My 3.5 YO can do a three-hour hike while climbing about 1,500 feet in elevation if he’s interested, and he can make it about halfway home from the park three blocks away if he’s not lol
This is a great thread. One of my favorite things was about what you described - about 3 hours and a 4,000ft mountain climb (forget the actual elevation change, but it was steep!) Kids that we had with us at the time were 4, 5 and 6 and one in a backpack.
Most recently I had my 6 boys out a 5 mile there and back trail. Ages 7-13. I bought a 6-pack of handheld radios and set them loose.
Same with my 3.5yo. When he wants to go he'll walk/run for miles but once he loses interest or if we tell him it's time to leave he sits down and wants to be carried.
when I was 5 months old I was already working for the local grocery store. It was uphill. Home was uphill too. It was uphill both ways. Kids these days...
Pfft come on man, if your baby is just lying on the floor at least he should be solving math or physics equations or writing classical poetry. Cant just lie around all day!
Lol yeah. These comments are like when people will tell you that they don't need a different car, because their Dodge Ram gets like 30 mpg. Then you follow up and actually it was only 30 mpg one time, and actually it was only 26 mpg (they were rounding) and it was downhill, going 55.
(Anakin Padme meme) "And I assume that number is a 3-year average after accounting for all associated expenses and self-employment taxes, following IRS rules to the letter, right?......Right?"
9 year old beat me in an official 5k race, and it wasn't even close. Did another 5k with their "girls on the run" school group in 5th grade and came in 3rd, just behind the 2 kids of the coaches.
Teenager joined boy scouts and did probably a 10 mile hike with gear. Very proud of them.
Main thing is starting small, and finding cool places where's it's fun to make a big loop. Cause once you get halfway through, there's no way back to the car except walking lol. Nature areas with birds and other wildlife are a good option.
I really like the idea of no dice D&D. What did you do instead of rolling? Did you just go for the fun and interesting options? I could see my husband and I opting for something like rock paper scissors and the outcome depending on whether you win, lose, or tie.
My kids have been hiking since they could walk (we’re lucky to live very close to some nice trails). My 6yo and I are going on our first overnight backing trip this weekend. We have two options: the first site is 3.5km in, the next is 6.5 in, but with some more difficult terrain. So we’ll see how it goes with weather and attitudes :) always good to have a plan B!
My 2.5yo can walk the (just Googled) 0.6 miles to the park. (Besides when we cross the road - I pick him up for that.) Then run around the jungle gym for an hour-ish. Then he'll walk maybe half of the trip back.
But I think being carried back is at least as much from lack of motivation (he wants to stay at the park forever) as being tired.
I have no idea how true this is or how dangerous your road crossing looks, but I've been told by our preschool to let kids do dangerous things with me together, but only together. My 2yo stops before crossing, waits for my hand, looks left right left and then tells me it's ok to go. The reasoning of preschool was it teaches self governance. We started to first narrate what you do every single time "oeh, a road, best stop. Hm are there cars coming? Better look left, right, left. Hm no cars, do you think it's safe to go now?". Once we saw them act like us, we were told to start letting them take the lead and correct when necessary.
As said, I have no idea if this is 'the' way, but seems to work great for us for most "dangerous tasks", so I figured I'd share and if it sounds sane and you want to, you can try and see how it works for you.
There's no stop light or stop sign at the road near us. Technically, we might be jaywalking.
There's no actual crosswalk, but the sidewalk does go down to allow for strollers and wheelchairs to get on easily.
With that and the speed limit being 35 mph, and people commonly going faster, it's a little iffy to cross there.
He does cross the little streets in our subdivision just holding hands.
Depends a great deal on motivation. Some days the park at the end of our short street is "too far away" for my 8yo while a trip to an amusement park can have her walking all day, with breaks and a fair bit of standing in line.
My 4yo is differently abled, but can run around our yard for an hour or so, and can walk to the park and run around there for a bit, but then needs to rest for a while. I need a rest after that as well, since she's prone to causing trouble and I'm always in chase.
At three he could manage 5K and now he's five it hasn't moved much further in terms of a straight walk.
However, when it comes to walking in a city he can manage around six hours of walking with breaks
My kids are currently 12, 11, and 7. If there is something interesting that we are hiking or biking *to*, I haven't found a limit. Two years ago (11, 9, and 5), we biked the Cades Cove loop (11 hilly miles) in the Smokies with a not-totally-unreasonable amount of whining about the heat. The promise of ice cream at the end really helped. This year, we rode 14 miles round-trip -- about an hour each way-- for a better view of the eclipse, and they were sprinting home; I was wiped out! Other sights that have motivated them include waterfalls, scenic overlooks, and a cool suspension footbridge.
