Harnesses for Kids

[KJMAX1]

Well I am the parent to a 20mos old escape artist. In fact, with our other 4 kids have NEVER had them test any of the child safety items in our home...Not this chick....she lives for the thrill. A few days ago my husband found her out by the busy road with a stranger, because she discovered how to open our front door!!! Imagine our shock when my husband went to water the lawn and saw a lady on a cell phone with her daughter holding our daughter!!!!!! It only takes an instant, and it was horrible. Now we have a huge contraption on our front door to prevent her escaping again! lol

But I did buy a "leash" for her. I dont know if we will use it, but she can climb out of a shopping cart at Target if youre arent holding onto her hand....She is uncanny for escaping the stroller when you arent looking. My daughter isnt tough to handle, or disobediant, but being the youngest of 5, she believes she is just as old as they are, and doesnt get the full ramifications of her choices yet.


So if it prevents me from having to put lojac on her sandals, Im doin it!!

 

[Millermom0606]

But I did buy a "leash" for her. I dont know if we will use it, but she can climb out of a shopping cart at Target if youre arent holding onto her hand....She is uncanny for escaping the stroller when you arent looking. My daughter isnt tough to handle, or disobediant, but being the youngest of 5, she believes she is just as old as they are, and doesnt get the full ramifications of her choices yet.


So if it prevents me from having to put lojac on her sandals, Im doin it!!

OMG that sounds like me!! my 2 yr old doesn't understand that she's not 5... and she wants to do what her sister does.... which can be SCARY... I just bought 'leashes' for my 2 and 1 yr olds b/c I know they are going to want to walk, but may bolt from time to time.... well that and we're over 6 ft and the smallest is 3 ft.....

 

[rie'smom]

Food for thought:

How many of us hadparents that used harnesses? Yet we're here today. My brothers were wild when they were young but they managed to survive to adulthood. Millions of us made it w/out them. Were our parents better at parenting? Many of them had larger families than we do today yet they were able to manage w/out harnesses.

Again, what other parents decide to do is absolutely their business and I'm not judging at all.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

I did not read all the other resposes, but my DD at age 2 wore the same harness, but with a puppy instead of a monkey.

She is and always has been a very independent girl. When I asked to hold her hand, she would put her hands together & say "I hold my own hand!"

We bought "puppy dog backpack" at Walmart near disney. Her first experience with it was in our hotel. She protested when we put it on her, until my DH said, "I am afraid I will get lost. As long as you let me hold puppy dog's tail, I will be safe & I won't get lost." Well, she never wanted to take it off after that.

3 years later when I told her we were going back to Disney, she said nothing, ran up to her room, grabbed the harness & asked if puppy dog backpack was coming with us!

I may not have bought it if she had been my only child, but I have twins who are 3 years older than her. I liked the security of knowing that she was not running off if I turned my back for a second to focus on one of her siblings. It gave me peace of mind & made my vacation easier & more pleasant.

I got alot of positive comments...I don't remember any negative ones, and ultimately I would not have cared, as I was doing what worked for me as a mom with 3 ages 5 & under. Do what works for you!

 

[ransom]

Food for thought:

How many of us hadparents that used harnesses? Yet we're here today.

To be fair, those that aren't here today can't speak up and let us know the folly of our ways.

 

[claryche]

This might have already been mentioned. But I'll say it just in case. I actually went and bought a harness for my DS before our trip when he was a little over 2 and a half. And then I returned it before the trip, for the simple reason that I didn't want him wearing it, even though it was cute, in all our pictures. I know I'm weird. But I just didn't want to do that. So we instead got safety tats for him to wear and also put his name and info on his shoes. And all was fine, as well as our trip this year when he turned 3. With that said, every child is different. My DS is great when it comes to sitting in a stroller and great in staying with me or my DH when he is not in the stroller. So we are lucky.

Do what is best for your type of child, is the bottom line. If my DS hadn't been so great, then pictures or not he would have had a harness on him. As far as the post about the strap that attaches to the wrists of the child and adult. I saw that and thought was a great idea, doesn't affect pictures. However, the people at Babies R Us made the comment that they don't carry that type of harness because if the child tries to run, they could dislocate their shoulder. Just a thought.

 

[floydfamily4]

There's nothing magical about a lost child, frantic mommy, frustrated toddler/preschooler, or judgemental people Do what you need to do to have a safe and fun trip. I used to do the "I would never dance" (never negotiate with a child; put them in a harness; bribe; etc.) and now I have twins and you know what? I do what I need to do for my family. Have a magical and safe trip with or without the harness!

