Should I Get a stroller for my seven and eight year old?

[FlightlessDuck]

Two years ago, we went with my 3 and 5 year old nieces. My in-laws took one stroller. More than half the time, neither child sat in the stroller, and it was pushed around, empty. It was completely pointless.

Obviously, OP, these are YOUR kids, but I don't see any reason why I would take a stroller for any healthy 7 and/or 8 year olds I know.

Then again, I'd rather carry a 3 year old on my hip rather than negotiate the park with a stroller again, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

Back in the "Good old Days" during the summer, my mom would kick us kids outside (except for meals) and we'd stay out there until the porch light started blinking off & on (our sign that it was time to come in) We lived in a cul-de-sac and knew all the neighbors....we had a blast playing impromptu games of baseball, "Horse" (we were the lucky ones with the basketball hoop on our garage)....and the funnest, even as teens, was hide and seek in the dark. Now kids sit on their computers, or spend their time texting, playing video games...in essence, just sitting on their pa-tooties all day (except for mandatory recess/PE)

I know times have changed, and it's not safe to let your kids roam around outside all day, but there are many organized sports that you can enroll them in...or at a minimum get them Dance, Dance, Revolution!!

Now as to my parents....I think they probably could have used a stroller when we were kids.

 

[maxiesmom]

Back in the "Good old Days" during the summer, my mom would kick us kids outside (except for meals) and we'd stay out there until the porch light started blinking off & on (our sign that it was time to come in) We lived in a cul-de-sac and knew all the neighbors....we had a blast playing impromptu games of baseball, "Horse" (we were the lucky ones with the basketball hoop on our garage)....and the funnest, even as teens, was hide and seek in the dark. Now kids sit on their computers, or spend their time texting, playing video games...in essence, just sitting on their pa-tooties all day (except for mandatory recess/PE)

I know times have changed, and it's not safe to let your kids roam around outside all day, but there are many organized sports that you can enroll them in...or at a minimum get them Dance, Dance, Revolution!!

Now as to my parents....I think they probably could have used a stroller when we were kids.

Sometimes a child can be active in sports, and still need a stroller in the parks. They are not all in strollers because they are couch potatoes all day. Walking all day every day for multiple days in a row for hours and hours is tough. If your child is active in everyday life, a few days in a stroller is not going to negate that.

I think it is pretty silly anyway to judge another family by the few minutes you see them in the parks. Anyone who looks at a child in a stroller and automatically goes into judging mode should spend more time focused on their own vacation and their own family, and less on how other people choose to parent.

 

[World Showcaser]

The point that I don't see addressed on this thread is, who is going to push the double stroller with two large children in it? Is that even feasible?

 

[maxiesmom]

The point that I don't see addressed on this thread is, who is going to push the double stroller with two large children in it? Is that even feasible?

Who says the are large? I have 2 nieces who are 5 years apart in age. And when the oldest was around 10 she was the same size as her younger sister. They shared clothes. Poor thing started growing a lot right before a trip to WDW, and had horrible growing pains. At least, that is what the Dr said was happening. After a day of walking in Epcot her legs were bothering her quite a bit, and she hopped into the double stroller with her sister. It was not trouble at all to push them both around.

 

[World Showcaser]

Who says the are large? I have 2 nieces who are 5 years apart in age. And when the oldest was around 10 she was the same size as her younger sister. They shared clothes. Poor thing started growing a lot right before a trip to WDW, and had horrible growing pains. At least, that is what the Dr said was happening. After a day of walking in Epcot her legs were bothering her quite a bit, and she hopped into the double stroller with her sister. It was not trouble at all to push them both around.

I meant that they aren't small children like the 0-3 year old children that typically use strollers.

I have spent plenty of time pushing around a single average-sized child in a lightweight stroller and I find that that can get tiring. Are you saying double strollers with larger children wouldn't take more effort?

 

[mom2rtk]

Actually, the Disney park strollers are quite easy to push, even the doubles.