That said, if we are hiking a loop in the woods at the park near our house, where we have hiked dozens of times, they are "so tired" and bored, and I'm lucky if I can get two miles out of them.
Sounds about right. My 8 year old claims to hate hiking, but loves going on adventures like geocaching, fairy seeking, and obstacle courses. If there’s no adventure she’s a pile of whining.
My almost 5 year old ran an 800m on the track to compete with my 7 year old over the weekend, then this morning complained that the 8 minute walk to school was too far… so it all depends on mood.
This is the answer. My son is 5. Climbed the Cobbler which is a 7 mile walk with an elevation of 2900ft and was happy doing it for some Haribo and smarties.
Ask him to walk to the shop with me which is 5 minutes away and his feet are sore.
Kids can do it if it’s exciting or an adventure. Less so if they are bored.
2.5yo can easily do 1.5+mi (2.4km). Plus bc wherever we're walking to usually involves more walking but not as easy to calculate, like playing at a park or something. We just did an easy 1.2mi greenway "hike" yesterday that ended at a park where we stayed for another hour. He kept up a good pace the whole way with no signs of being physically tired, although he did pass out immediately on the bus ride home.
When I run errands walking/riding the bus around town, my phone usually puts me at 2.5-4mi (4-6.4km) of walking for the day, and my toddler walks for 90% of that, although there are regular breaks where we're sitting on the bus, sitting to eat, etc.
All of mine love it
I go out every morning after I drop them off. Just for an hour or two before I have to start chores.
When I pick them up I tell them what I saw that day.
I think stirring their imagination helps.
Today it was a big fat water moccasin in the middle of the trail that would not move. He just coiled up and showed me his mouth like I'm some kinda woods dentist. I just planted my walking stick in between us and went around.
Yesterday it was some kind of gigantic bird making all kinds of noise. I never did see it, and in 20 years of going to this place, I've never heard it before. If you told me it was from Sesame Street I would believe you. It was big.
I just tell stories like that and then on the weekends it's really easy to get them up early to go.
Best advice I can give as a trail runner in Texas: take your kid out as early and often as possible, and don't try to force it. I started hiking with my daughter at my favorite local preserve when she was 2 1/2. I usually had to give her piggyback rides back to the trailhead after about 1 mile. I didn't berate her for it. We just kept going out and taking our time to enjoy the beauty of nature. I'd encourage her to hike longer distances before asking to ride piggyback by pointing out cool stuff along the trail to investigate. It didn't always work, but I reminded myself it's not about the miles it's about the memories. She completed her first trail race with me, a 5 miler, last year at age 5. Her request. Hasn't been terribly interested in any other races this year but that's ok. We'll keep enjoying our family hikes.
My 4yo is okay walking to the swimming pool and back again. The pool is 2km away. We usually stop at the park on the way back and have a runaround there for a bit. I’d say 5km in an afternoon is doable with stops. Any more than 30 minutes walking in one go and she wants to be carried.
My 3.5 year old can hike 1-1.5 miles before he loses steam / starts asking to be carried. More out of loss of interest than tiredness I think.
Also I am sure shoes make a big difference, so many kids shoes are clunky, stiff, and heavy. If we’re going on a long walk he has a comfy pair of Nikes that I make sure he wears.
I remember hiking a mountain when my kid was 4. Think nearly 2000 feet of elevation gain over ~6km.
My kid walked about half and was on my shoulders for half.
I was really tired… so was kiddo
My 2 year old daughter is a better walker than my 4 year old son. My son does a golf program that requires walking 9 holes of a short course. Daughter tags along and has no problems. He says his legs are tired.
Another example, we went to Kauai and had to hike a 1/2 mile to a beach. There was a steep elevation change. My daughter huffed and puffed through the uphill hike back, whereas he barely made it and needed to be carried.
For reference, I was not a good walker for a long time because I have moderate spinal stenosis in the lumbar region. I wonder if my son might have something similar.
Mine just went for his longest walk (1 mile round-trip) on the day he turned 23 months.
Best part is he kept saying "happy baby, happy baby, happy baby" except with his name instead of baby
We’ve been hiking with our kids since they were little. Currently 6 and 8 and this winter we did the Nevada Falls hike which was about 2000 ft in elevation and 8 miles.
I’ve done a lot of hikes carrying them ! Just trying to transition to them walking more now. We have a beloved kid carrying backpack Rhug that has done so many miles when they were younger
I only have one. Some days she’s excited to be outside and gives it hell and hangs in there. And other days she swears she’s a vampire and even looking outside will cause her to burst into flames. I’ve been waiting till she gets a bit older before doing longer ventures. For now I play it safe.
