When Is a Child TOO Old...

[disneyphanatic1911]

for a stroller?

I have seen some parents pushing around kids that look as if they are 7 or 8 years old. To me that seems a bit too old for a stroller. IMO if a child is still riding around at that age, then they're a bit lazy. They need the exercise anyway.

What do you think?

 

[patsal]

I think it is a matter of personal opinion an preference. My son was 5 when we stopped carting him around, but sometimes at night if we went all day long and stayed for fireworks he was just too tired to haul it to the bus. Then we would carry DD and let him ride. Honestly it is a huge amount of walking and if you can get through more with less exhausted/cranky kids use the stroller. Now when I see 12 yo's in a stroller that is a different story! My niece was three going on four she walked most of the time, but it was good to have a stroller for her when she needed a rest or couldn't quite keep up any longer.

 

[cleo]

Uh-oh....the old 'I think your child is too old for a stroller' debate.

Is there any chance this can remain a question and answer thread rather than going the way this question/statement normally goes?

If my child still needs a stroller, I'll get him one no matter what age. When my boy was 7 he was far too active for a stroller under normal circumstances but needed the rest during a vacation as physically challenging as Disney. I was happy for him to get that rest time off his feet, as needed.

OP, be careful when you call other people's children 'lazy' and in need of exercise. Some people may take exception to your assumptions.

 

[minkydog]

I think i'm not too judgmental about it. I figure the parents know better than I do whether their child needs a stroller or not. I would never assume laziness on the part of the child, but that there might be some hidden disability that is none of my business.

 

[KimR]

Even with an older child, you never know what is going on with them. When my DD was 11, she rode in her little sister's stroller back to the resort one evening. She had sever's disease and although she was fine most of the time, once in a while (especially after walking all day) it would flare up and then she could not walk without a lot of pain. In addition to that (which we did not know at the time), she had a stress fracture in her foot. We received quite a few strange looks and I felt bad for her but at the time I don't think she cared what other people thought.

 

[pooh5594]

I know what you mean, however, our daughter has a disability that you can't readily see. We had had her in a stroller untill she was about 9 years old as she is small for her age. Now we have to use a wheelchair for some of the time. Her stamina just isn't the same as other kids so we can't storm the parks like some families do, and that isn't all bad!

 

[Matt]

Far too many people are concerned with what other people are doing. If it isn't hurting you what do you care?

 

[Allison]

I think it isn't for someone to judge that a child is "lazy" if they are in a stroller at Disney. We don't know anything about the family or if the child has been there for 3 minutes as they move from one land to another or if they have been walking around the MK for 12 hours and just can't go anymore. I say do whatever works for your own kids and don't worry about people who pass judgment on someone they see for 30 seconds in passing.

I could care less how old a child is in a stroller. In fact, I wouldn't even notice.

I would just hope they are enjoying their vacation.

 

[Minerva]

I think I'm far too busy having a good time to worry about how old someone else's child is if they're in a stroller or just why that person that *looks perfectly healthy is in a wheel chair or riding around on an ECV.

 

[disneyphanatic1911]

to anyone I may have offended with my original post. It wasn't meant to be that way. I really was trying to gauge for myself whether I should rent a double stroller when I go. I truly do understand that some kids may have disabilities, and their stamina may not be as strong as others. Again I apologize.

 

[MareQ]

My almost 8 year old son is chronically anemic, has low muscle tone and a host of other issues that are not "obvious". When we're in Disney World he MUST have a stroller - period. Anybody that looks at him and believes HE - a CHILD - is lazy because he's in a stroller needs to take a long hard look at themselves......

 

[4theloveofdisney]

I have three kids. We used to bring our double and rent a single but now that they are bigger, we rent a double stroller and make one child walk. We want them to get some exercise but don't expect them to make it the entire day so we rotate the older two. At the end of the night, all three will sometimes sit and we are fine with that.

 

[theflowerladee]

Fortunately my children do not have any physical disability, but when my youngest was in need of a stroller, my middle son then 8ish would like
an occasional ride, so we would rent a double stroller, just because, and
when he didn't ride it carried our "stuff". This year my youngest was
5 so we brought an umbrella stroller from home (which he never uses at home), and he used it sometimes by the end of the day when he was tired.
I don't think any kid is to old, in fact, I might use one by 10pm after being
in Epcot since 8am, if I could get away with it.

 

[zaja]

We will have a double stroller for my youngest son who will be 8 at the time we are there. He will walk for most of the time but, by mid day need a break from all the walking. They are also nice for parades, - he can sit in it and relax to watch them. Alot of why we bring it is for us, for some reason it's easier to have a stroller to put our 'stuff' for the park in - and the 'stuff' we ALWAYS accumulate.

 

[RVGal]

In response to your original question, which I assume had nothing to do with physical disabilities, my answer would be "There is no such thing as too old."

It sounds like you are concerned that other people might judge you for strollering around an older child and perhaps make incorrect assumptions about your child. Let it go. At Disney World, I make it a habit to check all my cares when we exit the freeway. Do I normally walk around wearing a Goofy hat? Well, maybe sometimes at home (shhhh....), but to the grocery store, absolutely not. Do I skip down Main Street wearing one without thinking about it? Sure!

My thought on a child at Disney World is simply this: if it can enhance their experience, do it. If a child is going to get tired (and therefore cranky) by walking and standing for hours on end, then put them in a stroller and push.

 

[pearlieq]

I think that I'm not entitled to make judgments about who uses a stroller and that life is too short to worry about what other people might be thinking of me!

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

You are never to old in my opinion! If I could have someone push me - I would.

 

[diswisher]

Hi,

For those of you with older kids in strollers I would appreciate some advice. My little guy (5 years) has feet and leg problems and therefore can't walk for long periods of time without pain. I was just wondering if you have any suggestions for a great stroller for him-should we just rent at the parks? We're flying from Canada so I would need a fairly portable one. He's about 42 pounds but very tall for his age at 45 inches.

thanks,

 

[Allison]

You are never to old in my opinion! If I could have someone push me - I would.

Okay, I confess, I took a nap in a double stroller while our kids played on Donald's boat.

Let me tell you, it worked pretty well after making our way around MK in big crowds and 90 degree heat.

So, if anyone saw a 30 something woman sleeping in a stroller in MK in June 2004 that was me and I don't regret it a bit.

We did rent a double stroller during that trip. It was mainly for our 4 year old but our 8 year old daughter got worn out after all that walking in the heat so we let her use it sometimes.

 

[vicceja]

Hi!

As you can see from the beautiful photos below , my children are healthy and strong boys....THANK GOD! ...Jonathan, Nicholas and Christopher are very active in school and sports, Hockey, Baseball, Soccer, Skateboarding etc....On everyone of our Disney trips I either bring a stroller or rent a double stroller for the kids. Personally, if my kids are tired I will try to do everything I can to make it more comfortable for them. My 9 year old still takes stroller brake and all three of them take turns using the stroller. And as you can see below...even DONALD NEEDS A REST!