What age is a child too old to be in a stroller?

[Iott Family]

There is a thread on the disney for families thread and it gets around to an 8 yr old riding in a stroller. Now, being a mom of four who range in age from 10yrs to 4 months I think after 4/5 years a kid should be up and walking on the good legs God gave them. Disney walking or no Disney walking...........So, with the exception of the physically unable, how old is too old IYHO?

Do you think by allowing children to ride well into late childhood we are inviting obesity/health issues for children by encouraging inactivity?

 

[Bob Slydell]

how old is too old IYHO?

24

 

[NMAmy]

I really think that it's up to the parent to know their child and their limitations. If I see an older kid in a stroller at WDW, I could care less. I'm not the one who has to push them around all day so what's it to me?

Spending a week walking around at WDW makes me long for a big stroller for someone to push me around in all day--not that I could get my 15 yo dd to volunteer to push me. I can sure understand letting kids ride around in one if it saves the sanity of everyone directly involved.

 

[mommiepoppins]

how about when there feet are dragging in the stroller

 

[RadioNate]

I think your stretching and looking for a fight. I know I'll be renting my 5 year old a stroller at WDW. Will he use it constantly, no. But we'll need it. Disney world can be a lot of walking. Long, hot days...small kids get tired. My legs get tired and I run 3 miles a day.

 

[need_a_Disney_fix]

You know they are too old when their knees are touching their head while in the stroller.

 

[JVL1018]

My kids are 4 and 6 now. The kids were probably just around 3 when we stopped.

That said, my son was in a stroller last year at WDW(rental) and we got a double for DD too some days. (they were 3 and 5 then).
This December they will be 5 and 7 and there won't be any double stroller, but if my son is tired I'll get one for him, I think it's fine at WDW to be a just turned 5 year old and to have your legs hurt and want to rest. I don't want to sit on a bench when I could be strolling around WS.
And if he wants to walk and we have the stroller and DD wants to sit for a bit, climb on in.

At home, I would never put them in a stroller, I doubt I could even push a regular stroller with one fo them in it. LOL The ones at Disney are much easier with heavier kids.

I say heavier not as in overweight(because mine are not even in the slightest), just because they're older kids.

 

[cardaway]

I don't care if the dad squeezes in there as long as they watch where the hell they are going. Too many people push the things around while focusing elsewhere and only react when they hit somebody.

 

[budbeerlady]

As long as DD will comfortably fit she can ride at Disney in an umbrella stroller, possibley untill age 8 if she fit and wanted to. This wouldnt invite obesity for a kid to be in a stroller at Disney. Its gonna take more than sitting in a stroller at a theme park for that.

Its our vacation, as an adult I am tired walking around disney. The last thing I want is a too tired cranky kid being dragged around WDW. (Plus then eventually Dh would have to carry her and then I have a tired and cranky Dh) And with out the stroller I would have to carry our bag, that kinda sounds like alot of work.

To each family their own!

 

[ducklite]

I don't think an older child taking a break in a stroller at WDW is going to cause them to be morbidly obese for the rest of their lives.

And I don't think it's anybody's business but the child's parents to determine what the magical age is.

My son rode on DH's shoulders around WDW until he was probably ten at WDW. Too big for a stroller, but still it was too much walking for his legs all day. It was good excercise for DH as well.

He's now twenty, 6' tall and 160 pounds--dripping wet, so I don't think the "lack of excercise" created a lifelong weight problem.

Anne

 

[mickeyfan2]

There is a thread on the disney for families thread and it gets around to an 8 yr old riding in a stroller. Now, being a mom of four who range in age from 10yrs to 4 months I think after 4/5 years a kid should be up and walking on the good legs God gave them. Disney walking or no Disney walking...........So, with the exception of the physically unable, how old is too old IYHO?

Do you think by allowing children to ride well into late childhood we are inviting obesity/health issues for children by encouraging inactivity?

IMHO 5. And I do agree about the obesity problem being related to inactivity.

 

[Bob Slydell]

I think your stretching and looking for a fight. I know I'll be renting my 5 year old a stroller at WDW. Will he use it constantly, no. But we'll need it. Disney world can be a lot of walking. Long, hot days...small kids get tired. My legs get tired and I run 3 miles a day.

We did the same thing back in May. We needed a stroller for our one year old anyways, so we rented a double stroller so our 5 year old could take a break during the day. Most of the day he walked, but he got tired from time to time.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

No age limit, parent's choice.
My dd was very tiny and at age 6 was the size of a 3yo. She was not able to walk all day around a theme park.
Some kids have limitations and age should not be a factor.

 

[ohiominnie]

I think it varies greatly....depending on the child and the parent's tolerance for dealing with a stroller. Our kids were 5 and 3 when we first started going to WDW and the ONLY time we rented a stroller was when we went around Epcot. That place is HUGE for little legs. The kids really looked forward to Epcot days!

