Harnesses for Kids

[Chelley00]

I make a lot of parenting decisions that other people don't agree with, so I wasn't concerned what other people thought about us using a harness. Our youngest DS LOVED the monkey backpack because he could put "treasure" in the zipper pocket. I used a harness with all my kids. They are all good, well adjusted kids and not scarred in the least

I'd rather use that than force my child to walk around with their hand in the air all day long. Have you tried to keep your arm above your head for hours, which is what happens with little ones at Disney. I'd get cranky too.

 

[TheDisneyBunch]

When my son was 3 (almost 4) we were in the mall on December 23rd fairly late at night. We were doing some last minute Christmas shipping. We were in the Disney Store buying him a Buzz and Woody that they had. We were picking them out and I had my youngest who was just a few months old at the time in the stroller sleeping and Ethan was sitting over on the pooh stump with some other children watching the cartoons they had going. I kept turning my head to check on him and then back to dh to help him pick out the toys. After a bit I looked back to check on him again and he was not there. I left the stroller with dh so i could go see where he was and after abouta minute of not being able to find him I started to freak out! We started calling his name, searching the entire store, asking people if they had seen them ,etc.. NOTHING!! I get an employee and am in tears telling her to call the police, etc... Dh goes out searching up and down the mall... I am screaming that somebody has taken him. They are sending radio notices all over the mall for people to be looking for him. The mall was PACKED! It was the day before Chrismtas eve. They had me stand there with them so one of us would be there in case he was found. I just knew that nobody would find him. I was loosing my mind. All I could think was I will never see my baby again and that this must be some kind of nightmare. I would see dh come running up from one end of the mall and down the other but never had Ethan with him. Almost 30 MINUTES go by with nothing. I stopped breathing at some point I think. Finally somebody came over one of the radios and said he had been found. I passed out when I heard it. Thank goodness for the lady at the Disney Store. She had been holding on to me and caught me as I fell. They took us down to the other end of the mall where a he was putting money in the make a wish money spinner with the girsl from Victoria Secret...haha A lady had found him walking around in the middle of the mall alone and took him down to find help. I was so thankful for her.

We went and bought a harness that very night!!!!

Ds had never ever been the type to wander off like that. He always stayed very close to me. He said he thought he saw me leaving and went looking for me.

So, long story to say USE THE HARNESS no matter what anyone else says. Just imagine going through that. I wish that on no other parent. The safety of your children is so much more important than the thoughts of people who want to look down on you just for wanting to keep your chilld safe!

We took ours with us to Disney the following year and so many people stopped to ask about it and tell us that they thought it was great that I cared about keeping up with my children. Ethan loved it too. He called it his backpack and kept all of his stickers he was given in it.

 

[lovinwdw]

I rather treat my child as a dog for a few hours than being without them forever. Judge me all you want, I'm not PC nor do I value your opinion.
Here boy *whistle whistle*

 

[lovinwdw]

When my son was 3 (almost 4) we were in the mall on December 23rd fairly late at night. We were doing some last minute Christmas shipping. We were in the Disney Store buying him a Buzz and Woody that they had. We were picking them out and I had my youngest who was just a few months old at the time in the stroller sleeping and Ethan was sitting over on the pooh stump with some other children watching the cartoons they had going. I kept turning my head to check on him and then back to dh to help him pick out the toys. After a bit I looked back to check on him again and he was not there. I left the stroller with dh so i could go see where he was and after abouta minute of not being able to find him I started to freak out! We started calling his name, searching the entire store, asking people if they had seen them ,etc.. NOTHING!! I get an employee and am in tears telling her to call the police, etc... Dh goes out searching up and down the mall... I am screaming that somebody has taken him. They are sending radio notices all over the mall for people to be looking for him. The mall was PACKED! It was the day before Chrismtas eve. They had me stand there with them so one of us would be there in case he was found. I just knew that nobody would find him. I was loosing my mind. All I could think was I will never see my baby again and that this must be some kind of nightmare. I would see dh come running up from one end of the mall and down the other but never had Ethan with him. Almost 30 MINUTES go by with nothing. I stopped breathing at some point I think. Finally somebody came over one of the radios and said he had been found. I passed out when I heard it. Thank goodness for the lady at the Disney Store. She had been holding on to me and caught me as I fell. They took us down to the other end of the mall where a he was putting money in the make a wish money spinner with the girsl from Victoria Secret...haha A lady had found him walking around in the middle of the mall alone and took him down to find help. I was so thankful for her.

