Is 7 years old too old for a stroller?

Not sure if I am going to share the backstory on this, but it does pretain to step life, but not my situation. Is 7 years old too old for a child to be in a stroller even when on vacation? I stress the vacation part because a stroller is a good way for families to stay out a little later on vacation if they have a stroller for the child to ride in/fall asleep in after a lot of walking, etc. Decided to edit this and add the age instead of getting people to say old they think is too old.

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If a kid is in kindergarten,

If a kid is in kindergarten, they need to be out of a stroller IMO. That includes on vacation. I get endlessly pissed at parents at Disney World who buy a double-wide stroller who basically use it as a bed and shopping cart for their 6-10 year old. The parent usually can't wield the damn thing and they run people over.

I feel the same way!

My SO and I were both told by our friends when we asked how their trip to Disney over Christmas vacation was that they got the 7 year old a stroller so she didn't get tired for walking. I had no idea what to say because I thought that was ridiculous and luckily SO was quick on his feet and said that must of been nice if you bought something you didn't have to carry the bags.... Then when we were alone we both were like why are they acting proud of getting a 7 year old, almost 8 year old a stroller. I think up to 4-5 for at night while on vacation isn't that bad, but over that is just enabling.

From a parent's perspective,

From a parent's perspective, it probably does seem like a smart move. Place to put the kid and bags, people tend to stay away from you because you have a makeshift battering ram, etc. I can totally see why someone thinks it's a good idea, especially if you are only at Disney for a day and want to make the most out of it.

However, I feel like I've seen more folks regret getting that big stroller than finding it useful. The kid still gets hot and complains. The kid falls asleep and is grumpy when woken up for a ride. They get uncomfortable because they're too big for the stroller. The parent gets tired because they are pushing a heavy kid across uneven ground and up hills. It's a pain to find "parking" for strollers because they can't go in lines and in some buildings. You still have to haul all your crap or risk it being stolen when you park the stroller. Heck, some people even have the stroller stolen because Disney will be out of them for the day.

It just seems like more of a hassle than a benefit.

That is how we felt the last time we went on vacation with a

stroller and it wasn't even a big one by any means, but it was way more of a hassle than anything so we ditched the stroller and have not used one since.

I know of families that will

I know of families that will do the big stroller cart things at amusement parks for kids a little older- especially in the dead heat of summer, just so they aren't fighting a hot, sweaty, exhausted kid. Plus it gives storage for all the other crap that you wind up with.

Outside of that scenario- yeah... 7 is way too old. I think I ditched my last stroller when my youngest was probably 4.

Right ?!?

I just think it is enabling at that point. We haven't had a stroller for SD since she was about 3, if we did a lot of walking after that or there was a crowd SO will put SD on his shoulders for a while, but that's about as far as it goes. I was mind blown that it seemed totally normal and like a bragging "we are so smart" we got the 7 year old a stroller during the day at Disney in Decemember, it isn't even that hot down there right now.

I would never. If the kid is

I would never. If the kid is too tired to continue, go back to the hotel for a nap and come back.

eta: I would never go to Disney anyway- It is far too peopley!! All those kids and lines. It just stresses me out thinking about it! I am so glad that my kids dad took them so I didn't have to! We do tropical vacations! LOL

Exactly!

Strollers are just more things to carry in my opinion which is why we ditched ours after a vacation that it was more of a pain than useful at that point.

I don't blame you! I have been to Disney once when I was like 11 and I don't care to go back. I do however want to see Harry Potter world but I don't want to take children when we go. I'm more of go to the beach, go to the mountains, etc for vacations. I don't like stressing about lines and people. Not my cup of tea at all!

My SD is 7. I cannot imagine

My SD is 7. I cannot imagine her being in a stroller now. She is way too old. I don't think she's been in a stroller since she was 3.

I think they did it

so they did not give her a chance to complain. My friend's SD is very spoiled and the father is a disney dad hands down. To each their own, but I would not be doing it

It was for me, and it was for

It was for me, and it was for my kids. Not for my sister, though - lol....i've seen pics of her in one around that age when our parents took us to Disney. I made fun of her (good naturedly) when we flipped through the album.

Why worry?

