Child harness/tethers at the park

[Lstar311]

I bought the wrist one in the baby care center in MK for about $5. I saw tons of kids with the backpack style ones and had wished I got one before we went. Up until our trip Ds loved to hold our hands. He chose Disney to assert his independence.

 

[shelby101301]

Please don't worry about dirty looks from others...

I have been in fantasy land during the bad bottlenecks, where it was wall to wall people surging forward (I'm sure you know what I mean). Some people had no qualms at all jumping in front of my young children or bumping a stroller with a 6 month old baby. Some bottlenecks were so bad that if I HAD been holding my 3 or 5 year old by the hand, I most certainly would ahve lost them...

You do what you have to to keep your child safe.

 

[8disneyfans]

This usually becomes a heated debate on another board I frequent. I purchased the "munchkin" brand one at Walmart the other day. You can do the harness style, or strap from wrist to wrist. They also had the backpack style with the furry animals. My DD doesn't like to hold my hand at all (she'll hold DS's). So I got this for long lines or when she wants out of the stroller. I'm prepared to get dirty looks, but my child's safety trumps other people's opinions

I agree 100%
After loosing DS at EPCOT the first time we went, I went out and bought the wrist to wrist one. It works great!

 

[Jennia]

We LOVE ours, and it's an absolute necessity since dd is a runner and hates to hold hands (flat out refuses to, unless she's drifting to sleep). We have the puppy backpack, and sometimes she doesn't even need to wear it, since she likes to carry it like a stuffed animal. Then, she carries the dog and we hold onto the leash, and that works about half the time. The only negative comments we've ever received were from my aunt, but I told her that having a leash on was preferable to my daughter running into the ocean and drowning before we could get to her. =P

 

[ericsgm]

I leash my dog, and why? Because he is very, very precious to me and it's my responsibility to keep him from the dangers of cars, other animals, being lost, and unfriendly strangers, to name a few. I'd like to think that every child is at least that important to their parent(s)

People seem to forget that we attach ourselves to those most precious to us for their protection (and our peace of mind!) Having been to WDW and other large entertainment complexes, as well as everyday malls, my heart breaks, frequently I'm afraid, when I see the panic-stricken little face of a child who's lost sight of a parent, or ones who are being dragged along on too-tired little legs.

Strollers & leashes... best things ever... and reserved for use with the ones you LOVE.

Until they grow up a bit, and then we all all use the "electronic leash" aka the CELL PHONE!

 

[Crystal824]

We used the monkey backpack harness for my nephew, 3, in March. He hates strollers as he considers them for babies now. It worked pretty well until he figured out how to unhook it himself, which wasn't until a couple of days before we left. I noticed that there were many other families using similar devices so...I wouldn't be embarassed or concerned.

Cruella Deville took "him for a walk" when he visited her. She said he had a leash like a puppy and asked if she could take him for a walk. It was cute. He loved it.