We went and bought a harness that very night!!!!

Ds had never ever been the type to wander off like that. He always stayed very close to me. He said he thought he saw me leaving and went looking for me.

So, long story to say USE THE HARNESS no matter what anyone else says. Just imagine going through that. I wish that on no other parent. The safety of your children is so much more important than the thoughts of people who want to look down on you just for wanting to keep your chilld safe!

We took ours with us to Disney the following year and so many people stopped to ask about it and tell us that they thought it was great that I cared about keeping up with my children. Ethan loved it too. He called it his backpack and kept all of his stickers he was given in it.

OMG! How horrible! I was in tears reading this!!! I can imagine how scared you must have been!

 

[UConnJack]

A choke collar with that leash works well too, but personally I think the electric fence collar works the best. Kidding of course, but if you are going to start treating your kids like dogs, why not? I once even saw one person tie their kid off to a bench!?!

I am not as vehemently opposed to kid leashes as I once was, now that I have a couple kids, but I will still never use one. If they don't hold my hand or stay within a reasonable distance, they get put into the stroller, end of story, like it or not. After they pitch their fit about being in the stroller and calm down, I let them out and give him another chance, rewarding them if they are good. The point is to teach your child not to run off, not to just restrain them with a leash, how do they learn about respecting boundaries and rules? On several occasions I have even let them run off such that I am out of their sight (but that I still see them or know where they are) to give them a scare. Or let them run around like a crazy person until they fall and skin their knees up. That's how they learn. The oldest learned to hold hands and keep within our sight fairly quickly. My youngest still doesn't like to hold hands, but he grudgingly does when I order it, and when he's loose, he may wander a bit, but always stays within 20 or so feet of us.

And I also agree that having a kid running around on a four foot tether in a crowded park is a problem in itself, tripping up other people and possible hurting the kids if someone does get tangled

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I have evolved past caring what other people do with their kids unless it's outright abuse.

Now if I could just evolve past posting about it, I'd be perfect!

 

[BayouMickey]

A choke collar with that leash works well too, but personally I think the electric fence collar works the best. Kidding of course, but if you are going to start treating your kids like dogs, why not? I once even saw one person tie their kid off to a bench!?!

I am not as vehemently opposed to kid leashes as I once was, now that I have a couple kids, but I will still never use one. If they don't hold my hand or stay within a reasonable distance, they get put into the stroller, end of story, like it or not. After they pitch their fit about being in the stroller and calm down, I let them out and give him another chance, rewarding them if they are good. The point is to teach your child not to run off, not to just restrain them with a leash, how do they learn about respecting boundaries and rules? On several occasions I have even let them run off such that I am out of their sight (but that I still see them or know where they are) to give them a scare. Or let them run around like a crazy person until they fall and skin their knees up. That's how they learn. The oldest learned to hold hands and keep within our sight fairly quickly. My youngest still doesn't like to hold hands, but he grudgingly does when I order it, and when he's loose, he may wander a bit, but always stays within 20 or so feet of us.

And I also agree that having a kid running around on a four foot tether in a crowded park is a problem in itself, tripping up other people and possible hurting the kids if someone does get tangled

While we're at it let's get rid of cribs and playpens! They are cages! How dare we cage our children up like animals in a zoo! What about teething rings! I'll never subject my child to a doggy chew toy again!

 

[Mrs.Toad]

If they don't hold my hand or stay within a reasonable distance, they get put into the stroller, end of story, like it or not. After they pitch their fit about being in the stroller and calm down, I let them out and give him another chance, rewarding them if they are good. The point is to teach your child not to run off, not to just restrain them with a leash, how do they learn about respecting boundaries and rules?

