Child Leashes?

[ntsammy5]

My thoughts on child leashes are ...

Everyone should do what they feel is necessary to keep their children safe. You're the best person to determine what that is, and NOBODY else at WDW should feel that they're in a position to argue with you.

Amen~

 

[slo]

I had a couple of different kinds for DD#1. I can't remember where I bought them, but I'm sure you can find them at Baby's R Us or Walmart.

My thoughts on them is, if you need them for the safety of your child, then I think they are fantastic. My DD would run the minute her feet hit the floor, so I used them to prevent her from getting lost, stolen, run over by a car, etc.

No one should be judged negatively for using these.

 

[rileysmommy]

We are going on a Disney cruise and then spending a few days in Disney afterwards in January. My ds will be 16 months old and I plan on bringing my harness/leash. I have the red one wilh Elmo on it. He will hopefully be walking then and I actually want to tire him out a bit rather than have him riding in the stroller all day. I feel safer with it and don't really care what other people think. For a child that small, holding an adult's hand practically pulls their arm out of the socket.

 

[Addicted2TheMouse]

I used to think "leashes" were terrible but now I can't remember why. My DSalmost2 always wants to walk. Sometimes he will hold my hand but he will frequently get stubborn and drop to the floor when I try to take his hand. No fun for anyone. I don't have a harness for him but I will be looking for that Elmo one. It would be great for him to have the feeling of freedom while I still feel like he's attached to me. And he definitely loves his "Melmo" so he would probably love that one.

 

[treboats]

My DH and I are different sides of the fence on this issue. I am pro leash but DH is anti-leash and I have tried to explain to him that it will be him that will be aggravated chasing the kiddos around. I think I will buy one and take it with us and just not say anything until we use it and if we don't I will return it when we get back.

 

[badblackpug]

I will keep my opinion of "leashes" to myself...but...toddlers and small children should never be forcefully pulled by their arms. Their little elbows dislocate very easily ("nursemaid's elbow") While this is very easily corrected by a doctor, it is very painful for the child. If you are going to use a "leash" please use the "harness" type to avoid injury to your childs arm.

 

[TravelinGal]

We got the backpack style for DS for our WDW trip. We started using it in town so that he would be used to it when we really needed it in the parks.

DS is usually quite content to ride in the stroller, and we had our nice comfy one with us so it wasn't a huge issue, but it was very nice to know when we were in lines that he couldn't dart away from us. (He gets impatient being held for long - and it's so darn hot there we couldn't take holding him either.)

Please, get one a month or two before your trip and start using it - trips to the mall, a walk to the park (and then let your DC play without it, of course), wherever it is convenient. Not that any of us want to compare it to a dog's leash, but seriously, does a puppy instantly know how to walk on a leash and not fight it? NO! Our children, with more brains and more will (or stubbornness - LOL) are the same way. They need to learn to 'walk on the leash' the same way. Fortunately, since they are smarter than a dog, they get it pretty easily most of the time.

I do like the puppy/monkey/bear backpack styles (Got ours at Target for under $10) because they don't have the dog leash look. I remember my sister had a leather one for my nephew when we were on a ferry in NYC when I was a kid. It DID look like a dog leash and harness. But even then, I (1st grade) realized how much safer my nephew was and that I would probably use one for my child(ren) one day.

We got more "That's SO cute! Where'd you get it?" comments than nasty glares - both at home and at WDW.

 

[reggiemcp]

Hi

Before DS was born, I swore I would never use one. Fast forward to a 2 year old toddler who loves to explore everything. We bought an adorable looking backpack style leash that looks like a monkey and he loves it. We use whenever we take the subway, places with big crowds, like WDW, etc. I really don't care what others thinks, just so long as he is safe. He happens to love it and doesn't mind wearing it, so I am officially now a convert.

To each his own.........

 

[notafan]

Better safe than sorry

 

[HappyPappe]

I had to buy one of each because I have boy/girl twins..LOL.. We go to Silver Dollar City in Missouri every couple of weeks and I thought this would be a good idea. However, my twins think otherwise.. LOL.. They can't stand the backpack leashes at all. And I was getting some funny looks from others when my kiddos were screaming at the top of their lungs. They will be turning 2 next month and they have seemed to have gotten the hang of staying with mommy and daddy during time out of the stroller. They will be 3 when we first go to WDW for the 1st time. I am hoping that I wont have any trouble with them by than. If not, I will not hesitate putting the back packs back on them. They were $10.00 at walmart, I would suggest buying one if you have any doubts about your child getting lost, hurt, or running off when your there. It's only $10.00 and well worth it...

Hope you figure out what to do.. We now use ours as stuffies ( like we don't have enough of them already), but I will be taking them to WDW for a back up.. Have fun and enjoy...

