I got an email asking me this question. I at first didn’t know what to say. In my mind I thought you strap them in and make them sit in the stroller, it isn’t up to them – it is up to me. The email continued that the little girl got antsy after 20min. And her mom had to take her out. And the mom felt upset she couldn’t just walk the mall with her daughter and have lunch.
I will say that my mindset was that I was in charge of the situation and they didn’t have a choice. In fact it always was that way so they were used to it. And now my daughter likes to get out and walk but she knows on busy street or when I tell her to she goes back in the stroller. The deal with kids is … they are kids. If your 3 year old wont give up the pacifier it is because the parent lets them keep it, why would a kid give up something they love that is comforting. So I guess my answer is – you make your kid stay in the stroller. And you offer them books and snacks and you are reasonable about the amount of time you expect them to sit still. Their attention spans are much shorter than ours and mine isn’t that long to begin with.