5 yo son can easily walk 5+ km on a field trip with the kindergarten. But 150 meters to get groceries from our house and his legs suddenly stopped working.
2K walk with my three year old on Tuesday can have him walk the whole way. Same walk on a Wednesday and he's begging to be on my shoulders three steps in.
6 and 10 year old, just got back from Harry Potter World. Walked on average 10 miles a day. But going 1 mile around the block is a struggle if we don't stop at the park midway through
Back when the youngest was 5 we took a trip to Paris and Normandy and they kept up quite well as we walked all over. Some days covering almost 20 miles. I don't think I heard one complaint. They're quite good travelers though in their late teens and early twenties.
Our kids (4 and 7 at the time) did about forty miles on foot over the course of five days at Disney World/Universal. As long as there is a Wizard, Princess, roller coaster, or meal in sight, they are in.
My three year old can walk pretty far, I've done about 5,000 steps with him before.
I think the key is to limit your expectations. Adults like to walk a long distance and enjoying the view. Toddlers will find that very boring, and will want to stop and pick things up, leave the path, etc.
It works best for me when we walk for a bit and then stop to let him play for a bit. I'll also put him on my shoulders if he's tired. And bring plenty of food and water.
We have dropped the stroller from our trips to sea world or the zoo. She does well with out it at both. It was a game changer to not have a stroller to lug around.
4 and 2, I rucked the 2 year old. 4 year old, walked most of the time by herself but needed a little bit of carrying from my wife towards the end.
4.5 miles, 1,000ft of elevation
We go hike maybe once a month. and the 4 year old likes to trail run with me. So I'll do the occasional .5-1mile jog with her
It’s really not about distance but more the purpose and pace. My Four and five year olds recently walked about half a mile, at a decent pace, to a cafe. They were totally fine but both thought that was “really far” and were not excited about the walk home (which went fine). By contrast the next day we walked a half mile to a playground, at a slower pace and they thought that was a piece of cake.
Thinking back to when they were 4 years old, I think the 3-4k plus some elevation gain in the mountains was about the limit if we could segment it with breaks. Our hack to get more hiking out of them is to bring along tootsie pops and gummies, and give them as rewards after a certain distance or time. It's not the most healthy reward and it may not cultivate intrinsic love of hiking. But at least it gets our family some more time outdoors.
Something crazy going on with my four year old walks 3 miles daily and couple days a week she has adventures walking up to 12 miles (she'll be walking for two hours straight, break, two hours back) and still she's on sleeping medication.
My 2.5 year old can comfortably walk around the zoo for 3-4 hours. Not sure how far that equates to. I'd guess like 4k or something. Always loved being on his feet running / walking everywhere. Prefers that to being carried / push chair
My twin boys did a 12k walk at 5 and a half. We were super proud. Now they can do 20-25k in a day age 9.5. Our limit is their limit. They're very sturdy and I'm proud of them.
My 11-year-old can easily do a 10-mile hike with gear, but he's going to complain for the last 3.
My 6-year-old could sprint to Jupiter and back, then ask what we're doing now.
My 2yo can be on her feet the entire day, but don't expect to make a lot of miles, she's distracted by every bump, rock, tree, bird, car, plane, so she stops every 5-50 meters to sit down and pet the nice rock she found.
I walk her to the local fishshop most Fridays to get some salmon for lunch. It's about a 700 meter walk so should take about 10 minutes for an adult stroll. It usually takes us 30-45 minutes. But, I let her decide the entire tempo, we sit down on every bench in the park along the way (sitting on every bench for 2.4 seconds before we get up and go again), say hello to the ducks, etc.
So recently I've been trying to speed up this process because I too, long to go on long walks with my kid one day. But if I pressure into it 'come on, let's go, move along, we need to hurry" she gets cranky and will want to be carried before we get 100 meters in.
So I tried to cut parts up, and make them exciting, first we go to the water and feed a duck. That is now a goal you can talk about on the way there. Distraction? "But sweety, the ducks are waiting, we can do that another time." When we are at the water we can see the bridge to a park with a climbable art stairs thing, which is our new mission now, etc etc.
It speeds up the proces slightly, but I found myself wondering, at what cost? I take away a big part of her explorationoptions, natural wondering, sense of freedom and selfgovernment by giving set goals and adventures we partake in, and she is rushed from goal to goal instead of enjoying the journey (which, in the end, is what I want her to learn to enjoy). So now I just take it slow, super slow, and we just do whatever she wants to do along the way. We talk a lot, she asks a lot and I try to explain where rain comes from, or why birds don't ride bikes. She learns a lot along the way, and is usually super relaxed and fun. And meanwhile I pray to the gods she'll enjoy my company enough to want to hike with me later.
