Active, Stubborn and Independent 2.5 year old

[aTasteOfHeaven]

My daughter won't sit in a stroller and gets bored of holding my hand. It's a complete meltdown when I enforce the "either/or" rule. So, I am probably going to buy one of the wrist "leashes". We are going during the busiest season and would hate to get seperated from my little one.

What did you do? Any opinions or advice?

 

[NJR]

May I suggest a harness instead? With wrist straps, I worry that if the little one trips (or if someone accidently "clotheslines" between you and the LO) that you could really damage her arm. There are quite a few people who have the "backpack" style harnesses, IMO they are a much safer alternative.

 

[daleswife]

I have a backpack buddy. Its a monkey and my DS 2 loves it. He dont like to sit for a long time either and he's a "big boy" and wont hold mommy's hand....so I have to have something to keep up with him.

 

[disneybridetobe]

I have a very spirited little girl, she's 22 months old. She hates the stroller, and she'll only hold hands for a little bit... but on her terms. We also have the backpack monkey buddy, and it's worked really well for us. She likes it, she doesn't mind us putting it on her, and she even hugs it when it's off of her. It makes her feel independent, but we know she's safe and can't run off. Win-win.

Also I have to add that "active, stubborn, and independent" describes my daughter to a T! (but she's a completely sweetie, don't get me wrong!)

 

[ktlm]

Last December, I took an active, stubborn, independent 2 yr 10 month old who won't ever ride in her stroller. We took the stroller anyway. Imagine my surprise when she had absolutely no problem at all getting in her stroller and riding around at WDW. She also crawled right in it on her own to take naps when she was tired. Maybe you will be lucky. Everything is a little different at WDW. Mine's a runner who could care less if we are near her, so we were worried. I bought a couple of silicone bracelets at reminderband.com. One said Dad and his cell phone and the other said Mom and my cell phone (so we could switch in case someone forgot to charge their phone). We told her they were her Disney bracelets and if she wanted to go she had to wear them and leave them on. She got to pick the colors. She never got away from us and we didn't have any problems. She was good about walking right next to us even though she would not always hold our hands.

 

[MickeyMom2Boys]

Sounds just like my son! I bought the Mickey backpack harness: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3355296. It's adorable and he loves it! We call it his backpack (or packpack as he says!) It gives him his independence but keeps him close.

I agree with the pp about the wrist ones. When my son was 1 I had his hand firmly so that he couldn't pull it away. He fell walking across a field and my reaction was to pull him back up by his arm as he was going down. I dislocated his elbow by doing that . The Dr popped it right back in and he was perfectly fine, but I stopped forcing the hand holding after that!!

We also have safety tatoos from safetytat.com with my cell phone on them in case we are separated. The kids love them, can't take them off, and they don't have any personally identifying information on them. They just say "If lost pleas call ###-###-####"

 

[WDWorBUST]

Disneyshopping.com now has the harnesses in Tigger, Pooh, Mickey - maybe Minnie and Pluto even. I agree the wrist ones make me nervous. We had a harness for DD (just a plain one) that she didnt mind wearing....but we ended up not even needing it.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Get a backpack harness. My daughter also isn't impressed with the stroller and slips her hand out of mine and takes off. She LOVES her doggy backpack. We got nothing but compliments on it last week at the zoo. Someone even called me extremely intelligent because I had one.

 

[disneybridetobe]

Disneyshopping.com now has the harnesses in Tigger, Pooh, Mickey - maybe Minnie and Pluto even. I agree the wrist ones make me nervous. We had a harness for DD (just a plain one) that she didnt mind wearing....but we ended up not even needing it.

Babiesrus.com has them too, they're $15 less *and* there's a $5 off of $25 purchase coupon too... you'll have to find a cheapie item to order to make the $24.99 harness a $25.00 order, but you can order like, a sippy cup or something. I couldn't believe Disneyshopping is charging $39.99!

Not that I'm trying to undermine you, WDWorBust

 

[aTasteOfHeaven]

Well, I definately don't want her to get injured because I was trying to keep her safe. I will just bring the blan harness type that I bought last year. Maybe I won't need it...

Thanks to everyone for posting!!

 

[WDWorBUST]

Of course not I just happened to see them on the disneyshopping website.....I have stayed away from babies r us lately (as I'm sure you would guess).....but I'm all about saving money

 

[clc053103]

Consider using the Disney stroller and calling it something fancy like a "people mover". There are so many kids in them she may willingly get in.

