Getting your kids in shape for walking at the parks

[kohlby]

I've seen a few posters mention that they put their kids on walking programs before going to Disney. How intense was your program? How much walking should kids be able to do in order to manage the entire day? I realize that the mileage in the parks will be much higher due to all the stops. But I'm curious about how many miles at a time I should get my kids up to.

We will be taking a single stroller and a sling for three kids, including a baby - but that means the 6.5 year old will be walking most of the time. In theory. I'm finding that the 3.5 year old actually has better stamina. The 3.5 year old ran a mile easily without stopping the other day - but the 6.5 year old complains that his legs hurt when he runs just a half of a mile. So it's essential that we start a walking program soon! We leave in two months.

 

[nicki.momof3]

better safe than sorry - with kids that age I would take a dounel umbrella. Better to push an extra kid than listen to them cry and whine.

 

[maxiesmom]

It could be that your older child is having growing pains. We had that with my niece one trip, and she did end up sharing a stroller with her younger sister some of the time. You will get different opinions, but I'm in the rather-have-them-in-a-stroller-not-crabbing-while-walking camp.

 

[RMulieri]

Hi! we did a walking program with our 4 yr old before our trip last Sept and we are in process for our trip in 14 days...We started out about 6 months ahead of time doing nightly walks after dinner.We started with going around the block, then 2 blocks etc..by the end of 6 months we were doing about 6 miles on weekends ..Disney IS alot of walking BUT it is also alot of SITTING AND RIDING/WAITING. It can be done.We simply made it the expectation for our daughter that she would walk or we would not go( harsh but we only have one kid to deal with and she hadn't been in a stroller since she was 2).We had NO problems, No complaints, No whining and NO meltdowns.We simply made sure to take alot of breaks throughout the day for water ,meals, snacks, and bathroom.

 

[Judy in Texas]

Seems that kids start getting tired mid-morning and then again later in the afternoon. Plan your days to give the kids (and you) breaks throughout the day. For example, in Magic Kingdom there is a fruit and juice stand near Liberty Square. It's a nice place to stop for a while, pick up apples/bananas, a couple juice boxes. Consider going back to the resort after lunch for a swim and maybe naps. Then you can head back to a park for supper and the parades. There is no rule to say that you have to stay at the parks all day long.

I used to get "leg aches" during growth spurts and they hurt!. Perhaps you can look up massage techniques to help minimize them. I don't normally take baths in hotel rooms; but, a nice hot soak certainly helped.

 

[disykat]

We made our kids walk with us for several months prior to our trip when they were 6 and 8. It really wasn't about stamina, for us it was getting used to the idea of walking for longer periods. They were perfectly capable of it physically without training. The training was to cut down the whining. We didn't worry about miles, we just went for evening walks and some day hikes.

IMO, running is totally different than walking. I can walk all day long, but running...

My kids had no issues with walking in WDW and I do think the "training" helped. IMO, your issue might be that the 6 year old will see his sibling riding in luxury and "stroller envy" could trigger the whining.

 

[kohlby]

Thanks for your replies! Perhaps it could be growing pains. Can they hurt more during physical activity? Is there a good chance they'll be over in two months? I don't think we'll need a double since the 3.5 year old will walk some - freeing up the stroller for the oldest if absolutely needed, though there's a good chance he's too big for it. (I can sling the baby). But ideally, I want the oldest to not need the stroller. My kids don't use strollers normally - even as babies and toddlers. They use a sling until they can walk well. My oldest was 3.5 for our last trip and he did use the stroller for about half the day at the end of the week. (DD was 9 months so she was in the sling but slept in the stroller. I'm not 100% sure baby will still nap in the sling by then so I have to bring a reclining stroller just in case).

We don't go back to the room midday since my kids don't nap and haven't since before 2. (Except for baby who will nap in the sling. He's child #3 so he's had to nap wherever and whenever since birth so he's used to it). This way, the kids can stay on their normal wake up and sleep times. (DD goes to bed at 7:30pm). Plus the parks aren't open super long due to us going in Jan/Feb. We do plan down time in the park as needed.

I'm not sure if we can get everyone up to 6 miles. DD can do 2 miles walking and running easily, but the oldest is another story! I told him we're going hiking tomorrow and he said, "count me out!"

 

[RMulieri]

Thanks for your replies! Perhaps it could be growing pains. Can they hurt more during physical activity? Is there a good chance they'll be over in two months? I don't think we'll need a double since the 3.5 year old will walk some - freeing up the stroller for the oldest if absolutely needed, though there's a good chance he's too big for it. (I can sling the baby). But ideally, I want the oldest to not need the stroller. My kids don't use strollers normally - even as babies and toddlers. They use a sling until they can walk well. My oldest was 3.5 for our last trip and he did use the stroller for about half the day at the end of the week. (DD was 9 months so she was in the sling but slept in the stroller. I'm not 100% sure baby will still nap in the sling by then so I have to bring a reclining stroller just in case).

