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It is NOT pointless. That is precisely my point! I feel that many adults don't walk and pass on that habit to their kids.
YES, some parents have to work and cannot take their kids to school on foot. But could parents coordinate with other parents to have one parent walk with a bunch of kids of working parents? And in less high-crime areas, why not just let your kids walk to school, especially if it's only four or five blocks away?
they have their reasons, and you know nothing about them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by i love living foods
WTF?! I mean, WT*****ittyF is up with you touchy parents?
You come here to a parenting forum as a non-parent and immediately start judging complete strangers, based on the 5 minutes you see them during the day. That isn't the way to make friends here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maciesmom
Yes....yes there are. And just because you don't observe your neighbors doing them doesn't mean they don't happen.
Exactly. Those kids may have an hour of baseball or soccer practice that you don't happen to witness.
Don't tell parents who have 'been there, done that' that they are on acid when they reply to you. Most can't afford acid (because they're blowing their money on things like dental bills, car payment, rent, car insurance, homeowners insurance, health insurance, electric bill, gas bill, saving for college, saving for retirement................food - you know - silly stuff) much less take the time to trip.
Here's how to start a thread:
I notice a lot of kids with parents who have obviously been on their feet all day at work. Sometimes these kids are in strollers. Sometimes these kids are walking. Should I offer their tired, worn out parents a word of encouragement as they do the tough job of raising children in America today?
Last edited by Jaded; 08-28-2013 at 11:01 PM..
Reason: Removed deleted quote/post
I actually live with rabid exercisers, though. We have a very walkable town and many parents are militant about their kids exercising. It's an affluent area with old school values. Good mixture. Some of the upscale communities are nouveau riche and very into spoiling kids.
I lived in a working-class before this one so I got to see both sides. Practically NO ONE walked their kids to school, to say anything about exercising with their children. And many were overweight/obese. Parents and kids. I realize that the stay-at-home situation figures into this but there are always ways to get in exercise. You can walk with your kids to the store rather than take the big metal box.
The big metal box is for transporting back home a 12 pack of paper towels, a 12 pack of TP, a 12 pack of juice boxes, 6 boxes of cereal, 2 gallons of milk, and whatever else they need that week.
I saw a child today that looked too old to be pushed but I don't have any pictures for you.
(By the way, which brand of stroller do you recommend for five-year-olds? )
While I do think people should make their kids walk more--mine certainly do, there are also a lot of things you may not know about a family or that child just by looking at them. I have a child with autism for example and I had a stroller for him till he was almost five because if he pitched a whopping fit in a public place I could strap him in and get out, where as trying to carry a 45lb child who is contorting and screaming is almost impossible. Once he calmed down I usually kept him in the stroller until we got to our destination. I have a high functioning kid that looks totally "normal" unless he's having a meltdown. So if you saw him in a stroller you would have thought he didn't walk and was too big, but in reality he walked 90% of the time and a good 1-2 miles per day at least.
I live in the city and we walk almost everywhere. My youngest is almost 4.5 and I don't even have a stroller anymore, but until about a year ago if we were going far or out for the day via foot/streetcar I tended to bring a stroller just in case because at some point little kids just can't walk anymore. However, she walked/walks far and it's something we've done since she could walk. We used to commute by bus to her daycare/my work starting when she was not quite two and I never brought a stroller. She walked or I carried her part of the 8 blocks each day. I didn't bring a stroller because even with an umbrella stroller the bus tended to be packed and it was a pain.
So in short, yes, people need to get their kids out and walking and some people have them in strollers way too long. BUT, unless you know that person you know nothing about that family, if the child has special needs (it's not always obvious), how far they've already walked, if the kid didn't have a nap, etc. So it's best not to ASSume things about people and pass judgment.
As someone with an autistic kid I've had people pass judgment about us for EVER and it just makes parenting all that much harder. And when passing judgment most of the time people are wrong because they know nothing about the person they're passing judgment on.
So next time you "roll your eyes" at someone with a five year old (and given that kids are all different sizes that five year old may have actually been three) just remember that Moderator Cut you don't know everything.
Last edited by Jaded; 08-28-2013 at 11:03 PM..
Reason: Flaming
I can't keep my two year old in the stroller even if I wanted to. She wants to walk. Now, her little legs do get a bit tired on long trips and I might carry her or break out the umbrella stroller. She put the kibosh on her "driving miss daisy" days.
