Toddler on a leash?

[waltskids]

We won't ever use them for our kids (just our personal decision), but I have no problem using whatever works for your family, and I would never make rude remarks to another family for their parenting choice.

 

[C.Ann]

Can't stand seeing a child on a leash - seems insulting at the very least,

I'm 59 years old - and was a terrible "wanderer" as a toddler.. My mother used a harness on certain occasions and I don't recall feeling "insulted" at all.. But what I do remember - vividly- is being in a store with my mother - not on the harness - and wandering away from her.. It was the scariest moment of my life.. I would never want my child to feel that kind of sheer terror..

I seem to be in the minority but I truly believe leashes are for animals and not children. DD18 was 2.5 the first time she visited WDW and we either held her hand, carried her or she rode in her stroller. We did not have a single problem. I think too many folks want an easy out and resort to leashes. GO AHEAD FLAME ME but it takes time to teach your child how to behave and too many people are failing their kids. Teach them to sit in a restaurant and not run around. Teach them to stick with you or ride in the stroller. Kids want and need limits but I don't think they want or need leashes.

No child is the same as the next one - not even in the same family.. I had one "wanderer" (who was also hyperactive) - and two who were not.. Each child was treated as an individual.. "One size fits all" does not apply in regards to children and their behavior..

It's demoralizing and degrading in my opinion.

Living proof that it is neither..

They did have leashes back then, as far back as the 40's. They were sturdy leather with buckles in the back so the kids couldn't reach them..

Yep - that's what my mom used on me.. Good thing she did or I might not be here to type this today..

 

[TinkerBrie]

I have used the harness that looks like a little pink purse. It is really cute and my daughter puts her sunglasses and such in it.

I don't use it all the time, but on occasion I have no problem using it. My daughter is 2 years old.

Where did you get the one that looks like a purse? I would love that for my daughter!

 

[mjmoon]

I remember first seeing these when I was a teenager working in the local mall. I thought they were quite ingenious since the mall tended to get really busy and ever so often a kid would go missing in the crowd.

Fast forward 15 years.. I considered buying a couple of these for my boys before our last trip to WDW but just never got around to it. We didn't really need them and my boys are getting older so I think we're okay without them again this visit. However, I wouldn't have hesitated to get them if my kids were runners. I don't understand why people have such an issue with this.

I put my dog on a leash to protect her. It keeps her from running in the street, running away, it keeps her away from dangerous situations. She can also be trained not to do these things but the leash adds extra protection.

WHY is it okay to protect my DOG from the dangers out there and not my child??

I just don't get that logic.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I remember first seeing these when I was a teenager working in the local mall. I thought they were quite ingenious since the mall tended to get really busy and ever so often a kid would go missing in the crowd.

Fast forward 15 years.. I considered buying a couple of these for my boys before our last trip to WDW but just never got around to it. We didn't really need them and my boys are getting older so I think we're okay without them again this visit. However, I wouldn't have hesitated to get them if my kids were runners. I don't understand why people have such an issue with this.

I put my dog on a leash to protect her. It keeps her from running in the street, running away, it keeps her away from dangerous situations. She can also be trained not to do these things but the leash adds extra protection.

WHY is it okay to protect my DOG from the dangers out there and not my child??
I just don't get that logic.

I am not arguing the use of one either way but I will answer your question regarding animals and children.
I don't see any connection in your question. Dogs are animals. They are not humans. Children are not animals. Humans have higher learning capabilities than animals. By the dog leash vs. child leash question that you posed you could argue that a cage would be okay too since you are allowed to crate your dog or bird for their safety. I'm not arguing the leash issue, just answering your question.
FTR- I would not use one. That is our choice. I don't however care if anyone else uses one. Their choice.

 

[slo]

I didn't read the whole thread, buy my comment is...............................


Please buy it, and use it when you need it!!!!


My oldest was a RUNNER when she was 2, and then when she got older, she was a wanderer. Now, she was excellent about sitting in a stroller, and did until she was 8 (she sat in a stroller at WDW with her younger sister). When she was a toddler, and I was somewhere that I didn't want her in a stroller, I always put her on a leash (I hate calling them that). I had one for her wrist, I had a harness, and I also had a little fanny pack for her. I would get terrible looks, but I didn't care. My first and only concern was my DD. I knew my DD would run away, I knew my DD would wander off, and I wasn't willing to ruin anyone's day or vacation by having me yell at her, spank her, or whatever - I wasn't going to do it!!!! I did use my stroller more than the leash, and I was stern with her in having to stay there when put there. But at times they need to stretch their legs, and that's when I would use the leash.

