Does your 4 year old sit in a stroller?

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Forum -> Parenting our children

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piegirl

Tue, May 17 2016, 5:12 pm

I never imagined that this would happen but the two year old who refused to sit in the stroller now refuses to get out of it. When we go out he only wants to sit and has to be encouraged strongly to walk even one block. Anyone else been in this situation?

mummiedearest

Tue, May 17 2016, 5:20 pm

yup. mine will walk if forced to, but much prefers the stroller. I put it down to her being the third kid. it was easier to walk with the two big ones holding the stroller until recently. best thing to do is put the stroller away out of sight and insist the kid walk.

nnmom

Tue, May 17 2016, 5:22 pm

Yes! With both my 5 and 3 year old. It's not worth fighting with them so we take them everywhere with the double.
I hope they grow out of it soon!

amother

Indigo

Tue, May 17 2016, 5:23 pm

He did, until he broke the seat because he was too heavy.

mha3484

Tue, May 17 2016, 5:26 pm

Nope. I started weaning him off around the age of 3. We also don't use the eruv so he figured out if he wants the park on shabbos he has to walk.

mommy3b2c

Tue, May 17 2016, 5:46 pm

My kids sat in the double until they were 4.5 and 2.5. Then it got too heavy, so I switched to the single and they took turns. My younger used it till 5.5. I have no doubt my baby will be in it for quite awhile as well. I find strollers very useful.

FranticFrummie

Tue, May 17 2016, 6:04 pm

This has got to be a frum thing. Never in my life did I ever see a child over the age of 2 in a stroller, until I got into the frum community. I've seen lots of kids 6 and 7 years old in strollers. I try to reserve judgement in case they are special needs, but how many special kids can there be out there?

As soon as my DD was walking consistently, we ditched the stroller and didn't look back. She had low muscle tone, and I needed her to exercise her muscles and walk as much as possible, and I also needed her tired out so she would sleep at night.

What do you do if you have kids close together, and nobody wants to get out of the stroller? When do your kids get exercise?

mummiedearest

Tue, May 17 2016, 6:10 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

it's not a frum thing, I've seen this plenty. my dd uses the stroller at this point if she is sick (when we have to pick up her big bro) or if she's super cranky when we have to go. she was super cranky today and fell asleep on the way home. she's still sleeping. she was just too tired to walk ten minutes each way. she gets plenty of exercise in general. I will likely use the stroller more in the summer when I take my kids into manhattan on a regular basis. she's not going to walk all over, and it's safer if I have her in a stroller. I hope to reserve it for those trips only, though. I would not put a six or seven yr old in a stroller, I think that's a bit much. when they're still young enough to nap, they can have a stroller ride when necessary.

Rosemarie

Tue, May 17 2016, 8:05 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

Actually, in Brooklyn, being that by the time you are 3,4,5 you already have multiple siblings younger than you, and triple and quadruple strollers aren't really available or practical, kids that age are long not in strollers. And the only older kids I see in strollers around here are the non Jewish ones who don't have a younger sibling so they can keep using the stroller till they are quite big. (Not being racist or stereotyping, just fact of life that if there are younger siblings, the older ones can't use the stroller except in negative circumstances, like the older one being ill...)

cfriedman2

Tue, May 17 2016, 8:18 pm

My 4 year so uses the stroller but that's because we have almost a 1.5 mile walk each way to Shul on Shabbos and I don't think it's fair to make her walk that

yogabird

Tue, May 17 2016, 8:25 pm

My 4 year old keeps kvetching that her feet hurt, and my 2 year old keeps whining that he wants to "walk on the floor" so they switch off.

observer

Tue, May 17 2016, 8:30 pm

I don't think any of mine were still in the stroller by 2 years old.

amother

Pewter

Tue, May 17 2016, 10:15 pm

I think you just gotta do what works for you.

Some people have a car that they use all the time so don't bother with a stroller when their kids old enough to walk. some kids get very crackly, some kids are more likely to wander off or get into trouble if their not in the stroller and ect.....

My almost 3 year old is still in the stroller and I don't see him coming out anytime soon. Hes a good walker, but I don't have a car. I do tons of walking (up to an hour somtimes) and I cant expect a kid his age to walk so far. I let him walk till he gets tired and then he sits down. Sometimes I'm in a rush and I feel bad rushing him along since he still walks much slower then an adult. It also comes in handy in stores - I don't have to worry that if I look away for a second he'll be lost.

Tue, May 17 2016, 10:34 pm

It is so convenient to use the stroller when doing errands! I got some flak from a nosy neighbor, but my 4-year-old didn't mind using the stroller (also didn't mind walking) and neither did I.

little_mage

Wed, May 18 2016, 6:19 am

My almost five year old still uses the stroller. We don't have a car, which means we walk everywhere. In addition to some places we walk just being too much, there are days when I just don't want to deal with the whining and dragging that making him walk would entail.

salt

Wed, May 18 2016, 6:47 am

My daughter sat in a stroller till she was embarrassed to have her friends to see her in it. Most of her friends have more than one little sibling, so they don't have that luxury of still sitting in a stroller.
This happened when she was almost age 5, by the way Smile

invisiblecircus

Wed, May 18 2016, 7:19 am

My oldest stopped using the stroller at 22 months. It just became a battle to get her in it so since she was a strong walker I let her walk.

Now I'm expecting a baby when my second child will be 22 months but he's not such a strong walker and now we have a long walk to school and back, plus bus. I'm debating whether to get a double or not but I'm thinking about what it'll be like to get him and the 4yo on the bus with the stroller and the times when he'll inevitably refuse to walk, so I think I have no option but to get a double.

With my oldest, I also had the advantage of not taking the stroller out with me when I was walking with the toddler. If the stroller is there, maybe my son will expect to be in it!

I'm hoping we don't get into a situation where it's hard to get him to stop using it though. It seems easier to stop when they're younger.

amother

Pink

Wed, May 18 2016, 7:46 am

I use a stroller for all up to five whenever we go to a crowded place like malls and street fairs. Less worries of them getting lost

Zehava

Wed, May 18 2016, 10:18 am

I don't use the double anymore and short distances are fine but for longer distances I have a little seat that attaches to my single. Very convenient.

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