How old is too old for stroller/pram?

[oh my belly]

OH and I were at a fair yesterday and noticed some fairly 'older' kids being pushed around. Granted there is a lot of walking at the fair, but I mean some kids were so tall their knees were as high up to their ears. I've never actually thought about how long we can expect to push LO around, but it boggled our minds about how old/tall these kids were.

I guess I was naive to think that we would ditch the stroller once LO was 2 years old or so...

Thoughts?

 

[bananaz]

Maybe they were just tall kids?

But I think as long as they fit in the stroller and are happy sitting in it they're not too old. 3-5 year olds are still pretty small and I'm sure they get tired easily walking around at a fair

 

[BandK]

My 4.5 yr old brother still goes in a stroller occasionally (one of those stroller/bike trailer combos) so its really big. But sometimes he just cant keep up or gets really tired. Nothing worse than when you need to go somewhere and you have to stop every 5 min for a break!

 

[lozzy21]

I think it depends on the reason they were in the pram, if it was because they were tired fair enough but some people use them as a restraint system so they don't have to keep an eye on their kids. My LO is nearly two and can only walk for 10-15ins before she gets tired, she's still little.

 

[DaisyBee]

Megan still is in a stroller fairly often as she gets tired out/ distracted while walking/ it's easier for us to keep her safe! And she is 3 in 3 months. Everyone thinks she is older than she is as she is tall and must just seem older. Everyone always thinks she is at least a year older than she is ( which gets annoying as they expect her to act like an older child vs a toddler). I imagine for something like going to a fair that we might use a stroller for a few years yet.

Megan likes to run and we don't like constantly chasing her. She likes to be independent which means she doesn't always like holding hands. In busy places it actually is helpful for us to have her in the stroller vs walking. It's not about us not keeping an eye on her... She is fast and feisty. All kids are different.

 

[tu123]

Our eldest is 22 mths but a metre tall and 16 kgs! She looks much older. I try to get her to walk all the time but it isn't successful much! I think up to 3 I will b happy- especially for days out.

 

[vintagecat]

I think as long as the child is content, it's perfectly fine. I've seen children fighting to get out of their strollers and at that point, they should just be allowed to walk...unless of course the child is just throwing a fit and will complain and want to be put right back in the stroller. I can see that happening. My parents rarely used a stroller with my sister and I after the age of 3 and instead had us sit together in a little red wagon that they would pull at the parks and zoos. We were both energetic children apparently and rarely wanted to sit for very long.

 

[Tacey]

This was an issue I've had to eat humble pie over. I said I'd not use one after Alice could walk confidently, but it took so blooming long to get anywhere, that I only stopped using it a few months ago. I've had some comments from other ladies saying how young she is to walk everywhere (she'll easily walk to places 2 miles away and back,) though, so I think it's quite common to keep them in pushchairs. I imagine at a fair, there's also the worry about children running off and disappearing, or never walking past a certain thing they like. It really does depend on the child.

 

[tmr1234]

My ds2 has just stoped useing his and he is 3 but my ds1 would not go in 1 after he could walk.

 

[Kizzy454]

My DD1 is 2 and a half (3 In feb) and she walks everywhere. Every kid is different though but I found If I had the buggy there she wouldnt walk for long as she could get pushed along instead so stopped taking it and she can walk for a fair amount of time now xxx

 

[Arcanegirl]

My eldest is 3 years and 4 months, he doesnt need a buggy anymore but we do use a buggyboard for him as he does still get tired and sometimes we just need to get somewhere quickly.
There are some occasions he gets up stupidly early and I know he will want to nap or he will otherwise be a nightmare. These occasions i do still put him in the buggy.

 

[Button#]

At Disneyland Paris they hire out strollers suitable for up to 8 year olds as it can be a long tiring day, which I would also imagine it would be at a fair. So it could be just that a lot of people were using them who might not usually. I'm planning that Ashley will probably still need his at 3.

 

[Natasha2605]

I wouldn't judge too much, they may be young but tall. Summer was 2 in May and looks ridiculous in any buggy as she's so tall. I have people forever telling me that she looks at least 3 and therefore should be walking?! The reality is, most of the time she does but on bus journeys of longer than 20mins she has to be in the buggy as she gets bored otherwise and messes about.

There may be various reasons why children are in buggies, honestly I wouldn't judge cause you don't know why.

This is Summer in our double and she looks soooo big in it!

https://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz75/Natasha2605/buggy.jpg

 

[Lauki]

I doubt any 2 year old can walk a whole day without getting extremely tired and upset. If you're out for a whole day, most 2 year olds have a nap still as well!

I think if you're out for a day that it's not even that weird to sometimes push around a 4-5 year old! They're only kids and walking a whole day knackers me out and their legs are much shorter than mine!

 

[Lauki]

Also, try getting somewhere with a toddler or preschooler when you're in a rush .

Didn't you know every stone/leaf/thing on the ground is worth stopping for? If I take Soph out for a stroll it takes about 10 minutes to get to the corner of the street!

 

[mummylove]

Summer is 2 and half and still goes in a pram...but....I only put her in it if shes tired or we are by busy roads I have a double pram did have a single before but could never go anywhere as summer got tired. Summer is small for her age.

 

[AP]

I am often hurt by comments about older children in buggies. Sometimes people judge and don't know the reasons, often it is blamed on parents laziness?

I know in my shoes Alex has a great tendency to just happily walk into a main road. She doesnt understand at all yet.

She's three now and still has a buggy. She's not in it full time, we let her out in safer places. She doesnt look 3 though so it's not so bad.

And then theres the factor of having two small babies - and sometimes it is just not practical to be chasing an older child around when you have another to attend to.

I also wouldn't say Alex is lazy, far far from it. She loves walking.

 

[mummylove]

I am often hurt by comments about older children in buggies. Sometimes people judge and don't know the reasons, often it is blamed on parents laziness?

I know in my shoes Alex has a great tendency to just happily walk into a main road. She doesnt understand at all yet.

She's three now and still has a buggy. She's not in it full time, we let her out in safer places. She doesnt look 3 though so it's not so bad.

And then theres the factor of having two small babies - and sometimes it is just not practical to be chasing an older child around when you have another to attend to.

Totally agree hun. Summer would happily walk in middle of road. I have tried reins on her and she throws herself on floor throws a tantrum. Summer tells me she wants to walk and most of time i let her. I just dont if im in a rush to get somewhere or in town where its busy in Blackpool very busy and by main roads.

 

[Gemble]

My little girl is 14 months and we don't use the pushchair anymore, she'll walk miles (all be it a bit slow ) I think it's fine to use one until about 3 even maybe for long days out if they get tired and are a bit older but i reckon if u let them go in one all the time they'll always want to be pushed around and may get a bit lazy? I dunno! I'd still like to be pushed around some times

Xxx

 

[chell5544]

Yes until I had LO 5 weeks ago my 3 and half year would still use her buggy from time to time especially when I was heavily pregnant I physically couldn't pick her up if she got too tired
I don't drive so town is a 30 min walk beach is 20 min walk and down a big hill so a day at the beach then a walk home up a big hill was too much for her

She is also wearing 4-5 clothes already as she is very tall now we have a buggy board on the back for when her legs are tired

Those ladies who's children don't like reins my DD had a tendencies to run out of shops when I was at the check out lol I got a wrist strap one and told her its her special braclet so she can stop mummy getting lost lol she now won't leave the house without it on lol