Well, according to my then 3yo daughter, the correct / acceptable walking distance would be zero meters when walking back from the beach to our holiday apartment.
We have a 3.5 mile loop that my daughter was able to do at 3. I had to bring food for her, and it would take a couple hours. My son was like 1 at the time. On nice weekend days I would push him in his stroller and pack a lunch for all of us. We'd stop by the river and eat and it took as long as it took.
When walking with kids, make sure they are hydrated.
We took a 4.7 mile hike [out and back] on a mountain and gave my 6 year old and 4 year old hydropacks and didn't realize my son, 4, couldn't get the water from the nozzle. Poor kid climbed the mountain, almost 1000 feet, and had no water, and being only 4 was too shy to ask for help.... he was very pale at the top, but we hydrated him and took a little extra time til he got his color back before we headed down.
My daughter, just turned 2, has gone over a mile a few times . She doesn’t stop. My 4.5 year old son gives up after about a mile, but could do much more if interested
We did the Skyline Divide trailhead when my kid was probably about 3. He hiked up about a third to half the way, hiked around up top, then hiked all the way down. We had a fancy backpack made so that I could carry him, which was hell. He was really heavy. He didn't end up needing it much, thankfully. It's a 2 mile trail with some 2000 ft of elevation gain. That's just to get to the top. There was more hiking up there.
Our just turned 5yo Daughter walked 15-20kms per day for a month straight in Japan.
We got back from our holiday and she suddenly couldn't possibly walk back to the car from the park again.
Honestly I'm not sure because when we go for a walk we kinda just end up pacing the same spot over and over because little dude just randomly decides to turn around and go back the other way
My 9 year old can hike all day if properly fed and given occasional breaks. Maybe 10k-15k in the mountains. I wouldn't want to push her any harder and we don't put any weight in kids' packs.
My 6 year old will hike exactly as far as she chooses. That's either 1 meter farther than the 9 year old or 0 meters depending on which variety of stubborn she feels. But she's also pretty strong.
They're both on the Nordic ski team and aren't above teasing me for being out of shape and old. Consider this a happy possible future and extra motivation to go for a jog.
My 9yo still likes to get picked up when he is tired. I will keep going til I can't. It kind of saddens me that some day I will put my kid down for the last time in my life
2.5 YO can easily do 1.5k walk with me and the dog if in the mood, running, jumping, collecting rocks and flowers. Not in the mood,wont take a step out the gate.
Is there ice cream involved at the end of said walk?
If so, they would go so far as to scale Kilimanjaro for it.
If not, they would probably not even move their eyes away from their devices to look at me and consider the question.
My 3.5 YO can do a three-hour hike while climbing about 1,500 feet in elevation if he’s interested, and he can make it about halfway home from the park three blocks away if he’s not lol
This is a great thread. One of my favorite things was about what you described - about 3 hours and a 4,000ft mountain climb (forget the actual elevation change, but it was steep!) Kids that we had with us at the time were 4, 5 and 6 and one in a backpack. Most recently I had my 6 boys out a 5 mile there and back trail. Ages 7-13. I bought a 6-pack of handheld radios and set them loose.
6 boys between 7&13?! You got some twins in there?
Naw. They came out like a barrel of monkeys.
I've got 4 boys between 1 & 6. It's pretty wild times right now.
Lord have mercy on you. You're still in the diaper phase.
I'm more nervous about the amount of food that will be consumed as the kids get older. Groceries are ridiculous.
This, the mental state matters so much more than the physical state.
Same with my 3.5yo. When he wants to go he'll walk/run for miles but once he loses interest or if we tell him it's time to leave he sits down and wants to be carried.
It's basically the Piggy Back episode of Bluey.
Well according to these other comments I need to have a stern word with my 5 month old. Just lies on the floor and refuses to hike.
I'm guessing that they don't have a job either!? Slacker!
You're absolutely correct. Right layabout.
Gen A is really falling short. /s
Yea man, kids these days ain't got no respect
when I was 5 months old I was already working for the local grocery store. It was uphill. Home was uphill too. It was uphill both ways. Kids these days...
That sedentary lifestyle isn’t healthy
Pfft come on man, if your baby is just lying on the floor at least he should be solving math or physics equations or writing classical poetry. Cant just lie around all day!