Why on earth would you assume harness-users don't teach their children the same things? It sounds like you do with your kids the same things I did with mine. You just choose to restrain them in a stroller only rather than a harness on some occasions. There really isn't much difference there, at all.

 

[UConnJack]

When my son was 3 (almost 4) we were in the mall on December 23rd fairly late at night. We were doing some last minute Christmas shipping. We were in the Disney Store buying him a Buzz and Woody that they had. We were picking them out and I had my youngest who was just a few months old at the time in the stroller sleeping and Ethan was sitting over on the pooh stump with some other children watching the cartoons they had going. I kept turning my head to check on him and then back to dh to help him pick out the toys. After a bit I looked back to check on him again and he was not there. I left the stroller with dh so i could go see where he was and after abouta minute of not being able to find him I started to freak out! We started calling his name, searching the entire store, asking people if they had seen them ,etc.. NOTHING!! I get an employee and am in tears telling her to call the police, etc... Dh goes out searching up and down the mall... I am screaming that somebody has taken him. They are sending radio notices all over the mall for people to be looking for him. The mall was PACKED! It was the day before Chrismtas eve. They had me stand there with them so one of us would be there in case he was found. I just knew that nobody would find him. I was loosing my mind. All I could think was I will never see my baby again and that this must be some kind of nightmare. I would see dh come running up from one end of the mall and down the other but never had Ethan with him. Almost 30 MINUTES go by with nothing. I stopped breathing at some point I think. Finally somebody came over one of the radios and said he had been found. I passed out when I heard it. Thank goodness for the lady at the Disney Store. She had been holding on to me and caught me as I fell. They took us down to the other end of the mall where a he was putting money in the make a wish money spinner with the girsl from Victoria Secret...haha A lady had found him walking around in the middle of the mall alone and took him down to find help. I was so thankful for her.

We went and bought a harness that very night!!!!

Ds had never ever been the type to wander off like that. He always stayed very close to me. He said he thought he saw me leaving and went looking for me.

So, long story to say USE THE HARNESS no matter what anyone else says. Just imagine going through that. I wish that on no other parent. The safety of your children is so much more important than the thoughts of people who want to look down on you just for wanting to keep your chilld safe!

We took ours with us to Disney the following year and so many people stopped to ask about it and tell us that they thought it was great that I cared about keeping up with my children. Ethan loved it too. He called it his backpack and kept all of his stickers he was given in it.

I can appreciate your scare, I have had them too, but a leash wouldn't have helped in the situation you describe unless you didn't let him sit down and watch the cartoons and kept him with you.

 

[CaptHomer]

"This demeans the both of us" - Maggie Simpson

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Thanks OP for the link for the monkey leash. We have been looking for something like this for our DD3 for our next trip. She is a terrible wanderer and has no fear of the danger of being away from her Mommy. We took DS to WDW several times at her age and he never wandered off. Every child is different. I will not worry about what others think of my child being leashed, as other posters have said their safety (and my peace of mind) are much more important.
Have a great vacation!

 

[Saturn23]

"This demeans the both of us" - Maggie Simpson

But she wanted what the dog was having

 

[UConnJack]

While we're at it let's get rid of cribs and playpens! They are cages! How dare we cage our children up like animals in a zoo! What about teething rings! I'll never subject my child to a doggy chew toy again!

Touché, but I don't agree. Cribs are for babies and young toddlers who can fall out of their bed while sleeping, it not a restraint vs. parenting/teaching situtation.

I just think leashes just avoid the issue of wandering off, they don't solve it. Classic treating the symtoms, not the problem.

 

[bytheblood]

I used to think harnesses were terrible and kind of insulting to a child, but being a mother I have to honestly say my feelings are different. If it helps you hang on to your kid, allows the child the freedom to walk around and they are content, I say go for it.

 

[princessmom29]

No, you're not calling anyone a "bad parent", just a "lazy parent".

