

best pushchair for 3 years old

(84 Posts)
margobambino Mon 31-May-10 22:54:09

Hi, We have Stokke Xplory but DS is now growing out of it. We are looking for something roomy for a 3 years old who looks like 4 and sturdy enough to carry him when he wants to run but has to stay in the pushchair. I'd appreciate any advice.

kizzy2010 Fri 16-Jul-10 14:39:13

i just wanted to say how judgemental i think you all are. i have a son of nearly 5 and a daughter who will be 3 in october. my son was out of his buggy before my daughter was born. my daughter on the other hand, although she loves to walk every where, tires very easily and needs a buggy.
i'm in the same position as the op now. her old buggy dies last week and i need to get her a new one. why you ask... my son starts school in september. he didnt get into our nearest school as its a catholic school and we are not catholic. the school hes at is over a mile away which would not only be a long way for my daughter to walk, but also very time consuming, especially at 8.30 in the morning. now i'm not saying she will be in the buggy for every trip. she will most likely walk home when there is no rush. but you surely cant expect a child of that age to walk best part of 5 miles a day with no support.
take care of your own children and leave others to worry about whats best for theirs

faddle Fri 16-Jul-10 22:14:15

OP - you know your own child best. I have just bought cosatto yo for DD who is 4yo. Folds up reasonably small, is light, and has a very generous seat and hood which reclines. Nice to push and a reasonable basket. She uses it around town if she gets tired, and for days out to carry all the crap when she wants a nap.
My mother was shock when she saw me packing the pushchair for our recent camping holiday. at the end of the week when she had seen DD fall asleep in it every single day, worn out by the excitement, she apologised and said I had obviously known best in this matter. I was then equally shock as my mother has never before said she was wrong about anything to do with parenting!

nicolamumof3 Fri 16-Jul-10 22:29:04

OP posted for advice about which pushchair, not 'advice' at what age her dc should be walking, how he should be walking, how far etc etc. Blah blah blah.

I have three children all very different but would never feel the need to justify at what age they need to be out of a pushchair.

Anyway...for ease of pushing an older child air tyres are best imo..mountain buggy, baby jogger all good sized seats. Otherwise for strollers, biggest seat sizes will come in Maclaren Techno XT and XLr. Tho my 4.5yr recently used a volo on holiday occasionally and was fine. (yes 4.5yr old, must be an awful parent grin)

iamfabregasted Fri 16-Jul-10 22:34:01

nicolamumof3 - I am a worse parent than you.

My DD is 8 (yes 8) and I intend to take the buggy to the zoo.

As I said on another of these threads, she's tiny, wearing age 3 clothes, and gets tired very easily, so the buggy makes sense and also I have torn rotator cuff muscles in my shoulder so I find carrying stuff hard, so it means we can take a picnic.

what IS the obsession with children being out of the buggy at a certain age?
it's like a bloody competition "oooh well mine was out at 6 months, i dragged him along on a lead"


does it really matter???
the OP wants a buggy for her son. maybe she walks a lot, maybe he still naps in it, maybe he is a "bolter" like my ds2... maybe it's none of your business why she wants one?

sleepysox Fri 16-Jul-10 22:37:35

My son was in a pushchair until 4. We had a Baby Jogger. The seat was so big it looks like it'd fit a 7 year old! I think it goes up to kids of 40lbs. Pushes like a dream.

Baby Dan had an umbrella fold one called 'Stockholm' which had a similar weight limit too- we've also got one of those. They've been discontinued, but some places are still them new- we got ours new on fleabay for around £40.

I knew you'd get the 'why can't they walk' responses too. I've remember reading other similar posts who got the same response.

Just ignore them. Every child is different. Go with what your child needs.

jellybeans Fri 16-Jul-10 22:37:35

3 wheeler Nipper. I pushed 3 year old twins in one. Don't care a jot what people think. With twins it would have taken all day to get the older ones to school and one had visual impairment and the other developmental delays. You can't judge by looking! 3 big wheels will be great.

nicolamumof3 Fri 16-Jul-10 22:42:50

my 3yo still fits great in nipper its still easy to push as well so deffo recommend that.

raindroprhyme Sat 17-Jul-10 10:26:52

haven't read whole thread can't be bothered with the ranting.
my DS was in a single nipper till he was 4 and weighed about 18kg and he is super tall too. Easy to push with him and loads of shopping. i have a volo too but it was difficult to push him in it from when he was about 3.