We don't go back to the room midday since my kids don't nap and haven't since before 2. (Except for baby who will nap in the sling. He's child #3 so he's had to nap wherever and whenever since birth so he's used to it). This way, the kids can stay on their normal wake up and sleep times. (DD goes to bed at 7:30pm). Plus the parks aren't open super long due to us going in Jan/Feb. We do plan down time in the park as needed.

I'm not sure if we can get everyone up to 6 miles. DD can do 2 miles walking and running easily, but the oldest is another story! I told him we're going hiking tomorrow and he said, "count me out!"

tell your 6 yr old what I tell mine....I make the rules, and you are going.At 6 they should still realize that Yes Mom and Dad care about their feelings, but they still make the rules.Obviously you can't threaten to not do Disney Like I did, unless you are willing to stick to your threat.But believe me my soon to be 6 yr old is the BIGGEST whiner and complainer known to man.Yet not a peep at Disney .We told her .." you walk, or we don't go. It is amazing at what can be accomplished with setting expectations and rules ahead.We did not over exert her, and we did take breaks.But I refused to push a stroller.Now obviously I only have one child so it is easier, but it still can be done .Another poster also had done something similar and instituted a system for dealing with complaints and negative comments at Disney.

 

[maxiesmom]

tell your 6 yr old what I tell mine....I make the rules, and you are going.At 6 they should still realize that Yes Mom and Dad care about their feelings, but they still make the rules.Obviously you can't threaten to not do Disney Like I did, unless you are willing to stick to your threat.But believe me my soon to be 6 yr old is the BIGGEST whiner and complainer known to man.Yet not a peep at Disney .We told her .." you walk, or we don't go"

I don't think the best thing to do is to put the whole future of a family vacation on a child's ability to walk many miles a day. That may not work out well for every family.

I would definately get everyone out and walking, not just the kids. I know I try to build up my stamina for a trip to Disney. But don't stress about it if your oldest needs to hop in a stroller for a bit. It is not a big deal, and you will see much older kids riding around in strollers at Disney World.

 

[twinsplusone]

We went last Feb and we have an 8 yr old and 6 yr old twins. They did great and we didn't do any "training" before we left. Our ds (6 yr) is a pokey walker but he did just fine. He and DH were often a little behind us but I didn't care about that, I just didn't want ds to be complaining and he never did. Enjoy your trip!

 

[kohlby]

He's not a whiner, so that's on our side! In the past at 3 year old and then again at 3.5, we told him that we would stay in the parks as long as he wanted as long as he was behaving and not acting too tired. It worked like a charm! But we let him use the stroller then if needed. We don't do any dinner reservations since we play it by ear and often leave sometime around the dinner hour.

He knows that if we're going hiking that he has to come - and he'll actually have fun once we start. It's the thought of walking that he doesn't like - yet he spends hours outside running around with the neighborhood kids. I'm not sure of the weight limit on my stroller and can't find it on-line since it's 6 years old. Similiar ones say 55lbs and he'll be about 60lbs by then. (And about 50") So I'm not sure if using the stroller for him will work.

*Great to know twinsplusone! We'll still do a walking plan but I won't be as militant about it knowing that some 6 year olds do fine without it!

 

[esk]

We just don't rent a stroller. And when they are tired, we go back to the hotel. We leave it up to them to set our pace.

DS did the Crazy Horse Hike (6 miles) at age 3 and DD climbed the bell towers in San Gimingano at age 3. Both insisted they didn't want to be carried on those occasions. We haven't used a stroller at Disney since she was about 2.

DD does whine at Target and Costco that "her legs hurt" but that is before we even get into the store.

I think there is so much to see, do, experience that maybe my kids don't think about it. They do get tired on the bus back to the hotel, but by then, we're going back for dinner and bed.

 

[RMulieri]

I don't think the best thing to do is to put the whole future of a family vacation on a child's ability to walk many miles a day. That may not work out well for every family.

I would definately get everyone out and walking, not just the kids. I know I try to build up my stamina for a trip to Disney. But don't stress about it if your oldest needs to hop in a stroller for a bit. It is not a big deal, and you will see much older kids riding around in strollers at Disney World.