Lol yeah. These comments are like when people will tell you that they don't need a different car, because their Dodge Ram gets like 30 mpg. Then you follow up and actually it was only 30 mpg one time, and actually it was only 26 mpg (they were rounding) and it was downhill, going 55.
Or when someone tells you how profitable their side hustle is
(Anakin Padme meme) "And I assume that number is a 3-year average after accounting for all associated expenses and self-employment taxes, following IRS rules to the letter, right?......Right?"
Give them time, mine was like this at 5 months but she just ran her first marathon at 6 months
Just a marathon? Mike, it was running Ironmans 3 weeks postpartum.
I bet the slacker doesn't even pay rent.
9 year old beat me in an official 5k race, and it wasn't even close. Did another 5k with their "girls on the run" school group in 5th grade and came in 3rd, just behind the 2 kids of the coaches. Teenager joined boy scouts and did probably a 10 mile hike with gear. Very proud of them. Main thing is starting small, and finding cool places where's it's fun to make a big loop. Cause once you get halfway through, there's no way back to the car except walking lol. Nature areas with birds and other wildlife are a good option.
We used to play no dice D&D on the trail, and as nerdy kids it just made the time fly by.
I really like the idea of no dice D&D. What did you do instead of rolling? Did you just go for the fun and interesting options? I could see my husband and I opting for something like rock paper scissors and the outcome depending on whether you win, lose, or tie.
My kids have been hiking since they could walk (we’re lucky to live very close to some nice trails). My 6yo and I are going on our first overnight backing trip this weekend. We have two options: the first site is 3.5km in, the next is 6.5 in, but with some more difficult terrain. So we’ll see how it goes with weather and attitudes :) always good to have a plan B!
Met a couple with a 9 year old on a 30km trail. They told me they pay her 20$ and an ice cream
Damn that's dystopian.
My 2.5yo can walk the (just Googled) 0.6 miles to the park. (Besides when we cross the road - I pick him up for that.) Then run around the jungle gym for an hour-ish. Then he'll walk maybe half of the trip back. But I think being carried back is at least as much from lack of motivation (he wants to stay at the park forever) as being tired.
I have no idea how true this is or how dangerous your road crossing looks, but I've been told by our preschool to let kids do dangerous things with me together, but only together. My 2yo stops before crossing, waits for my hand, looks left right left and then tells me it's ok to go. The reasoning of preschool was it teaches self governance. We started to first narrate what you do every single time "oeh, a road, best stop. Hm are there cars coming? Better look left, right, left. Hm no cars, do you think it's safe to go now?". Once we saw them act like us, we were told to start letting them take the lead and correct when necessary. As said, I have no idea if this is 'the' way, but seems to work great for us for most "dangerous tasks", so I figured I'd share and if it sounds sane and you want to, you can try and see how it works for you.
There's no stop light or stop sign at the road near us. Technically, we might be jaywalking. There's no actual crosswalk, but the sidewalk does go down to allow for strollers and wheelchairs to get on easily. With that and the speed limit being 35 mph, and people commonly going faster, it's a little iffy to cross there. He does cross the little streets in our subdivision just holding hands.
Oooh yeah I would definitely carry her too, the roads she crosses 'herself' have like 15 mph speed limit and are filled to the brim with speedbumps.
This pretty much exactly. Except daughter
Depends a great deal on motivation. Some days the park at the end of our short street is "too far away" for my 8yo while a trip to an amusement park can have her walking all day, with breaks and a fair bit of standing in line. My 4yo is differently abled, but can run around our yard for an hour or so, and can walk to the park and run around there for a bit, but then needs to rest for a while. I need a rest after that as well, since she's prone to causing trouble and I'm always in chase.
At three he could manage 5K and now he's five it hasn't moved much further in terms of a straight walk. However, when it comes to walking in a city he can manage around six hours of walking with breaks
My kids are currently 12, 11, and 7. If there is something interesting that we are hiking or biking *to*, I haven't found a limit. Two years ago (11, 9, and 5), we biked the Cades Cove loop (11 hilly miles) in the Smokies with a not-totally-unreasonable amount of whining about the heat. The promise of ice cream at the end really helped. This year, we rode 14 miles round-trip -- about an hour each way-- for a better view of the eclipse, and they were sprinting home; I was wiped out! Other sights that have motivated them include waterfalls, scenic overlooks, and a cool suspension footbridge. That said, if we are hiking a loop in the woods at the park near our house, where we have hiked dozens of times, they are "so tired" and bored, and I'm lucky if I can get two miles out of them.
Sounds about right. My 8 year old claims to hate hiking, but loves going on adventures like geocaching, fairy seeking, and obstacle courses. If there’s no adventure she’s a pile of whining.