GirlofCadiz Sat 17-Jul-10 19:14:24

There is nothing wrong with putting a three year old in a buggy. We don't drive and have to walk very far and carry lots of things. I always brought my pushchair out when my ds was 3.

He walked most of the time but I needed to have that pushchair when we were in a hurry or carrying loads of shopping. Sometimes a three year old gets tired, grumpy, tries to run off and needs a break in the buggy.

Why is this some kind of crime?

gegs73 Sat 17-Jul-10 19:22:57

My 3yo DS2 still has a buggy if we are out for a really long day and also for the school run.

Its a 1.5 mile walk there and the same back. And yes he could walk it but we would be late EVERY day! He does walk back! I really can't see what the problem is.

He has a Maclaren Volvo which is perfect so I can second that one. Cheap, lightweight, folds easily etc.

gegs73 Sat 17-Jul-10 19:23:41

Maybe all the anti buggy for 3yos people drive everywhere wink

makeupmummy Sat 17-Jul-10 19:28:20

My gigantic two year old, 19 plus kilos and 97 cms, still has plenty room in his Baby Jogger City Mini; reckon that will see us through the buggy years. I agree by way; we walk everywhere, but always take the buggy for the "I'm sitting down/climbing people's steps/not appreciating you have to be somewhere 5 minutes ago/what, I have to sit still in this cafe? " moments!

makeupmummy Sat 17-Jul-10 19:29:34

O, and my tall (but slender) 8 year old dd also fits in it, when she really wants to wind ds up, or have a seat when out at races!

skidoodly Sat 17-Jul-10 19:40:44

Or maybe they walk everywhere but prioritise teaching their children independence over getting places quickly.

gegs73 Sat 17-Jul-10 20:56:19

Or they prioritise getting their child to school on time without getting everyone up at 5am hmm

skidoodly Sun 18-Jul-10 01:52:45

If you are doing a 3 hour walk to school every day you have a bigger problem than a non-toddler child needing a pram.

GirlofCadiz Sun 18-Jul-10 09:00:54

DH says that they used to put dss in a pushchair when he was 4. Dss is now at a top univerisity in the US studying chemical engineering and working very hard to support himself.

No problems with independence and responsibility with him as a result of going in a pushchair when he was 4.

skidoodly Sun 18-Jul-10 09:32:32

I once met a man at a top university whose parents beat him regularly.

FanjoForTheMammaries Sun 18-Jul-10 09:36:54

yes, putting someone in a pushchair is clearly equivalent to beating them regularly hmm

merryandmad Sun 18-Jul-10 09:56:57

"oooh well mine was out at 6 months, i dragged him along on a lead" thisisyestersay- that's so funny.

My dd nearly 4 went into town in her buggy on Friday to get her school uniform ready for September. shock We had shopping to do, then had to get back in time for her to go to nursery in the afternoon. She is too big for me to carry aswell as shopping. Plus she got to eat her packed lunch in the pushchair on the way home before nursery.

We have a Maclaren Techno- but it has survived dd1 and dd2 and now the wheels are slightly square. but the seat is plently big enough for her still.

skidoodly Sun 18-Jul-10 10:29:25

A man I know who runs a well-known sportswear company started smoking at 5. Maybe he smoked in his pram.

pinkgrapefruitjuice Sun 18-Jul-10 10:45:31

Maclaren techno xlr, roomier than the xt. You could probably get one 2nd hand.

I second the wrist strap idea and would take the pushchair on holiday to use as a packhorse for all the bags and stuff and as a time out zone. I hear you about containment - sometimes its just easier.

yeah, what gegs said. Everyone I know who boasts about binning the buggy when their prodigious DC was 18mo or whatever drives any distance over 1/2 mile. My 3yo hasn't been in the buggy for a while, but the last time I dusted it off we needed to get to doctors 1.5miles away sharpish. No 3yo I know ever does sharpish on request, never mind when unwell. I really don't get what the fuss is about.

We've an XLR and it's great for taller/heavier toddlers.

chibi Sun 18-Jul-10 12:19:19

Don't assume that everyone who bins the buggy drives everywhere

I am carless and my 3 yo has walked 2-3 miles a day since she was 2.5, without drama or hysterics, and at a reasonable pace

I thought this was normal, apparently not -she is some freaky otherworldly walking savant smile

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