 

[JoshChristineplus3]

This might have already been mentioned. But I'll say it just in case. I actually went and bought a harness for my DS before our trip when he was a little over 2 and a half. And then I returned it before the trip, for the simple reason that I didn't want him wearing it, even though it was cute, in all our pictures. I know I'm weird. But I just didn't want to do that. So we instead got safety tats for him to wear and also put his name and info on his shoes. And all was fine, as well as our trip this year when he turned 3. With that said, every child is different. My DS is great when it comes to sitting in a stroller and great in staying with me or my DH when he is not in the stroller. So we are lucky.

Do what is best for your type of child, is the bottom line. If my DS hadn't been so great, then pictures or not he would have had a harness on him. As far as the post about the strap that attaches to the wrists of the child and adult. I saw that and thought was a great idea, doesn't affect pictures. However, the people at Babies R Us made the comment that they don't carry that type of harness because if the child tries to run, they could dislocate their shoulder. Just a thought.

They most certainly do sell the wrist straps at BabiesRUs! I know because I bought two of the KinderKords ( wrist type straps endorsed, or invented or something by Joan Lunden for when she had 2 sets of young multiples )
Theres no way they could dislocated their shoulder with them unless you were throwing them around with the damn thing or swinging them around like they were on a fair ride.
Today was the first day I used one at Walmart with my twins and it was the BEST trips Ive had in a long time. I could actually pay without one taking off in another direction!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

We picked up a monkey backpack for DS before our trip. He actually didn't mind wearing it. DS is the type that would wander if he got distracted. We felt better having it on hand.

I'd say he wore it 60% of the time. He knew it was busy and he very rarely wasn't holding one of our hands. We let him choose most of the time and he wanted to have it with him.

Heck, when I took him to the local children's museum last week he asked if we could take it. It felt good that he wanted to have it with us since it was just me. DH was working that day and I had both kids by myself on the last Friday of summer vacation (boy it was busy!). Again, most of the time he chose to walk by his sister (who was in our stroller), but I was holding his "tail."

 

[Kathymcbain]

Amen to all of that! When I had my first daughter I swore I'd never use one and I didn't need to - she stayed by me all the time. Then her little sister came along....about 18 months later I bought a harness. I'm happy to say that she's now a well-adjusted 5-year old. I'm pretty sure she wasn't scarred by her doggie experience. She does, however, ask to dress like a dog every Halloween.

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*

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Food for thought:

How many of us hadparents that used harnesses? Yet we're here today. My brothers were wild when they were young but they managed to survive to adulthood. Millions of us made it w/out them. Were our parents better at parenting? Many of them had larger families than we do today yet they were able to manage w/out harnesses.

Again, what other parents decide to do is absolutely their business and I'm not judging at all.

My mom used a harness on my brother in the 60's. It's not a new invention.

But her car didn't have seatbelts, we didn't wear bike helmets and we played on monkey bars and climbers that were installed directly on the playground asphalt, no padding underneath. We survived that, too, we just know better now.

 

[mickey&me]

Nice product. Feel free to ignore the comments from people who would try to make parenting decisions for you. Being a good parent means doing the best thing you can to take care of your child. Think about this: There are children at the school where I teach who will eat crackers from my desk because they are really hungry. We have some families who are having to move out of their homes because the places that employed the parents are closed and they can not afford the house any longer. On top of the new economic problems we also have the abused & neglected students. My point is that there are REAL problems for many kids and as long as your kids are healthy, loved and well adjusted they will not have any ill effects from being on a tether to prevent them from being lost or abducted. My DS17 did not need a tether (would sit for hours in stroller) but my DD10 did and she had no problem with it and has had no nightmares from the anguish of being tethered to myself and her father

I had to edit this and add that when DD10 becomes DD16 we may consider another form of tethering LOL JK

 

[claryche]

They most certainly do sell the wrist straps at BabiesRUs! I know because I bought two of the KinderKords ( wrist type straps endorsed, or invented or something by Joan Lunden for when she had 2 sets of young multiples )
Theres no way they could dislocated their shoulder with them unless you were throwing them around with the damn thing or swinging them around like they were on a fair ride.
Today was the first day I used one at Walmart with my twins and it was the BEST trips Ive had in a long time. I could actually pay without one taking off in another direction!

I didn't mean to get someone upset with me or give wrong information. I'm just stating what the lady at my Babies R Us told me. Now this was a year ago, but I know that I asked for the wrist ones, because I thought it would work better. I'm glad that it works for you. And like I said it depends on the kid the most and for sure if I had twins, I would be more apt to look into something. As it stands right now, we outnumber the kid, so that helps.

