Child Safety Harness

[splashmountain31]

Hi there,

I usually lurk and get wonderful ideas from this board (thank you all), but now I need a little help. First I should mention that I am a very protective mom of "almost 3" year old twins. DH, myself, my sweet twins, my mom and dad are travelling to Disney in September for a week. This will be the first vacation with children and I need a little advice.

We are planning on taking our combi double stroller, as it is more comfortable for the kids. However, my children are extremely active and I know they will get aggrivated sitting in the carriage for long long periods of time....I was thinking of purchasing those wrist harnesses, as much as I used to cringe everytime I saw parents using them before I had children! I honestly don't mind dirty looks from other people, because I know it's for my kids own protection, but I don't particularly care for the full body harness. Does anyone know where to purchase the wrist only bands? I'm only planning on using them in last resort situations (and we may not have to use them at all, given we have mom and dad to help us out). They'll probably just sit in the backpack all week.

Thanks for any input.

 

[cosmicdaisy]

I would check Wal-mart or Babies R Us, etc. I, like you, also couldn't stand those things....before I had a child of my own. I have the body kind and will be taking it with us to WDW. We may never use it, but I will have it just in case. SOmetimes she thinks just because we aren't on the street there's no need to hold my hand. I am trying to get her out of that habit. But I would hate for a crowd to split us up...it would be complete terror for me.

GL and HTH

 

[splashmountain31]

thanks, I agree...Disney isn't like playing in the back yard...there are a lot of people and the last thing I want is for someone to get separated. Gives me anxiety just thinking about it.

I'll probably buy them from One Step Ahead. I just read the wrist ones aren't as good. Let's hope we won't have to use them.

 

[Goofyta]

I know a lady who used a backpack harness for her dd, I can find out where she bought it if you want.

 

[Nini]

a wrist harness for my dd3.5 who NEVER wanted to say with me when she learned how to walk. Unfortunately, I could not use it now because she is smart enough and determined enough to just take it off. She knows how to work velcro, buckles and zippers!!!

I DID have a friend who had a "fanny pack" for her little girl that just had the line from the fanny pack to hold. It was actually very cute and her daughter loved the fanny pack!

She purchased it from "Right Start" I belive. I am just working on making sure my dd3.5 stays with me at all times when we go to the store.

Good Luck!

 

[splashmountain31]

I am so up in the air on this topic. I honestly do not like the harness idea and would prefer NOT to use it. We've all heard it before..."dog leash, etc..." As good intentioned as I am in teaching my twins the dangers of not staying by myself or their dad, I know how many wonderful things they would be interested in seeing in Disney. We have two months to go and I'll probably change my mind a million times by then.

95% NOT using the harness We'll see when we get there...I guess.

Thanks again for your responses.

 

[jrsybell]

I used the wrist strap on my son when we were there in May and it was the best thing ever. I bought one at the dollar store just incase we needed it. He used it all the time, he is almost 2 and doesn't want to hold hands. This strap helped me if he tripped, and he is almost 40 pounds. I never lost track of him because he was tied to me.


Linda

 

[AngieWin]

Walmart has Elmo ones that are both the chest harness and the wrist harness. We, however ended up using it on DS (2) on his belt loop in back. The chest was too confining, and the wrist he played with. It was a lifesaver, especially in lines!

 

[Rowlf]

My DS figured out how to removed the "hand holder" type strap at 15 months. For this year's trip, I'm going to get him a Tot Tether - it's a animal backpack where the tail is the "leash". And I'm hoping he won't rip it right off.

 

[grlpwrd]

There have been several recent threads here about child harnesses... I use the Tommi Guard harness, but it's a body harness: www.tommiguard.com You can get the one with a hand or belt "leash" and one style is for twins, too, with 2 harnesses that attach. See the website to see what I mean. There are usually some on ebay or you can purchase them from the site.


I think it's easy to escape from the wrist harness because all of my 4 kids managed to break free. Ack. lol


BTW I'm one of a twin and my dh has a twin, too, and I think this would have been great for our moms. Since you are taking along other folks, though, they may just be held by their hands and you may just want them to get used to it now before the trip.

HTH

 

[splashmountain31]

Everyone is so helpful...thank you so much for the feedback. This board is one of the reasons I just switched resorts. My dh is also happy saving from GF to Wilderness Lodge. I can't believe the price difference in the two resorts.

Thanks again to you all. I'm so excited and can't wait to go!!!!

 

[BevS97]

we used a harness for my dd when she was 3 - I don't care about looks (not that I noticed any) as long as my dd is safe.

I will sayI don't like the wrist ones, they are uncomfortable for the kids and easy to remove. I prefer something round the waist, either hook the wrist harness to a belt loop, or a fanny pack, and the kids seem much happier than with someone tugging on their arm.

 

[stacy6552]

I think they are out of production, but if you can find the "hands-free harness" its wonderful at WDW. It has belts for both parent and child and is great for keeping your hand free, as well as keeping your center of balance.

 

[Loriannf]

Another alternative, which avoids tripping others or your child, is the clip on monitor. It beeps when your child is more than 15 feet from you. It looks like a remote car starter - clip one to your child (shoe or belt loop) and you keep the other. I got mine from One Step Ahead and it works great with an active, ACTIVE, 3.5 year old. The only problem -- make sure the adult going on the ride with the child has the monitor, otherwise the child will be more than 15 feet from the receiver and it will beep continuously (irritating you and others in line).

Lori

 

[ladyelle]

15 feet is pretty far in Disney. My kids are 6 and 8 ( twins and triplets ) and we all still hold hands at all times unless we are waiting in line.

I would suggest the harness vs. the wrist strap. I acutally purchased 3 of them at the right start before our last trip to Disney when they were 4 and 6. We didn't use strollers. I showed the triplets how they worked before we left and they didn't like it. I told them if you don't hold hands you need to wear the harness. I kept them in my backpack and never used them. But, I felt better knowing that I had them. My worst fear is to lose a child and I am extremely overprotective.

Do what YOU feel comfortable with. These are your children and others stares are meaningless when it comes to safety.

Good Luck

 

[all4fun]

We used the harness on our ds (23mos) last April at WDW. We got lots of comments, almost all 100% positive! I also heard things like "We should have one of those for Dad" LOL. I like the harness type because when ds tripped and fell (which happened quite a few times since he is still a toddler) we were able to catch him and keep him from skinning his hands and knees. Because it's around his body and not just his wrist, we didn't have to worry about dislocating something. He really didn't seem to mind wearing it at all. It gave him the freedom to move about and us the peace of mind that he wasn't going to dash off right in front of someone pushing a stroller or something. The leash was about 5' long which I felt was too much. I just looped and tied a knot in the end to shorten it so when we dropped it, it didn't touch the ground and wasn't a tripping hazzard for ds. We just left it on him most of the time. It was really useful when standing on line to meet the characters. DS just doesn't get the concept of waiting on line yet! He's also the type that will pull his hand out of yours no matter how much you try to hold on and thinks it's a game when you chase after him. For us the safety harness is a lifesaver, so I highly recommend it!

hth,
Cheryl

 

[CEDmom]

I used a harness for my DD a few times when we were in crowded situations. I didn't care what people thought. It gave me peace of mind and didn't hurt her in the least.

I'd would though recommend the chest harness instead of the wrist ones. With the wrist ones I'd be afraid of a child squirming out of it or their hand/wrist getting hurt. I got the chest harness at Babies R Us. I put an undershirt on my DD then put the harness on and finally put her top on. She'd forget it was there and all that showed was the strap DH or I would hold onto.