Do you expect your 3 year old with to walk everywhere?

[marincarrie]

I have a friend with a 3 year old girl and a new baby. She told me she didn't need a double stroller because she expects her 3 year old to walk everywhere. I just wondered if this is a typical expectation for a 3 year old??

My son is very active, and listens most of the time, but not consistently enough to be trusted on sidewalks, etc. So I find it easier to put him in a stroller or hold him, especially if I have to hold things in addition to keeping track of my son!!

Maybe it's just the difference between a very calm little girl and a very active boy...just seems unrealistic for my son. I'd like to hear what others do!

Thanks,
Carrie & Boden (8-19-03)

[sarahmae1]

My ds1 was 3 when ds2 was born, and we didn't get a double stroller either. My oldest vary rarely used the stroller after he was able to walk (14mo. old) because he just didn't like it and would rather run around everywhere. The only times we would use the stroller were at places like amusement parks and zoos. If there were times that ds1 did need/want to use the stroller dh or I would just put ds2 in a carrier/sling of some kind so ds1 could ride in the stroller. As ds2 got older they sometimes would take turns in the stroller, being carried my me, or riding on daddy's shoulders.

[mojumi]

Depends on the child and on the momma, I think. DS was 2 when DD was born, and he did ride in a double stroller for awhile, but long before he reached 3 he decided he was old enough to walk. He does well, sticks close, and likes to help push his sister when she rides in the stroller. (Of course, since she see him walking, she is ready to be out of the stroller sooner than he was and wants to walk everywhere too).

My totally unscientific observation has been that children without younger siblings tend to be in strollers longer than children with younger sibs. Maybe a habit mom and child are used to, with no baby to shake up the routine? I can relate to that feeling that keeping track of a 3 year old would be easier in a stroller! But I think by that age they are ready and willing to learn safe walking behavior and certainly have the energy to walk quite a ways.

Monique

[lisac77]

My DS is 3 years, 2 months and is just now getting to the point where he's willing/reliable enough to walk a lot. We recently started walking in the grocery store, and it's going pretty well. A lot better than it was when he was 2! He's better at listening and following directions now.

[phathui5]

I occasionally use a stroller for my almost three year old. It's not that I don't trust her on the sidewalk, but that she's small and walks slowly.

[midwifetx]

Strollers with high weight limits have been linked to Preschooler obesity. Kids used to walk a lot and run a lot. Now, they're not allowed to run around in their neighborhoods and they are strapped into strollers for much much much longer. My preschool aged children walk. When we went to SeaWorld, though, I did rent a stroller just because of the volume of walking and the sheer numbers of people. I liked knowing where they were EXACTLY.

[Attila the Honey]

My 2.5 year old (will be 3 in November) walks with me everywhere. I ditched the stroller a good 6-8 months ago because she never wanted to be in it and I ended up wrangling the stroller AND her.

When she gets tired I will carry her or put her on my shoulders, but that's always a very small part of any outing. It usually lasts about 3-5 minutes and then she's back to walking.

Maybe my dd is just a good walker. She can easily handle a 1.5 mile walk to the lake from our house and we've been taking those walks without a stroller since she turned 2.

Is there a sling for a 3 yo/31lb child? Sorry to hijack, but that would be handy to have for days we are on our feet all day long (like going to fairs, street festivals etc.).

[~*Tracey*~]

Depends on where we are and what we are doing. Ds (2.5) sits in the cart at the grocery but other than that he walks until he is tired and then oldest carries him til he wants to walk again.

Like others have said, it prolly depends on the child, the mama and the situation.

[Tori Gollihugh]

The only reason I plan to get a doulbe stroller is because I want to go for exercise walks and won't really have the opportunity to do that alone, so I'll need somewhere for my older child to sit while I walk as quickly as possible! Otherwise, I rarely ever take the stroller out and really haven't used it for any purpose other than my exercise walks since DD started walking at 9 months. Even before that I only used it - MAYBE - 5 times. The rest of the time I wore her in a sling. I think I won't get the double stroller until the new baby is a bit older because I can wear him/her for a good few months, even for exercise walks. JMT and O

[beanma]

ditto what tori said. my girls are almost 3 yrs apart and i didn't get a double stroller. i briefly entertained the idea, but knew i would use a sling with the baby and figured i could put the 3 yr old in the stroller and baby in sling if i really needed to. i couldn't see getting a double stroller for me personally unless i was expecting twins. i know people get plenty of use out of them, but it wasn't for me.

[jenaniah]

and are 22 months apart and we didn;t get a double stroller. when they were younger rode in teh stroller and in the sling. NOw walks (HER choice) and rides in the sling or the stroller ( ocassionally will ride in the stroller and in the sling but not often)

[eminer]

Originally Posted by Attila the Honey

Is there a sling for a 3 yo/31lb child? Sorry to hijack, but that would be handy to have for days we are on our feet all day long (like going to fairs, street festivals etc.).

