When did you stop using a stroller ?

[princesskimberella]

I am talking in general, at what age were your children when you stopped using the stroller? My youngest is 5 and I am getting rid of the double stroller, but am thinking should I get a single or sit and stand. I really think she should not need it anymore but we went to the zoo the other day and halfway thru she wanted to ride and I did notice some bigger kids in joggers.

 

[In a hurry]

Around 3. We'd still take it for a trip to the zoo, or WDW until 4ish.

 

[Manda]

My son will be 5 in August. This spring, I decided no more strollers. Disney World is the exception.

We live in an area where we walk almost everywhere and we'd grab the jogging stroller because it was just easier for us to take off quickly with him than to dally along at his speed. It was hard. He's old enough to know how to choose to be lazy and he's used to having the stroller for whenever he feels like it. We had to have a big talk about how if his legs are tired, we can always stop and take a rest - he just has to make sure he tells us when he's feeling tired. We also had to change a little bit of our normal routine and take the train/bus a little more often. If we're only going a mile or so away, we used to always walk, but we'll take the train sometimes now because I know at the end of the day, he doesn't have the stamina to walk there and back.

There was a rough couple weeks there where my stubborn guy resisted the change. Now that he realizes the stroller is well and truly gone and I'm not bringing it back (we only have one and I sold the jogger), he's doing great with walking everywhere.

 

[jcc0621]

DS is 4 (Will be 5 in September). We haven't used a stroller for about a year. We did use one in August at WDW, and plan to do so again this August, but even then he wanted to walk most of the time and we really onlu used it at night to walk to the bus stops or for aplace for him to sit while waiting for the parade (expecially the daytime parades...that pavement gets HOT )

 

[susieh]

Very personal opinion - short answer - when they go to school

At that age I think all kids who are not special needs are big enough not to need pushing around.

We've just got back from WDW and I lost count of the number of fat children I saw in strollers - many of whom were at least 7 years old. The worst example were 2 girls who spent the whole of the British Invasion concert running around the ornamental gardens (when people were sitting trying to watch and listen to the concert) and then left at the end being pushed by their mother in a double stroller. Are we trying to breed a generation of fat lazy kids ?

 

[_queenie_]

At 2.75/3, they don't need to be in a stroller anymore, but that was just the case with my kids. In general though, I say no strollers after 5. If they can physically walk, I don't see a reason to bring yet another to lug around.

I only still have one for my almost 4yo for when I walk a few miles in the morning at a very fast pace. I can't leave her home alone and can't find anybody to watch her so that's pretty much my only option, even though she hates sitting in it.

 

[RumpleMom]

Our first trip to WDW was just before DD turned 4. We did not use a stroller.

It was in July, so during the weeks before our trip, our family went to the local park on Sunday afternoons to take a walk to build up stamina for all of us. We wanted to see what a reasonable amount of walking would be for her.

We also wanted to have broken in tennis shoes for all of us. We made sure DD had the correct size of shoes and ended up buying her a new pair during this process because of a growth spurt.

We are so glad we did this. We did not use a stroller, and dad only carried her a few times.

 

[Vjale]

My kids are teenagers now, but when they were younger and we were in the parks in the heat of summer, I used strollers until they were at least 5, maybe 6. My kids are far from fat and lazy, but Disney parks are big. It depends on your families plans, as well. We stayed in the parks most of the day and it is hot in July, August. I found it much easier to just have a stroller on hand to hold not only the kids, but the water bottles, etc.. I didn't want to waste my vacation listening to kids complain of tired legs, and we were certainly not carrying anyone. You will see many kids of this age group in strollers, believe me.

 

[nicolemomof4cuties]

We stopped using a stroller during our last WDW trip. My youngest son turned 3 on that trip and decided that he no longer liked strollers. We were surprised because we leave our room at 7:45/8am in the morning and don't come back until the park we are visiting closes that day. Heck, sometimes when a park closes we would go to one that had EM hours. We gave our stroller away after that trip and haven't needed it since.

 

[TJA]

I am talking in general, at what age were your children when you stopped using the stroller? My youngest is 5 and I am getting rid of the double stroller, but am thinking should I get a single or sit and stand. I really think she should not need it anymore but we went to the zoo the other day and halfway thru she wanted to ride and I did notice some bigger kids in joggers.

In general, my twins stopped needing a stroller/jogger around age 3-4. However, that was just for "general" purposes. Disney is a totally different story. My twins just turned 5 and we will still be taking our double jogger to disney and would also take it to other destinations as well. It is a Baby Jogger City Series and pushes like a dream. We do a TON of walking on vacation and having our jogger along allows the kids to rest when needed.

 

[carj]

My children are 7 and 4 and we have a sit and stand that we use for places like theme parks and zoos. They end up walking a good portion of the day but then I have a place for them to sit while we make our way to the car, hotel room, etc...

