Winter Foot Transportation

My current daycare children are 13 months, 2 years and 3 years old. I also have my own 15 month old at home. I currently use the choo choo wagon for our walks and when we have to get my oldest from the bus. Once we have snow on the ground, I won't be able to use it. I am at a complete loss as to what I can do. We have to cross a busy street with no lights to get to my son's stop. The bus company refuses to drop him off in front of our house because I am unlicensed. (they will only accommodate licensed daycares registered with the city). I don't have to get him every day. When I do, I usually have my mom come over to watch the children. Sometimes she is unable to come here and I have to take the others with me. How am I supposed to transport up to 5 kids in the winter? Did I mention that our sidewalks do get plowed but not as well as a bigger city's sidewalks do. There is still a lot of snow underneath our feet, so strollers are completely out of the question.

Do you have a toboggan or two? You could pull one with each hand if they are all too heavy on one. You can get some great ones with higher sides and even seatbelts for short walks.

I start training my dckids once they are about 18-20 months old and walking well with the backpacks attached to my wrists. Right now I have a 22 month old and a 23 month old who can go really long distances already on that system so that we are ready for winter with safety as my #1 priority because we cross busy streets too.

I bought a sled last winter, as I too have a Choo Choo Wagon, and it's just not winter-friendly! :P
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en
I could fit 3 little ones in it. I think the kiddos ages were between 1-2 that were sitting in there. It was a bit tight, but for walking to and from the bus stop, it was perfect!

There's also this one which is bigger:http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en

I would not recommend the choo choo wagon for snow either. It is not snow friendly and you have to really strain your back to get it to go through because the wheels stop spinning.

I had the same issue as you and bit the bullet and got myself a 4 seater Runabout stroller. The Runabout really seems to be the best for snow. It has tall thin tires that can slice through even deep snow.

I know there are some good recommendations for sleds though. They can also be tough on your back though. Be wary of hurting your back and straining yourself.

I just needed Spinal surgery because I damaged it from pulling kids and lifting and I would say nothing is worth going through that. Be careful with your body foremost:D

The problem with a sled is you will find areas where a home owner has cleared the sidewalk in front of their house right down to pavement and others that haven't so anything that needs to slide on the snow will have problems. I am also not a fan of crossing a street with a sled since a car sees the walking adult but might forget to wait for what they are pulling.

A wagon with wide wheels will slide along on most sidewalks and solves the bare patch times. It also keeps the kids up out of the slush and makes sure that hands can't get out of the sled, etc. Of course the expensive route is the runabout stroller which many swear by.

Is there the option of arranging with another mom going to the bus stop to get your son off the bus at least and then you arrange to pick up from them.

I admire you for this! I actually enrolled my 7 year old son in an after school program just for this reason (fortunately he absolutely loves it and it's only $40 for he whole school year and runs to 6pm!). It was just too much of a hassle to get all the kids bundled up, find a way to get all of them there at a time when I would have to wake them early from nap...even though the school is just across the street, no matter the distance still the same hassle. Good luck!

I used my Runabout too. As pp said, I found that I couldnt pull the sleds across the streets becuase they would drag on the pavement making them too heavy.