Stroller for an 8 1/2 year old?!?

[disneymagicgirl]

No way on the stroller. They are such a hassle with the crowds and all. My six year old was fine at Christmas without a stroller. We used one when she was just turning five, though. It was much easier without it.

 

[laura001]

Stroller for the kids.....

Stroller for me.....

 

[Disney1fan2002]

No way on the stroller. They are such a hassle with the crowds and all. My six year old was fine at Christmas without a stroller. We used one when she was just turning five, though. It was much easier without it.

OMG!

SO TRUE! The year my youngest didn't need a stroller anymore, that was me and my DH you saw SKIPPING through the park singing "WE'RE FREE! WE'RE FREE!"

 

[fitzperry]

I too have been ankle scraped and practically mowed over by berzerk stroller drivers.

Well if you hadn't stopped all of a sudden in the middle of a walkway to search for something in your purse/load film in your camera/peruse your park map/pick your nose, then I wouldn't have run into you!

I'm just kidding obviously, but obnoxious stroller drivers aren't the only rude people out there roaming the parks. And those strollers don't exactly stop on a dime, especially when they're carrying a 60 pound 8 yo. (FTR, my eldest child is 6 and only weighs 38 pounds, so I'm speaking hypothetically ).

 

[goofyernmost]

One of the things that I find amusing about some of these is the returning to the theme of "why do we care". We care because someone asked our opinion. And we gave it. They didn't have to accept it, nor do you, so it begs the question...Why do you care that we care?

 

[mill4023]

One of the things that I find amusing about some of these is the returning to the theme of "why do we care". We care because someone asked our opinion. And we gave it. They didn't have to accept it, nor do you, so it begs the question...Why do you care that we care?

why do you care that I care if you care???

Seriously though, I wasn't asking why people had an opinion. I understand people thinking kids of certain ages shouldn't need a stroller. And I understand people giving their opinions on it, since that is the point of a message board. The part I didn't understand is why people seem so upset and annoyed about another parent bringing a stroller for an older child. Whether or not it's "necessary" at a certain age, I didn't get why it would bother you if someone else makes that choice.

But it sounds like many of you are just annoyed at the number of strollers in general, so you don't like people bringing them unless they actually "need" them.

 

[WaltD4Me]

We care because someone asked our opinion. And we gave it. Why do care if we care?

Because people get so nasty and judgemental.

An opinion would be....
"I think 8 1/2 is too old to be in a stroller."

NOT

"OMG! No eight year old should ever ride in a stroller that is bad parenting!"

OR

"I'm disgusted when I see older children in
strollers, especially fat ones, those parents should
make their children walk!"

OR

"Yea, well MAYBE the big kid I saw in the stroller had severe asthma, but I doubt it, I think his mother really just wanted to intentionally ram as many people as possible from behind!"

 

[kimjordan]

Since the stroller thread is already rolling (ha ha), I thought I would ask a question. We are taking our first trip to Disney in April, with our 4 (turning 5 while we're at Disney) year old daughter. She never uses a stroller, but I've been reading some people saying that we may need one. I just need some advice on this though. We are flying down, and bringing a stroller on the plane, etc. may be a hassle. Is it easy to rent a stroller once in Disney if she does need one? Are there multiple stroller rental locations within Magic Kingdom, or just one? Thank you for any advice you can give to a first timer!

 

[RVGal]

Well if you hadn't stopped all of a sudden in the middle of a walkway to search for something in your purse/load film in your camera/peruse your park map/pick your nose, then I wouldn't have run into you!

I'm just kidding obviously, but obnoxious stroller drivers aren't the only rude people out there roaming the parks. And those strollers don't exactly stop on a dime, especially when they're carrying a 60 pound 8 yo. (FTR, my eldest child is 6 and only weighs 38 pounds, so I'm speaking hypothetically ).