 

[maxtomsmom]

IMO you should do what you feel best. When my brother was four we went to WDW back when there was only Magic Kingdom. Somewhere towards the end of the parade, he was so fascinated by the electric parade that he began to wander off. Now, you can all imagine what it is like on Main Street when the parade stops. He could not be found. My mother and father were frantic as you can imagine. Plus they had me who was 5 at the time. It took them over 2 hours to find him. He actually got on a float and was in the garage. A CM found him and brought him to the Lost and Found/Missing children location. They didn't have cell phones then and my parents had already checked that spot. After waiting for about an hour my mom was so beside herself that she fainted. So they couldn't find my father and I was with my mom. Finally about three hours later after the park had closed, we were united. It was the worst three hours. It was so bad that my parents cancelled the rest of the trip. It just takes a moment.


By the way, my brother was not a wanderer. He was not in a stroller anymore and it was his third trip to Disney. We had visited countless other theme parks. For some reason he felt like getting on the float. Kids can be like that. We remind them over and over again, but they can do really impulsive things with scary consequences.

My brother never did that again.

 

[Patsfan7]

I did not read all the posts, but some. I am not sure if this was mentioned before, I apologize if it was....

My daughter is not a wonderer, but we had her wear the wrist one just to keep her close. (she may go on the other side of a display, but for that one second my heart stops) She LOVED "making sure that Papa didn't get lost" (We told her that it was her job to make sure my father didn't get lost.) They were connected by the elmo one very loosely by the wrists, but just enought to know she was right there.

My son on the other hand, may be an entirely different story when he gets older. I'm sure he will be in the backpack one!

We also put our cell phone number and name in one of those plastic holders they sell for the fastpasses. She likes it because it has Mickey on it. Hope this works well for someone else, as it did for us!

 

[ilovepooh]

I was also against the leashes, but then I had DS. He will be 2 on our next trip and I will be buying one to use. I will do what it takes to ensure his safety!

 

[GEM]

I will keep my opinion of "leashes" to myself...

Gee. Thanks.

 

[sha_lyn]

I was against them until DS was about 18 months. We were in a fabric store where all the tables were about 2.5 ft tall with bolts of fabric on top of them. Ds thought it was funny to take off running under the tables. They were very close together and fairlylarge. by the time I could get to the side he was going out off he was off under another table. He ended up going and going and I eventually lost sight of him. It took what seemed like hrs, but was probably 20 min to find him. I went out that day and bought the wrist leash and bells for his shoes. Once I found the harness kid I go one of those. I used it very often from the time he was 1.5 until around 3.


DD OTOH... I think we've only used the harness on 2-3X, once at WDW and once or twice shopping. She wasn't as bad about running around, and I had DS (who is 8 yrs older than her) to help keep an eye on her.

 

[english rose 47]

Many years ago DD then 18mths and I flew to England with no harnes going. Coming back I had a harness. Here's why ..on plane she ran around and collected all the empty miniaturs and deposited them on my seat while I was stuck behind the meal cart that she could squeeze thru !! Next at Gatwick she bypassed customs and left me on the other side..Theennn we get to luggage where she climbed on the belt thing As we left customs men we're all rolling and Calling Bye Judy"s Mom!! Oh yes get a Harness!!

 

[KimberlyC]

I didn't have time to read this whole thread so I apologize if i am redundant. I have a very active 2 yr old spider baby. Even if he was the best behaved kid on earth, I still would be worried that he would get separated from me at WDW when people not looking where they are going on crowded walkways will cut you off, bump into you, etc. A few weeks before our June trip for DS's 2nd b-day I bought 2 harnesses, one is Elmo from Walmart and the other is a Monkey backpack harness from Walmart. Target has the same backpack but its a bear and I've also seen a dog. My DS likes monkeys so that is what he got. He loved the monkey and despite the fact that he loves Elmo he didn't care for the Elmo harness. The Elmo is like hard nylon type material. It reminds me of the straps of a backpack type material. It has a wrist harness too but I wont use that for a small child because its not so safe and can dislocate their arm if pulled. I did some research on that and the chest type harness is claimed to be safer (and it seemed logical to me). I've even stopped him from falling down face first by pulling on the haraness and I didn't have to worry abou hurting his little arm.

Even before our trip DS wanted to wear that monkey harness (a backpack to him) all over the place.

Because the monkey harness is cute I got compliments at WDW instead of dirty looks. The most common comments were "how cute" or "hey you've got a monkey on your back already". For us, it was totally worth the peace of mind, plus DS just likes it a lot and sometimes even demands to wear it to school (aka daycare). We go again in September and his "CHUNKY MONKEY" will, of course, be traveling with us. Yesterday Chunky Monkey went to the zoo to see the "real monkeys" and DS thinks he had fun

 

[Goobergal99]

 

[robinb]

I saw a family or 6 at the MK with 2 kids attached to each parent's fannny pack. The youngest was about 2 and the oldest about 12. We called them the "chain family".

I have no problem with younger kids on leashes, however 12 is wayyyy too old.

 

[GEM]

I have no problem with younger kids on leashes, however 12 is wayyyy too old.

I don't know. I think the prime time for leash usage would be the 14-18 year old range . . .