outdoors walking - struggling

[shopgirl771]

does anyone else find taking LO out for a walk a nightmare?
maybe my impatients is just showing but i try and walk jacob either into or home from town every day. town is only a 5/10 min walk (well alot longer when hes walking lol). i feel bad cos i feel a bit like im training a dog. i pop him on his rains and we walk the same route everyday in the hope his outdoors walking will improve. he was a late-ish developer with walking (15months) and hes a very inquisitive child exploring everything and having to touch every car we walk past etc. once we hit town thats about all i can cope with so i pop him back in his pushchair then.
i would have thought he would have improved a bit by now but this morning was a night mare. hes still all over the place. im kind of panicking as im thinking once the new baby arrives ive got to pay more attention to the pushchair instead of LO wondering off into the road and getting the rains all tangled up etc etc.

plus weve just added a buggy board to the pushchair and i think that just completely threw me today. as much as he loved it and stood nicely on it im thinking maybe until he can walk abit better we might have to lose the board

i just see other children walking (ok, most of them look older than my LO) but i just cant help wondering will he ever be able to walk as nicely as those children. there not on reins and holding hands nicely, going in the same direction as there parents

just to clarify his actual walking is perfect its more his focus and spacial awareness and direction im talking about.

 

[Mrs Doddy]

my lo is a little smaller than yours but I am trying to encourage outside walking, ive walked her to the end of the road a few times, she just wants me to pick her up all the time, i will keep trying. Lo also likes to touch everything !! My lo will not hold my hand so its reins (well cow bag with reins !) until she is old enough for me to explain she has to hold my hand

 

[2805]

My lo started walking at 14 months, so only the past month really and we are now starting to encourage outside walking. I know he is abit youngr than your lo but he is also the same wanting to touch everything he comes to.

We took a stroll up to the corner shop yesterday that is at the end of our road and he wanted to keep touching the cars that were parked at the side of the road or kept wanting to pick stones up. But i suppose its all so new to them they just want to explore.

Hopefully by the time your new baby comes along he will have got abit more use to walking outside! x

 

[Reedy]

Maybe try going for a shorter walk for now, maybe where there arent so many busy roads?
I remember taking Finley out for a walk & telling him to hurry up everytime he stopped to look at something/touch something. When I thought about it I felt terrible. He's a toddler who is exploring the outside world I should be talking to him about what the things he stops for are ie flowers/grass/cars/lamposts etc rather than telling him to hurry up.
We went on shorted walks to start with then longer ones. Now he's older & knows what certain things are he walks alot better & doesnt stop so much unless he spots something he hasnt seen before.
He is fantastic with holding my hand & always has been as Ive told him right from a young age he must hold my hand. He even stands & waits while I get sorted (locked the door etc) then asks for my hand x
I think shortened walks & talking to him about the things he sees might help (but might not) maybe when we are rushing them & not letting them explore they take matters in to their own hands & wander off?? x

 

[aimee-lou]

With Earl we would take him on walks to the park or the shops (10 mins each way) and encourage him to walk and talk. Been doing this since he was your LO's age and a 10 mins each way to the shops used to take an hour!

Now it's more like 40 mins which I don't think is too bad considering his legs are a lot shorter lol. It's a matter of practice, and encouraging the fact that the destination is more exciting than the journey (difficult with an inquisitive toddler) but I tend to say things like 'lets get to the shops, get some milk' and he'll speed up as he likes the shop etc.

Try not to be in a rush if you can too. If you need to be somewhere then pushchair or bus are our ways, but if we're not working to a time, then we'll walk, even the half hour into town. We've retired our big pushchair and the stroller only comes out 3 times a week (the CM and back and to town for shopping).

 

[KittyVentura]

Fin is a very good walker. Good speed and stamina... and VERY good at holding my hand etc but my WORD do I hear you re the touching stuff.

"ooh a lampost" *pat pat pat*

Walks 15 steps...

"ooh a lampost" *pat pat pat*

Walks 15 steps...

"ooh a lampost" *pat pat pat*

Walks 15 steps...

"ooh a lampost" *pat pat pat*...

It doesn't annoy me. We actually find it quite funny and we talk lots abotu whatever he is touching etc. I tend now to only let him walk when I know we're not pushed for time (bearing in mind I am a SAHM... this is most of the time). If we're cutting it fine for the bus or an appointment then he goes in the buggy to start and walks after rather than walking from the house. works pretty well.

He gets VERY distracted by cars and animals. He will stop and swing round to see every car that passes and watch it go past before he'll move again. Same for dogs etc lol xx

 

[LaughOutLoud]

MY LO is 2 and although walks perfectly fine, she will take her own time to see and admire everything. We have just come back from holiday and she knew we were in a shinier nicer place - Dubai! She refused to be strapped in the pushchair and walked everywhere all day with no sleep at all. She was just so excited about everything and if we tried to pick her up she would just tell us 'i want to walk' and wriggle free, taking a leisurely pace to touch and admire everything. Yes, I was getting a little impatient esp when we had to rush but I had to remind myself we were all on holiday and to just relax. She def enjoyed herself.

 

[RachA]

I've never pushed walking with my eldest. Up until he was 4 he was in a pushchair or on a buggy board most of the time we were out. If he said he wanted to walk i would let him but i didn't often tell him he 'had' to walk. Now he's 4 1/2 and he walks a 20min walk to school and back every day with no problems.

LO is the same - i wouldn't even consider letting her walk most places. TBH i just don't have the time. I know that if i let her walk a little a the moment she will want to do it all the time and then the 20min walk to school will end up be a traumatic 40min walk!

They get there eventually and i would much rather have my eldest in a buggy so that he didn't wander off etc when i was looking after lo.

 

[hattiehippo]

Tom was awful when he started walking at 14 months and for a long time after that it was reins or no walking.

But the last 2 months he has really improved and is pretty good at holding hands...the only thing it he walks so slowly. But I have just found that he can hold the carry handle on the side of the pushchair instead and with that he will walk much faster and we get places alot quicker.

I encourage him to walk as much as possible if we're not pushed for time. Its builds up his stamina and tires him out. But I only have him to worry about.

 

[MrsT&Ben]

I couldn't even entertain the idea of taking Ben out for a walk outside on my own. He started walking at 15 months. He wants to walk but he takes about 2 steps and then wants to be carried and won't go back in his pushchair so I just dont bother. I feel like a bad mummy by not encouraging him to walk outside but for my sanity I just can't. When hubby is out with us I try and let him walk but generally he's up on daddy's shoulders! We'll get there one day!