I will preface my post by saying I am an absolute safety FREAK. It's partly my personality, but also my profession has contributed to this. I've seen a lot of things happen to kids that were unavoidable and completely and utterly tragic. I'm not one at all to blame parents, but I also think that we need to anticipate things and plan for many possibilities. When tragedy strikes, the vast majority of parents say, "I only turned my back for a second." Like a previous poster, I leash my dog because I love her dearly and I also plan on "leashing" my DD 20 months when we arrive in WDW in 3 weeks. I honestly have no clue what the issue is with using a harness or wrist tether. In fact, most parents who choose to do this do it out of love and concern, not from a place of being abusive or controlling (which I have heard some people say, although not on these boards). My kids feel my love for them to the core of their little beings and they know that everything I do with or for them is out of my absolute love for them. As such, they would never feel that the need to stay close to mom and dad by using a harness is cruel. I think this is one of those issues that we look at through an adult lens and this conjures up a whole lot of junk that kids have no concept of. A leash wouldn't have been necessary for my DD4. She stays so close that many days I wonder if she really just like to be back in the womb. My DS, however is the polar opposite. He'd walk into a pool, run in front of a truck, wander off with a pedophile etc... In the end I have a much bigger issue with parents who give their kids so much free reign that they don't know where they are or what they're doing half the time.
My mother has issues with it, but she'd live with a lifetime of guilt if we didn't use it because of her and, God forbid, something happened. I say if it gives you peace of mind, do it. Better safe than sorry.
