Traveling with a young child

[DawnM]

For a 0-4 year old we would take a stroller.   We still take a stroller to Disney even though he is 6.    He is a sleeper, and has fallen asleep on the concrete at Disney World before!   

We are traveling extensively this summer overseas.    

I really don't want to take a stroller, but will if I need to.   I was looking at some of those creative suitcases that have a little ride on stroller attached, but that is really just for airports, you can't nap in them, they are just to allow younger children not to have to walk so far.

He is just under 40 pounds.   

Would you take a small stroller with you on the planes, etc.....or is there a solution I am not considering?

I just think if we take nothing, we will regret it.   DH can't carry him everywhere, esp if he is asleep.

[regentrude]

Depends on where you're traveling.  A stroller works if surfaces are flat. It's a hindrance when there are lots of stairs, cobblestones, or gravel and mud - you'll end up carrying it.

 

[PeterPan]

Overseas is very family oriented so any place that is conducive to strollers at all may have people using them. Can you buy one when you get there? They will gate check your stroller and it could get damaged . Is your main concern the airport or the whole trip? Btw we used a stroller with ds for Disney well past 10, maybe 11. So I hear you. McLaren makes an umbrella stroller that will fit a 40 pound 6 yo. Check but I’m pretty sure that’s what we used at 6. Bigger and you’re looking at Special  Tomato etc. 

Edited February 21 by PeterPan

[PeterPan]

Mud —wagon= buy there

[HomeAgain]

We traveled extensively in Europe with a 3yo.

1. Many places are not handicap accessible.  They're just not, so a stroller was no help.  We had one, and by age 4 ds had ridden in it approximately 4 days in that time. We used a structured carrier for the most part and took a LOT of breaks.

2. We found it helpful to bring a set of child appropriate silverware.  I bought them at Ikea, but there was one place we went to where the silverware was as big as his forearm.

3. A folding toilet seat was worth bringing, too, or one like the stretchy ones.  I could sanitize it, but ds needed a place to sit and toilet bowls are large.  Occasionally we would find a child friendly bathroom, but not often.

 

If you really want a stroller, Amazon has a Dream On Me that might suit your needs, except for reclining for sleep.

[SKL]

2 hours ago, DawnM said:

For a 0-4 year old we would take a stroller.   We still take a stroller to Disney even though he is 6.    He is a sleeper, and has fallen asleep on the concrete at Disney World before!   

We are traveling extensively this summer overseas.    

I really don't want to take a stroller, but will if I need to.   I was looking at some of those creative suitcases that have a little ride on stroller attached, but that is really just for airports, you can't nap in them, they are just to allow younger children not to have to walk so far.

He is just under 40 pounds.   

Would you take a small stroller with you on the planes, etc.....or is there a solution I am not considering?

I just think if we take nothing, we will regret it.   DH can't carry him everywhere, esp if he is asleep.

I personally would not bring a stroller, but if you really need to, it should be reasonably easy to pack an umbrella style.

[Bootsie]

We took an umbrella-style stroller when traveling with a child that age.  it was light weight and easy to fold and carry if needed.  

[Megbo]

Would he be open to a child carrier?

My youngest is still happy to be carried around on someone's back when we travel (she's a "wake me up when we get there" kind of kid) so we haven't taken a stroller anywhere since we had two too young to walk everywhere. We use a soft carrier that can be kept in another backpack until we need it. She's nearly 50 lbs and I did get tired after a while during our last trip (Dh is disabled), but switching off with my older kids made it very doable. 

[Faith-manor]

I don't have a lot of advice because we have never traveled overseas with a young child. But if you are going to Paris, I can honestly say that the city seemed that it would be difficult to navigate with strollers and wheelchairs. There were stairs, terribly crowded sidewalks, and uneven curbs everywhere. I think France does have an issue with accessibility. Even the osteopath my mom sees in Antibes (Southern France) has steps down into her office, and no handicap ramp. So if you are headed to France, I wonder if a stroller would be useful anywhere accept parks and museums which seem to be modernized.

Could your dh use a back carrier to allow your little one to have regular breaks from walking?

