Why Do Parents Pick Up/Carry Ambulatory Kids?

[SuperDave72]

Originally Posted by Calvert Hall '62

Can't understand it. Some kids are quite large and an obvious physical burden to the parent. Never been a parent and was wondering ... have parents always done this?

Now I was a lump. Just sat; never even crawled. Relatives were so worried that I'd remain a lump. They rubbed my legs with oil prayed the rosary and did all kinds of unusual and exotic things so I'd walk. Then one day at 18 months, according to them, I simply decided to walk. Went from a lump to walking overnight. There was no way they were going to pick me up, uh uh. They probably thought that if they started to tote me around, I'd always want to be carried.

Anyway, was wondering ...

Sometimes, it's because it's time to leave and they won't listen or come on their own, so you have to do what you have to do. My youngest daughter was notorious for this. We'd be somewhere playing, and she would throw a fit and refuse to leave, so my wife or I would just pick her up and carry her to the car.

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by CSD610

Depending on the situation it is faster and safer to carry a child at times then there are those times that said children are tired and getting cranky because it is close to nap time and they want and need to be comforted.

That's definitely a big one. Our daughter took afternoon naps until she was 4 or so. When we were spending the entire day out and about I'd carry her for an hour so around nap time to let her rest a bit. It made the rest of the day much more enjoyable for everyone.

[Sudcaro]

Originally Posted by ozgal

You said you "were told" that at 18 months you just up and walked, but can remember on your own never having been picked up after that point in time?

My child can run around for hours, and then go from 60 to 0 in under a second, and when he hits 0, I'm picking him up or we're sitting down and not going anywhere until he's rested. Kids are like that, no matter how active they are. They're full of beans until they're not.

Parents carrying their toddlers and young children has nothing to do with childhood obesity.

Exactly.
Moreover, there can be a situation that others are not aware of. My daughter is active and looks healthy, but she got chemo for cancer until the end of last month. If you don't know what she's been through, then it's impossible to imagine (unless you see her without her hat on, of course). So I may have to carry her, maybe more than I'd like to, because she is tired, still suffering from side effects...

[luzianne]

Sometimes kids just want to be held and it's comforting to them to have one of their parents pick them up and carry them. Sometimes they are tired. Sometimes they are not cooperating and you have to pick them up and carrying them to get where you want to go. My husband and I had three and one or the other of us carried the little one and sometimes we carried the younger two (the oldest was three years older than the second) when in public because it's kind of hard to get anywhere with a toddler taking baby steps. I'm only 5'1". The younger two were 21 months apart, but both of them weighed 35 lbs at the same time for it seems like a long time (the older a girl and more petite, the younger a boy). I carried them pretty easily at 35 lbs.

[Gcs15]

My four year old doesn't get picked up unless its for good reason. She has two legs and can walk. Just today she said she wanted to go for a walk. We did and on the way home she stopped and stepped in front of me like "pick me up?". I said nope. She said its a big hill. Oh well, I'm not carrying you.

She doesn't bolt or anything and when we walk , especially on main streets in the city, she needs to hold hands. We haven't used a stroller in over a year and half either. Idk, I want her to get tired and if I am carrying her then I am the only one getting worn out.