Of course. And my point by following that statement with the fact that you can get run over by a rude person in the grocery store was intended to show that that kind of thing can happen anywhere... not just WDW. It doesn't make stroller renters the culprits. It doesn't make the stroller drivers the culprits (usually). It is simply a fact of life that when you throw thousands and thousands of people together in a small space, there are going to be people who handle things differently... do things differently... react to things differently. Hence the "how old is too old" debate.

I struggled with one of the single rentals for our 4 year old when we were there in January and DH pushed around our big stroller from home for our 5 1/2 month old (who hadn't yet mastered sitting up and therefore still needed the rear-facing deal). I hope that I don't have to struggle with one of those double things. Doubtful, but who knows what the future holds.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

WOW~~!

my 7 year old is very petite for her age and my DH walks at a very brisk pace, she there for rides in the double stroller when and only when she gets tierd... and only at disney... Disney is not a normal day out. its also more heat then we are used to. I say to all those parents out there considering it you know your kids if a stroller ride at disney will make the trip more pleasent for everyone then do it .

and i really dont think disney is the place to start a crash fitness program for obese children "No Jimmy you may not rest now give me 20 push-ups before we ride space mountain" Can you say heat stroke!!!

We are definitely on the same page. First of all I don't think it's anyone else's business if our family decides it works better for us to put our 8 year old in the stroller.

1. Of course they never use a stroller at home
2. They are in great physical shape (no fat behinds as one poster lamented)
3. We go in July - can you say heat stroke is right
4. My 8 and 6 year old girls are the size of a 4 and 6 year old (very petite)
5. DH likes to move at a quick pace and waiting for all three of them to
catch up would make us move at a snail's pace.
6. It gives me a place to store our junk!

We bring an umbrella stroller for ds (5) and rent a double for the girls. If anyone doesn't like it - too bad. It's our vacation, we're paying for the stroller, and if it makes our time more enjoyable I don't see how that should affect anyone else.

 

[mlobbia]

Hope no one minds, but I devised a connector to attach a double stroller to the front of one of the electric scooters. That way, my wife and I can each ride in a scooter while pushing my DS and DD in a double stroller in front of the scooter...a double stroller is required because the kids are too tall to comfortably fit in a single. I figure that this contraptions lack of maneuverability and sheer size should bring a new meaning to getting run over by a stroller


Just kidding, I think...No really Just kidding, rent a stroller, don't rent a stroller, I do not really care. My family and I will be the ones enjoying all things Disney and not worrying too much about what others are doing.

 

[Cbarr]

I would be embarrassed to push my 8-year old in a stroller. And she would be even more embarrassed to be seen in one at that age. IMHO, unless a child has a medical reason for needing it, no 8 year old should be in a stroller! No wonder American kids are in such sorry shape today.

EXACTLY what I was thinking!!

 

[skiwee1]

My DD had always used a stroller at WDW so I really thought she would tire out on our last trip in December without one. She was 6 at the time. We really went all day from opening to close in the parks and I thought it would be too much for her. She did great! I asked her every day if she needed a stroller and she always said no. She was fine without one. She never tired. I can't imagine a heathy 8 y/o needing one though.

 

[daisax]

Why are some of you so bothered by the fact that some parents would choose to bring a stroller for a child that YOU think is too old for it? Seems to me that it should be up to the parents to decide when their kids are old enough to walk the whole time.​

It's just another form of infantilizing children and catering to them long past the point they should be learning to stand on their own two feet (in this case, literally). The type of parents who read a 400 item menu to their child who says "no" to everything and then slink off to the next restaurant to try again.

My parents were not particularly strict, but nobody rode in a stroller past the age of 4 or so, and when we went to a restaurant we found the closest thing to something we liked as we could, and were happy just to be on vacation. Souvenier shopping was not a half hour tug of war during which we entertained the entire store with our wide range of whines.

The healthy (yes, there are kids who for whatever reason do require access to a seat throughout the day) whose parents are chauffering them through the parks and life will be expecting to be similarly chauffered through their teen, college, and young adult years.

