Child Leashes?

[crisi]

I admit, before I had kids, I used to criticize people who "put their kids on a leash like a dog" (quoting myself)
Fast forward a few years to my first DS. My mom used to joke that he never learned to walk. He went from crawling to running full speed and never stopped. The first time we took him to DL as a runner, I finally understood the value of the harness. I was exhausted by noon because he wouldn't stay in the stroller, and I was chasing him all day! (Sweaty little hands are slippery and easier for a sneaky toddler to pull away when he really wants to run )
That day I became a believer in the "you've got to do what works for you and your child" method of parenting!

And had you had a quiet child who liked to sit in the stroller and held your hand, you'd have held that opinion until you had one that made you understand.

Don't criticize another parent until you've walked a mile in their shoes - or chased their toddler around Disneyworld for a mile!

 

[owenbyd]

My motto is better on a leash than on a milk carton

The elmo ones at Wal-mart are just about $6 and work well (my 15 month old LOVES Elmo!) and it never hurts to have...just in case!

 

[merekc]

I used a harness for my older son when we went on vacations and will be using one again for my younger one. It allows your child the room to do a little exploring and giving them the feeling of independence while keeping them safe and close.

I do prefer the harness type where you put the harness over your child's chest and then attach the leash (for lack of a better word) to the back of the harness. I feel this is less likely to hurt a child then the leashes attached straight to the child's wrist. I think the wrist one would be yanking on the child's arm a lot.

I've seen these at Walmart, Target and Babies R Us.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I'd never use a harness.

If using a harness was the only way we could go to WDW, I would put the trip off until my child was older.

I respect your choice. We have never taken our youngest (or our oldest, for that matter) to a large event or theme park, this will be a first. If I felt he would have a terrible time being at DL and occasionally wearing a 'leash', I wouldn't go either. But I honestly think that he and we will have a wonderful time!

I hope DS2 will be in the stroller for a lot of the time, but when he wants out of it, we'll either hold his hand, carry him, or try out the 'backpack'. There may be places we can let him roam free (the puddle park, the trail, the Bugs Life themed toddler playground), and we'll try that out as much as practical. His friend has a 'backpack' version and loves it, and my DS loved it when he briefly tried it out, so I'm not expecting him to be unhappy with it. If he is, we won't use it.

I will be mindful of the length of the leash part on the backpack. On the version I've seen, it actually was quite a bit longer than I would have expected. I am thinking of this as a safe alternative to the stroller or hand-holding, when neither of those appeals to DS2.

I'll run to Target and see if I can find it. I think it would be good to try it out a few times before our trip; no sense bringing it if it turns out he hates it.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Don't criticize another parent until you've walked a mile in their shoes - or chased their toddler around Disneyworld for a mile!

I would venture to say that most people who are not parents have a few opinions on parenting. Or on any other subject of which they have no experience. When my nephew was little, I had a fresh psych degree, and thought I had it all figured out.

Now I'm the parent, and my sister with no kids, briefly a preschool teacher, now thinks she has it all figured out.

There's no 'one size fits all' anything, especially in parenting. Even within the same family, what works for one child may not for the other. Some things you just have to learn by experience, and what worked 2 days ago does no longer. Parenthood is a grand eye-opener, isn't it?

 

[Lisa_Belle]

I've never used a restraint because my DD got a scare when she wandered off in the mall and couldn't see me, although I had my eye on her the whole time. It cured her wandering tendencies. But I have a friend who once was holding her son's hand when he tried to bolt. He ended up with a dislocated shoulder in the ER.

If you have a child who tends to take off or wander off, a restraint may be well worth the money. Parenting is subjective at best, and as long as a child isn't in harm's way, who are we to judge?

 

[bbangel]

I stumbled on this thread and was a little intrigued to see what people would say. I come from the other side of the leash. When I was little I had no fear. I once followed a dog way down the road and had a whole neighbourhood looking for me. I had found my way back home and was asleep under my bed by the time my frantic mother found me! I also once wandered away in the grocery store, while she was dealing with my sister. (Both of us toddlers, poor her). It was after that that she found the leash.
We didn't go out all that often but when we did, having me on a leash saved my mom's sanity. I was not scarred by the experience - in fact I found it amusing.
So do what you feel is right for your child. No one knows them better than you. And unless you tell them the stories, they will not remember!