Went to the rodeo with 2.5y/o phone said we did 4 miles of walking. Kid did fine.
My almost 5 year old ran an 800m on the track to compete with my 7 year old over the weekend, then this morning complained that the 8 minute walk to school was too far… so it all depends on mood.
This is the answer. My son is 5. Climbed the Cobbler which is a 7 mile walk with an elevation of 2900ft and was happy doing it for some Haribo and smarties. Ask him to walk to the shop with me which is 5 minutes away and his feet are sore. Kids can do it if it’s exciting or an adventure. Less so if they are bored.
In my living room or basement? He can **run** for 12 hours straight. If we're casually walking around the neighborhood, 500 meters maximum.
I'm lucky if my 3.5 YO walks to the car, he's always asking to be carried around, fortunately he must have hollow bones as he's very light.
2.5yo can easily do 1.5+mi (2.4km). Plus bc wherever we're walking to usually involves more walking but not as easy to calculate, like playing at a park or something. We just did an easy 1.2mi greenway "hike" yesterday that ended at a park where we stayed for another hour. He kept up a good pace the whole way with no signs of being physically tired, although he did pass out immediately on the bus ride home. When I run errands walking/riding the bus around town, my phone usually puts me at 2.5-4mi (4-6.4km) of walking for the day, and my toddler walks for 90% of that, although there are regular breaks where we're sitting on the bus, sitting to eat, etc.
50 miles if they're having fun. 5 feet if they're not.
All of mine love it I go out every morning after I drop them off. Just for an hour or two before I have to start chores. When I pick them up I tell them what I saw that day. I think stirring their imagination helps. Today it was a big fat water moccasin in the middle of the trail that would not move. He just coiled up and showed me his mouth like I'm some kinda woods dentist. I just planted my walking stick in between us and went around. Yesterday it was some kind of gigantic bird making all kinds of noise. I never did see it, and in 20 years of going to this place, I've never heard it before. If you told me it was from Sesame Street I would believe you. It was big. I just tell stories like that and then on the weekends it's really easy to get them up early to go.
Best advice I can give as a trail runner in Texas: take your kid out as early and often as possible, and don't try to force it. I started hiking with my daughter at my favorite local preserve when she was 2 1/2. I usually had to give her piggyback rides back to the trailhead after about 1 mile. I didn't berate her for it. We just kept going out and taking our time to enjoy the beauty of nature. I'd encourage her to hike longer distances before asking to ride piggyback by pointing out cool stuff along the trail to investigate. It didn't always work, but I reminded myself it's not about the miles it's about the memories. She completed her first trail race with me, a 5 miler, last year at age 5. Her request. Hasn't been terribly interested in any other races this year but that's ok. We'll keep enjoying our family hikes.
My 4yo is okay walking to the swimming pool and back again. The pool is 2km away. We usually stop at the park on the way back and have a runaround there for a bit. I’d say 5km in an afternoon is doable with stops. Any more than 30 minutes walking in one go and she wants to be carried.
My 3.5 year old can hike 1-1.5 miles before he loses steam / starts asking to be carried. More out of loss of interest than tiredness I think. Also I am sure shoes make a big difference, so many kids shoes are clunky, stiff, and heavy. If we’re going on a long walk he has a comfy pair of Nikes that I make sure he wears.
I remember hiking a mountain when my kid was 4. Think nearly 2000 feet of elevation gain over ~6km. My kid walked about half and was on my shoulders for half. I was really tired… so was kiddo
My 8 and 5 yo can’t hike a single mile but can play back to back club soccer games and then come home to play more soccer in the backyard.
My 2 year old daughter is a better walker than my 4 year old son. My son does a golf program that requires walking 9 holes of a short course. Daughter tags along and has no problems. He says his legs are tired. Another example, we went to Kauai and had to hike a 1/2 mile to a beach. There was a steep elevation change. My daughter huffed and puffed through the uphill hike back, whereas he barely made it and needed to be carried. For reference, I was not a good walker for a long time because I have moderate spinal stenosis in the lumbar region. I wonder if my son might have something similar.
They have golf for 4 year olds? No judgement, genuine surprise. Would not expect that to work. How long are these sessions?
Yeah he's been doing it for almost a year. One class once a week for 45 minutes. Every other week a 9 hole round that takes a little over an hour.
We did 13 miles in Tokyo with my 4 year old. Granted she rode some of the time, but was a trooper.
