Posted on 10/13/2008 6:40:19 PM PDT by Oyarsa
I was reading a messageboard thread over at Babyfit.com, and was curious as to what my fellow Freepers thought of the practice of using toddler leashes?
Do you swear by them? Abhor them? Want to burn them on sight?
I’m glad that you let them have a life. ;)
Exactly!
Also, It is much more comfortable for the parent's **back**. Leaning over to hold a 2 year old’s hand is very tiring for the parent.
One time I was digging through the diaper bag at a concourse at JFK airport, looking for my son's pacifier. When I looked up, she was gone. We'd sat down by an escalator and she'd ridden straight up. I started screaming my head off and about twenty people immediately spread out, looking for the kid.
About a minute later a man was spotted riding down the escalator. He'd seen her hop off and heard the screams. (Didn't take long for the crowd to join me.)
I got her back, safe and sound, but it scared the hell out of me. I got a baby leash. It was just a simple one - a Velcro bracelet on each end.
Took her about five seconds to figure out how to gt that off.
No, kids aren't dogs and before my daughter, I thought baby leashes were the stupidest, laziest objects in the world.
G-d likes to teach humility.
I had 3 kids under 3, and I thought about using the leashes.
I never did.
Of course, I also lost my daughter when we went to see Santa one year. I thought my girls couldn’t get out of their stroller. However, one of my girls climbed out of the stroller, and she went running 1 way, and the other 2 went separate ways.
I think I could have used a leash at that point.
I also think it would have been useful for going on walks.
I have twins, and there are lots of parents of multiples that use leashes. I don’t have a problem with them.
I didn’t use them, but there are some children that need them.
My kids wouldn’t lose me.
I’ve noticed the parents who use them probably could use a bit of training themselves.
Even little kids are smart - tell them what is expected. Except for what you have shown to be wrong, let them know they will have unconditional love from you.
My twin girls escaped our house when they were 2 or 3. I think they climbed over the gate in the family room.
I know they got together and pushed the chair next to the front door, and unchained the front door. Then they unlocked it and ran outside.
My husband thought they were safe, and he was taking a shower. I was running an errand.
When I drove up, the neighbor was bringing them home.
We then changed the type of lock we had on the front door.
They are really well behaved now (almost 12), but they were stinkers when they were little. I’m hoping they won’t be stinkers when they are teenagers.
It justs gets better.
LOL -— mine is 12.
What an interesting time. All is still well, but what a trying time for them and their parents!!!
My youngest son would wiggle out of his stroller and run. If we were in a store he would run right out the door. I had to finally give up the stroller-it became a hindrance.
I tried the leash, but it only lasted about a half hour. He hated being confined and would simply lie down wherever he was. He totally defeated the leash and I gave that up also.
This was before the madatory car seats for infants or toddlers. The only harness he ever tolerated was a harness that was attached to a seatbelt attached to the car floor. It allowed him to stand or sit in the back seat. It allowed me to drive without worrying about him climbing out the window. What a challenge he was!
Duct tape works well. We never used a leash, tho. I ran a lot.
Having to deal with THREE grand children, All I know is they would tie me up so fast I wouldn’t have a chance!
On the other hand...I’ve also dealt with run aways that I would have died for a leash for!
Overall...I respect anyone who cares enough for their little ones to keep them tethered!
I vote YEA!
Exactly. I used one for my daughter for about 6 months, then she didn't need it anymore. Never needed one for my son.
Weird thing is, he was the "wild child". But he didn't run off in public.
My parents apparently used one on all three of us... although the only evidence I have for that are two photos of me at at just under 18 months, and I was attempting to run wild around an Air Force base in one and climbing the fence around the pond at a state fair in another, so I guess my mom had the right idea there. Plus, at the time she looked very pregnant, so chasing after or carrying me was just not an option at all. Then, there were younger siblings, and a parent just doesn’t have enough arms to hold hands with two toddlers and push a baby stroller or shopping cart all at the same time, so my younger siblings got their turns on the leash. I think my sister was the worst for running off - my brother liked to stay close to my mom, and I wouldn’t wander off but stay behind and observe something that was fascinating me.
In any case, we all turned out fine, so I don’t think it’s harmful to the kids or anything - heck, I don’t think we even remembered it, I know I don’t except for the photos so my brother and sister probably don’t either. Plus, it was only used for crowded areas or if someone was going through a ‘running-away’ phase, like I would totally use a kid leash if I was trying to take a kid through Times Square (or anywhere in Manhattan, especially around 5th ave or in tourist season) or some place like that.
Leashes?
Go whole hog.
I understand that those training crates work even better for toddlers than they do for dogs.
/snark
Plus, it really pisses me off when I see a leashed kid going through an airport security checkpoint. Clueless kid tethered to clueless parent. Slows down the whole deal.
I love it! lol!
When my kids were preschool age I would yell, "baby ducks!" and the kids would line up behind me. I did this with my friends' kids when we went to the store, too. We made quite a sight. Here was an army wife with half a dozen 4-6 year olds marching behind her going "quack, quack, quack!"
They loved the game and it kept them well "in line". :-)
There are times when they are appropriate. Like when touring the Grand Canyon or the Empire State building or if you have to walk alongside a freeway .... life safety situations.
But in general, IMO, parents should be more in control of their kids and not need them. I’ve seen them overused.
We moved to a house that backed up to a pond.
Since we had dogs, the first thing we did was fence in the back yard.
My daughter, who was about three at the time, would make a beeline for the fence facing the pond the minute she ever got into the back yard, and she’d start trying to climb the fence.
Our border collie would get up behind her, gently grab the rear of her pants, and gently pull her down.
Had to put her to sleep earlier this year (the dog, that is).
She’d gotten blind, semi-incontinent, and we had to give her insulin injections twice a day. After about six months of this, she decided she’d had enough and started snapping at us before we even started giving her an injection.
And when she decided she didn’t want to go through it any more, she bit my son. Anybody who is familiar with border collies knows how out of character this is for them.
And when she did this, we knew she was telling us it was time.
One of the workers at the grocery store came up to my twin daughters (almost 12), and reminded them how wild they were when they were little.
He told them how he remembered them running opposite directions around the grocery store.
My girls were so embarrassed, but they were also laughing.
Now, I miss them being wild little girls.
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