 

[Not so Dumbo]

I had to use one on my 2nd ds when he was two. It was from safety 1st and had a harness and also a wrist leash if the harness was detached. We always used the harness. I too felt like I would hurt his hand if he tried to pull away. I felt wierd using it, because I thought people would think I was nuts. My ds didn't like to have it on and would throw himself down and cry. This actually turned out to be a good thing 'cause he learned very quickly that if he got too far ahead of us he would have to put it on.

now seeing all of the support for using them, it's too bad that some parents (myself included) had to feel "wierd" just to keep our children safe.

 

[Ash aka sky]

I have a safety first harness that I got from Babies R Us I think it cost about $6 I have only used it a couple of times on my 2.5 year old she is relatively well behaved but as someone else said 'better on a lease than on a milk carton'.

To Disneyjunkie. Whilst I respect your opinion please do the same for mine, I believe you do what you need to, to keep your child safe. If you postpone your trip for that where does it end? there are issues through out an entire childhood.

Ash

 

[ekball]

I'm digging out my harness...just in case...

Went to our small farmer's market in town this past weekend. DH was holding DS (1), I was paying for veggies, DD (2.5) was right there with us... OR WAS SHE!?! In the 5 seconds that it took me to pay, DD wandered off (I thought DH was watching her and I guess he thought I was ). I turned around after paying and said "WHERE'S DD??!!" She had wandered off about 4 booths away in the seconds it took for me to pay, and it scared the living you-know-what out of me! All I could think was "what if this was Disney???!!!" This is a tiny little farmer's market that had very few people there - I can only imagine what it would have been like in Disney. Gulp. So scary.

I wasn't planning to bring the harness, but I am now, just in case we need it.

 

[flipflop]

I am a former "I wouldn't use a leash" parent....well, I wound up having triplets. Let's just say, as with most things in life, opinions change and I am now careful not to make judgments on other people's parenting choices.

I have the ones mentioned from Walmart.

 

[js092097]

I am glad people are using the harness in WDW. We are going in Sept with our 2 yr old and we plan on using ours. I know he will not want to be strapped to the stroller the whole time we are there, but my worst fear is that he would wander off and we wouldn't find him. I think it gives the kids exercise, cuts down on whining and screaming, and gives me piece of mind! I will pay attention to how long the slack is so no one else gets tangled up with us!

 

[PoohHappens]

I had and early walker, he was a speedy guy, within a split second he would just disappears. He was very observent of his surroundings but had poor judgement. He would se something that peaked his interest and just went for it. I was not only worried about loosing him, but injury as he might take off to water or under a fence/gate to a ride before I could catch him. He went to WDW the first time at 17months and we did use a 'leash'. I felt a little weird about it, but I also did not want him to have to stay in the stroller all the time. He was really well behaved otherwise, just very curious. I feel bad because he was in his harness in his pictures with pooh at crystal palace. We left it on him because it took a while to put on as he was wiggly and speedy and always interested in something esle. I also did not want him to trip someone walking with food from the buffett. He would be walking right next to you all sweet and suddeny--oh look a _______, and just like Dash he was gone. We have these wonderful pictures of him with pooh, and we wanted to send them to his birthmom, but I was worried the harness might bother her. So we sent some nice ones with mickey and no harness

 

[LizAgna]

DD was 2 1/2 on our last visit and borrowed the Elmo harness that has been mentioned from a friend. She loved it and we did too. While she likes riding in a stroller, expecting her to ride for 8 park days seemed too unreasonable. She called the "leash" part her tail. Now we have one of the bear backpack styles that acutally has a tail.

On our last night at MK someone asked me if I bought that at Disney, when I told her no she offered me $20 for it. I really think Disney is missing out on a merchandising opportunity here. Just think of all the princess, Mickey, Minnie and Buzz Lightyear harness they could sell!! And charge $20 for them...

