Toddler "leash"

[Carrie Ellis]

Ok we know how everyone feels about kids being treated like dogs.

So how do you feel about dogs being treated like kids???

 

[lucy_love_]

well paris hiltons dog is sweet. tutu and all.

hehe everyone is biting now.

 

[lucy_love_]

btw carrie where does the origin of your surname come from. do you know? my friends son is called ellis. pm me if you would if you have info on it.

lucy

 

[M's_girl]

Just make sure to try it out. I bought one for a similar situation--we were going to be at a really crowded place. As soon as my son realized it was on, he sat down and would not move!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by M's_girl
Just make sure to try it out. I bought one for a similar situation--we were going to be at a really crowded place. As soon as my son realized it was on, he sat down and would not move!

LOL At least you didn't have to worry about him taking off on you if he was sitting down.

T&B

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by MATTERHORN
To tigger & Belle , Yes this is something I would say to a friend's face in person. Actually at a playgroup we discussed it this morning after me reading the thread last night. So don't act like you know what I will and won't do! I have no problem speaking up about children's isssues (as you can see) just as you have no problem defending your reasons. Hope you all have a great day and I'll remember not to post when people ask for thoughts/opinions anymore. Heaven forbid if I don't agree.


Andrea

Maybe in person you don't come across as so harsh. On discussion boards, etc, we can't hear how a person is saying what they are saying. We use the cute little smilies, which helps, but it's not a give and take discussion. At best like using walkie-talkies, static and all.

The grandmother at the mall was a little off her rocker it seems. However, I can't say that I've never let a child down on the floor in public. When my DD was crawling age she had a fit if she wasn't mobile. We did resort to letting her down on the floor in public, which I wasn't crazy about, but she lived through it, was rarely sick and now is a 16yo taking 1/2 a course load of college classes and the other 1/2 AP classes. Didn't affect her in the long term. Thankfully, she learned to walk by 10mo so wasn't down on the floor for long.

Most of these kids will grow up just fine and it won't matter if we used a halter or not, fed them a perfect diet or not, sent them to the best preschools or not (or even spent many vacations in WDW or not ), etc, etc. At least I keep telling myself that my 4yo will grow into a decent young man eventually.

T&B

 

[MATTERHORN]

Tigger & Belle, Thanks for knowing the obvious that words can be taken wrong online (as a side note, not that it matters, but I just got online on my laptop and for some reason I can't use any of the icons at all!)

Lucy love - Also wanted to say that our malls are no dirtier than any other mall that thousands of people track through every day. I suppose your malls are pristine and spotless! Oh if we could all shop where you do!! The fact is our mall here has an entire play area with carpet and equipment and is perfect for when you need to let your kids down or get some energy out. As we walked the mall we kept seeing them so it's not like it was a 10 foot jaunt, it was from one end to the other! Maybe you wouldn't care if kids do that, but I do, and I won't apologize for it. Thank goodness some other on here feel the same way, and wouldn't mi use the harness like that.


"Oh come on, if a grandma was letting her grandson crawl around the mall on a leash I think quite a few people would think it was disgusting and gross and would care. They may not say anything, but they'll sure be thinking things. I'd be tempted to say something too but I probably bite my tongue. Doesn't mean I have nothing better to do. Sounds like you are now judging people too."


Beattyfamily, thanks for calling it like it is. Someone calls me a hypocrite and then does the same to me. Apparently she has nothing better to do also!! I however am not the one using words that have to get through DIS board filters!!


Hope you ladies have a great night!! (Insert Smiley)

Andrea

 

[SandrainNC]

