kids on leashes

[happyfrank]

Been reading family magazines and they seem foul about the idea.

 

Leashes are for dogs. You wouldn't put your child in a crate, or let him poop on the sidewalk, right?

 

suggest using umbrella stroller.

 

I'm in limbo if I would use one. Because when I was little while my dad had me on stroller I ran off and get hit by shopping cart. I'm going to teach my son not to run off but it only takes secs before something can happen.

 

kid leashes helpful or horrific?

[hexaemeron]

You know, the cynical urbanite that I am loves this idea, honestly. However, I think that parents should just be more attentive/proactive with respect to their children in public.

 

I doubt it would be beneficial for a child's long-term self confidence if they were leashed like pets.

[mfan]

Whether horrific or not, they look horrific. I understand the sentiment though about not wanting your little kid to run off while you are blinking, and get hit by a car (or cart).

 

Maybe there should be some harmless thing that hits your kid on purpose and scares him, but without doing any actual damage. Take your kid to this, have him get hit harmlessly, and then the kid will learn not to run off again.

[Fudgie]

I think at a young age, why not? Kids wander off and if you're not an attentive enough parent to stop the tyke from getting lost, run over by a car, etc. then you SHOULD use a leash for the sake of everyone.

 

I'm all for leashes. Nothing annoys me more when I'm in a store/restaurant and there are a handful of tots running around and going under my legs or trying to grab what's on my table while the mom haplessly tries to "herd" them all. Leashes would really come in handy for her.

[capilot]

When I was young, my family went to see a show in the Big City. As we returned to our car, my youngest sister, maybe age 4, spotted the car, got excited, broke loose from my parents and dashed into the street without looking. A car missed hitting her by inches. If the driver of that car had had less than perfect reflexes, my sister would be dead. It all happened much too fast for any of us to react.

 

Leashes aren't just for dogs; they're also for small children in dangerous places that you'd like to see reach their fifth birthday.

 

Whether you use leashes on your small children or not is your business, but I would never fault anyone who chooses to do so.

[Seraphim]

Let me give you my real life experience. My son was EXTREMELY hyper and was gone literally within seconds. I was not a neglectful mother by ANY means whatsoever. Most of you who know me here know me to be a great mom. My son was just the best escape artist ever born. At 2 he disappeared on me for over an hour in Wal Mart. The very next day he had a harness. The around the body harness. I believe it was far worse to have him lost, abducted,or molested and killed. Not all children stand there and hold the buggy with mom. My son was extremely active and wanted to see what everything was and how far he could go.

 

I used to think they were horrible before I had my son, but there was absolutely NO way to make him stop moving other than holding his hand the entire day. It has not harmed him at all. He is a great gentle and kind teenager.

[superfox]

I walked everywhere with my children when they were younger, they got used to road sense that way, would stop at the kerb and hold my hand to cross the road. I did use these leashes though but by tying one end through their jeans buckle and other end onto mine. It gave them some freedom and they never noticed them ;-)

 

Apart from abuse, violence, bad food choices and swearing how you raise your kids is no-one else's beeswax!

[Seraphim]

I walked everywhere with my children when they were younger, they got used to road sense that way, would stop at the kerb and hold my hand to cross the road. I did use these leashes though but by tying one end through their jeans buckle and other end onto mine. It gave them some freedom and they never noticed them ;-)

 

Apart from abuse, violence, bad food choices and swearing how you raise your kids is no-one else's beeswax!

 

Yeah, that is the thing, when my son disappeared in Wal Mart I had turned for literally less than 5 seconds to get a coat off a rack to try on him. He was GONE in that amount of time. Literally gone. In stores he would hide in racks and hide in change rooms and run for the exit doors. It was just far too dangerous.

[OptomisticGirl]

I use to be against it but after being with my niece and nephew, I'm a supporter of them. I wouldn't use one that looks like a leash, per say, but like Victoria said, the kind that the harness goes around the body. It takes literally a second for a child to get away - I'd rather have a few stares and nosey people question my parenting than my child get run over by a car.

[Seraphim]

Well exactly. You are not doing it to be abusive, but to make sure your child is safe. Some kids are VERY adventuresome. I know my husband had a harness and so did my dad and I can tell you I should have had one.........lol. I was always taking off too.

[Fudgie]

Oh god I know about the Wal-Mart thing. >

 

I do think a harness can be a good idea for very small children because it can keep them safe!

[RedDress]

I agree. I think they are fantastic.

 

I think people fail to realize that children are little people. These little people have their own ideas, their own interest and their own little thing going on. You can be as attentive as you want... and yeah - they can totally get away!

 

It was probably less of an issue years and years ago where they could only escape to a field with cows or over a hill. Now there are cars everywhere, stores, people, people with bad intentions, etc. It's a whole different world and it's DESIGNED to distract and attract your kids.

 

I, myself, was a runner. I totally got all day-dreamy and wandered off places or darted into nowhere. I totally think someone should have used a harness on me. LOL!

[Seraphim]

Oh god I know about the Wal-Mart thing. >

 

I do think a harness can be a good idea for very small children because it can keep them safe!