There are times when I do strap her in whether she likes it or not. Like going through busy streets or the airport, unless my hands are free to catch her at less than a moments notice.
Father of three. I certainly remember those days. Mine are past the stroller age. That said, we used to do it out of convenience. My wife would push our youngest; an d i would push the older two in the stroller that allows one child to sit and the other can stand.
For the TS: When children are two - age four of five; they are so easily distracted while walking. They walk with their head turned to the left or right, looking at things from their vantage point. You're unaware that they are looking at something or someone. Sometimes, we more or less, pull them, rather than walk with them. Passing adults look down at children and simultaneously, they look up. They see the ants on the ground, they look down. Leave it up to them, they would stop and investigate. Sometimes we can allow them to investigate, sometimes not. My youngest will be five in Sept. He still walks with his head turned. Usually, when we're all out together, I simply "herd" them. That way, they can explore; and I constantly have my eye on them.
I lived in a working-class before this one so I got to see both sides. Practically NO ONE walked their kids to school, to say anything about exercising with their children. And many were overweight/obese. Parents and kids. I realize that the stay-at-home situation figures into this but there are always ways to get in exercise. You can walk with your kids to the store rather than take the big metal box.
Where do you live that parents and children are required to exercise in front of your house? Or are they just required to turn in a daily exercise log to you? I never walked to school as a child. It was 4 miles away, most of the streets didn't have sidewalks, and it required passing through a highway. That doesn't mean I didn't get exercise as a child. I played sports (at a park that wasn't within eyesight of the neighbors), I had PE 3 times a week, went hiking with Girl Scouts, and went bike riding on a local walking trail (again not in eyesight of the neighbors) just to name a few things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by i love living foods
So that father who gently told his crying child that he must walk is indeed a monster because the kid was diseased?
I'm not really sure what the concern about a father gently telling his child to do something. I could maybe understand if the dad was screaming and yelling at the kid, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I remember the Borders I used to go to had weird steps. I could understand a child not wanting to go down them. The place that moved in after they went out of business replaced the stairs. So much better.
I don't judge parents that are pushing older children in pushchairs because I don't know their situation, there are so many possible reasons why that child is in the pushchair instead of walking (long day, mobility issues, autism etc.)
My 2 year old walks most of the time. I take the pushchair with us when we go out as I use it to carry the shopping but my daughter walks alongside or runs ahead unless she is really tired (like after she's been playing in the park for a few hours). She will walk to school when she goes to school. I don't drive so we have to walk everywhere unless my BF is around to drive us.
He CAN walk anywhere, but sometimes we use stroller or carry him because we need him to walk where WE want to go and without touching/grabbing/destroying everything in the process.
He's 20 months old and can run all day.
Being "tired" isn't the point.
He would prefer to walk all the time.
But letting him walk in some circumstances isn't the best idea.
I just don't understand why anyone would find it necessary to discuss someone's child in a stroller. What is gained by nitpicking a parent's decision to use a stroller (or not)? Parents make thousands of judgements about what is best for their child. Some are really important. Others, like whether to put a kid in a stroller are inconsequential. I just can't see why anyone would care about:
1. Whether someone else uses a stroller
2. Whether someone else breastfeeds
3. Whether someone else has family bed
4. When someone else starts potty training
These are all issues that are important for individuals but unless someone asked for your opinion what is gained by passing judgement on a stranger's stroller use?
Yes, I do occasionally keep my 3 year old in a stroller, sometimes I need to get in & out of a store without fighting with a hyperactive toddler, I have other kids to juggle at the same time and I'm not interested in making the trip take 10x longer to please people like you who watch me for 10 seconds of my day.
Blah blah blah on exercise. Really? He runs around 10 hours at home all day, he can cope with being in the cart for the 20 minutes I want to get my groceries in peace.
If you want to throw in the exercise card, you are more than welcome to come see him run around my home powerlifting gym for 1-2 hours while I train for my competitions. Not that it is any of your business, if I wanted to be a couch potato (which I am not), that would be my right too. Or do people need to conduct themselves according to what you would approve of?
If you are so concerned with the treatment of children, go volunteer with bigger brothers (or bigger sisters, whatever gender you are) and make a difference on a child who truly needs it. Or sit at your computer and make snide comments, whatever
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