What age did you stop using a stroller?

[Lolli]

Hi all,

Sorry, i know this has probably been asked before but I can't get anything to come up in the search.

Just curious to know when everyone's toddler stopped using a stroller or pram? Ds will be 22 months old when we have the new baby. I want to buy a Phil and Ted's double but dh is resisiting the idea, saying we won't need a double by then, that ds will want to be walking. Probably true, he'll want to walk, but the idea of chasing my extremely active little man around the shops with a newborn in a pram is giving me a headache already.

Whaddya reckon?

[alioops]

DD2 will be 22 months when DD3 is born. We still have a twin pram but it is huge and very heavy so we are going to see how we go with the harness and letting her walk to begin with, but if it gets too much I will put DD3 in the sling and DD2 in the single pram. HTH.

[JellyBean]

I am in a similar boat to you LoriRae so interested in this thread.
I have decided for the first few months I will see how I go with the newbie in my baby carrier and DS1 in his stroller, but I know there will come a point that my back just wont be able to handle pushing a heavy 20+ month year old and carrying a rapidly growing baby on my chest.
I have had so many mothers warn me against letting DS1 walk around the shopping centre - with regards to how much longer everything takes, so I have got the Phil & Ted's and the Firstwheels City Twin Pram picked out already just in case.
Or maybe I'll just drop them off at Mum's for an hour while I go and do the shopping in peace.....

[bon]

My youngest DD stopped riding in the stroller not long after she turned 2, because she figured out how to undo the buckle and climb out of it! Now we just put her in a trolley, or let her walk - but that makes shopping especially very difficult as she is a runner. We have tried using a harness on occasion too, which works ok, but she does get annoyed with it very easily when she can't go where she wants to! ATM I try to avoid going to the shops with her altogether, until she is a bit older.

[mbear]

I just worry about getting stuck with a side by side- do you have that problem, not being able to get through doorways, checkout's etc?

......major shopping ctrs are fine - they have access these days for disabled people and mothers with prams, so no, thats not a problem.....going into a boutique store, or something, yep, sure, i wont fit, but i would rather be on my own if im shopping for that sorta thing anyway - KWIM ? Also think about fetes, picnics, going to watch someone play sport....i would rather have them both strapped in than keeping a watchful eye out for a toddler.

have a squiz.....i guarantee it will do your head in... but worth shopping around.

ETA - i bought a double stroller (one behind the other) off ebay and it was soooo heavy to steer. When the one at the back got older, they often would get frustrated they couldnt see what the front one was seeing.....so for me, the double stroller didnt work for us....

[berrme]

DS1 was 26 months when DS2 was born. I got a P & T pram about 6 months ago. DH was sceptical about me spending so much on a new pram when we already had a pram... but he now sees why I insisted.
DS1 can walk perfectly well, but not always for long enough and definitely not fast enough in the right direction. The pram also makes it easier to get moving even when DS1 doesn't want to, and stops him grabbing things that he shouldn't. I do strap DS2 on sometimes, but it isn't practical for exercise walks or extended shopping trips etc.
Personally I can't see myself letting DS1 walk everywhere for quite a while yet. It is just too much hard work.

[Matryoshka]

My DS is almost 3 and i've had both of them since he was 2. I use a side by side stroller, i'm still using it because unfortunately when he's not in there he runs off, or mucks around, so althought he can walk just fine, its more for my convenience.

[~Trish~]

My DS1 probably stopped using one just before he turned 3. We bought a pram with a toddler seat for when DS2 was to be born, but by the time he arrived DS1 had just turned 3 and we never used the toddler seat. He just walked everywhere.

In saying that, we have since bought a P&T's pram (for the next bub & DS2) and DS1 jumps in the bottom seat every chance he gets . He is far too big for it, but it's so handy when we are going for a big walk and he gets tired.

[mbear]

My 3 yr old still wants to sit in the stroller now and then......i will soon have a newborn and a 20month old, and there is no way i could imagine her lasting very long walking around the shops with me - maybe its the price of the P&T your DH is worried about.....
.......i have a pram fetish, i have 3 all up - you never know what situation you maybe in.....
1. Maclaren stroller - had for a few years and got my moneys worth over and over again
2. Childcare side by side stroller - good for 6months and above and a toddler (was $200ish)
3. Strider Take 2 with todd. seat - my splurge this pregnancy, but couldnt resist.....

I guess it depends on your budget...coz you can get a twin/side by side off ebay, in stores for much, much less than what you would pay for a P&T.....
I would prefer to wheel around a double/side by side etc and have the option of your little one having a seat when needed, then being stuck, pushing a newborn and carrying a toddler.....KWIM ???

Good luck !

[Lolli]

yep mbear I think it's the price, even off ebay p&t are pricey.

I just worry about getting stuck with a side by side- do you have that problem, not being able to get through doorways, checkout's etc?

[BekZ]

Lori - I am trying to make the same decision as you atm. DD1 was 25 months when DD2 was born and I didn't bother getting a double. There may have been one or two situations where I needed it. However, I don't go shopping with both of them very much and I always made sure my shopping day was on a day that DD1 was in care or I simply used the trolley. I had DD1 in the trolley seat and DD2 in the sling or in the capsule on the trolley.

Now my delima is that there will only be 19 months between my next 2 and I have taken DD2 out of care. So effectively I won't have any days with just one baby.

I have looked at the Steelcraft double stroller. It fits into standard doors and is suitable from birth. From memory it is around the $260 mark. My SIL did the P&T thing and ended up selling it because her kids hated being one behind the other. There is 20 months between her 2 and she survived with a cheapy single stroller for the bub.

I guess you need to work out what you'll need the stroller for. If you walk everywhere and go on long shopping trips, will always have the 2 kids with you then it may be better to buy some thing more expensive.

[Matryoshka]

I have the steel craft double stroller and am really happy with it! The only place that is tricky is the post office and small shops overcrowded with displays.

Oh and whats really good about it is that both seats lay back almost flat, and i have had heaps of occasions where both the toddler and baby have fallen asleep at the shop allowing me to relax and have a coffee somewhere!

[Michelle71]

There is 18 months between DS and DD and initially I used the pram and a sling. But I knew other carers wouldn't have the two of them like that and it was limiting how far I could walk with them as DD got heavier. Shopping was fine but walking for some exercise was uncomfortable.

So I got the Firstwheels City Twin Pram and it has been really good. Seats are reversible so I can have DD facing me and DS facing out (or any combination) and you can get a bassinnette attachment if needed. And now I use a variety of prams depending on where I am going and for how long. At nearly 2, DS still needs the pram. Especially for a long day out.

[dueinfeb]

i highly reccommend having a look at a skateboard attachment for your pram. They are about $70 and roll behind the pram and my 2yo thinks it fabulous. he can walk sometimes and jump on it when i need him to.