Walking with children: distance by age, baby carriers and safety

It is 10am, the car park is still in sight, and a small voice is already asking whether we are nearly there. Nothing to worry about: it is the most ordinary question on a family walk, and it has an answer. It lies in the choice of walk, in the pace, and in a few precautions adults forget because they no longer need them. France’s sports ministry, in the English edition of its summer mountain guide, puts it plainly: children ‘tend to over-exert themselves, become dehydrated and tire rapidly’, and their warning signs can appear too late [1].

This guide follows on from our guide to planning a walk. It covers day walks, from the baby carrier to the teenage years.

How far and how long at each age?

There is no official scale, but walking federations and alpine clubs publish benchmarks that broadly agree. France’s hiking federation, the Fédération française de la randonnée pédestre (FFRandonnée), gives them by age group [2]: under 3, children are carried by their parents; between 4 and 7, they cover about 1 to 2 km (0.6 to 1.2 miles) an hour, tire quickly and cannot yet say clearly that they are hungry or thirsty; between 8 and 12, outings of 10 to 15 km (6 to 9 miles) become possible if they have some training.

The German Alpine Club (Deutscher Alpenverein, DAV) thinks in hours of walking: 3 to 4 hours at most between 3 and 6 [3], up to 5 hours between 6 and 10 with breaks to recover, and no more than 6 to 7 hours between 10 and 14 [4]. To adapt a timing written for adults, it offers a simple rule: multiply it by 1.5 [3]. So you work out walking time as usual, then apply that factor.

And the well-known rule of ‘1 km per year of age’? It gets passed around a lot, but we found it at no federation, only on a French tourist office’s page [5]. The only rule of this kind published by a federation comes from the Deutscher Wanderverband, the German Hiking Association, which offers it as a rough guide: age multiplied by 1.5, in kilometres, so 9 km (about 5.6 miles) for a 6-year-old, counting every 100 m of ascent or descent as an extra kilometre [6]. I would treat all these figures as ceilings rather than targets: the best benchmark is still the child in front of you.

On the path, the slowest sets the pace. Mountain Rescue England and Wales says exactly that: let the slowest in the party determine the pace, and take special care of the youngest and weakest in dangerous places [7]. In a family, the slowest is almost never the tallest.

Baby carriers: from when, and until when

For the very young, FFRandonnée distinguishes two stages: in the first months, a front carrier for a short stroll; then, once the child can sit up well on their own, a back carrier that properly supports the head [2]. The DAV puts that milestone at around 8 to 10 months: a framed back carrier only suits babies who can already sit unaided and have good head control [4].

The European standard for framed back carriers, EN 13209-1 of 2022, covers children from 6 months of age up to 18 kg, carried in a seated position [8]. Manuals point the same way: the one for a widely sold range rules out use under 6 months, under 7.25 kg or over 18 kg, and caps the total load, child, kit and pack included, at 22 kg [9]. Check those limits in the manual for yours: they vary from one model to another.

Enlarge diagram

A goal, breaks and games: what keeps a child going

A summit does not necessarily appeal to a 5-year-old. FFRandonnée suggests a goal the whole family will enjoy, such as a castle or a waterfall [2]; the DAV adds that a lake, a hut or an alpine farm is often a far more interesting goal for a child, and that a circular walk beats going out and back the same way [4]. Nature trails, with boards to read and puzzles to solve, do the same job.

Enlarge photo

Then the breaks: about 10 to 15 minutes every hour, with a drink each time, recommends FFRandonnée [2]. Do not be surprised when a child who was exhausted a minute ago sets off at a run after a butterfly: children do not recover by sitting still, but by playing freely, notes the DAV [4]. For the way, FFRandonnée suggests telling stories, talking about the landscape or singing, and points out that children walk much better in a group [2]: a friend can do more than a whole tin of flapjacks.

A child who says they are tired is often bored or fed up rather than tired, observes FFRandonnée, which warns that forcing them to finish the route at all costs is probably the best way to put them off walking for good [2]. Hence the value of a route with a shortcut or a turning-back point.

Finally, give them a job. FFRandonnée suggests a small rucksack with their water bottle and favourite soft toy, and having them look out for the waymarks; from around 8 to 12, they can follow the route on the map [2]. And when waymarks no longer keep them amused, geocaching turns the outing into a treasure hunt.