Don't you remember Kate gushing about them on "Jon and Kate Plus 8 Hit the Road"?

 

[wmharley]

Who says the are large? I have 2 nieces who are 5 years apart in age. And when the oldest was around 10 she was the same size as her younger sister. They shared clothes. Poor thing started growing a lot right before a trip to WDW, and had horrible growing pains. At least, that is what the Dr said was happening. After a day of walking in Epcot her legs were bothering her quite a bit, and she hopped into the double stroller with her sister. It was not trouble at all to push them both around.

my son at 3 is about the same size as our almost 7yo niece.
She is very touchy about the height, and when we call them our little cuties she gets offended.

Actually, the Disney park strollers are quite easy to push, even the doubles.

Don't you remember Kate gushing about them on "Jon and Kate Plus 8 Hit the Road"?

You were one of the few that watched that whine fest!

 

[mom2rtk]

my son at 3 is about the same size as our almost 7yo niece.
She is very touchy about the height, and when we call them our little cuties she gets offended.

You were one of the few that watched that whine fest!

I bet more here watched it than you think.

We never have a Mickey bar now without laughing about the great ice cream debacle scene though!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I bet more here watched it than you think.

We never have a Mickey bar now without laughing about the great ice cream debacle scene though!

I think I've seen about 3 or 4 episodes of Jon and Kate in total and I made sure to watch the WDW one. That ice cream scene was beyond cringe-worthy.

 

[World Showcaser]

Actually, the Disney park strollers are quite easy to push, even the doubles.

Don't you remember Kate gushing about them on "Jon and Kate Plus 8 Hit the Road"?

It doesn't really matter how easy a WDW double stroller is to manuveur. The point is, pushing two 7 year olds around in any type of vehicle is more cumbersome than having them walk on their own two feet.

 

[mom2rtk]

It doesn't really matter how easy a WDW double stroller is to manuveur. The point is, pushing two 7 year olds around in any type of vehicle is more cumbersome than having them walk on their own two feet.

Actually I wasn't advocating doing it or not doing it. But I do think the Disney strollers would not be hard to push, even with two 7 year olds.

 

[Day-Day]

Back in the "Good old Days" during the summer, my mom would kick us kids outside (except for meals) and we'd stay out there until the porch light started blinking off & on (our sign that it was time to come in) We lived in a cul-de-sac and knew all the neighbors....we had a blast playing impromptu games of baseball, "Horse" (we were the lucky ones with the basketball hoop on our garage)....and the funnest, even as teens, was hide and seek in the dark. Now kids sit on their computers, or spend their time texting, playing video games...in essence, just sitting on their pa-tooties all day (except for mandatory recess/PE)

I know times have changed, and it's not safe to let your kids roam around outside all day, but there are many organized sports that you can enroll them in...or at a minimum get them Dance, Dance, Revolution!!

Now as to my parents....I think they probably could have used a stroller when we were kids.

Not safe to let kids play outside all day? I don't get this. I agree that a number of kids do the sitting around computer games thing but many are still outside playing and it is no less safe than 40 years ago.

 

[Muslickz]

yea I usually double load the double disney stroller and I never had a problem pushing it they a really good and easy to move around

-M

 

[poohbearrocks]

I haven't read all the posts - just the first page of warnings

hehehe - I have a just turned 7 year old and we haven't used a stroller for the last 3 years!! It was trying at times but here is why we DIDN"T

the stoller parking and entrance are MANY times not close to the EXIT, so I felt we were always BACK tracking for the stroller walking a bit to the next ride, park ride and BACK track again!! it seemed we spent a LOT of time keeping up with the stroller!! I preferred to just take breaks - sitting for shows, treats, rides and so on!!

Like I said I haven't read responses but it is just why we chose not to!! like others said totally up to you!

