When to stop using a stroller and let them walk!

My boys are 22 months and I'm tired of our stroller... it's a beast and getting it in and out of the van is no fun. I would love the ease of them just walking with me places like when we go to the gym. We've been practicing when my husband is around, having them hold our hands in parking lots etc. Usually they are fine but occasionally they will take off, and we all know that's a challenge when there's two, not to mention scary! When have people found that this starts to work or they understand staying with you, the concept of danger etc. I know eventually I have to bite the bullet and try it but I usually stick with the stroller so I guarantee their safety. Thanks for any advice!!

 

For short things like into the gym, I would just hold their hands. It helps if you have your purse/diaper bag be one you can throw across your body so you don't have to worry about accidentally dropping it. For longer things, you could try the leashes. I swore I would never use one... before I had children. Then I had my oldest take off into the mall out of a shoe store when I had turned around for something for the baby (Trey) for literally about 5 seconds. It was terrifying! I got one of those leashes that day and she was so much happier. She hated holding my hand and didn't really like being in the double stroller I had. With the little leash, she could wander around a little without getting lost. The only real drawback is that other people will inevitably make comments about treating your child like an animal.

 

The leashes are awesome for making sure that you keep them around you. Don't use them like a dog leash, use them as a backup in case they drop your hand while walking around. I stopped using the stroller most of the time when they were about 18 months old. We still used it for big excursions until they were 2 1/2, but I sent it to someone else who had twins.

As for treating children like animals on the leash, my children thought they were dogs. The first time we used them in the mall for our trip to the play area, A&R dropped to all fours and started barking and crawling through the mall. BARK BARK BARK. Everyone (including me) was in tears from laughter.

 

I started using these Hold-On Handles when my twins were a little older than yours (2.5 years), but they work great.

 

We got a backpack with a tether/leash for my 25 month old since I'm not supposed to pick her up until there's more babies around here than I have hands. :blink: We tuck the tether into one of the pockets of the backpack and only grab it if she becomes stubborn (can't imagine where she got that from!) and won't hold our hands or tries to wander off. She loves it and I don't even think she realizes that we have the ability to control her movement with it.

 

I wish my kids would still sit in a stroller.

 

I'm planning of getting a couple harnesses for the twins. We have aquarium passes but between May-Sept you can't use a stroller. I don't want to go that long without going so I'll be using tethers. I'm going to try them out first with DH with me to make sure it's not chaos. I would still love to harness my 3yr sometimes but three on leashes would really get me looks. Lol

 

I really only go short distances with my twins if I don't have a stroller and I'm on my own, like to/from the car. We go to a class once a week and have to park on the street, sometimes a block or so away from our destination and I don't use the stroller for that. We hold hands and I repeat "stay together" a lot. I think they are beginning to understand the "stay together" concept. My husband and I try to use it at the playground sometimes too, and although they don't always want to, I think they understand they are supposed to "stay together" and know what it means. They also understand "hold hands" although they don't really hold hands with each other very much, but will each hold mine and usually like that.

 

For short distances we started practising to hold our hand or the stroller right from when they started walking. Let go of the hand or the stroller (they loved pushing the stroller) in the street or any other place when we had told them to hold our hand meant that they went into the stroller or up into our arms/the sling immediately - no warnings, no discussions. It was automatic. That worked really well because that is how they learnt to walk.

I went out without a stroller for short distances right from the beginning - our stroller did not fit into our car and once they outgrew the infant car seats they walked, or one walked and one went into the sling with them taking turns. I should add that they fit into their infant car seats until about 18 months. I always used a backpack instead of a purse or diaper bag so I had both hands free.

We used our stroller for longer outings and walks until about 2.5, since then it has been sitting in our basement and waiting for a new home; the only time it went back into use was when they both had pneumonia and they really were too weak to walk any significant distance.

