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I saw a family we knew at the mall and the daughter who is almost 5 was in a stroller. She's also really tall so she looks older. I thought they were pushing it with the stroller. I also personally know the daughter hates long walks and gets whiny to be held so maybe that's why the stroller?

I think this is a "to each his own" thing but for my kids it was around age 3.5-4 when I thought they didn't need it anymore - and I am talking about malls, short trips, etc.

I think 4? Kids start kindergarten here at 4, so...

My daughter is 2 and refuses the stroller, she just loves to walk.

When the kid and the parents mutually decide don't need it any more! My LO isn't even 2.5 yet, so I don't know when kids develop the physical strength and patience to walk around for long periods of time.

We still use ours all the time with our almost 3.5 yr old and our 20 month old. I don't foresee us retiring it any time soon to be honest. DD1 gets tired walking after a while, and as we walk a lot (usually at least a couple of miles at a time), she can't usually make it that distance.

I'm not sure when we'll stop using it, but I definitely think there is a limit - probably about 4, unless we're on a big day out where we'll be walking miles and miles and miles. My SIL just got back from WDW and they had both of their kids in the pram, the older one turns 7 next week.....I thought that was a bit much, but hey, to each their own I guess.

I try to avoid it as much as possible with my 20mo. But he's getting too big to wear for short trips around town.

I am kind of hoping he gets good enough at his scooter that we can just use that instead. But that might backfire if I have to carry both him and the scooter home.

My 4 year old won't ride in the stroller unless he is sick or it is raining. Even then he'd rather not but won't put up as much of a fight.

There are times when we're out all day when I wish my husband and I could take turns pushing each other in a stroller.

I think it can be overused though. theres a 3 year old who is always in a stroller or wagon for everything still, he's always cooped up in it. He has probably 2 hours worth of TV he watches everyday and then the mom keeps trying to get him diagnosed with ADHD because when he is allowed to play he likes to run around and has sleep problems. I think she's just way too out of touch with how much energy a 3 year old needs to expend in a day and he'd benefit a lot from not always being stuck in a stroller.

I think it depends where you are. For short stuff, I'd say we're pretty much wrapping it up with the stroller use at 3 (and we have a somewhat taller than average 3 year old.) For longer walks (tourist attractions, zoos, etc) between 3 and 4, probably. I think after 4 I'm starting to wonder why the kid won't walk.

That said, who cares what people like me are wondering. If anyone actually says anything out loud then THEY are the ones in the wrong...if not, it doesn't matter anyway. And people who you personally know that would say something out loud, you can choose to explain or not.

I don't think there is any right time, it really just depends on your needs. City dwellers will likely need a stroller longer than suburbanites. My older LO was kicked out of the stroller by the arrival of our second child when he was 3. When we switched the stroller from the bassinet back to the seat, he would occasionally ride in it. Once he turned 4 though, I said he couldn't ride in the seat anymore since I was worried about the weight limit. We have a ride on board for the stroller and I've told him that once he's 5 he can't ride it anymore. FWIW, we live in a city with no car, so the stroller is our main form of transportation. My older LO usually rides either the ride on board or his scooter when we go out.

Quite frankly, I'd someone would push me around at 29 I'd totally be cool with it! I think this will vary from kid to kid and I wouldn't think twice about an older kid in a stroller. Sadly, my toddler hasn't wanted to ride since she started walking. It's annoying! I'm still buying a double stroller though when Baby 2 arrives because it will just be easier on me I think!

@catomd00: Ha ha ha! I was just about to say the same thing! I say never too old because I want someone to push me around all day.

My 3.5 year loves the stroller and always has. I have a feeling he'll be in it for a while. But it only gets used at theme parks/zoos and the like, so I feel like that's a lot of walking for a younger child.

Maybe 5? 6? Depends on the kid!

DS1 pretty much stopped using the stroller at 2.5. So we never bought a double before DS2's arrival. We also live in the 'burbs and would only need a double for long outings. And in those cases, I baby wear and we have a single umbrella for DS1, which he doesn't like to ride in anyway!

I think if we lived in the city, we'd probably end up using a stroller longer regardless of DS1's preference due to the sheer amount of foot travel!

I have no idea. We take regular long walks and my 3 year old loves going in the stroller. I can't even imagine at 4 or 5 he would be able to walk that far so what do we do - just give them up? I guess we will just keep him in it for as long as he wants or if we have another baby and he gets kicked out of it.

I'm not there yet but I'm guessing 5.5? I know some kids just won't ride in strollers past a certain point, though. I think it also depends on the trip. I've seen plenty of big kids in strollers at Disneyland, which I think is understandable. My 3 year old will still sit in the stroller but I can tell my days are numbered...

I think Disney and state fairs, etc. have no age limit, in my mind. There are times I wished I could sit in a stroller myself in big places like that.

In everyday life, I think a kid is too old for a stroller when you can see that they have to lift their feet up to keep them from dragging along the ground.

We stopped using the stroller at 20 months (though we have to carry her sometimes if we're going quite far). I'm a little concerned that her feet seem to point inward and it trips her up sometimes...my thinking is that the more she walks, the greater the chance there is that her feet will correct themselves over time. I don't know if there's anything to that, though. The pedi said they don't look into that until 24 months, so she has a little while to improve.