Really, I don't care if you think I'm lazy. I know better, and obviously you have no understanding of how my dd (and others) acted at age 1 and 2 to be able to judge. I just thought it was funny that you would say that.

Who doesn't have more respect for their children than their dogs?. That's why they get nicer beds to sleep in, better food, more attention, come to church and WDW with us, etc, etc, and get nice comfy harnesses that go around their shoulders and back, rather than a collar around the neck, and don't get tied up to a lamppost outside a store like you see with doggies. The only similarity is that they are both used to protect them by keeping them near you. I'm not one to let a little similarity between a product designed for a toddler and one designed for a dog stop me from using it, any more than I'd refuse to use a baby gate in my home, just because similar gates are also marketed to pet owners.

I've never met a child who was embarassed to be wearing a harness, either. You are projecting your own feelings onto other people's children, which really doesn't make any sense. Neither does your assumption that harness-wearers are going to bolt when it's off more than hand-holders will. Both are methods of restraint.

I have met a child who was embarrased at the very idea of a leash, my own. I went to a parade with my cousin who has a DD the same age as mine. The girls were about 3 and cousin had hers on a leash. My DD looked at me and said "I'm not a dog, and I don't need one of those", and no she never heard me or her dad say anything of the kind. In fact, up until that point we had never even discussed it in front of her. She made the connection on her own.

I have seen a lot of comments about the child's safety being more important than what people think ect, and I agree with that, but if you are using a leash please be aware that they present their own safety hazards as a pp pointed out. Kids fall when they get snapped back on the end, and especially in crowded places they get tangles with outhr people and can cause accidents. I personally think the wrist ones are too dangerous to use. They can pull too hard on little arms and cause injury, and it is really easy for a child to figure out how to undo them.

 

[BayouMickey]

Touché, but I don't agree. Cribs are for babies and young toddlers who can fall out of their bed while sleeping, it not a restraint vs. parenting/teaching situtation.

I just think leashes just avoid the issue of wandering off, they don't solve it. Classic treating the symtoms, not the problem.

Restraint -(n) A means of or device for restraining, as a harness for the body, often use as protection from injury.

Same scenario, using a harness is to protect a child from potential harm. leashes are not neccesarily a matter of avoiding the issue but as a tool to help teach a child to stay near.

 

[princessmom29]

While we're at it let's get rid of cribs and playpens! They are cages! How dare we cage our children up like animals in a zoo! What about teething rings! I'll never subject my child to a doggy chew toy again!

I personally hate playpens too. I can't stand looking at my kid for mehind that mesh. I never used one, actualyy didn't even own one. I always took mine out of the bed as soon as she woke, so no using it as a cage either. The bars were only so she didn't roll out in the night.

 

[BayouMickey]

I personally hate playpens too. I can't stand looking at my kid for mehind that mesh. I never used one, actualyy didn't even own one. I always took mine out of the bed as soon as she woke, so no using it as a cage either. The bars were only so she didn't roll out in the night.

Congradulations you're the exception to the rule.

 

[qcmommy]

You know your child better than anybody and need to decide what is right for them.
Personally I have never used them, but I have also never looked at a parent who has and shook my head.
Every child is different and the one thing that might work for one might not work for another. Disney World is huge and the last thing a parent wants is a wondering child so if you feel that using one of those harnesses is the best way to keep your child safe then use it.

 

[earthfaries]

They work great for keeping small children safe in very busy , crowded places like zoos and theme parks, etc.

I also think that the style like you've purchased would be hot and we personally prefer the harnesses that have no toy on them . They have quite a few on ebay to choose from that are very comfortable without toys on them.

You may want to try it out before your trip on local trips out ~ just don't pull on the harness when they don't listen and they should have no problem. My kids liked it because they had freedom they otherwise wouldn't have in crowded places.

***VERY IMPORTANT***

When using harnesses in busy places, esp. places like WDW with tons of strollers and ECV's watch your kids very well!!! They could wander in front of a stroller or ECV and get hurt

Good luck and have fun