NYC this weekend: bring stroller for 5.5 yo DS?

[boys2enough]

Hi, we are going to NYC this weekend, and I am wondering whether any of the stroller or NYC experts here would recommend for/against bringing the stroller for our 5.5-year-old boy. We stopped using the stroller a long time ago. But I did bring the stroller for him when we went to see the July 4th fireworks, which turned out to be a wonderful idea because by the end of the day he was so exhausted, he fell asleep, and I was able to push him to the car...

DH, our 10-yo, and I love pounding the pavement, and I know that we would be doing a lot of walking and enjoying it in NYC. Think: walking the entire length of Brooklyn Bridge! But I am worried about our younger one. He is not as active, high-energy as his older brother. I am concerned that he may not be able to keep up.

But the thought of pushing him through the crowd, or going up and down the subway stations, depresses me too.

What should I do? Would love to know your opinions! Thanks much!!

Cheers, Lin

[katerinasmom]

If I were you, I'd bring a lightweight stripped down umbrella stroller just so he can have a place to rest if his batteries run out way before yours do. A basic umbrella stroller shouldn't be that difficult to carry onto a bus or down to the subway. For me it would be a no-brainer. But then again my 4 1/2 year old still naps in the stroller every time without fail so I envision using the stroller for a good long while yet.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I wouldn't bother. If worse comes to worse there are always piggy back rides. I wouldn't want to deal withthe hassle of the stroller. I am sure I am in the minority here though. :) We just rarely used a stroller past 2yo and ds got used to doing a lot of walking. He keeps up fine.
Beth

[Jen841]

We bring them for my almost 3 year old, and my 5 year old ends up wanting/needing it lately. Why stress out your back to carry around a 5 yr old!?

[Georgia]

I am sure I am in the minority here though. :)

At least one more no stroller vote here. Lugging it around was always less convenient for me after about 3 1/2 or so.

[rgavelis]

I agree with most of the posts. Don't bring one if you can get away with it but if you absolutely have to have one, definitely go for the stripped down umbrella stroller. It'll be lightweight which is the key to traveling around NYC, especially on buses and subways. I speak from personal experience because I went on a trip to NYC with some friends and one couple had a 2 YO in tow. They had a pretty big stroller with them which was really hard to collapse and heavy. It was really hard to carry up and down the steps of the subway if there wasn't an elevator or handicap access near by. Even when it was folded, it was taking up a lot of space in the subway cars, making it hard for other people to get around it. It also slowed down the family every time they had to fold/unfold it. The big stroller seemed to be a lot more work than necessary.

Hope this helps.

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

I can't say yes or no because it really depends on your dh. He's the one who will likely be doing the carrying or piggyback rides. If he's ok with it and your dc just need small rests I guess it would work. Now, that said.

We took a week and a half vacation in nyc with dd when she was 11 mos. old. We took our peg pliko that folded by pulling up and that worked ok on the subway and buses. Although by the end of the week I was wishing for something smaller. There is very good reason that maclarren strollers are the top sellers in nyc. They're light and fold like an umbrella stroller and aren't to bad for lugging up and down subway stairs. I will also add that we were very pleasantly suprised by how helpfull everyone was. There were several times that dd had fallen asleep in her stroller and perfect strangers helped us get the stroller down and up the subway steps so dd didn't have to wake up. So my opinion of nyc natives is pretty high.

But in all honestly if I wasn't going to need it constantly for a baby and was lugging even an umbrella stroller around empty half the day, I'd ditch it. People walk so very fast and it does get pretty crowded sometimes. Like downtown at 5pm? It really would probobly be easier to just carry your 5 yo. Good luck and hth.

[ilfaith]

It's a pretty split decision on this one.

My opinion. I'd bring a lightweight stroller. I think an umbrella-style stroller is easy enough to fold up to bring on a bus or subway, and if you plan to do a lot of walking, I don't know if you can expect the little one to keep up all day.

I know when we are in the city we cover a lot of ground, and my four-year-old starts to fade after 30 blocks or so. My son is more than a third my weight, so I can't really imagine carrying him more than a block or two.

[boys2enough]

Thank you all for your responses! I eventually decided not to bring the stroller (I still keep our Mac Vogue because I can't bring myself to get rid of it...) There were several moments when I was glad that we didn't have the stroller with us: before and after theatre crowd at Times Sqaure was just insane. People would practically walk over you if you even stop for a sec... I can't imagine pushing a stroller in that craziness. On the other hand, I did at some moments wish that we had the stroller with us: at Central Park for one thing. From the entrance to Met took about an hour! We just had to take a lot of breaks in between and bought a lot of drinks.

And no, DH would never carry DS. He would just listen to the whining and the crying and never would back down... SIGH. Saturday night when we came back from watching Mary Poppins, I did have to carry DS myself because I am the softie. SIGH. I carried him for about 5 blocks and finally I couldn't do it any more. I eventully gave up and we got on one of those pedi cabs that are so popular in NYC now.

Even now sitting here, I can't say whether if we had to do it all over again what I thought the best decision would be. I can see pros and cons for both scenarios. Thanks again!

Edited to correct typos and grammars. Exhausted. Now off to do laundry!

Lin