining and I could put both kiddos in to speed things up)  Also, more often than not even when dd wants to walk, we use the other side to carry "stuff", particularly at a museum, the zoo, etc. I did wear ds a lot as a baby, but he gets HEAVY for a long trip, so having the stroller is a nice backup. I don't know that I would have spent the money myself to get one, but I really do like having the option and get a decent amount of use out of it.  Now if I follow through on my goal to start running again, I'm sure it would get a lot more use :)

[sunnygir1]

I got a used double Phil and Ted's when ds was a baby.  Dd was 2.5 when he was born.  Now they're 1.5 and 4yo and dd still rides from time to time -- especially on longer walks.  They're getting too heavy for me to take them both on runs with me now, but when they were a little smaller I did.  I love that it is easy to push and turn and that it has good storage space underneath.  It fits through a standard door too.  I figure I can recoup some of the cost by selling it on Craigslist when I'm done with it.