I also used to make comments about people putting their children on leashes. Once I became a parent, I started to feel differently. Yes, I hate the way they look and that is why I chose the fanny pack with the strap. So it at least it doesn't look exactly like what my little dog wears. My main problem is that even though my son is 3.5, he is delayed. He tests around a 1.5 year old cognitive level. He doesn't understand that he shouldn't take off, but at the same time, he is too big to be in the stroller all of the time and too heavy to carry alot. He does hold hands fairly well, but then he slaps your hand away and takes off. We are working on this with him, but it just takes a little extra time. I definitely don't want people to think that I have to leash my child just because he has Down syndome. It is a safety thing just like other parents have with their toddler. It is so hard being a parent and deciding what is best for our kids. Everyone has their opinion and I am definitely someone who likes to be right! LOL. I think everyone knows their child best. The people who say they would never use one, then I say you know your child better than anyone else and that is fine. The people who use one, then that is fine too. I will not be using it all of the time, and I might get there and not need it at all. I will have it just in case. I thought about this for over 6 months and finally decided that my little boy's safety is all that matters and for us, it is the right choice. Have a good weekend everybody. Sandra

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Maybe we should start a thread on the community board about all the things we thought we would or wouldn't do or say before we had children that we now find ourselves saying or doing. Could be quite a list!

T&B

 

[lucy_love_]

Originally posted by MATTERHORN
Tigger & Belle, Thanks for knowing the obvious that words can be taken wrong online (as a side note, not that it matters, but I just got online on my laptop and for some reason I can't use any of the icons at all!)

Lucy love - Also wanted to say that our malls are no dirtier than any other mall that thousands of people track through every day. I suppose your malls are pristine and spotless! Oh if we could all shop where you do!! The fact is our mall here has an entire play area with carpet and equipment and is perfect for when you need to let your kids down or get some energy out. As we walked the mall we kept seeing them so it's not like it was a 10 foot jaunt, it was from one end to the other! Maybe you wouldn't care if kids do that, but I do, and I won't apologize for it. Thank goodness some other on here feel the same way, and wouldn't mi use the harness like that.


"Oh come on, if a grandma was letting her grandson crawl around the mall on a leash I think quite a few people would think it was disgusting and gross and would care. They may not say anything, but they'll sure be thinking things. I'd be tempted to say something too but I probably bite my tongue. Doesn't mean I have nothing better to do. Sounds like you are now judging people too."


Beattyfamily, thanks for calling it like it is. Someone calls me a hypocrite and then does the same to me. Apparently she has nothing better to do also!! I however am not the one using words that have to get through DIS board filters!!


Hope you ladies have a great night!! (Insert Smiley)

Andrea

we dont have malls darling we have shopping centres. i dont expect you to apologise about your thoughts. why would you. i certainly wouldnt. so the hypocrite thing seems to be a viscious circle. do you think there is one person anywhere who is not.

only have 8 more days of argument left so we better hurry this up................................................................

also im still reading the god damn thread

 

[BevS97]

Hey Lucy

I just noticed you are from Middlesbrough - I am from Newcastle. I have had this discussion on this forum many times - I don't know why I don't just walk away from the topic now, as the end result is always the same.

I think this is definintely a cultural difference - Reins, harness, leashes, whatever you want to call them are just so commonplace over here that I can never see the big deal about them.

To give an example of how commonplace they are, it was my dd's first birthday - one of the things her grandma bought for her was a safety harness, so that when she is visiting grandma they can go for a walk around the block and she will be safe walking with granny. I have to say I thought it was rather ironic given the discussion that has been going on here over the last few days.

My kids have also been known to play at being dogs, horses, Whales (my dd loves to be Shamu) - many animals - I don't think that's degrading I think it's fun.
Whether or not I would let her crawl on the floor at the MetroCentre - well, that's an interesting question - probably not, but only because I would be worried about her getting stepped on.


Have a great trip, and bring your harness if you think it will make you trip easier. If my dd is walking by October then I will definitely have one for her. Actually, they well the cutest pink ones in Boots with Princess on the front - I thought I would take that one

Bev

 

[C.Ann]

First of all, let me say that my Mom used a child harness on me many, many years ago (in the early 50's) and remarkably, I grew up totally unscathed - no psychological damage at all..

Secondly, I had a son who was SEVERELY hyperactive from the moment of birth.. We never had an opportunity to take him to WDW, but if we had, not only would I have had to use a child harness, but I probably would have had to duct tape him to my leg as well...

Absolutely nothing wrong with using them..