7 years old is old enough to follow orders, not dash off and keep up with the adults. But with as with all children there's some advanced, and some a bit behind. It defeats the whole point of going on vacation if parents are continuously stressed juggling snacks, drinks, souvenirs and the deadweight of a 7 year old too tired to walk, or worse a 7 year old known for wandering off. If the solution to that is to strap the child in and dump all the stuff they needed to carry into the pram then go for it.

So I may be in a different

So I may be in a different group here, but no I don't think it's too old if its being used in a particular situation.
When DH and I would take our kids to amusement parks or on vacations we would bring two umbrella strollers. Usually the two youngest used them the most, but the older might sit down and relax for a bit as well.

I do think there is a

I do think there is a difference between bringing umbrella strollers for younger kids that older kids happen to sit in, and renting the giant double-seater, plastic behemoths to use as basically a shopping cart. I'm never going to look at a 9 year old sitting in his sibling's stroller seat with side eye. Heck, I probably wouldn't even give someone a second glance for using the umbrella stroller as a shopping cart because they are fairly small and compact, especially if there is a small child running around nearby.

But I pass serious judgment on parents who push their 9 year old around an amusement park all day like they're indentured servants to their progeny.

I agree

there were no other children on this trip, just the SM, DH, and SD, who in July will be 8. I wouldn't give a look of an older kid in a stroller when there are younger children also with them, but an older kid being pushed around like a princess, that is something I am like oh heck no.

If your child has a physical

If your child has a physical problem that prevents walking for distances, than a stroller/chair is appropriate. But, most physically normal seven year olds would probably resist sitting in all day. I had one kid who hated the stroller (and we gave up on it early), and one who loved it. Even my kid who loved it, balked at sitting in it much earlier than seven.

If their child is too tired to walk at Disney, maybe they should consider following the many guidebook suggestions of going back to your room midday to rest.

Definitely agree

they were staying at a hotel inside the park!

If the child OR parent has physical limitations

I have no issue. But on a general basis no. I hate to see a parent carrying a baby/toddler and pushing a stroller with an 8 or 9 year old in it. I hate those extra large strollers, they are rude due to their size. I more so hate those super size grocery store carts tricked out to look like a truck or something that the kiddies ride in. They take up way too much room in narrow aisles and kids are constantly climbing in or out. Whatever happened to expecting your kids to behave in the store?

Yeah i know what you mean!

Everyone involved, SD, SM and DH all are in perfect health and they were staying in the park too

This sounds like the time

This sounds like the time that DH and BM, when they were still married, but on the verge of divorce, took SSs (then 6 almost 7) to Disney and didn't make them wait in any lines. One would wait and then the other would join with the kids when they got closer to the front. This somehow came up because when I met DH SSs were 9 and he would always get in a tizzy if they even had to wait 5 minutes for anything. He wouldn't even do errands when they were around because he didn't thought they would get upset with the waiting. I was horrified that they were so catered to.

Omg talk

about setting a bad precedent for the rest of these children's lives

Not too old, IMO. I certainly

Not too old, IMO. I certainly don't think an able bodied 7 year old should be mostly in a stroller, but there's a time and a place. My family made frequent trips to Disney World when I was growing up, and we did long days. We could easily walk 15+ miles in a day. It was sometimes easier and quicker for my parents to put a tired school-aged child in a stroller. And it was a good place for a nap.

I bought my DD a stroller with a 65 pound weight capacity with that in mind. When we were at WDW with skids a few years ago, SD8 (then 5) spent some time in the stroller despite DH insisting his 5 year old would never use a stroller. Sometimes it is just easier for all involved. That said, I would never push an able bodied child around all day simply because they were lazy. ETA: we never rented the double wide monstrosities. They're uncomfortable and too difficult to manage. We mostly used a sit and stand type.

We went to Disney World when

We went to Disney World when DS was 4 and didn't have a stroller for him because we didn't want to deal with a double stroller since we also had our 1 year old in a stroller. But, we stayed at Disney hotel and came back for afternoon naps. I could see where a stroller would be fine for a 7 year old, if that child was the youngest and everyone wanted to walk fast and stay out late. But, I couldn't see a situation where my DS is in a stroller for a trip because we wouldn't be out that long with both little kids - they would be grumpy for other reasons than tired feet. That said, my 4 year old was a pain to keep close at a crowded park and I wished I had a leash instead. Lol!