Do you expect your 3 year old with to walk everywhere? - Page 2

[Sharlla]

I guess it depends on the kid, I know DS1 hated walking, even when he was 4 he would complain when we would go for walks and would end up needing a piggyback. He was still sititng in shopping carts at that age as well.

[Liliana]

My 3 year old walks. On long walks she of course gets tired and asks to be carried, but we've never really done the stroller thing. She hated them as a baby. I'm expecting my 2nd and certainly don't want a double stroller. I do expect that I will sometimes have the baby in the sling and my big girl on my back for the very end of some outings. It will build muscles.

Families that like strollers should use them, but if your friend doesn't think her kid needs/wants to ride in a stroller then she is probably right.

[sehbub]

DSD2 hated the stroller, so as soon as she wanted to walk around, we let her. She was walking around the zoo at about age 2, and if she gets tired, she goes up on DH's shoulders. Now that she's 4, she hasn't been carried in a while, mostly because she doesn't want to be, but also because she weighs almost 50lbs and is close to 4" tall.

Biomom *still* wants her riding in a stroller every time they go out though, even just to walk around the block. DSD2 absolutely hates it, but biomom says it's easier for her, even though babe is totally capable of keeping up with her 6yo sister. Oh well.

[kdmama33]

I couldn't keep any of my kids in a stroller after about the age of two, no matter what I would have liked. I still have a stroller, and we took it with us to an amusement park last month, but getting DD (2.5) to sit in it is nearly impossible, even when she's tired and crabby. I have to practically beg her to sit in the jogging stroller when I go for my run every day, though she does enjoy that more, simply because of the speed.

I don't think it's a completely unreasonable expectation, given that her child seems to be able to meet it.

[beanma]

just wanted to add to my earlier post that my younger dd is 2 and 3/4 now and we hardly ever use the stroller. i even forgot it on the trip we took to the museum of life and science recently which has this big outdoor section with bears and lemurs and wolves. i did have the ergo and dd2 rode in that some, but i was missing the stroller because i use it to push around my bag loaded with heavy water bottles on excursions like that. i just totally forgot it because i never use it unless we go some place like that and we went to the museum after our big trip to the dentist that morning so that was what was on my mind. anyway, i'm trying to say my 2.75 yr old really does walk everywhere or is carried. we use the stroller once every two or three months i'd say.

[polka hop]

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[minicooper]

Kaius is 2.5 and the only time we use our stroller is if he wants to push it around or if I need to pack something heavy home because we also walk everywhere. He sometimes gets in them but it's getting less and less and he usually walks home if I've bought something like a case of water and need to put it in the stroller to get up the hill to get home. When he lets me leave the stroller at home and doesn't want to walk I carry him on my shoulders or his dad carries him, for longer walks or trips with lots of walking and bus rides we use our Ergo because where we live you have to fold up the stroller when you get on a bus.

We also have a big 'cart' that we use when we go shopping, we put cardboard in the bottom of it and he sometimes stands in there but I don't think it's because he doesn't want to walk but because it's fun/different for him and he's usually in and out, he loves to stop and bend down close to the sidewalk to watch the ants and bugs or pick up sticks and rocks.

Lately, I've had to pick up the pace because he walks faster than I do. He also rides his 'bike' which has a handle for me to push or in most cases hold him back from flying down a hill - which I get in trouble for cause he likes to go fast.

He now grabs my hand before we have to cross a street because he knows that we won't continue walking unless he does. He also doesn't argue about holding hands when we're near an open parking lot which is a large part of the walk to one of the stores we go to frequently (parking lot after parking lot with no clear markings as to where the entrance and exits are).

I'm now starting to ask him if there are cars coming so he can help determine if it's safe to walk across a street. When he's pushing either his bike or his stroller he knows that he shouldn't let go when we cross the street and I hold onto his hand and the handle of whatever he's pushing at the same time so he can't bolt (though he's never been a big bolter)

I try not to make a big deal out of the hand holding part so that he realizes it's not up for debate (especially since he seems to want to make all the decisions lately). I either stop and hold out my hand or just say here comes a street, hold my hand please. I also give him lots of warning if he seems caught up on looking at something (cars, motorcycles, people, the wheels of his bike, etc) and isn't paying attention to what is in front of him - letting him know he needs to pay attention soon.

I explain everything a lot so that he understands that we do it for a reason.

HTH!

[Leilalu]

I have a double jogger, because, well, I like to jog.

I NEED a double stroller. Why?Because with a 2 and nearly 4 year old I can't expect them to keep themselves safe all the time. They get lots of excercise as it is. Kids that age simply do not have the impulse control! Plus, dd gets tired sometimes of walking. I need a normal sized double because ds doesnt always want to be in the sling. Nor can I always carry him everywhere.

Dd pushes a heavy, filled, child size cart around Whole Foods quite frequently. She also plays at parks, we've been swimming lately, etc etc, yada yada.....

[CarrieMF]

My oldest was 3 when my youngest was born. I would make her walk to playschool and back(about a 20minute walk) when my neighbor didn't come with me and i'd have the younger 2 kids in the stroller. If my neighbor came with me or if I was walking faster my oldest and middle would sit in the wagon.

When we went for walks it was fast paced and it was easier for the kids(she also had a 3yo and a 2yo) to go in the wagon or stroller.

Now the kids(hers and mine) are 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8. they all walk. My 4yo tires out quickly and we always take the wagon to carry stuff so she'll go in there. She is used to being carried in a mei tai, but I just can't do it much anymore.

We go on 3+ mile walks at a slower pace than we did when they were younger. It usually takes us 30minutes to get 1.5miles, but if we need to we can drag the kids and do it in 18. If we walk like we used to we can do it in 15 depending on lights and trains. Because we used to walk so fast we had to have the kids in something else.

[PeacefulSeams]

We ditched the stroller at 18 months. He never really liked being in it in the first place. As soon as he learned to walk that is all he wanted to do. We used it for a little bit longer after that but hardly at all. Now the stoller is long gone.

[momto l&a]

Yes I did expect my 2.5 yo too walk everywhere with us.

No problems.

Never used a stroller

[hottmama]

I have rarely used a stroller, I bought one for a trip I chaperoned to DC when my oldest was 14 mos. old, used it there, and hardly anywhere else. I slung him all the time until I got super pregnant with my littlest, so until he was 2.5. After that, I made him walk but will carry or sling him for short breaks. The only time we ever use the stroller is at the zoo because it is over a mile long, takes us 2-3 hours, and is very hilly. I sling/mei tai the baby and push my 3.5 yr. old in the stroller. We haven't used it anywhere else in well over a year. When we go hiking, we bring the backpack for the little one and the mei tai for my 3.5 yr. old (who usually doesn't use it).
I don't really see the point of a double stroller, but I'm more gung-ho babywearing than most people, I guess, and can manage to wear either of them all day if they need it.
To whoever asked if there is a sling for a 31 lb. 3 yr. old, why yes there are! Most slings go up to 35 lbs., although my son weighs 36 lbs. and I still wear him in all of my slings (a hotsling, a peanut shell pouch, and a handmade pouch) and easiest of all, in my mei tai (made by a friend). I have also heard great things about Ergos for bigger kids!

[darkpear]

My 3yo has been walking everywhere with me for about a year. I wore her in the Ergo till I was heavily pregnant with her sister and it was just too uncomfortable. I take the bus a lot and I can't fathom wrestling with a stroller; it's hard enough getting my 3yo up and down those steep bus steps without another thing to occupy my hands.