Drinking, and keeping safe in sun and cold

A child dehydrates faster than an adult, and says so later. In a heatwave, the NHS counts babies and children aged 5 and under among the most vulnerable [11], and reminds parents that, like adults, babies and young children need to drink plenty of fluids to avoid becoming dehydrated [12]. The hourly break is the right moment to think of it. For quantities and snacks for the adults, our guide to water and food on a walk gives the benchmarks.

Then the sun. Ultraviolet levels rise by about 10% with every 1,000 m of altitude, and fresh snow almost doubles your exposure, according to the World Health Organization [13]. The NHS keeps children under 6 months out of direct strong sunlight; from March to October in the UK, it advises older children to cover up with suitable clothing, to stay in the shade particularly from 11am to 3pm, and to wear at least SPF30 sunscreen [14]. Its advice for young children adds sunglasses and a sunhat with a wide brim or a long flap at the back [12].

Then the cold. Babies and young children are particularly sensitive to it because of their large surface area relative to their volume, the UIAA points out [10], and Mountain Rescue England and Wales notes that children are especially susceptible to hypothermia [7]. An extra layer in the rucksack weighs next to nothing.

Altitude with a toddler

A day walk at moderate altitude does not raise the same questions as a night in a mountain hut at 2,500 m. For sleeping at altitude, the UIAA medical commission, in the absence of conclusive scientific data, sets cautious benchmarks: for a preschool child, prefer a sleeping altitude below 2,500 m, and do not sleep higher than 3,000 to 4,000 m; for a baby under 1 who normally lives at sea level, 1,600 m is the sleeping altitude usually recommended as a limit [10]. Above 2,500 m, it advises raising the sleeping altitude by no more than 300 m a day [10].

For a single day, the benchmarks are thinner. A survey of 104 GPs and paediatricians working in the French Alps, published in 2023, gives an idea rather than a recommendation: for a day at altitude, they advised median altitudes of 1,200 m under 1 month, 1,500 m under 3 months, 1,600 m under 1 year and 2,000 m under 2 years, and 9 out of 10 advised against altitude for a baby with a cold [15]. The UIAA also advises against cable cars with a sick child, because the pressure changes too quickly [16].

Enlarge diagram

Under 3, any change of environment can alter a child’s sleep, appetite, activity or mood, and they describe poorly what they feel [10]. If symptoms appear, the UIAA’s preferred option is to go back down, especially with young children [10]. Talk to your GP before taking a toddler to altitude.

If they get lost: stay put and blow the whistle

A child who runs ahead will one day take the wrong fork. The US national parks teach children three rules: stay put and listen for people calling their name; ‘hug a tree’, which means choosing a tree, a bench or a big rock and staying with it; and make themselves big, by waving their arms and blowing their whistle if they have one [17]. They add an essential message: their family is not cross, it is worried and looking for them [17]. Rescuers in Rocky Mountain National Park know why that matters: a child who fears being in trouble for getting lost does not always answer when called [18].

Ticks, livestock and huts: the details that matter

Back home, the tick check covers the whole family: the NHS advises regularly checking clothes and skin, and children, after being outdoors [21], and the French regional health agency for Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes stresses the head and scalp, where the smallest ticks are easy to miss [22]; our guide to ticks on a walk covers the rest. Give livestock plenty of space: their behaviour can be unpredictable, especially when they are with their young, says the Countryside Code for England and Wales [23]. In the French mountains, the sports ministry adds guardian dogs to the list, and asks walkers to stay calm and passive around them [1]: a child running up to stroke one is exactly what to avoid, as our guide to cows and guardian dogs explains.

For a first night in the mountains, the French Alpine Club’s huts are kind to families: in its staffed huts, a child under 8 stays free, and a non-member under 18 with an adult gets 45% off [24]. Our guide to French mountain huts explains how to book. Closer to home, if you leave the car behind, children under 5 travel free on most National Rail journeys, and those aged 5 to 15 get 50% off most tickets; check with your train company [25].

A good habit to get into, in the end, fits in one sentence: plan to go less far than you meant to, and head home before anyone asks. A child who comes down asking when the next walk is: that is the real success, and it starts with the choice of route. To pass on good habits, our guide to leaving no trace works just as well for children.

Guillaume Hoarau

Camping, wild camping, bushcraft and hiking

Guillaume Hoarau writes for Outfarer about camping, wild camping, bushcraft and hiking. A survival-skills enthusiast and a collector of old field manuals, he likes clear explanations, lists that earn their place and other people’s stories, which he tells well.

All their articles