Ever since Lukas was a couple of months old, we have owned a very nice BOB stroller. If you aren't familiar with the BOB, it is a jogging stroller with sturdy construction, excellent suspension, a swivel front wheel, and two large back wheels for easy off road/sidewalk navigation. Plus, it folds down to a compact size that fits easily into even the smallest trunk. Sounds pretty cool, huh?
Well, it is. And I am sure that many people get tons of use out of theirs. But us? Not so much. Yeah, we used our stroller more often when Lukas was in his first year. Still not a lot. But ever since he started to walk, we just haven't had much inclination to use it. Most of the time we have been content to either:
1. Let him walk - Yes, this was difficult at times. Especially when he was about 12-18 months since he wanted to grab everything in sight. But we opted to redirect him rather than subject him to sitting strapped into a place that limited his movement and visibility.
2. Carry him - We often will just carry Lukas around when we go somewhere, switching him from hip, to shoulders, to the other hip, to the other parent. He really loves to be on our shoulders where he can see all that is going on.
3. Red Wagon - We live close to a neighborhood business district where we can walk and shop locally. Lukas much prefers to ride in his wagon than the stroller. Plus, he gets to say "Hi!" to all sorts of people, who generally brighten considerably afterwards.
Combine all these things, and we have used our stroller maybe one or twice in the past 9 months. In truth, I am questioning whether we will ever use it again with our little guy. He is past 2 years old now and gets around extremely well on his own. I have been wondering if this is a normal transition or if we are just not stroller people. I do see other parents pushing around much older kids, but can't really envision that being us.
I suppose if I suddenly took up jogging, I might use it more often (Yes, that was intended as a joke. You can stop smirking now Mrs. LIAYF). Or possibly we don't use it much because we only have one child. Maybe we will use it much more once there is another family member in the picture. Assuming that happens in the foreseeable future.
How about you readers? I'm curious. At what age did you give up using a stroller for your kids?
Well, it is. And I am sure that many people get tons of use out of theirs. But us? Not so much. Yeah, we used our stroller more often when Lukas was in his first year. Still not a lot. But ever since he started to walk, we just haven't had much inclination to use it. Most of the time we have been content to either:
1. Let him walk - Yes, this was difficult at times. Especially when he was about 12-18 months since he wanted to grab everything in sight. But we opted to redirect him rather than subject him to sitting strapped into a place that limited his movement and visibility.
2. Carry him - We often will just carry Lukas around when we go somewhere, switching him from hip, to shoulders, to the other hip, to the other parent. He really loves to be on our shoulders where he can see all that is going on.
3. Red Wagon - We live close to a neighborhood business district where we can walk and shop locally. Lukas much prefers to ride in his wagon than the stroller. Plus, he gets to say "Hi!" to all sorts of people, who generally brighten considerably afterwards.
Combine all these things, and we have used our stroller maybe one or twice in the past 9 months. In truth, I am questioning whether we will ever use it again with our little guy. He is past 2 years old now and gets around extremely well on his own. I have been wondering if this is a normal transition or if we are just not stroller people. I do see other parents pushing around much older kids, but can't really envision that being us.
I suppose if I suddenly took up jogging, I might use it more often (Yes, that was intended as a joke. You can stop smirking now Mrs. LIAYF). Or possibly we don't use it much because we only have one child. Maybe we will use it much more once there is another family member in the picture. Assuming that happens in the foreseeable future.
How about you readers? I'm curious. At what age did you give up using a stroller for your kids?
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18 comments:
I still use my 2 doublr strollers. I let the oldest 2 walk and that was around the age of 4 - primarily because my oldest son was a flight risk but now he can walk with us fine. The middle 2 boys are still in strollers because they 2 are flight risks. Sometimes if we are doing shopping and the whole family is together (very rare) we just use 1 double stroller and then put the other 2 in the shopping cart. We manage - we don't like the strollers but for us they are necessities.
I would sooo love one of those red wagons though!
We used a stroller with our first past three years old, but only when we knew we'd need a preschooler transport mechanism (like say for a zoo trip). My wife isn't a fan of pulling a wagon, and preferred the stroller for long days.
I would guess we stopped using the stroller as a regular item around two, two and a half.
All of my sons had washed their hands of strollers around 2 - you just couldn't keep them in, although I tried! My daughter, however, is nearly 3 and loooves her stroller. She will be in it for the long haul, I think, and that's fine by me. We have 3 strollers - an umbrella, a baby jogger, and a graco fancy one, so I guess we *are* stroller people!
My daughter is 3 and is as big as many 5 year olds....and she still uses the stroller, although we MOSTLY encourage her to walk unless it is a long one. My son is almost 17 months but just getting the hang of walking, so it will be interesting to see what he does once he figures out he can do more than sit! We have a double Bob stroller. Actually that is ONE of our strollers. We have another non-jogging double stoller, one single, one single jogging, and one umbrella. JEESH!
Are you trying to confuse me into an early grave?!
I didn't see any red wagons at the baby dump.
The stroller still gets used for both kids (just turned 4 and 2) but mostly only when clearly tired. The 4 year old always liked the stroller and had to be encouraged to walk sometimes, while the 2 year old has always preferred to walk and sometimes (e.g. for speed) has to be persuaded to get into the stroller.
Don't use it much either. Whats the point...he lieks to walk.
We have a jogger, umbrella, regular (which is getting sold), and recently purchased a "stand and sit" for Jacob and the new little guy. I opted for the "stand and sit" because Jacob rarely will sit in a stroller any more, but thinks standing in the new stroller is cool! He stopped wanting to sit in the stroller about 6 months ago, but I still take it with me as he occasionally will be a flight risk.
As soon as they were old enough to get on my nerves about not wanting to be in a stroller.
With the first child, we had the stroller. When the next one came along and took over, the oldest crawled into the basket under the stroller. It was functional. Skip ahead a few years and number three has come into the picture. We've also upgraded to the wagon you speak of. Very handy. Very sturdy. 3 boys duking it out to be one of two rider max it could hold.
Yeah, Matthew rarely wants to be in his stroller any more. He even refuses the wagon most of the time now too. He wants to walk everywhere. I'd say this is a pretty normal stage to be wanting to give it up - especially for boys. Definitely hold onto it if you're planning on another child though.
Stroller, schmoller. This is why we have arms and hips. I think the last time I used the stroller was when we were in Seattle last year, and I bet we put 50 miles on it. Otherwise, we have just carried or allowed Owen to walk whenever possible.
We still use it if we're in the city or shopping or something. But these days, I make the older boy walk. Good for him.
Since we have three kids, keeping as many of them strapped down when there is only one adult is kind of important...we keep them in the strollers as long as we can. If they aren't in it...we can use it to carry stuff.
I'm gonna say three for our youngest because he's four now and I can't remember the last time we had him in the damn thing.
I hate strollers with a passion. I carry Evan on my shoulders and make amy walk. Our stroller gets used about once a year. About time we tried to sell it really.
Red wagons are way cooler than strollers. You better just sell that stroller as soon as you can.
That way you will be guaranteed to have numerous occasions where you wished you had that stroller back for the second child.
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