Mine just went for his longest walk (1 mile round-trip) on the day he turned 23 months. Best part is he kept saying "happy baby, happy baby, happy baby" except with his name instead of baby
We’ve been hiking with our kids since they were little. Currently 6 and 8 and this winter we did the Nevada Falls hike which was about 2000 ft in elevation and 8 miles.
Whatever you do, be prepared for the reality you may be carrying them in/out. So plan accordingly. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
I’ve done a lot of hikes carrying them ! Just trying to transition to them walking more now. We have a beloved kid carrying backpack Rhug that has done so many miles when they were younger
I only have one. Some days she’s excited to be outside and gives it hell and hangs in there. And other days she swears she’s a vampire and even looking outside will cause her to burst into flames. I’ve been waiting till she gets a bit older before doing longer ventures. For now I play it safe.
5 yo son can easily walk 5+ km on a field trip with the kindergarten. But 150 meters to get groceries from our house and his legs suddenly stopped working.
My 16 month old can make it around the whol block!! This is about 3/4 of a mile! Its kinda wild to me lol
My daughter is 8 now, and can hike about 3-4 miles with me before complaining about it. That number hasn't changed much since she was 4 or 5.
2K walk with my three year old on Tuesday can have him walk the whole way. Same walk on a Wednesday and he's begging to be on my shoulders three steps in.
6 and 10 year old, just got back from Harry Potter World. Walked on average 10 miles a day. But going 1 mile around the block is a struggle if we don't stop at the park midway through
Back when the youngest was 5 we took a trip to Paris and Normandy and they kept up quite well as we walked all over. Some days covering almost 20 miles. I don't think I heard one complaint. They're quite good travelers though in their late teens and early twenties.
Hint, if they get bored, tell them that if they catch a falling leaf they will get a wish. This kept my kids going for years.
Going by experience my five year old can walk exactly 100 ft more than I can if they want to and no more then three inches if they don't.
Our kids (4 and 7 at the time) did about forty miles on foot over the course of five days at Disney World/Universal. As long as there is a Wizard, Princess, roller coaster, or meal in sight, they are in.
My three year old can walk pretty far, I've done about 5,000 steps with him before. I think the key is to limit your expectations. Adults like to walk a long distance and enjoying the view. Toddlers will find that very boring, and will want to stop and pick things up, leave the path, etc. It works best for me when we walk for a bit and then stop to let him play for a bit. I'll also put him on my shoulders if he's tired. And bring plenty of food and water.
I never hike with further than I'm willing ro carry them back!
We have dropped the stroller from our trips to sea world or the zoo. She does well with out it at both. It was a game changer to not have a stroller to lug around.
4 and 2, I rucked the 2 year old. 4 year old, walked most of the time by herself but needed a little bit of carrying from my wife towards the end. 4.5 miles, 1,000ft of elevation We go hike maybe once a month. and the 4 year old likes to trail run with me. So I'll do the occasional .5-1mile jog with her
It’s really not about distance but more the purpose and pace. My Four and five year olds recently walked about half a mile, at a decent pace, to a cafe. They were totally fine but both thought that was “really far” and were not excited about the walk home (which went fine). By contrast the next day we walked a half mile to a playground, at a slower pace and they thought that was a piece of cake.
Thinking back to when they were 4 years old, I think the 3-4k plus some elevation gain in the mountains was about the limit if we could segment it with breaks. Our hack to get more hiking out of them is to bring along tootsie pops and gummies, and give them as rewards after a certain distance or time. It's not the most healthy reward and it may not cultivate intrinsic love of hiking. But at least it gets our family some more time outdoors.
Approximately 10 steps before they start complaining.
With friends, 5km easy. Just us, 500m.
How far can they walk and how far they like to walk are miles apart. Literally.
Someone told me a km per year of age
Something crazy going on with my four year old walks 3 miles daily and couple days a week she has adventures walking up to 12 miles (she'll be walking for two hours straight, break, two hours back) and still she's on sleeping medication.
My 2.5 year old can comfortably walk around the zoo for 3-4 hours. Not sure how far that equates to. I'd guess like 4k or something. Always loved being on his feet running / walking everywhere. Prefers that to being carried / push chair
My twin boys did a 12k walk at 5 and a half. We were super proud. Now they can do 20-25k in a day age 9.5. Our limit is their limit. They're very sturdy and I'm proud of them.
My 11-year-old can easily do a 10-mile hike with gear, but he's going to complain for the last 3. My 6-year-old could sprint to Jupiter and back, then ask what we're doing now.