 

[dbgardener]

I'm digging out my harness...just in case...

Went to our small farmer's market in town this past weekend. DH was holding DS (1), I was paying for veggies, DD (2.5) was right there with us... OR WAS SHE!?! In the 5 seconds that it took me to pay, DD wandered off (I thought DH was watching her and I guess he thought I was ). I turned around after paying and said "WHERE'S DD??!!" She had wandered off about 4 booths away in the seconds it took for me to pay, and it scared the living you-know-what out of me! All I could think was "what if this was Disney???!!!" This is a tiny little farmer's market that had very few people there - I can only imagine what it would have been like in Disney. Gulp. So scary.

I wasn't planning to bring the harness, but I am now, just in case we need it.

This same thing happened to me just last week with my grandson. I took him with me in the gas station to pay for gas and he took off down an aisle in the time it took for me to pay.

I also had a preview of what our Disney trip will be like when taking him to the zoo yesterday. He was running off way ahead of us constantly.

My son was exactly the same way when he was little. He was never afraid to run off and didn't seem afraid that I was no where in sight. I used a leash with my son and it looks like I will be talking my daughter in to one for my grandson when we head for Disney, unless he gets a lot better in the next 6 months.

 

[va32h]

I have three kids, ages 10, 6, and 2, so I am not some inexperienced, novice parent who has never walked a mile in anyone's shoes.

I've never used a leash and don't plan on starting now, but I certainly don't care if anyone else does (providing you don't knock me down with it in the parks!)

The only other thing I would mention is that having a leash in itself does not mean a parent does not need to be attentive. I will never forget my son's T-ball game, when I witnessed a mother chatting with friends, her back to her son, who was safely harnessed and leashed....and sitting on the ground eating dog poop cheerful as could be.

ETA: I mentioned my own kids because some posters had suggested that anyone who isn't "pro-leash" must not have children yet. It is possible to have children, toddlers yet, and unruly toddlers at that, and still decide that a leash is not right for you.

Fortunately for all parents, this is something that is easy to try out and keep doing if it works, or quit doing if it doesn't.

 

[PistonsFan]

I think the doggie harness that someone posted is adorable. I'm thinking of getting it for my 18 month old, who will be two when we go to Disney. I don't think anyone should judge what others do to keep their kids safe even if you have had kids of your own and YOU didn't need a harness. Some kids run away more (and faster) than others and some parents (like me) are older and not as fast as they once were!

 

[penguin087]

I was lucky I never need a leash for my child. I had a friend whose child we were always looking for and I remember thinking "why don't you put a leash on that child?" I don't care if you use one as long as your child is not 10 feet in front of you knocking down every old lady in between

 

[maxiesmom]

IMO the best "leashes" are the non-stretch kind that can be kept fairly short so your child is never more than a couple of feet away. Once I saw a little girl with a stretch cord attached to her wrist and she was lagging about 10 feet behind her parents, who apparently weren't noticing that she was walking so far behind them. It was kind of sad to see, and also a tripping hazzard for other guests that could potentially cause both the girl and anyone crossing her path to be injured. WDW is a crowded place and people aren't always watching for what is two feet or more below eye level. Just thought I'd mention it.

Thank you for pointing that out. I am not a big fan of leashes, but I get why some parents use them. However, I hate it when the parent totally ignores their child because they are on a leash. I see these parents at the mall, and it makes me nuts. Just because your child is on a harness does not mean you do not need to pay any attention to what they are doing. They can still get into mischief or get hurt if you are not keeping your eye on them.

 

[poohguys]

We had one for our DS when we went to WDW when he was 3. We used it a little, Grandma and grandpa were there as were aunts and uncles so there were plenty of people to watch out for him and his cousin. My Sis came also and ended up finding the kind that wraps around the wrist some in one of the shops in the MK. That was 3 yrs ago so maybe they do not sell them anymore. We purchased ours(the harness type) at Babies R Us. I also remember someone talking about some sort of fanny packs that have a strap that go between them. The parent wears one and the child the other. Now DS (5 1/2) will not let us out of his sight anyplace that is crowded.