Like I said... this may not work for families with more than one child.To US, we were able to get this to work. My daughter NEVER used a stroller past 2 yrs old.She walks all the time at home with us, and at local themeparks.I was not about to use one at Disney, since I didn't even HAVE one at home anymore and was not going to buy one or pay Disneys ridiculous charges.We went on HER pace.We were not running over people at rope drop or sprinting from ride to ride. If it was something like TSMM , we sent DH ahead to get fastpasses while we walked.We had a week and a plan.We took plenty of breaks, and enjoyed the atmosphere at the parks.We saw all that was on our list, and some things that were not.It can be done if you are willing to go slow and accept that moving slower may mean missing things( which we didn't).To us we were ok with that.The walking plan we did for months in advance definitely helped.But DH and I are both avid fitness freaks and the walks were more to get my daughter used to walking and as family bonding time to discusss the upcoming disney trip.If people want to try to get their kids to walk instead of ride in a stroller, I see nothing wrong with it.

 

[Microcell]

Eh.. my kids have gym class.. I am worried about me!

 

[cmaee]

I think gradually adding more walking time to your normal day would be sufficient. I don't subscribe to the "you are too old to ride in a stroller" theory. We tend to tour the parks comando style...sort of. I like to know that if my kids get tired, they can ride for a little while. I also like having them contained. We go Easter week and I like to know that when we are in a crowd, the kids are contained and safe from wandering off or us getting separated. Have you thought about adding a buggy board to your stroller for your older one? I know I am getting one to attach to the back of our umbrella stroller. The umbrella stroller will primarily be for our 3 yr old and then when one of our older kids are tired, one can ride on the buggy board. If both older kids are tired or we are in a huge crowd, we will have our 5 year old (will be 6 when we next go to Disney) ride in the stroller, 7 year old will stand on buggy board, and DH will carry our 3 yr. old on his shoulders.

 

[Hannathy]

Hi! we did a walking program with our 4 yr old before our trip last Sept and we are in process for our trip in 14 days...We started out about 6 months ahead of time doing nightly walks after dinner.We started with going around the block, then 2 blocks etc..by the end of 6 months we were doing about 6 miles on weekends ..Disney IS alot of walking BUT it is also alot of SITTING AND RIDING/WAITING. It can be done.We simply made it the expectation for our daughter that she would walk or we would not go( harsh but we only have one kid to deal with and she hadn't been in a stroller since she was 2).We had NO problems, No complaints, No whining and NO meltdowns.We simply made sure to take alot of breaks throughout the day for water ,meals, snacks, and bathroom.

I agree with this. I refuse to push a stroller for anything but a baby/toddler! If I can walk they can walk. They have way more energy than I do. My favorite statement is Disney is not a marathon. There is more waiting and standing and sitting than long stretches of walking. We didn't do a walking program. Usually if they said they were getting tired we were to and everyone decided if we were leaving or going on or oh well everyone is tired at Disney push thru it. My 5 yr old made it thru very loooong days at Easter for over a week without a peep, he kept up with 3 adults, 1 teen and 1 college guy. Kids will produce what is expected and what is tolerated, they know exactly what they can get away with! Mine have never been given any option but walking since 3-4, at Disney or anywhere else.

 

[RMulieri]

I agree with this. I refuse to push a stroller for anything but a baby/toddler! If I can walk they can walk. They have way more energy than I do. My favorite statement is Disney is not a marathon. There is more waiting and standing and sitting than long stretches of walking. We didn't do a walking program. Usually if they said they were getting tired we were to and everyone decided if we were leaving or going on or oh well everyone is tired at Disney push thru it. My 5 yr old made it thru very loooong days at Easter for over a week without a peep, he kept up with 3 adults, 1 teen and 1 college guy. Kids will produce what is expected and what is tolerated, they know exactly what they can get away with! Mine have never been given any option but walking since 3-4, at Disney or anywhere else.

Thank you for this..I was beginning to think maybe I was being too harsh .Since everyone I know tells me that my 6 yr old NEEDS a stroller, and that I am being mean.It is nice to know there are others out there like me

 

[maxiesmom]

I agree with this. I refuse to push a stroller for anything but a baby/toddler! If I can walk they can walk. They have way more energy than I do. My favorite statement is Disney is not a marathon. There is more waiting and standing and sitting than long stretches of walking. We didn't do a walking program. Usually if they said they were getting tired we were to and everyone decided if we were leaving or going on or oh well everyone is tired at Disney push thru it. My 5 yr old made it thru very loooong days at Easter for over a week without a peep, he kept up with 3 adults, 1 teen and 1 college guy. Kids will produce what is expected and what is tolerated, they know exactly what they can get away with! Mine have never been given any option but walking since 3-4, at Disney or anywhere else.

I don't see having a kid in a stroller as them "getting away" with anything. Not every child is the same, and to think there is some magical age when they will all of a sudden not need a stroller is silly. Not everyone has to use a stroller, but it doesn't make people bad parents or mean the kids are "getting away" with something if they do use a stroller.

Don't forget that small kids have to take more steps than adults to cover the same ground. So I can understand them getting tired before an adult does.