 

For sure Fudgie,

 

I was never more terrified in my life. He was gone for an hour. My heart went to stone and I actually collapsed almost. I was terrified for him. A sales clerk brought him back in an hour with him giggling. The entire store was closed off so he would not escape and it was over the PA system and everything. Once someone experiences that they won't think a harness is that bad. I used it in crowded places. I remember he tried to escape me at the National Exhibition with THOUSANDS of people. Can you imagine ? Yeah, no thanks. Harness it is. That is the consequence of being a take off artist. I told him when he could not take off the harness would go, but if he could not than this was his consequence.

[thejigsup]

I always held my son's hand firmly when we went out anywhere. He was very curious like Vic's son and had a "mad dash" tendency. Never put him on a leash, but if it works for that parent, go for it! I know they are not horrific, child abduction is. Still, they look rather animalistic.

[bichin]

I never ran away from my parents because they were distracted and could easily have let me get lost or worse. When my own child tried hiding in a store I notified the desk and went outside to wait. Eventually my child materialized in a panic because they could not find me. The desk came and got me and it never happened again.

[Batya33]

Been reading family magazines and they seem foul about the idea.

 

Leashes are for dogs. You wouldn't put your child in a crate, or let him poop on the sidewalk, right?

 

suggest using umbrella stroller.

 

I'm in limbo if I would use one. Because when I was little while my dad had me on stroller I ran off and get hit by shopping cart. I'm going to teach my son not to run off but it only takes secs before something can happen.

 

kid leashes helpful or horrific?

 

Not sure. In some places (like Disney World) I don't think strollers are allowed so for a child that runs off in crowds like that....etc. I am uncomfortable with the idea, have never used one and hope not to have to but if I were going to a crowded public place where there was a real risk he would run off I might.

 

I don't agree that parents just need to be more attentive. We all can work on that I guess (I guess ,because most parents I know are totally attentive) but I also know for sure that even the most attentive parent cannot prevent a child from getting away at times especially if he is watching more than one young child.

[Batya33]

Yeah, that is the thing, when my son disappeared in Wal Mart I had turned for literally less than 5 seconds to get a coat off a rack to try on him. He was GONE in that amount of time. Literally gone. In stores he would hide in racks and hide in change rooms and run for the exit doors. It was just far too dangerous.

 

Victoria my heart goes out to you for having had to go through that experience.

[Hurting85]

My parents had leashes for my brother and I. Where we lived, we had very unique features (I had white blonde hair, he was just as orange as could be) and people would reach out to touch our hair. I don't know that my parents had much of an option but to use leashes. I'm not scarred for life because of it, and will definitely consider using them for my kids.

[thejigsup]

Just keep a FIRM hold on their hands at all times. If you are going someplace where that is not possible, leave them home of use a child harness (Don't call them a leash!)

[Batya33]

Just keep a FIRM hold on their hands at all times. If you are going someplace where that is not possible, leave them home of use a child harness (Don't call them a leash!)

 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who rarely has the "leave them at home" option (unless my husband is available). And leaving a child with a sitter has its own risks.

[CatsMeeoow]

This is NOT the world my parents grew up in... there are WAY too many blinking lights, monitors with videos on them not to mention tvs... just in the super market alone. Toddlers operate on impulse. They haven't the though process to to think through yet consistently on what will happen if I do this? Blinking lights... electronics... heavier traffic... lots of things to grab a toddlers attention even when mom is RIGHT there.

 

Obviously you don't use them with 6yr olds (unless they have developmental problems) but I think its WAY to easy for someone to judge a random stranger doing something they think they would not do - is that child autistic? hearing impaired? developmentally delayed?

 

I'm a great mom but I lost my son in a toys-r-us store when he wasn't even 2.... All those distractions!!! He was probably ever only 1 isle away from me but since he didn't respond well vocally to his name at that point my calling out to him was never answered. Of course I found him quickly - I immediately went to the front desk and all employees kept there eye out for him and found in him immediately. I didn't choose to put a leash on him because I knew soon enough he would learn how to answer me if I was calling for him but I was adamant and at 3yr old I made him learn his address and phone number!!!

[april15]

I cringe when I see a leashed child but then I have an afterthought of parents dealing with children like Victoria66 and try to keep an open mind and not judge. I have 3 children that grew beyond toddlerhood without leases, they all were active, especially the middle one (who also was lost in Wal-mart) but I never resorted to the leash.

[superfox]

I had 3 under 4 yrs old for a while. No harness = no going out, simple! I had no transport so we walked everywhere for food, friends, day out etc. The result is my children never have ran riot screaming in supermarkets, I get compliments every time I take them for a meal on how nicely behaved they are and I know that they don't pelt accross roads without checking for traffic. I used it only when I had to. Parenting isn't a competition, what works for some doesn't work for others but I would never put down anyone who worried over their child's safety.

[Seraphim]

Victoria my heart goes out to you for having had to go through that experience.

 

Yeah, I almost had heart failure, literally. I was sitting on the floor sobbing. I thought I would never see my son again.

[Fudgie]

Yeah it's the cars thing that scares me the most too. My little autistic sister would often make a "break" for the cars. She was never hurt but I think my mom would have done a LOT better if we had a harness because she kept having mini heart attacks over that girl and her obsession with moving vehicles. >