Child Restraints----Kid Leash

[arachal]

I am looking for one of those kid leashes for my two year-old. I have looked at Wal-Mart and they didn't have any. Got any suggestions as to where to go now? We are not even sure of the proper name for them.....Help

 

[worm761]

you may want to try toys-r-us or babys-r-us if you have one near you.

 

[dizneenut]

I found one at Sears a few years ago

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<font color="blue">first family vacation--WDW--July 2001</font>

 

[mg]

I purchased a harness type from the Right Start. It cost about $15.00. They have a store at my local mall but I know that they you can purchase them from their web site also. This type worked out very well for us with our very active 2 year old. He was able to explore and we were able to keep our peace of mind knowing he could not get away from us.

 

[RobinC34]

That is what my husband calls them, he thinks that it looks cruel to put them on your child. Easy telling he isn't able to spend as much time with our very active 2 year old as I do. We are leaving for WDW in about 2 weeks and I bought one at The Right Start Store and my husband says no way am I going to put that on him. We still use a carraige often; but I know our son isn't going to sty in it all day so I think the "leash" is the right answer. I am so afraid he is going to take off, he isn't even very good about holding my hand in a parking lot. How do I confince my husband that we need to use this? I don't want to say I told you so when we are franticly looking for our 2 year old on our dream turned nightmare vaction! Help!

 

[ny'er]

We have purchased them at Toys T Us.

Be careful for there seem to be 2 kinds. One is velcro that goes around ther wrist. WAT TO EASY to remove.
We have the one that actually has a bracelet (simialr to a watch band) that we can clip onto

You see many parents using them at WDW

 

[BevS97]

We have another kind in the UK - I'm sure you must be able to find them in the States too, it's called a 5point harness,

5 pont Harness

and it's used in highchairs and things like that. But it also has reins (or a leash if you prefer to call it that) to clip on as well. There is no way my daughter can remove her reins (She can however throw herself on the floor and have a tantrum when I insist she put them on).

We have found through experience that if you put the reins on before you leave the house, then Katie isn't bothered, as there's nothing interesting there anyway - and I don't hold onto it, just make her wear it. That way when we get out in a busy place, she is already wearing it, and so there is no need to struggle getting her into it.

And -tell your husband about Jamie Bulger, a 2 yr old boy that was killed here in the UK about 10 years ago. He let go of his mother's hand in a busy shopping centre. The mother turned around to find him about a minute later and he was gone. They found him killed by 2 10 year old boys. A set of reins would have saved his life.

Bev

[This message was edited by BevS97 on 03-15-01 at 04:22 PM.]

[This message was edited by BevS97 on 03-15-01 at 04:23 PM.]

 

[jwfla422]

I picked up the velcro kind at Walmart. Some locations have them and some don't. I've also seen them at Babies R Us. The other thing I picked up believe it or not, was a dog colar (material kind) with a leash. The colar has all kinds of pretty colors and fits around my 2 year old's waist like a belt.

I feel a little more comfortable with that because I won't be yanking her arm and it's in a more balanced area. I got both for our trip last November and she had no desire to walk at the Magic Kingdom because it was very crowded. She felt more secure in her stroller or she want to be carried (which didn't happen much). She walked in the other parks but kept close and there was no problem because they were more "open" than MK. So, I didn't have to use either during our last trip.

She normally loves to run everywhere but seemed to feel secure if she was closer to mom and dad. We'll see what happens during our next visit in June. I will bring them both again.

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[sandyneck]

Maybe if you went with the leash that only attaches to his wrist. This worked out much better than the harness for us, and it may be less offensive to your husband. It gives the child some freedom without being able to wander off. If he doesn't go for that, have him be the hand holder.

 

[saymama]

Might sound awful, but I actually bought a dog leash and collar. Actually got them on clearance at the disney store. My son has autism and has some sensory problems, so the harness would bug him and the wrist leash is out of the question.
So, I got the dog collar. It fits him like a belt. It clips, so he can't take it off. The least part turns freely so he won't tangle the leash. We actually tried it out and he loved it. Just an idea.

