A Mile Walk

[greentea78]

The closest park to my house is a mile away. How do you think toddlers/preschoolers 18 months and older would handle the walk. To me is doesn't seem that far, but my sister thought it would be too far for little legs. What's your opinion?

Thanks.

[spud912]

The closest park to my house is a mile away. How do you think toddlers/preschoolers 18 months and older would handle the walk. To me is doesn't seem that far, but my sister thought it would be too far for little legs. What's your opinion?

Thanks.

Perfectly fine! They will have so much fun looking around/exploring and playing at the park that they won't notice the walk. If they do, a week or two of regular outings will get them used to it. The benefit is that they get plenty of exercise and you get a good nap time break .

I'm not sure how far it is, but our walk to the park is 15 minutes (so 30 minutes round trip) plus an extra 10 minutes of walking past the park to the lake, so 40 minutes total. When we have extra time, we will take the "long way" to the park. When we do that, it is an hour and a half away from the house (with only 15 minutes at the park). I really wish there was an easy way to estimate the distance since the pathway goes along a canal and not a main road. Nevertheless, the kids LOVE the "long way" and always beg me to do it.

[spud912]

Haha just found a program that estimates the distance on our "long walk" to be just under 2 miles. That would be about the same distance round trip to your park. With little legs and lots of stops, you all will probably be going at a pace of 2 miles per hour. I would just plan to be gone about an hour and a half and take a stroller or wagon for the younger children in case their legs get tired. Oh, and bring their water cups and a first aid kit just in case.

[youretooloud]

We used to do it every day or so, but, I pulled a wagon and put the youngest on my back in a backpack. If I had waited for John to walk a mile (even though he was older) we'd have never gotten there.

Not all kids can manage a mile walk. And, eventually someone will rebel, and it's always good to have a wagon for those sidewalk sitters.

[Familycare71]

The one time I attempted a long walk like that to a park I had a child injure his head (my son) and show immediate signs of a concussion- it was incredibly scary! I fortunately was able to call a friend to pick him up because there was no way he could have walked home and was too big to carry.
If it had been a daycare kid I couldn't have had her transport them...
Just be sure you have a plan for whatever may arise!

[greentea78]

The walks wouldn't be every day, but it is nice to have a change of scenery occasionally. I plan to use a stroller for the babies. I would like to get a quad stroller eventually, but have to save up for it. Of course you have to plan for the what ifs.

[e.j.]

I have kids who would love a long walk like that and others who wouldn't make it out the driveway before they started complaining of being tired. Maybe work up to it slowly with them? Go on short "discovery" walks, taking longer walks each week until they all can do the entire mile? I'd definitely take a wagon or something else to put the kids in if they might not make it back home walking.

[MarinaVanessa]

I think it all depends on your daycare kids and how much exercise they are used to getting on a regular basis. I take the kids on a walk to a park nearby a few times a week but our walk is only a little over a half a mile away so it's a little over a mile round trip.

I've had some 3yo absolutely do fine and have had some 5yo absolutely not make it. Funny though that the older kids that didn't do well were the kids that would complain about every single outdoor activity that we would do outside and were the same kids that always asked me turn the TV on during daycare and complain that they were allowed to at home when I would say home. I have a feeling that those kids were the ones that didn't play outside much at home.

Even then those kids just needed to get used to exercise and activity.

If you've never taken them on a walk out before start small and try going out on a walk every day the first week about 1/4 of the way to the park and come back. Then the next week go halfway etc until your little crew can make the walk to the park.

I would take plenty of water and maybe some snacks so that after your walk and play time at the park they can drink some water and have a snack while they rest before you head back. It'll get easier after that. If you have infants and young toddlers I would think about taking stroller (that seats the number of small kids you have) or even a wagon. Nothing is worse than having to turn around because a child gets tired and refuses to walk any further or complains the whole trip back. ::

[greentea78]

I have kids who would love a long walk like that and others who wouldn't make it out the driveway before they started complaining of being tired. Maybe work up to it slowly with them? Go on short "discovery" walks, taking longer walks each week until they all can do the entire mile? I'd definitely take a wagon or something else to put the kids in if they might not make it back home walking.

I haven't opened yet and the two kids I already have enrolled are infants, so with them it would be easy. I will have to see what other kids I get and how they respond. Working up to it is a good idea. I also want to take them to the library for their weekly story-time. It is only a quarter mile away. So we will start with that. That way I can see how they act.

[greentea78]

I've had some 3yo absolutely do fine and have had some 5yo absolutely not make it. Funny though that the older kids that didn't do well were the kids that would complain about every single outdoor activity that we would do outside and were the same kids that always asked me turn the TV on during daycare and complain that they were allowed to at home when I would say home. I have a feeling that those kids were the ones that didn't play outside much at home.

I find it interesting how few kids play outside now. You couldn't keep me in when I was a kid.

[MarinaVanessa]

I find it interesting how few kids play outside now. You couldn't keep me in when I was a kid.

I know right, it ridiculous that I have to teach children how to play .

I remember setting up the water table one summer and it was the first summer here for many of the DCK's and they all simply stared at the water and all the cups, eye droppers, funnels and toys like they didn't know what to think. I literally just stood there shocked until my own son walked over and started pouring water into containers and played with it all. The other kids just watched him for the first few minutes until they finally figured out that they were supposed to play with it all .

Hard to believe that they had to learn to play with water at daycare.

[greentea78]

I know right, it ridiculous that I have to teach children how to play .

I remember setting up the water table one summer and it was the first summer here for many of the DCK's and they all simply stared at the water and all the cups, eye droppers, funnels and toys like they didn't know what to think. I literally just stood there shocked until my own son walked over and started pouring water into containers and played with it all. The other kids just watched him for the first few minutes until they finally figured out that they were supposed to play with it all .

Hard to believe that they had to learn to play with water at daycare.

Lol. All the toys they make do something. Kids don't need to think. My foster kids that I use to have, were so content with a bucket of blocks. They made the blocks into anything - cars, cell phone, etc. I loved watching how their little minds work. There are no toys in my daycare with batteries.