 

[kaffinito]

Here's my take:

When I only had my first son I did have the attitude of, "I would never put a LEASH on my child -- how awful!" My son also happened to be a very quiet, non-impulsive kid that would never have dreamed of running off. And of course, there were two adults to handle one child, and never a fear that he wouldn't have at least one adult's undivided attention.

It is easy for people to believe that their individual experiences with their children can be extrapolated to apply to every other child in existence. ESPECIALLY when they have only one of their own, and really no room for comparison even within their own family unit.

My second son was/is the complete opposite of my first. Where #1 was more quiet and reserved at 2, #2 is more gregarious, more outgoing -- and far more impulsive.

The biggest lesson I learned is that all children are NOT THE SAME!

I also learned that saying there are things you would "never" do is really just a bit sanctimonious, and really not all that practical in real world applications.

Now in my family there is only one adult per child. And one of those children is likely to run off to see something exciting with no backwards glance. And on our trip to Disney last summer (just before the little wild child turned 2), what worked for my family was this little baby right here: http://www.target.com/Eddie-Bauer-H...frombrowse=0&index=target&rh=k:harness&page=1

Now, the only thing I would "never" do is let aesthetics or a judgmental attitude prevent me from making a safe choice for my kids!

Amen!

Each child is different, and each situation is different.

 

[Pooh Bear Hugs]

There's nothing magical about a lost child, frantic mommy, frustrated toddler/preschooler, or judgemental people Do what you need to do to have a safe and fun trip. I used to do the "I would never dance" (never negotiate with a child; put them in a harness; bribe; etc.) and now I have twins and you know what? I do what I need to do for my family. Have a magical and safe trip with or without the harness!

True, there is nothing less magical than the feeling of your heart thumping and the world turing grey as you scan around for your baby who has managed to get a couple of steps away behind someone or something.

 

[lovinwdw]

just wanted to say thank you again to everyone for your input. I am going to look into the harness that doesn't have the animal attached to it so that the heat won't bother DS too badly. I am also going to check out that wrist tether.

 

[ChocoKat]

Joining the broken record brigade, but when I was a kid I was runner and I would hide. I know my mom would have loved to have one of those monkey backpacks, I gave her such scares and me being a dumb dumb got me lost sooo many times, I have no idea how I was never kidnapped.

On our last cruise with DCL we sat at lunch with a nice family, after they were done and leaving the mom got up and put the monkey back pack on her kid and she held the monkey tail strap. I just said: "Oh my goodness! How cute!!!"

She was so relieved I had something nice to say, she said: "Ah I am glad you like it, we were worried people would be mad at us for using it, but he is a runner!"

I replied: "Hey, if it helps you keep the little one safe, it is all good, despite, that thing is just precious!"

 

[SnowandMittens]

Some of these kids can run FAST! Go ahead and add another step to your protection of him! Better safe than sorry.

 

[♥Ariel♥]

i am not trying to be rude but i am going to honestly tell u like i think it is. i hate them i think it is horrible to do that to your child. my brother is so bad and loves running and he is now six he has been like that since he was four, and we have taken him to disney at least six times since he was four and we bring a stroller and if he wants to walk, he does. We hold his hand and keep a good eye on him but we would never put him on a leash. they way i look at it, no matter how old your child is you should trust them at least a little bit. i am not saying you are a bad parents, but if you have to buy a leash for your child because you cant look after them than maybe there is a problem here. i understand that you are doing this because you love your child and want to keep them safe but i am against it..

this is just my opnion doesnt mean you have to like it or read it i am just sharing

 

[princessmom29]

They most certainly do sell the wrist straps at BabiesRUs! I know because I bought two of the KinderKords ( wrist type straps endorsed, or invented or something by Joan Lunden for when she had 2 sets of young multiples )
Theres no way they could dislocated their shoulder with them unless you were throwing them around with the damn thing or swinging them around like they were on a fair ride.
Today was the first day I used one at Walmart with my twins and it was the BEST trips Ive had in a long time. I could actually pay without one taking off in another direction!

I hate to tell you this, but yes you can dislocate a shoulder, or more commonly and elbow with those wrist straps. Before we had kids we lived in an apartment and we had a neighbor with 2 young boys. She used one of these going to the car with the boys b/c she had one that walked and one in a carrier. We lived on a busy street, and she didn't want the older one running into the street. Well, one day he took off at a dead run and tripped just as he reached the end. He dislocated hs elbow b/c the leash snatched his arm back. I went with her to the hospital to have it put back in and had to tell 3 different social workers the story. If I hadn't witnessed it i doubt they would have believed how it happened. This is why I posted earlier about being careful with the things. I told my Ped. about it when we had DD and she said it was actually fairly common, and she recommeded that if you chose to use one, use the chest strap one.