[mommyoffive]

We have traveled with little kids internationally a lot and we did bring a stroller and mostly hated it.   The places we traveled were hard to navigate with a stroller.  I remember the stroller breaking on a cobblestone street.  The ones that are going to be easier to navigate in those areas and with a bigger child are going to be bigger type of strollers with the big all terrain wheels.   And I find the umbrella strollers really hard to use with kids that are older and heavier. The just don't steer very well with the weight.  

Are you renting a car?  6 is young to be walking all day for some types of kids.  Would a back carrier be a better fit for where you are going?  And then maybe your older kids, you, and your dh could take turns carrying him when he needs it.

Edited February 21 by mommyoffive

[SKL]

Is there any way to work on his physical stamina in the mean time?

[sweet2ndchance]

We travelled to London when my oldest kids were 6, 4 and 3. I agree with the others, Europe is not stroller/wheelchair friendly for the most part. My kids did fine walking around London and the other towns and castles and such that we went to but we took frequent breaks and rode trains, buses and boats part of the time. There was no way I could carry my kiddos with my back and they were much heavier than your kiddo. He sounds like he may be small enough for a carrier. The metal framed ones designed for hiking and such might work and you and dh can switch off if needed.

[Catwoman]

If it would be possible to buy one when you get there and then just donate it to a charity before you leave, that would seem to be the best option. If you have to pay extra to check a stroller on the plane, it might not cost much more to just buy one and avoid all of the inconvenience.

[DawnM]

We are not going to Europe, but I do think most of the locations will be difficult with a stroller.   I travelled with a child to Asia and used a stroller, but it was sometimes a pain.

He simply will not have the stamina by then.  When he is tired, he plops.    He doesn't care where he is.   He will fall fast asleep and with tantrum if you mess with it!   He will sleep in a stroller though.

The backpack idea won't work.   We plan to all have backpacks with things in them and DH's back is not great.   

We may just take a small stroller and ditch it if we don't like it or don't find it useful.

[DawnM]

1 minute ago, Catwoman said:

If it would be possible to buy one when you get there and then just donate it to a charity before you leave, that would seem to be the best option. If you have to pay extra to check a stroller on the plane, it might not cost much more to just buy one and avoid all of the inconvenience.

Yes.....and no.

Most of them are imported from Europe there and therefore, more expensive.

But that also means we may have to carry him in the airports.   

You and I were typing at the same time.....I may just take one and leave it if it isn't helpful.

Edited February 21 by DawnM

[catz]

I might just buy a cheap umbrella style to take.  I wouldn't have to rely on finding something that works when we get there taking away from time we could be doing other stuff. If nothing else, it will be useful in airports and you can decide day by day if it is useful for site seeing.  If I were taking a small kid overseas, a lot of what we did would be oriented with that in mind.  But in older parts of cities, popular tourist destinations, it may not be practical.  

[SKL]

When you look at photos of families touring where you're going, how do you see young kids being transported?

[Elizabeth86]

No, but honestly we’ve never been stroller people. I’ve always did baby wearing or carrying them or them waking or all 3. My 4th is almost 6 and she has hiked miles and miles and has been doing so since she was around 3. I can’t imagine a stroller at this age. 

[Laura Corin]

6 hours ago, Bootsie said:

We took an umbrella-style stroller when traveling with a child that age.  it was light weight and easy to fold and carry if needed.  

Yes. We had a lightweight stroller that we used only for travelling, particularly for a jetlagged child in airports. Sometimes the child walked,  then hand luggage went into the stroller.

[Faith-manor]

Would a collapsible utility wagon with soft sizes be more practical? Just trying to think of options.

[rebcoola]

I was going to suggest a wagon too if it folds up small enough you can gate check them in a stroller bag we took our last time we traveled.

[Carol in Cal.]

They do make backpacks that are more technical and carry cargo as well as a child.  One really nice thing about them is that the child is not actually touching your back, so I found I overheated a lot less in one of these, whether I was also carrying cargo or not.  I got mine at REI, and they fitted it to me.  It was awesome.  They had a big stuffed toy filled with lead shot so I could try these on ‘weighted’.

