Child harness brand suggestions

[aristocatz]

Please, no responses with your opinion on whether or not I should use a harness. Just looking for brand suggestions from those who have used them for their toddlers.

For those who have used a harness for your toddler in WDW, which brand did you use/which brand do you feel is the best?


Thanks!

 

[McPheronsLoveDisney]

I think harnesses are wondeful!! We have used a backpack monkey made by eddie bauer!! I am thankful for the harnesses my Youngest DS is very adventurous and likes to try to take off on his own... So for us a definite life saver!! Have used the monkey on both my DS is the disneyland and disney world. I plan on using it in the future on my DD!! Good Luck!!

 

[Catrinabeach]

We bought a backpack type that was a unicorn at walmart that worked great. It has a pouch for putting the leash in when your not using it and had a chest strap to help it on her.

We just recently bought one for our granddaughter that is similar but I find I don't like the chest strap on it and the leash is retractable which we thought would be good but feels more flimsy.

 

[abinormal]

I bought the Goldbug ones off amazon for my kids. I liked the large variety to choose from. My daughter had a unicorn and my son has a panda.

 

[FencerGirl]

We used the Eddie Bauer backpack kind from Target. My daughter liked packing a snack and being able to carry her souvenirs.

 

[aristocatz]

Thank you so much for your replies!

& now a dumb question-are these easy to put on/take off? & did you generally keep them on your toddler during rides? Just wondering if they are comfortable to wear while sitting.

My DD is walking now & starting to ask to walk when she is in her stroller. I'd like to be able to have the option of letting her walk a little bit & keeping her in the stroller throughout the day.

I searched for a Disney harness, but could only find really expensive or really weird (international off-brand) ones on Ebay.

 

[LittleMissDisney]

I LOVED our Elmo harness and handstrap. We bought it at walmart (9 years ago, I haven't ventured into the baby section lately to see if they still have it.) If you google ELMO sesame street red toddler safety harness you should find a photo of it.


What I liked:
It was sturdy-the canvas netting was strong
The parent clipped to the child-so no hard plastic thing on the middle of their back if they were sitting in the stroller or in a chair
It was non-obtrusive-no big stuffed plush or eye catching nonsense to draw attention to my child
It was comfortable for my child-again no big stuffed animal on his back to get in the way of sitting down, or being filled with other nonsense and being heavy.

 

[yankeesgirl63]

We used an Eddie Bauer one that looked like a small teddy bear backpack. My son loved it because it had a small zipper compartment that he put his favorite small toy in and felt like a big boy with his own "backpack". He never realized it was a harness and the best part was that it didn't attach to his wrist. Target used to sell them but I'm not sure now since this was a few years ago..

Melissa

 

[aristocatz]

Thank you!! Where in Target and Walmart are you finding these? I have been looking on Amazon. I looked through Walmart and Target the other day, but maybe I was in the wrong aisle?

 

[larryz]

We bought a backpack type that was a unicorn at walmart that worked great. It has a pouch for putting the leash in when your not using it and had a chest strap to help it on her.

We just recently bought one for our granddaughter that is similar but I find I don't like the chest strap on it and the leash is retractable which we thought would be good but feels more flimsy.

We say "tether" around here...

 

[worm761]

We had a Safety First harness for DD when she was younger. She is very warm blooded so we were concerned that she would be too hot with a stuffed animal on her back. This one clipped in the front. I just left it on her after the first use every day. She was 22 months old and preferred to walk most of the time. Nothing like doing Disney at a toddlers pace. We stopped and smelled the flowers (literally, she loved it).

 

[morethananyonex]

I have no idea about brands as we haven't had to use one (my son doesn't leave my side even if I tell him to lol), but I just wanted to say don't let people's opinions on this subject get you down if they eventually do come. Most of the time people who react negatively to child harnesses have never had the type of child who needs one, just saying.

Good luck finding one that works for you!

 

[aristocatz]

I have no idea about brands as we haven't had to use one (my son doesn't leave my side even if I tell him to lol), but I just wanted to say don't let people's opinions on this subject get you down if they eventually do come. Most of the time people who react negatively to child harnesses have never had the type of child who needs one, just saying.

Good luck finding one that works for you!

Thank you! I just know this can be a sensitive subject. I am honestly not sure how my DD will be in WDW, but she is very young & will still be a "new walker" with no safety awareness, traveling during a very crowded week, so I would just prefer not to take the chance of getting ourselves into a safety situation.