I said I never would use a "leash" for my DS but after taking him at 3 to Disney I wish I had the backpack buddy, who cares if you get a stare from a stranger.

I also would suggest id of some sort- I put nametags in DS's underpants to ensure he couldn't lose it.

 

[mookie]

Hey all,

We are leaving in 10 days, and my youngest of 3 is EXTREMELY SPIRITED!! Stubborn, you name it. We did buy a backpack harness for him, it has yet to come in the mail. The one question I have about them is how hot do they get in the heat? I'm thinking in the Florida humidity, having that stuffed animal strapped to your back would make them hot and irritable. We bought one anyway (I think it might make him more willing to wear it) but I'm wondering if just the regular harness w/o the backpack would be cooler. Thoughts?

 

[cshelzy]

I just got my very active 2 year old
a fanny pack with the leash attached
it has enough room form him to put a little
snack or toy in the front I am not sure of
the website anymore it cost 21.00 including
shipping if you are interested I can try to
find the site for you

good luck and have a great trip

 

[2002Disneybride]

My kid hates the stroller too-2 1/2...we put him in and that is that...he chillls out.
We tried the backpack with my older son when he was 2.5 and he would run as fast as he could and spring back--like bungee jumping almost...that quickly got returned to the store.

We found that letting my DS know that it's time to go in the stroller, and it was no nonsense, but balancing that with some freedom to walk--only holding on to stroller or someone's hand really worked and it really was a nonissue...

Now the airplane seat--that was another story on the ride home!

 

[natnelliesmom]

I do hate those leashes.... but some kids need them. It's better than losing your child.
That said... you are the boss. If your child doesn't like the stroller- who cares?? It's not her choice, it's yours. If you enforce the rule, it won't take her long to learn.
-Sarah

 

[KristyBDJ]

My DD was about that age last year at WDW and behaved the same way...VERY INDEPENDANT!! I had a traditional harness from when my DS was little but she refused to wear it. I found my solution at walmart.com. I found a harness that doubles as a purse! It's adorable..bright pink, my daughter loved it! She thought she was just wearing a pretty purse like mommy does and we had control of her the whole time. She did spend plenty of time in the srtoller but we just left the harness on so that we were always ready when she wanted to walk. She had so much fun putting things in her purse and even kept her WDW receipts in it. If I knew how to post pics I would, I have some of her wearing it. Let me know if you want me to e-mail them to you.

 

[newtowdw1]

Ummm. My son did not like strollers, and neither did we, particularly. However, he also did not want to walk with us.

We tried the harness on outside outings (flea markets). He sat down and refused to move.

Sometimes the stubborn ones just will not compromise with you. Then you get to do what you want with them. He ended up learning to walk nicely or not at all.

The upside is that at 4 years old he walked all over WDW without a word of complaint (about that anyway).

Good luck. I think you'll need to get stubborn back before this situation is resolved.

 

[Wendybird55]

My son is very independent and active and high spirited. He gets antsy in his stroller and when you let hom out he loves to run and trying to get him back in the stroller can be a battle. He's 2 1/2 now and getting better a holding hands, but still has a ways to go.

We we took him to Disney last year I was concerned about the same thing as you. I purchased a harness. I tried it our a few times before we left and he lead me around!

Anyway, I didn't need it at all in Disney. For the most part he was good about staying in his stroller - we had a few battles trying to get him back in - but it was much better thant at home. I think it's because there is so much to see while strolling around Disney he didn't get bored. There's was always something to keep his interest.

PLUS - I strongly suggest you take your son to the various toddler play areas in the parks. My son loved them and it was a great place to let him run around and get rid of some of his energy. The areas are confined enough that me and my husband were able to keep an eye on him while still letting him run around and play.

I say get the harness - not wrist strap as he will probably figure a way to get out of it. The one I got you could either hold your end in your hand or strap it around your waist leaving both hands free.

Good Luck!

 

[hockeymom3]

Kids are so funny!! There is one thread on here for parents with older kids (6-7-8) who still want to ride in a stroller for Disney and then we have 2 year olds that want to walk the parks!!!

My kids ALL dislike the stroller - but I will have one for my 2 year old - and I don't have a harness or wrist thingie - so if he doesn't hold a hand, he's strollering it.

But, using a harness/leash/rope/whatever is WAY better than losing a child!!