[Harriet Vane]

We took a cheap umbrella stroller to England when our kids were young and it was worth it. The big kid could fit in it if needed even though it was technically for the littler kid. When we didn't need it, it was easy to hook it on a forearm to carry.

[lmrich]

Are you going to museums or hiking or wandering cobblestone streets? Museum days bring the stroller but not on days spent wandering on cobblestone.  

[bolt.]

I agree with others that you can bring a cheap stroller (and ditch it if it's just not working out) but, with the way you describe your kid, you might also consider bringing a two napping blankets. Then you could just letting him plop (one blanket under, one over) in some scenic area and everybody taking a break. You don't necessarily need to keep moving while he sleeps. You could all just hang out.

[Clarita]

I'll say a stroller is way easier to push children in than a wagon, especially a bigger child. Thus, I would think if a stroller is going to be hard on this terrain a wagon will be even harder. I haven't tried either on cobblestone but wagon on a gravel path with a large 4 year old was awful and my friend and I said never again.

[Arcadia]

8 hours ago, DawnM said:

When he is tired, he plops.    He doesn't care where he is.   He will fall fast asleep and with tantrum if you mess with it!   He will sleep in a stroller though.

In that case a cheap umbrella stroller would be useful even at the airports. My DS18 was similar at that age and is hard to carry when asleep. It was worth the less than $20 for us to not have to carry him.

[DawnM]

We mostly need it getting through airports.   I don't think we will be using it too much while out and about just due to the nature of the trip.   We may go to a couple of places like museums, but we won't need it as much while we are actually there.

And no, a wagon sounds way too bulky.   I have one that is collapsable and it takes up a lot of room while collapsed.   I don't want to mess with it.

Thanks,

Dawn

[rebcoola]

If its just the airport we do the ride on luggage from target.  

[Clarita]

1 hour ago, DawnM said:

We mostly need it getting through airports.   I don't think we will be using it too much while out and about just due to the nature of the trip.   We may go to a couple of places like museums, but we won't need it as much while we are actually there.

Cheapy umbrella stroller. If it doesn't fit in the in the plane with you they will take it at the ramp during boarding. I did that for a domestic flight.  They stow it away with people's wheelchairs and walkers. You should be able to check out if it's allowed with your airline(s).

[DawnM]

13 hours ago, Clarita said:

Cheapy umbrella stroller. If it doesn't fit in the in the plane with you they will take it at the ramp during boarding. I did that for a domestic flight.  They stow it away with people's wheelchairs and walkers. You should be able to check out if it's allowed with your airline(s).

Yes, I have flown many times domestically, and a couple times internationally, with a stroller.   I just have never taken a 6 year old with a stroller and wondered if there were any other options I had missed.   

[prairiewindmomma]

Are you traveling with a full car seat? At six, for flying, we just had our kids wear a small booster over their shoulders to carry it through the airport, but if you are taking a 5 point harness, you could always just get a trolley for it and strap him in for the airport. https://www.amazon.com/Airport-Stroller-Travel-Child-Transporter/dp/B078Z3WM9C

[Arcadia]

5 hours ago, DawnM said:

I just have never taken a 6 year old with a stroller and wondered if there were any other options I had missed.  

We typed into the notes/comments part of our tickets that we would be bring one or two strollers when we bought our tickets online. Sometimes the plane is full and people are bringing full sized strollers so airlines appreciate a heads up so they can allocate space. At one flight, they had a hard time finding space for our umbrella strollers and ended up putting them in the coat closet. 

[DawnM]

3 hours ago, Arcadia said:

We typed into the notes/comments part of our tickets that we would be bring one or two strollers when we bought our tickets online. Sometimes the plane is full and people are bringing full sized strollers so airlines appreciate a heads up so they can allocate space. At one flight, they had a hard time finding space for our umbrella strollers and ended up putting them in the coat closet. 

Good to know, thanks.

[KungFuPanda]

I’d probably get the one that @HomeAgain linked. It seems like it’ll suit the needs of your trip, it isn’t expensive, and will work for kids that aren’t babies/toddlers. If it survives the trip it might be useful afterwards too. The scooter setting looks fun and might be nice if you want to sit in a park but the kid has energy to burn, so it’s a stroller and a toy.