harness-how many dirty looks will I get?

[traej73]

Ok...I'll admit I've never been a fan of the harnesses but being a mother of a very active almost 2 year I am changing my mind. My daughter hates being confined and will climb out of everything and run! I think we are crazy for attempting wdw again but we love it too much to stay away! We were there in Sept. and she did ok but since then has become much more independent. I think the only way to keep us both happy is a harness so that she can walk a little and I can keep her within arms reach. Can anyone recommend one? Also, I know I should not care but I am the type of person who does...how many condescending looks will I get? Thanks, T

 

[minkydog]

I'm with you all the way. Maybe the people who shoot dirty looks never had a child who was a runner, but i have--three! It is virtually impossible to keep you hand on a 2yo who is bent on getting away. I can't imagine how scary it would be to lose a little one in WDW. I don't know a brand name to tell you, but we used the kind that zipped up the back. It didn't bother me too much that people stared and made rude comments. I never lost a kid at Disney World and i figured they could just bite me!

Cathy--mom to John, Eleni, and Christian

 

[ducklite]

My son was a "runner" but I never used a true harness. I did use one of those wrist to wrist things though, and it worked well.

Anne

 

[**pixiedust**]

I used to hate them too, until I had my second child. Ignore everyone. Unless someone has a child like you do (and I do) they have no idea what can happen. Use it if you want and have a great time!!!

 

[WantToGoNow]

Don't worry about what others say or think. What matters most is that your child is safe. If you are afraid that he might wander and get lost or hurt, then by all means use the harness. I used one with my ds and got a lot of looks but I didn't care -- I cared more about my son than those strangers. One trip at Disney I was waiting at a bus stop at ASMu behind a family with two little boys -- the youngest was 2 and had a harness on. Just as a bus pulled to the stop the little boy dashed into the drive -- if it wasn't for that harness (his dad pulled him in quickly), he may have been hit by that bus.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Who cares as long as your kids are safe?

(For the record, I used harnesses with my twins as they were runners and escape artists and we had some scary moments when they ran in opposite directions).

 

[littleshamrock]

No dirty looks from me!! I am starting to think I need one for DS3!!

 

[Pooh Crew]

I have triplets and a singleton fifteen months younger. I used the harnesses so two could ride in the stroller and two could walk (switching off so no one got too tired or too bored) when we went on outings alone. Honestly, I only ever got one comment from a man who was obviously trying to impress a group of women he was walking with. He barked at my children! Oh, so original! Anyway, I politely told him that at least I was certain that a child molester would not grab one of my children and run off--should I abandon the others to chase him down? The women with him all agreed with my comment and said they never thought about that (duh! no moms in that group) and told him to shut up.

Do what you have to do to keep your daughter safe. You will be so busy enjoying yourselves, you won't even notice if someone is looking at you strange.

 

[Tinky]

Pea-n-Me Who cares as long as your kids are safe?

Well said Pea!
As long as your comfortable with it because you feel your kids are safer, why not?

"An ounce of prevention.."

Wonder if I coud get one of those for DH.... he's a wanderer

 

[sajetto]

I don't have kids but I just want to comment. My mom used one on me in the early 80's, imagine the dirty looks she got back then. She didn't give a hoot though. I was a crazy kid, she said that if I saw any body of water, whether it be lake, river, puddle I would jump into it even though I couldn't swim. She told me it took all of her strength to hold me back so I say now "Thanks mom for using that stupid harness and keeping me from drowning" If anyone gives you a look ignore them.

 

[ceiligh1]

Growing up I used to roam away from my parents. Then one day my grandfather walked down to a grocery store about 15 min away from my house. We would walk into Multnomah a lot so I knew where I was. I was bored and he was taking a long time looking at the wine. So I moved over to the candy aisle. We I went back for him he was gone. I was about 3 at the time and I knew I was in trouble so I walked home. Across a busy street and back to my swing set. My grandfather came running back about 10 min later and almost had a heart attack, he thought he had lost me. My parents still tell the story and it amazes me that no one stopped a wandering 3 year old. I will leash my son so he never has to feel as scared as I felt that day. I still wander away though. My husband hates to go with me to Costco because I lose him there.

 

[ChloeChipper]

I WAS one of those "how could you tie your kid up like a dog?" people. I use to give the dirty looks & I truly felt appalled by it all.. UNTIL

I had 3 kids in just over 3 years. One trip to the mall I had my almost 4 year old daughter in the back of the double stroller, with the 1 year old in the front. My 2 year old insisted on walking. So I told him he had to hold on to the stroller. He agreed to do that (why was I trusting a 2 year old?). Within 5 minutes he let go and wandered off. I was paying for a purchase and didnt notice right away. My daughter did notice but she thought he was just 'hiding' so didnt say anything. He had gone into the middle of one of the rounders that have hanging clothes. We were yelling for him but he didnt come out. He thought it was funny. Nothing happened to him, thank goodness, we found him within 2 minutes or so because he was giggling. Meanwhile I think I knocked 10 years off my life. I had never been so scared!