 

[oneprincessjo]

Thank you! I just know this can be a sensitive subject. I am honestly not sure how my DD will be in WDW, but she is very young & will still be a "new walker" with no safety awareness, traveling during a very crowded week, so I would just prefer not to take the chance of getting ourselves into a safety situation.

Another thing you should do, even though you are using a harness is to take a picture of your dd every morning before heading out. This way in the event she does get lost you can show security the picture of your child and outfit they are wearing that day. I will be leaving in a couple of weeks with my 2 year old. I plan on getting a harness and doing the picture. My dd is getting much better at hand holding... but I'm sure she won't want to hold my hand for several hours a day. Even if we don't end up using the harness I want one available to me in the event she needs or wants that extra freedom. Better safe than sorry.

Edit: I haven't bought one yet but will probably just get the monkey backpack harness... this way she can feel like a big girl and pack a few small items to keep herself occupied in restaurants in her own backpack.

 

[Catrinabeach]

Thank you so much for your replies!

& now a dumb question-are these easy to put on/take off? & did you generally keep them on your toddler during rides? Just wondering if they are comfortable to wear while sitting.

My DD is walking now & starting to ask to walk when she is in her stroller. I'd like to be able to have the option of letting her walk a little bit & keeping her in the stroller throughout the day.

I searched for a Disney harness, but could only find really expensive or really weird (international off-brand) ones on Ebay.

Ours just had a chest clip to attach. She put it on like a backpack and we clipped the chest clip and she was good to go. She was 2 almost 3 and used that one til she was 4 I believe. She still had a stroller and we just taught her that she had to either be in her stroller or she had to have her harness on. So if she wanted to walk she would get out and take her harness off the stroller handle that we had it clipped to and hand it to one of us to put on and then pick who she wanted to hold the "leash". She had 2 teenager brothers and my BF's DD so she had 5 people to chose who would hold it for her. And she knew it was so she wouldn't get lost so if we accidently dropped our end she would grab it and run to us with it worried we would loose her

They are comfortable to wear while sitting but can be a bit bulky if you get the backpack teddy bear kind since it's like wearing a teddy bear on your back. She would wear it though even on the bus she did.

 

[bushdianee]

It has been a few years but the first time I took my niece to WDW she was 2. I found a purse type at Babies R Us. It had a little plastic purse that went over her shoulder then a strap that attached and went around her waist. She loved it.

 

[delmar411]

We used Safety 1st. It can stay on them all the time and you can just remove the strap if you want for napping in the stroller. It is really lightweight and doesn't weigh them down or cause them to get hot. We found it to be the most secure as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-48382-Child-Harness/dp/B0019QG0M6

Ours was just like this only it was blue.

 

[aubreysmom09]

Thank you so much for your replies!

& now a dumb question-are these easy to put on/take off? & did you generally keep them on your toddler during rides? Just wondering if they are comfortable to wear while sitting.

My DD is walking now & starting to ask to walk when she is in her stroller. I'd like to be able to have the option of letting her walk a little bit & keeping her in the stroller throughout the day.

I searched for a Disney harness, but could only find really expensive or really weird (international off-brand) ones on Ebay.

Not a bad question. We had a pink doggie for our DD. The leash un hooked from the dog. The dog was still on her back, but she was able to keep it on to sit. Some rides they didn't say take the entire thing off. I also highly suggest safety tats. They are water proof that have a waterproof marker to put your cell number on. I never put a name on it.

 

[mjkacmom]

I LOVED our Elmo harness and handstrap. We bought it at walmart (9 years ago, I haven't ventured into the baby section lately to see if they still have it.) If you google ELMO sesame street red toddler safety harness you should find a photo of it.


What I liked:
It was sturdy-the canvas netting was strong
The parent clipped to the child-so no hard plastic thing on the middle of their back if they were sitting in the stroller or in a chair
It was non-obtrusive-no big stuffed plush or eye catching nonsense to draw attention to my child
It was comfortable for my child-again no big stuffed animal on his back to get in the way of sitting down, or being filled with other nonsense and being heavy.

We had two of these for my twins, and they were a lifesaver for walks around the neighborhood, and outings at busy places, when my twins were toddlers. Unfortunately, we had to stop using them, because we lost one, and they would fight over who got to wear the Elmo - lol.

 

[scchristo]

We used a Brica (if it wasn't the Brica, it was VERY similar) harness with my daughter when she was 16 mo and walked pretty much ALL of WDW.
It looks/is a miniature backpack with a removable strap. She carried "her stuff" in it - we would either unclip the strap or just tuck it in the backpack.