I seriously doubt that using a stroller for 4-5 days once or twice a year is going to breed a generation of overweight kids. I think that is a bit of a jump in reasoning.

My kids are quite healthy, the 7 year old is ridiculously thin but we prefer to use the stroller. Since I am not asking anyone else to push it, it is really none of their business!

I hope that you have a wonderful trip, with or without your stroller!

 

[barnaby1]

Agree that it is very individual and based not only on the child but also on the parent. I rarely use a stroller for our dd now 27 months unless we are going out all day and I want her to try and rest/nap in it after lunch. Having said that the last few times we have been out all day she doesn't sleep in it anymore and usually just tries to push it around all day herself!!!
I might start trying to leave it at home even for long days.

The last time we were at WDW she was 22 months and on the days we went back to the hotel for a nap I didn't take it but did for the whole days. She walked 90% of the time with the occasional "ride" with Mum or Dad.

 

[susieh]

I agree with most of the comments on here and wasn't trying to say that people who use a stroller for WDW or similar trips will breed fat unhealthy kids!!! Sorry if it came across like that. The OP asked about using a stroller in general and I was answering that.

I have to say DH and I were both surprised at the number of kids we did see who were overweight (double chins, podgy arms and big bellies - not just a little puppy fat) and were obviously aged 6/7 or even older and yet still rode in strollers. I think it's very sad that so many children today are heavy for their age due to poor diet and lack of exercise (medical problems are different) - and think that society in general should do more to deal with the problem as I believe it is a health issue as much as anything.

I have been through needing a stroller with my own 2 sons and when they were 4 and 1.5 the older one would still hop in behind his brother or ride on the back from time to time (we had a large old fashioned pushchair (as they call them in the UK)). We weren't lucky enough to be able to take them to WDW until they were 8 and 10 but that pushchair would certainly have gone with us if they had been 5 or less.

 

[cuppycake]

In general (malls, shopping, taking walks), we stopped using the stroller a bit before 3 years old.

Like many others, Disney is an entirely different story for us. Our 3 year old will have a stroller to use whenever she gets tired (and one that will carry our small soft side cooler with water bottles). She won't start the day in it, though, she wouldn't if we wanted her to. We are also bringing a second one on the days that we go to Epcot (it will stay folded until the evening time) for our 5 year old. We use maclaren quests, so light and easy to transport.

We do not take breaks in the middle of the day to go back to our hotel, and tend to open and close the parks. That's a lot of walking for ME, so I can't imagine doing it on little legs! (though they usually do better walking than I do )

 

[mom2aredhead]

Strollers are a VERY TOUCHY subject around here, so I'm going to give my answer without any hint of an opinion since I've gotten myself in some trouble before.

In the real world, we stopped at about age 3-ish. There were a few exceptions, but mostly for MY convenience (to move a little quicker) than for my son.

In WDW, we brought one with us on our May trip and my son was 4.5. We used it a handful of times but not nearly enough for me to say it was worth bringing. And again, it was more for MY convenience than anything else.

 

[Turtlegirl]

We haven't used a stroller in at least 2 years, except for a trip or 2 to Storyland. On our trip last weekend we didn't even bring it there, but by the end of the day I had had enough, "carry me's" to realize we should bring one to WDW. My dd6 is extremely active and lightweight/small for her age 45 inches tall/44 lbs., but when she poops out, she is done. We were planning on renting one for our 8 day Poly/AKL trip in October, but at $13/day, we've decided to buy one.

 

[5 for WDW]

Our boys never used a stroller in WDW after they turned 4. I know they would have had a fit if I would have ever suggested one to them.

We brought ours for our daughter in September. She was just shy of 4. She barely sat in it at all. So, we ended up leaving it in the room for the rest of the trip.

We are going again this December. She will be a little over 5. We are leaving the stroller at home. I have always hated strollers. They are a pain on the buses, pain to push around the parks and just a hassle to me. I am really looking forward to trips without one!

 

[Elmo888]

For day to day, both DDs seemed to stop need a stroller at about 3 1/2. (DDs are 8 and 3 1/2 now.)

I still use one on long fitness-type walks, where I'm trying to go for distance and speed. Even so, I still have the 3 1/2 walk some (when we remember her shoes!).

 

[carj]

Here is another thought. I think that the number of children may also influence the parent's desire for a stroller.

If you have more than 1 child who may tire out, especially if you are bringing them alone, then I would say you are more likely to need/want a stroller. Or...perhaps not! Maybe that is just me!

 

[sms]

My son is 5. We have used a stroller the last 2 years in WDW. It was a life saver! My mom lives at the beach, only an hour from where we live. A lot of times we will use one there when we are going to be doing a lot of walking. Other than that, we don't need one. I think one thing that might make a difference is the heat. When its so hot at the parks its nice for him to be able to take a break in the stroller with some shade!