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Thankfully, you were blessed with 4 extremely reasonable children and not many/any circumstances that threatened their well-being. Thank goodness you were always able to protect them without assistance from a tool. I've often found it amazing that my mother was able to cart 3 kids around without incident, having never owned a carseat.

It is interesting that you can view a tether on a toddler as demeaning and treating them like an animal vs. protecting an animal by keeping it on a leash while leaving a toddler unrestrained to dart into danger or cause danger for another because someone didn't react quickly enough to the split second reflexes of a 3-year-old.

There are as many different circumstances as there are people to experience them. One mom might find herself with a cast on her foot and 2 or 3 agile children. Another mother might be handicapped. Yet another might just be such a fretful mom that she can't dare put her child's feet on the ground without a connection to him/her.

A leash itself doesn't equal animal-like treatment. If a child feels treasured and loved, it is unlikely that a long strap or coiled plastic attached to mom or dad is going to demean them and destroy their future self-esteem.

Thanks for the discussion -- your civility is much appreciated.