Walking with toddlers

Walking is a lovely activity for families with young children. Babies benefit from fresh air and lots of things to look at, while toddlers and young children can run around and explore. There are various options for carrying babies and tired toddlers.

Baby and child carriers

A very wide range of baby and child carriers is available, ranging from those where a small baby is strapped to the parent's chest, keeping safe and warm snuggled next to mum or dad, to rucksack style carriers where a parent can carry a toddler on their back.

Carriers enable adults to do a greater range of walks than with a pushchair although there is a risk of losing your balance so it's best to avoid very difficult walks.

Pushchairs (buggies)

Pushchairs are a great option for short and local walks as children can hop out and walk when they want to or get a ride if they're feeling tired (or if you need to get somewhere quickly!). Double buggies take two children either side by side or one behind the other. Another option is to attach a buggy board to the back of your pushchair which an older sibling can stand on and hitch a ride.

While you can legally take a pushchair anywhere you are allowed to walk, you may want to avoid rough surfaces, very narrow paths, steep hills and routes with lots of gates or stiles.

Most traffic-free routes on the National Cycle Network are ideal for pushchairs. The National Cycle Network has over 13,000 miles of routes throughout the UK, a third of which are paths free from traffic - ideal for use by walkers, families with pushchairs and wheelchair users as well as cyclists, of course!

For more adventurous walking, three-wheelers or all-terrain pushchairs with pneumatic tyres can be a good solution.

Things to watch out for

When walking with children in carriers or pushchairs it's important to remember to:

• protect them from the sun with hats and sunscreen
• keep them warm as they won't be moving and working up a sweat like you.

For more information on walking with young families and helpful advice on choosing the right carrier and pushchair visit www.ramblers.org.uk

For details of other organisations and websites that offer advice on walking with young children including lists of suitable walks, check out useful links.

Walking when pregnant

Walking is great exercise during a normal pregnancy. It's a low impact exercise so it won't put stress on your joints, you can go at your own pace and you're unlikely to fall, though you may want to avoid hilly or difficult paths.

It's important to listen to your body and choose easier walks if you want to, especially in the first semester if you're suffering from tiredness and morning sickness and the third trimester when you may get short of breath. As you're carrying extra weight, it's important to wear well-fitting, supportive shoes.

If you're walking with toddlers or young children make your walk a realistic distance or take a pushchair as you won't want to carry them far if they get tired.

As with any exercise during pregnancy, you should consult your doctor if you have any concerns, complications or difficulties.