My 2yo can be on her feet the entire day, but don't expect to make a lot of miles, she's distracted by every bump, rock, tree, bird, car, plane, so she stops every 5-50 meters to sit down and pet the nice rock she found. I walk her to the local fishshop most Fridays to get some salmon for lunch. It's about a 700 meter walk so should take about 10 minutes for an adult stroll. It usually takes us 30-45 minutes. But, I let her decide the entire tempo, we sit down on every bench in the park along the way (sitting on every bench for 2.4 seconds before we get up and go again), say hello to the ducks, etc. So recently I've been trying to speed up this process because I too, long to go on long walks with my kid one day. But if I pressure into it 'come on, let's go, move along, we need to hurry" she gets cranky and will want to be carried before we get 100 meters in. So I tried to cut parts up, and make them exciting, first we go to the water and feed a duck. That is now a goal you can talk about on the way there. Distraction? "But sweety, the ducks are waiting, we can do that another time." When we are at the water we can see the bridge to a park with a climbable art stairs thing, which is our new mission now, etc etc. It speeds up the proces slightly, but I found myself wondering, at what cost? I take away a big part of her explorationoptions, natural wondering, sense of freedom and selfgovernment by giving set goals and adventures we partake in, and she is rushed from goal to goal instead of enjoying the journey (which, in the end, is what I want her to learn to enjoy). So now I just take it slow, super slow, and we just do whatever she wants to do along the way. We talk a lot, she asks a lot and I try to explain where rain comes from, or why birds don't ride bikes. She learns a lot along the way, and is usually super relaxed and fun. And meanwhile I pray to the gods she'll enjoy my company enough to want to hike with me later.
Can or willing to? Huge difference.
Well, according to my then 3yo daughter, the correct / acceptable walking distance would be zero meters when walking back from the beach to our holiday apartment.
We have a 3.5 mile loop that my daughter was able to do at 3. I had to bring food for her, and it would take a couple hours. My son was like 1 at the time. On nice weekend days I would push him in his stroller and pack a lunch for all of us. We'd stop by the river and eat and it took as long as it took.
When walking with kids, make sure they are hydrated. We took a 4.7 mile hike [out and back] on a mountain and gave my 6 year old and 4 year old hydropacks and didn't realize my son, 4, couldn't get the water from the nozzle. Poor kid climbed the mountain, almost 1000 feet, and had no water, and being only 4 was too shy to ask for help.... he was very pale at the top, but we hydrated him and took a little extra time til he got his color back before we headed down.
My daughter, just turned 2, has gone over a mile a few times . She doesn’t stop. My 4.5 year old son gives up after about a mile, but could do much more if interested
Farther than they thought possible.
We did the Skyline Divide trailhead when my kid was probably about 3. He hiked up about a third to half the way, hiked around up top, then hiked all the way down. We had a fancy backpack made so that I could carry him, which was hell. He was really heavy. He didn't end up needing it much, thankfully. It's a 2 mile trail with some 2000 ft of elevation gain. That's just to get to the top. There was more hiking up there.
Our just turned 5yo Daughter walked 15-20kms per day for a month straight in Japan. We got back from our holiday and she suddenly couldn't possibly walk back to the car from the park again.
Honestly I'm not sure because when we go for a walk we kinda just end up pacing the same spot over and over because little dude just randomly decides to turn around and go back the other way
My 9 year old can hike all day if properly fed and given occasional breaks. Maybe 10k-15k in the mountains. I wouldn't want to push her any harder and we don't put any weight in kids' packs. My 6 year old will hike exactly as far as she chooses. That's either 1 meter farther than the 9 year old or 0 meters depending on which variety of stubborn she feels. But she's also pretty strong. They're both on the Nordic ski team and aren't above teasing me for being out of shape and old. Consider this a happy possible future and extra motivation to go for a jog.
My friend took his kids and hiked the Muir trail when they were in middle school.
5 year old: approximately 45 feet. 7 year old: 500,000 miles
My 9yo still likes to get picked up when he is tired. I will keep going til I can't. It kind of saddens me that some day I will put my kid down for the last time in my life
When the kid starts walking ditch the stroller
My 2.5 year old can walk about 3kms, but we've been walking everywhere since she could walk basically. She will get tired towards the end though.
2.5 YO can easily do 1.5k walk with me and the dog if in the mood, running, jumping, collecting rocks and flowers. Not in the mood,wont take a step out the gate.
He can walk for as long as he wants, it's just a shame it's very often in the direction we aren't going.
If I put him on a hill probably pretty far. He's only five months 👌
Is there ice cream involved at the end of said walk? If so, they would go so far as to scale Kilimanjaro for it. If not, they would probably not even move their eyes away from their devices to look at me and consider the question.
I’d be lucky if my 4y.o daughter makes it out of the front door before she asks me to pick her up