Entitlement is not an attractive personality trait. Once you've seen enough of it, you start looking for where it starts.

 

[TMJR]

Because people get so nasty and judgemental.

An opinion would be....
"I think 8 1/2 is too old to be in a stroller."

NOT

"OMG! No eight year old should ever ride in a stroller that is bad parenting!"

OR

"I'm disgusted when I see older children in
strollers, especially fat ones, those parents should
make their children walk!"

OR

"Yea, well MAYBE the big kid I saw in the stroller had severe asthma, but I doubt it, I think his mother really just wanted to intentionally ram as many people as possible from behind!"

I totally agree...it would be helpful if people reviewed the difference between "opinions" and "judgements". It would make this thread much less hostile!

 

[SueM in MN]

We push a DD in a wheelchair around the parks because we have no choice - she can't walk and it's too busy for her to take her power wheelchair and drive herself. When DH and I have gone to the parks without her, we realized just how tiring it is to push a wheelchair around all day. Pushing an almost 9 year old around all day in a stroller would be at least as tiring as pushing a wheelchair.

Last Spring we had my niece and her 3 1/2 yr old DD along with us. The little girl did very well for the first 3 days. When she was tired (which wasn't often) we rested. On the late afternoon of the 4th day, she told us her "feet were all out of walk" and asked for a stroller. It was more pleasant using a stroller because she didn't get as tired, but it took longer because for each attraction, they had to park the stroller. Then when we got done, they had to find the stroller again and get her settled in it.
I honestly think that if we had split our days up a bit more, she might have made it totally without a stroller.
My suggestion would be to try it without a stroller and see how it goes. They can always rent a stroller during the day or evening if they feel like they need one.

 

[Becky2005]

I think they will be fine. We went in July and the only person who used a stroller was the 1 year old (and DH used it to lean on! I was wondering why he kept volunteering to stroll the baby! That doesn't usually happen at home!).

All the rest of the kids walked it.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

My kids were 9,8,4,3 on this past trip and no one needed a stroller. Which was great. Just one extra thing we didn't need to worry about.

My ONE year old hated being in the stroller at WDW, right after his birthday! He did it, but not all the time, and he was none too happy about it. Same thing at home--his stroller tolerance is pretty low! I can't imagine he will agree to be in a stroller much past 2, PERIOD! Lest anyone think he gets tired running around WDW or anywhere else, he sleeps 6 hours some nights and takes a one hour nap AND THAT'S IT!!!!!!!! He still has energy to run me ragged throughout the day, too! I am so sleep deprived!!!! I, too, think anyone over preschool age looks ridiculous in a stroller and families need to curtail their commando ways rather than rent a stroller for HEALTHY (not just healthy-looking, and I am not going to try to figure out who is healthy and who isn't cuz I JUST PLAIN DON'T CARE!!!) older kids...HOWEVER, I am well aware that it's not my business if others choose to do so. I just find it a little strange!

 

[RumpleMom]

Our 7 year old and soon to be 4 year old did not use a stroller in July.

We bought them new tennis shoes before the trip(well within a time we knew they wouldn't out grow them) and then went walking on Sunday afternoons at our local park. This helped to break in the shoes and build up their tolerance for walking. Ours too. We called it practice walking for Disney World. Nothing worse than wearing new shoes that aren't broken in on vacation. We had a great time.

 

[daisax]

Keep in mind also that healthy young children's mental/emotional reserves are usually much smaller than their physical reserves. The overstimulation of theme parks needs to be taken into account.

Likely a good part of the "exhaustion" that older kids are feeling is mental and emotional, and time off at the hotel/pool would go a long way to perking them back up. Instead, they get plopped in a stroller and they just tune out.

The same kids who are so tired they are begging to be picked up and carried often have ample energy for diving and swimming in the hotel pool a half hour later. The difference? Mental and emotional.