That afternoon we ordered handholder leash type things for each child! My husband thought I was nuts, but I felt so much better knowing that they could only go so far. People did stare & give me funny looks, heard many rude comments but I didnt care. I knew my kids were safe.

 

[MommyBoo!]

We used one of these at WDW and got lots of comments - all compliments and people asking where we got it. DD2 loves to wear it.

She is my third and I never used one of these before. I never had a problem with them; just was lucky enough never to need one. Well, my luck ran out.

There is also a dog version but we got the monkey because that is her nickname. How she got the nickname is one of the reasons we needed this.

 

[FionaLovesShrek]

Ok...I'll admit I've never been a fan of the harnesses but being a mother of a very active almost 2 year I am changing my mind. My daughter hates being confined and will climb out of everything and run! I think we are crazy for attempting wdw again but we love it too much to stay away! We were there in Sept. and she did ok but since then has become much more independent. I think the only way to keep us both happy is a harness so that she can walk a little and I can keep her within arms reach. Can anyone recommend one? Also, I know I should not care but I am the type of person who does...how many condescending looks will I get? Thanks, T

For all the stares you may receive, there are those who will smile with understanding. In fact I once had an older couple look at me while DD was in her harness, and I thought, Oh great, they think I'm a bad mother. But then the lady spoke up and said, "It's nice to see a mother who loves her child enough to protect her. You never know who or what is waiting to hurt a child." I was awed by the comment and it made me feel good to know some people understand that we just want to protect our children. Not all children are mild mannered enough to stay put with their parents. My DD would take off toward anything that caught her fancy and when you are in a crowd of people, a 2 year old can disappear fast. Don't feel bad about it. Besides, my DD did not want to be in a stroller but on her feet. It's good for both parents and children!

 

[vhoffman]

iI've used harnesses for my two and never had a dirty look or negative comment. Actually, the people at airport security complimented me for them--they said they would rather see people use such devices than have to do an airport-wide search for a missing child!

However, here's a little secret, shhhhhhhhhhhh, don't tell anyone, but this is what I did. Any harness designed for a child is much too flimsy for an active kid. They are designed to break away with the slightest pressure, presumably for safety reasons, buy, hey? Who's holding the other end? Its not like he's wandering around with a harness and no adult attached to the other end. I went to Petco and bought dog harnesses and leashes. Just study the "kid-type" you'll find dog harnesses designed exactly the same way. That, plus a leash (you can even get one of those reel things to take up the slack), and no one will know you're actually using a dog harness, but it will hold and not break away with the slightest tug. They come in all sorts of fun colors. You might want to cut off the Petco tag or you probably will get some dirty looks!

Best to practice before going. Just let the kid try on the harness around the house to get used to it, then take them on short trips to get the feel of it. For those who don't like it, just ignore them. Actually people that "matter' like security, police, cms, etc., have always approved when I used them. Too much can happen in a short time to a child. If someone does say something, you can always pretend you don't speak English or use sign language

 

[loveysbydesign]

Anyone know where you can get 1 of the "wrist to wrist" ones? I've been looking for over a month and can't find them anywhere except Ebay.

 

[linda_loo]

I didn't read the replies, just in case one of them would really annoy me - there is always someone who makes a snarky comment about these on message boards.

We used one with our oldest kid and got some condescending looks. I honestly didn't care one bit, anyone who has ever parented a "runner" knows that you gotta do what you gotta do.

I never shopped around that much with one, had one from One Step Ahead that was nice.

 

[labdogs42]

BabyCenter has some and I'm sure One Step Ahead does, too, but their site was down when I tried to hop over there. I don't think harnesses are bad at all and I hope you don't get any dirty looks. Heck, I bet Disney could make a fortune on cute princess and toy story themed harnesses if they sold them in the parks!

 

[all4fun]

No Snarky comments here! I have used one on my ds. He was also a runner although he appears to be getting much better at staying by my side (He's nearly three now). Hopefully our "leash" days are nearly over but I have no problem using them myself so would never give someone else any glares or nasty glances.

Anyone know where you can get 1 of the "wrist to wrist" ones? I've been looking for over a month and can't find them anywhere except Ebay.

Just wanted to point out that this type can actually lead to injury as there is the risk of dislocating the child's shoulder if they fall and you pull on it too hard. This is one thing I liked about the harness type. I was able to catch my ds quite easily when he fell, without injuring him in the slightest. He was also a little "clumbsy" as he had some motor skill delays due to prematurity so we probably had more experience with this than most people, but I thought I would mention it anyway. Btw, we used the simple kind that just velcros in the back and I never had any problems with it coming apart on it's own. The velcro actually holds very well, IMO. hth!

 

[RCBA]

I recently started using a harness with DS. I have had many men say "What does he bite?" to which I reply, not but he likes to giggle and run the other way. Until DS learns that he can not run off he will be held, stay in the stroller, or walk with the harness on.