 

I am another one who wishes her kids would still sit in a stroller. I would gladly buy an easier stroller. Nothing made walking easier for us. My twins were like hyper poodles on the leashes, it was crazy. One day while shopping at the mall with the hyper leashed poodles, we were just walking along and Addison picked up a shoe off of the display I didn't notice for a while - I didn't even know which store it was from we had to look at displays and ask. - my 10yr old (at the time) said OMG mom!!! She jacked a shoe LOL!!! I don't ever plan on letting Easton know he can walk in the store LOL!!

 

I myself don't quite agree with leash, it makes a little one looks like a pet or something. No offense, just personal opinion. I think stroller still fits for 2 y.o toddler. Umbrella stroller or stand-up platform on the double stroller might be suitable for an older toddler. To let them walk in the busy or crowded area is too risky, especially for an energetic or active one. We never know what's on kids' mind.

 

I thought that too... before I had toddlers. Sage HATED holding my hand. And a lot of the time she wanted to be out of the stroller and was quite adamant about it. What other options are there? Once when Trey was a baby, we were in a shoe store in the mall. I was looking at shoes for her and she started pulling them off the shelves. I bent down to pick them up and in that 30 seconds that my back was turned, she was gone. Luckily, a clerk in the store saw her and went after her. I bought one of the child leashes that day. She was so much happier. She had just enough freedom to feel empowered in her 2 yo body. And she didn't have her little arm way up over her head holding my hand all the time. And best of all, there wasn't the constant worry of my child darting into traffic or away from me in a crowded place. I didn't use it with my other kids very much, and even with her it was only really for shopping. Walks around the neighborhood, going to the park, being at church, etc she either played fine while I watched, held onto the stroller Trey was in, or held my hand for the short trips to and from the house or car. And my other children were either happy to stay sitting in the stroller or didn't mind holding my hand most of the time. But if you have a child (or 2) who really don't like those things, it's so worth it!

 

I don't let my kids walk in stores alone- they're about a week shy of 2 yrs old. Stroller or carts. But they cry unless we're in constant motion (the little back and forth doesn't work...we have to be actually moving forward)....so I avoid taking them shopping with me. Especially alone. We don't go to the children's museum alone because there's no way I, alone, could keep track of both of them and they don't really come when called. They're everywhere. I don't have leashes and before having these two I thought they were ridiculous...I'm not committed to doing it yet, but the potential is there. I'd rather have leashed kids than lost kids. As long as you don't tie them to a pole while you run in somewhere (anyone see that episode of What Would You Do?...?)

 

For us it was different because DD had legs issues and couldn't walk until she was 2. Then she wanted to walk everywhere. We started using the stroller as a threat around 2.5. If they didn't stay close, they went back to the stroller. We had a lot of tantrums, believe me, but it worked, because they really wanted to walk. They stopped using the stroller altogether at 3 (we had to go home early a couple times but they greatly improved after 3.5). I really didn't want to use leashes because in most places it's just not really convenient at all, so we had to teach them the hard way, lol.

I miss the convenience of the stroller though! I can't wrap my head around the fact that some kids still use them at 4. We had a pretty lightweight one though.

 

I bought a leash for my oldest child, and didn't need it, he was so good about holding our hand and staying beside us. I kept it for my second child but she did so good too. I got rid of it....and then had the twins! :lol: I bought new ones, just basic ones that I could keep tucked in my diaper bag pocket all the time. When they were just over a year old, both toddling around, and my older son had baseball games that were 90 minutes long, it's not feasible to keep them contained in a stroller for 90 minutes. The leashes were essential. The baseball diamond was near a busy road, that had a drainage ditch nearby. I was watching them, and my 3.5 yr old, while trying to watch my then 8 yr old son play baseball. The leashes gave them about 6 ft of toddling room without me having to worry about keeping them off the road or out of the ditch. We've used them at disney as well, and many times at the zoo. I don't care about the looks. Until you've had a child run out into traffic (Liam almost did) you have no idea the security that little nylon strap can give you!