I sometimes see older kids in strollers at WDW and wonder about it. But really, I don't know anything about those kids and if there is a NEED for the stroller or they are just too lazy to walk on their own (or they pitched a fit and their parents gave into them) Guess it's none of my business really.

I do know there is someone here on the DIS who has a dd with Juvenile Arthritis. Her dd is older and many may look at her and think she's too "old" to be in a stroller, but she tires very easily and needs the relief that a stroller provides.

 

[MosMom]

Even the beloved Tour Guide Mike suggests using a stroller until at least 8 years old and reminds parents how much walking there is in Disney and how much happier the child (therefore the adults) will be if you rent one or bring one for your visit.

 

[Fishbone†]

I really think that it's up to the parent to know their child and their limitations. If I see an older kid in a stroller at WDW, I could care less. I'm not the one who has to push them around all day so what's it to me?

ITA!! It's not my business why and how other people do things. This past January I took my nieces and nephew on a cruise. We had a 10 hour wait from the time we disembarked until our plane left, so we decided to spend some time at Epcot. My parent's had never been there, and they wanted a taste of it. My six year old niece was completely beat from the week, and almost unbearable crabby and tired. My fault completely - there was so much to enjoy on the cruise, we used every waking minute, and still wished we had more. She didn't get a nap, she went to bed late, woke up early..... we all did, but she wasn't used to it. Without the stroller, I'm quite sure her sister would have disowned her, my dad would have gone completely insane, and we wouldn't have had one OUNCE of fun. As it was, standing in line (where strollers aren't allowed) was a treat. I love her to death - she is my little buddy, a complete Sweetheart 99% of the time, and we had the best time ever, but I've written myself a note... do NOT let Co-Co get too tired!!! She does have a crabby monster in there somewhere.

Anyway - it was no one else's business why, what, or how we survived our day at Epcot!!

 

[pigletz]

I don't think riding in a stroller at WDW has anything to do with how active a kid is in the real world. When we went last month my brother rented a stroller for his 3 and 5 year olds. Outside of WDW they never use a stroller and they do a lot of walking and hiking as a family. WDW can be a lot off walking even for a healthy adult especially if you only have a couple of days and no breaks in between. There were times that my 11 year old niece rode in the stroller. I wouldn't have pushed her but I guess her parents thought it was easier than arguing with a tired preteen. I'm not worried about her health because outside of WDW she is a very active girl who wouldn't be caught dead riding in a stroller.

 

[barkley]

my ds was 3 months shy of turning 9 on our last wdw vacation. he's of adverage height but has yet to crack (now 9 1/2) 50 pounds so he still met the stroller weight criteria. we bought a cheap umbrella stroller to use at the airport and for various times at the park-it was a godsend! we had an early flight and rather than drag him in addition to older dd, the luggage...i was able to put my purse and travel bag over the handles and just push him asleep to the security area. he slept in it again while waiting at the gate. at wdw we used it primarily for late nights to get back to the ferries or rental car. on our last night at epcot i purposly watched the crowd for someone carrying a sleeping kid-i then offered it up to them for the rest of their stay.

i feel much better seeing a 'big kid' in a stroller than those who are piled sitting and standing on 'grandma's' motorized scooter. i don't mind clearing a path for a scooter to get through but when there's 3 kids standing/hanging on to it and taking up 3 times the width that's crazy

 

[paigevz]

Ours last rode in strollers before age 2 at home.......Sea World, Six Flags, malls......... both were in strollers at Disney at age 4, but not beyond.

Depends on the family and the kids though. Sometimes a kid can get very tired for health reasons that aren't obvious to others, and though they don't need a wheelchair, they do need a stroller.

Other families find they can move faster with the kids in the strollers either because the kid just walks more slowly, or because they are so impulsive that they take off all the time.........corralling them in the stroller allows them actually to get somewhere.

I don't really think strollers at Disney are a big part of the obesity epidemic..............................strollers everywhere the kid goes, maybe. We did know one family at our school that was just the mother and 6 year old daughter. Every day the mother picked up the daughter from first grade with a stroller to take her the two blocks home. But what disturbed me more was the pacifier and the new toy she brought every day (always still in the package).

 

[hlbtimes2]

On our last trip to DL our 7 year old rode in a stroller some of the time. We do long, hard days at the parks. We get there at opening, sometimes that means as early at 7am. We might take a 2 hour break in the afternoon. Then we stay until close. On the last trip we caught the 12:45 shuttle more then once. That is a long day for a child. She would walk the first part of the day, then use a stroller after our break. Not only did it save her some walking, but it made it easier for dh and I to get both kids (we have a 4 year old too) thru the parks.

I hardly think riding in a a stroller for a few hours on vacation is a lack of exercise.