 

[skeezixspud]

I agree with you 100% on the best way to use reins. It works flawlessly with the reins you can buy in Europe. Unfortunately, the reins available in the US have a very different type of hand-strap, and it dangles too long to allow the child to just keep it on when not in use.

The photo Bev posted doesn't really show the parent's part of the harness, but for those who have never seen that type in action, the hand-strap is attached to the harness in two spots, just behind the child's arms on both sides. If left to hang, it will normally be adjusted to hang slightly above the child's ankles, which means that if left to dangle for brief periods, it's relatively safe. It also means that the grownup's arm reach, plus the length of the strap is just enough for it to be held comfortably, but not enough for another adult to get between you and the child.

On the American version made by Gerber (the most common design), the harness Y-connect in the back has a D-ring where the straps cross one another, and the adult hand-strap is fastened to that ring. The normal length is about 5 feet, and you have to use them carefully in crowds, lest passerby get tangled up.

That said, I am a dedicated rein user. (I used an American set, until one of my English cousins took pity on my and sent me a set from Clippasafe, which is wonderful!) My personal experience has been that children tolerate a harness or waist belt much better than a wrist-rein, because they don't like having the use of that hand
restricted. They tend to forget the strap attached behind them, so long as the harness or belt is not of itself uncomfortable or awkward.

BTW, Bev, I'm on a personal crusade to get Clippasafe reins available in the US; I've sent letters to every baby-supply dealer on the Web, and every shop I deal with, to try to find a supplier. I'd like to give them as baby gifts, but it gets expensive when I have to get them from overseas. If anyone here does know of an American source for English-made reins, please, speak up

[This message was edited by skeezixspud on 03-16-01 at 04:29 PM.]

 

[R4racing]

We have a child harness, I have seen them in red, blue, pink, etc. The one we have is red and has Tweety Bird on the front. They carry them at my local Walmart, in the baby area near the cabinet locks, and other safety stuff like that. Yesterday I was at my local Dollar Tree store and they had the wrist leashes with the velcro on them. I bought one, figuring if it doesn't work for us I am only out $1. As far as putting it on the wrist, couldn't you also loop it around a belt or possibly a belt loop? Although if a child puts all of their weight on it, it might rip off the belt loop.

To try to convince your husband to use it, maybe mention that one of the reasons people put a leash on their dog is to keep it safe, and is a child worth less than a pet? Perhaps once he sees others using them at Disney World he will change his mind.

 

[arachal]

We are from a relatively small town.....no Right Start store here. Is there a web-site we might go to?
Thanks to all who replied. We looked at the 5 point harness at babies r us. Kinda thought the shipping would cost us alot. It looks perfect for our very active 2 yr. old son.

 

[Tarzan]

How can you say that Jamie Bulger would still be alive if he was wearing reins? You stated in your post that you don't hold on to your daughter's reins straight away,it didn't take long for those boys to take Jamie and a momentary drop of the reins would have allowed that!

 

[CindyAnn]

I'm a big fan of the harness with reins and have also tried the wrist attachment. My preference is the harness, but I can understand that some children may prefer the other. The wrist attachment devices I've seen (and the one I have) have velcro for the parent's end and a buckle for the child's end, though. With velcro on the child's end I can imagine that most 2 year olds would be out of it in 3 seconds flat!

Cheers,

CindyAnn
Co-moderator - Restaurants Board

 

[pooh.kim]

I bought child leashes from babycenter.com and loved them, even for my very active 6 yr old (and 3 yr old). This kind had a fanny belt bag for the child with a plastic loop to strap the "leash" to. I mostly used it during the evening darker hours and at big crowd times. Other times I unsnapped the leash and he still had his belt bag to wear, a very easy conversion. The parent end had a wrist strap but I tied it to my pant/belt loop so I could have hands free to push DD in stroller. I even spent one day at Universal with the 2 kids by myself and felt much safer with DS "attached" to me!

 

[My2boyz1]

I have something called a "Tag Along". I bought it when my 8 year old was little from either The Right Start or One Step Ahead. It looks like a mini fanny pack with a free moving loop on the waist strap for the "leash" to attatch to. My 2 year old starts the day wearing it just like his brother wears his fanny pack, then when we are someplace crowded and he wants to walk I just attatch the strap.

Natalie