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Perhaps we should reserve our disgust for the parenting situations of others for things that are really life or death. IE, around here many kids ride bikes and skateboards without helmets, as I look out my kitchen window I see neighbor kids on a trampoline jumping with skateboards, etc.

I was at the pool the other day and there was a 5yo boy who kept latching on to every family he could, obviously craving attention (but in a very obnoxious way). I couldn't figure out who his parent or caregiver was and why they weren't speaking up and correcting him when he was talking rudely to everyone and taking toys away. Turned out he was there with what seemed to be his sister and she was lounging on a chair, not watching him AT ALL on the other side of the pool. We're talking about a big pool, too, so she couldn't have been watching him from where she was even if she had been looking in his direction.

Or the idiots who don't use carseats and seatbelts for their children. Or what I recently reported about the mother who put her 3 children on a one seater ATV with her and one of the kids died when it flipped.

I'm sure that we could all come up with examples such as these. They make the halter/leash debate seem so trivial.

T&B

 

[disneyjunkie]

Originally posted by Tigger&Belle
Perhaps we should reserve our disgust for the parenting situations of others for things that are really life or death. IE, around here many kids ride bikes and skateboards without helmets, as I look out my kitchen window I see neighbor kids on a trampoline jumping with skateboards, etc.

I was at the pool the other day and there was a 5yo boy who kept latching on to every family he could, obviously craving attention (but in a very obnoxious way). I couldn't figure out who his parent or caregiver was and why they weren't speaking up and correcting him when he was talking rudely to everyone and taking toys away. Turned out he was there with what seemed to be his sister and she was lounging on a chair, not watching him AT ALL on the other side of the pool. We're talking about a big pool, too, so she couldn't have been watching him from where she was even if she had been looking in his direction.

Or the idiots who don't use carseats and seatbelts for their children. Or what I recently reported about the mother who put her 3 children on a one seater ATV with her and one of the kids died when it flipped.

I'm sure that we could all come up with examples such as these. They make the halter/leash debate seem so trivial.

T&B

Why is it ok to insult these parents and not the ones that are using leasesh?

 

[all4fun]

Tigger & Belle, I have another one to add to your list. How about the mom who wanted to go out for her birthday with her boyfriend (to party) so she locked her 7 year old in the trunk of the car. When the policeman opened it with mom standing nearby, the boy said "Mom, I swear I didn't tell the cops anything!" Apparently it wasn't the first time. Makes parents putting their kids on leads seem kinda tame to me.

Every time this topic comes up it gets ugly. It's just sad.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by disneyjunkie
Why is it ok to insult these parents and not the ones that are using leasesh?

Are you serious? Am I alone in thinking that these are very different situations? One a parental decision that doesn't do any long term damage and might keep a child safe and the other examples of negligent behavior that could cause a child injury or possibly cost them their life.

And who said anything about insulting those parents--I generally don't do anything about the kids without helmets, etc, because the parents know the law (and the dangers) and choose to ignore them. If I know that the parents require helmets and the kids still aren't wearing them, like what happens sometimes with kids from across the street (their mom is blind and they sometimes take advantage of that...) then I will either tell the kids to put the helmets on or tell their mother.

All4fun, that is sick! Some people clearly don't deserve to be trusted with the responsibilties that come with parenthood. Every year there are cases of parents leaving young children in the car while they go shopping, etc. Of course sometimes there are tragic ends to those stories. Babysitters aren't that expensive (or maybe they are, but children are worth it)!

T&B

 

[princess-rn]

Originally posted by MATTERHORN
"I used to make fun of people who used them." - As I said previously, you should have said "Only people that will agree with me."

