But you would be shocked at the number of people who felt free to come up and berate me because I had a harness on my youngest niece.
At two she had what you might call "poor impulse control" and I lived in fear that she would dart into traffic or run up to a strange dog or some other danger. She was quick and once she decided to run she could be half way down the block before you could move. I decided I would have rather been berated by morons then risk something happening to her.
In the late 60's when my son was three, I lost him in a Montgomery Wards store. He could dart under clothes racks and disappear in a heartbeat. The store was located in a busy corner shopping center with tons of traffic. When I finally found him, I was shaking with fear. I immediately bought a leash. A very well-dressed man came up to me and berated me for having him on the leash within one minute. Still shaking inside, I just walked away with my darling boy safely in tow. Never forgot it.