 

[Annie Michelle]

You have got to be kidding me? A 7 and 8 year old in a stroller. There is a two fold problem here: If you child is capable of walking, they should walk. There are benches everywhere. Try walking with them before you go to get them ready. I think the biggest problem we see is parents pushing the kids until they are ready to collapse. It is a vacation. Disney isn't going anywhere. If you don't do it all in one day or one trip, you do it next time. Take them back to the hotel and give them a rest. It really disturbes me to see kids being drug around at 2am for extra magic hours who are exhausted. A vacation should not be miserable for you, your kids or those of us around you and your kids. Just slow down and enjoy yourselves.

 

[WantToGoNow]

We haven't used a stroller since dd8 was 5 - and she only used it occassionally on that trip. We were travelling with another family that had 4 children so we had 6 children 8 years of age and younger. The youngest (cousin's dd2) was in a child's wheelchair because of braces on her legs and we had one umbrella stroller that I brought for dd5. My ds8, their ds8, their ds5 and their dd4 all walked the entire 9 days except for an occassional break when one would climb in the wheelchair with the 2 y/o.

This past trip dd was 7 and ds was 9 - they outwalked me that's for sure. There were several nights when ds9 and I headed back to the resort while dd27 and dd7 closed out the parks - even MNSSHP. I will probably be facing the use of a scooter next trip because of foot issues that caused me a lot of pain this past trip.

 

[maxiesmom]

You have got to be kidding me? A 7 and 8 year old in a stroller. There is a two fold problem here: If you child is capable of walking, they should walk. There are benches everywhere. Try walking with them before you go to get them ready. I think the biggest problem we see is parents pushing the kids until they are ready to collapse. It is a vacation. Disney isn't going anywhere. If you don't do it all in one day or one trip, you do it next time. Take them back to the hotel and give them a rest. It really disturbes me to see kids being drug around at 2am for extra magic hours who are exhausted. A vacation should not be miserable for you, your kids or those of us around you and your kids. Just slow down and enjoy yourselves.

By using a stroller you can also avoid having exhausted children. That is the whole point. Not every family gets to go back to WDW every year or so. So I can understand not wanting to waste a lot of time going back and forth to the resort for breaks. Or splitting up because one group can walk for a lot longer than another group. Strollers allow you to tour the parks at a good pace, without ending up with over tired children.

 

[alliejay]

You have got to be kidding me? A 7 and 8 year old in a stroller. There is a two fold problem here: If you child is capable of walking, they should walk. There are benches everywhere. Try walking with them before you go to get them ready. I think the biggest problem we see is parents pushing the kids until they are ready to collapse. It is a vacation. Disney isn't going anywhere. If you don't do it all in one day or one trip, you do it next time. Take them back to the hotel and give them a rest. It really disturbes me to see kids being drug around at 2am for extra magic hours who are exhausted. A vacation should not be miserable for you, your kids or those of us around you and your kids. Just slow down and enjoy yourselves.

AnnieMichelle - it may be hard to believe, but not everyone can go to WDW multiple times in their lives.

OP - MY guess is you have rec'd a lot of responses like the one above. IGNORE these. Do what is right for you and your kids. In Dec. we went to WDW with my 5 and 7 year old. We rented a double and I loved having the stroller. My kids were NOT in the stroller most of the time, but we had it for when we needed it. The stroller helped us get from Soarin' to Italy for a dining reservation very quickly. We would never have made it in time without the stroller. The stroller allowed us to stay late at MVMCP. The 7 year old was ready to stay late, but the 5 year old really benefitted from having a stroller to rest in. It all depends on how you tour. We don't go back to the hotel for rests, that does not work for us. The stroller makes it possible to keep going a little longer. Ignore the nasties and do what is right for you.

 

[anonymousegirl]

I read this thread with great interest since I just booked a stroller for my 6 year old nephew. At home he doesn't use one any more, but he is autistic and his mother wants him to have a bolt hole where he can hide and feel "safe". Maybe we won't end up using it, but I think that we'd better be safe than sorry. I would just get one from Disney, but those new stroller don't appear very comfortable and it would be hard (I suspect) to create a blanketed safe haven for Mason.