A wrap (e.g. Didymos, Girasol, Ellaroo) works well for that. You can do a wrap cross carry on your back.

[Marsupialmom]

I bought a sit and stand when I was going from 1 child to 2. They were 3.5 years appart. It allowed my older one a lot more freedom. He loved to walk and only used it rarely....but I used it a lot at the pool for an extra set of arms, and a place for her to sleep while I played with my son...

Then I had number 3 and it got used a lot more because my oldest dd is HOH. Again it was an extra set of hands especailly for medical treatment. I could put the baby down and have my arms free for the older one. Or I could nurse her while baby was in the stroller.

I loved my sling but it wasn't always practical. If my second child wasn't hard of hearing I think my stroller would have been a big waste of money. At two-three we were still learning to communicate and diciplinine effectively. I needed something and could have made do without it....

Each child/family is different. Don't throw tomatoes : I do think in many families it is over used. Like most baby gear it is a good thing that can be over used.

[kofduke]

I don't have a double stroller. The typical situation is that DS walks, baby is slung, and the stroller is used for the diaper bag, etc. However, either of them can sit in the stroller at any time if they choose to...

[Yooper]

Dd is 3 and an only. We still use the stroller almost daily. If I had another, I would for sure get a double stroller. I am without a car most of the time which means I do most errands on foot. I live on a cliff (OK, just a really big hill). Dd does walk for trips like the park or going to a friend's house a few streets away. But the co-op? That is 2.5 miles away.....she cannot walk that far. Not to mention back again. We use a push-sleigh in the winter. I imagine dd will be in something like that until 5-6 years of age. Asking someone smaller to walk 5 miles round trip is not realistic.

[Snowdrift]

I don't have a three year old but have cared for many and it seems that while most are able to do day-to-day walking around with pretty good stamina (not five miles...), many are not emotionally read to be forced to. They seem to like the security of being allowed to be too tired/distracted/etc to walk.

I like the 'little red wagon' concept myself, although it would require wearing the younger baby and is not always the most ergonomic solutions for mama.

Seems to me you can expect your three year old to do whatever...but whatcha' gonna do when she decides to do something different? I'd keep a sturdy wrap handy myself,or at least be prepared to wear babe and push child for a bit.

[Dragonfly]

No. Ds has never liked to walk long distances unless we're somewhere interesting (hiking in the woods, for example). He'd prefer to run (which I don't like when we're in areas with cars for obvious reasons) and if he's not running, then it can take us an hour to get 3 blocks. Sometimes I have time for that, sometimes I don't. When I don't, he rides in the stroller (even now, at 5 - almost 6) or, until recently, in the wrap.

I'm not the least bit concerned about him becoming obese, but I can see how that would be a concern. Though I think that a stroller would be just a tiny drop in the ginormous bucket of contributing factors.

[LeftField]

Another vote for "depends on the child and the Mama". Neither of my kids used strollers past age 1. In the 2s, I carried them a lot and they walked intermittently. My youngest is a few months away from being 3 and he walks most everywhere. Sometimes, he says he's tired and I'll carry him, but it happens infrequently now, whereas just a few months ago, we did a 50/50 walk/carry thing. I expect everyone to hold hands and in situations where my youngest would not hold hands, I made it clear to him that I would have to carry him; I've carried him in situations where he wanted to get down and I made it clear that he could get down if he held hands. He rarely refuses to hold hands now, although he won't always hold his older brother's hand.

So, I don't think it's an unrealistic expectation, depending on the kid. I expected both of mine to walk from age 2, although I was willing to carry them in the early and mid 2s. Towards the latter part of 2, I expected it to be mostly walking and that's what they happily do now.

[Peony]

DD likes to walk when we go to a bigger town (our town has 11 hundred people in it), she'll walk downtown, or around a mall fine, I never bring a stroller. Sometimes I do end up carrying her, she gets tired, or most of the time just needs a momma. We go for walks everyday in our little town and I always bring the bike trailer that right now I have converted to a stroller. We'll walk over a mile and make many stops, friend's houses, post office, health food store, etc... I need to stroller to carry stuff around in, dd usually rides halfway and walks the rest.

[maria423]

We have a double stroller and use it regularly. There are a few reasons for this, including:

1) I like to go for a brisk (exercisey) walk almost daily, and so I put the kids in the stroller and go for one!

2) It's almost impossible to keep track of both kids when they're both walking. They like to run in opposite directions, and neither of them is reliable enough to stay next to me and/or hold my hands. (One is 3 and the other is 21 months old.) I feel nervous when they're both "on the loose," so I use the stroller when we're in busy places (like the zoo).

Just because we use the stroller a lot, doesn't mean that the kids don't get plenty of exercise. They do.