Andrea





oK..FIRST OF ALL...YOu are making it sound like I (original starter of this thread) am the one posting things to what you are saying (although I do think you are going a bit overboard) but I'm NOT. I've made TWO posts here. Otherwise I've just been reading what everyone says and weighing the good and bad. bottom line is I LOVE MY CHILD MORE THAN ANYTHING AND WANT TO KEEP HIM SAFE. Yes..we will have a stroller and yes..my husband and I are VERY VERY VERY good at keeping up with him...but like someone else said..he's NEVER been anywhere like this..and I KNOW he will be intrigued if nothing else. He's going to want to explore things himself and I want to allow him to do that...but with the sense of security that he's not going to dart off in a blink of an eye. MY HUBAND AND I ARE VERY GOOD PARENTS and I dare someone to judge otherwise. My son is NEVER out of my sight and never will be. I will be embarrassed if I have to use it ,to be honest with you, but I will know that my son is safe...it's not a babysitter...it's just a little extra sense of security. I did want people honest opinions...but I didn't want all this ridiculous talk about serving my child from a dog bowl!!!! I am perfectly aware that I am the mother of a beautiful bright little boy..and not some animal!!!!! Just please forget this question I asked. I never knew it would bring out such horrible judgement in people.

 

[BevS97]

princess-rn,

You had no way of knowing, but you just happened to ask a questoin on the hottest topic on the families board. On other boards it's refillable mugs, or 5 in a room, or god forbid you mention pool hopping. On here it's leashes. I have never understood why.

Hope you have got enough sensible info to make your decision (either way) and can ignore any comments about eating out of dog bowls.

 

[Tiggernut_jadie]

I agree with BevS97 - there's obvioulsy a BIG cultural difference between the US and the UK! I've used a wrist harness (NOT a leash!!!!!! ) with my daughter on several occasions! I'm not a bad parent - nor do I treat my daughter like a dog - it is a way of keeping her safe whilst letting her have a bit of freedom!

A colleague at work had a neice who was killed when she was 2.5 - she was walking along a busy road with her mother - pulled out of Mum's grip and was into the road before her Mum had a chance to grab her! Katie was in a coma for 2 weeks before they let her go!

I don't say this scenario would have been different had Katie been wearing a harness - but she could only have got a couple of feet away at most!!!!!

The other thing is the 'crawling around the Mall' thing - of course this was inappropriate but the fact that the kid was barking would have struck ME as funny - each to their own I suppose!!!!!!! Another cultural difference appears to be the American obsession with anti-bacterial wipes!!!!!!! I've read on several thread how people carry wipes to 'disinfect' their kids after they've been on rides etc - WHY?!!!!!!! I always make sure my daughter's hands are clean before she eats anythng - with good old soap and water!!!! - but evidence shows that over use of thses wipe things means kids aren't exposed to germs making them more prone to illness. Unless a child has some sort of condition that makes them prone to infections, there really is little point in using these wipes. I WON'T use them with my daughter so I guess that's another tick in the bad parent column for me then!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MATTERHORN]

Princess rn - If you read my reply you would know that the only reason I quoted you was to let another poster know that you had asked for poeple's thoughts on the subject so I gave them. Nothing was directed towards you at all, but when people ask why I am giving my opinion, that is why, you asked for them. I did not question that you are a great parent, only questioned you using a leash and worrying about looks and comments when you flat out said you used to make fun of those people yourself.

I had no idea that throwing in a factual personal experience about the blatant mis-use of a leash would cause such an uproar (and amazingly some people think it was okay?????) although I should have known! Of course people who love the leashes aren't going to want to hear that some people actually treat their children like dogs while on them! And anyone that would let their kids do that, well I feel sorry for your children. Yes there are other things in the world obviously that are way more important than a leashes post, but that's not what this one was about.

The fact is no one can make you use one or not use one, so I don't see why everyone gets so crazy about a little debate. If you take my posts and opinions to mean that you are a horrible parent, then that is your insecurity about the leash. If you are a great parent, and you know that you are using the leash for your good reasons, then why does everyone get so defensive. Nowhere in this post did I say "You are all terrible parents, you should not have children" All I ever said was I hate seeing kids get treated like dogs, and being on a leash is one of the things I associate with that, just like eating out of a dogbowl or going to the bathroom in the backyard, again, things people associate with dogs. The fact that people say they would never use it anywhere else I find funny. Are you not worried about people taking your kids anywhere but Disney? Are you not worried about your kids wandering away and being active or hyper when not at Disney? Do your kids never get excited or overstimulated any other place you visit? Just curious!


Andrea (Can't use icons, but this entire post was stated in a very calm manner.)