 

[mommyseven]

Your child is the love of your life. Your child is a child and cannot and should not be expected to think and react maturely every moment. Your child relies on you to protect them and keep them from harm. Do what you feel is best for your child's safety and forget what people may think.

Disney is crowded. There are good and bad people visiting Disney. While Disney has a good security system in place crimes do happen there.

If you, the parent, believe that using some sort of restraint device at some point during your visit is in your child's best interest, then do it no matter what others say.

I've only had to use one with one of my children, and it was only necessary to use it on one day. Despite telling myself that I would never use one I am completely glad that I did. It was never necessary to use again. Just go with what your common sense and instinct are telling you.

 

[mjmoon]

Children are not animals. Humans have higher learning capabilities than animals. By the dog leash vs. child leash question that you posed you could argue that a cage would be okay too since you are allowed to crate your dog or bird for their safety. I'm not arguing the leash issue, just answering your question.
FTR- I would not use one. That is our choice. I don't however care if anyone else uses one. Their choice.

I'm not saying children should be treated like animals in every respect. However, children, like our pets, depend on us 100% to protect them. To teach them, feed them, keep them healthy. (Some might argue it's easier to teach a dog to listen than a toddler. )Sticking a child in a crate would be abusive.. having a backpack hooked to a bungie is not. I'm not suggesting it's ok to put a choke chain on a childs neck hooked to a leash. Come on.. the stuff they make for toddlers is completely different than that of a dog.

 

[tasha99]

I am not arguing the use of one either way but I will answer your question regarding animals and children.
I don't see any connection in your question. Dogs are animals. They are not humans. Children are not animals. Humans have higher learning capabilities than animals. By the dog leash vs. child leash question that you posed you could argue that a cage would be okay too since you are allowed to crate your dog or bird for their safety. I'm not arguing the leash issue, just answering your question.
FTR- I would not use one. That is our choice. I don't however care if anyone else uses one. Their choice.

Both cribs and playpens are cages, yet parents use them all the time.

 

[pixiefairy]

I didn't read the whole thread either, but if have a child you are worried about....buy it and use it. I never liked them either. Never used one with any of my first 3 kids...never had to. However, my 3 year old is a runner/darter/wanderer. And holding hands isn't his "thing" and I am not going to yank him around and squeeze his little hand in order to make sure that he's right there. We had a stroller...he can get out of anything...he's like Houdini. I bought him a monkey backpack/leash. He loves that thing! It gives him freedom to walk and be a little ahead of me, but he's with me. He was "missing" for about 5 minutes in Crystal Palace in June at the end of our dinner...he wore it and never took it off after that. I was scared to death. Luckily, he never left the premises and he was trying to find Eeyore. A very wonderful manager found him and brought him right back.

And for those people that think a child harness is like a dog leash..imagine you are waaay shorter than your parent and forced to hold a hand of someone, leaving your arm up above your head for hours on end. Would your arm hurt and would you be totally against holding that hand if it meant there might be discomfort? You may not like them, fine, but don't knock the parents who use them and actually like them. Of course I would love my 3 year old to stay right next to the stroller and never wander, but that is just not in the nature of the curious child. I'd rather he be safe and sound and with me, rather than missing.

 

[CheshireSmile]

I think that the people who use them vary just as much as the reasons for and against. Being a very frequent visitor to the World, you DO see children treated like a dog on a leash. I actually HAVE seen children on retractable dog leashes, the kind that allow them to run 25 ft. away, and yes that really does create problems with traffic flow and people getting tangled and falling down. I have seen children tied up to strollers or fence posts while their family walks away to get food at a popcorn cart or some such thing. Also, the problem I see most often is when people are holding the leash and try to allow the children to board a ride vehicle unaided. Please do not do this, please pick up the child and carry them, too often I have seen kids fall and get hurt stepping up or down into a ride vehicle while attached to a leash. I think that as long as these type of situations occur, the concept of having a child on a leash is going to be looked down upon.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Both cribs and playpens are cages, yet parents use them all the time.

I was just answering the question. Like I said, I do not use them but I don't care if you do. Just please be mindful of others and if you are shopping pay attention to your child. Just because they are attached to you and can't run doesn't mean they can pull apart shelves. Yes- we have seen that and the parents just ignore it.
ETA- I (along with many others) watched a father "walk" his child into the pool at the poly. He actually was picking the child up by the harness. No it was not a disability thing. He was walking his child. I was not the only person looking at him like he was insane. It was not some safety thing as he was "walking" him around the resort. I cannot explain it but it was bizarre. I usually don't notice too many other people unless it is something odd.

 

[mandynee22]

Ok, and I just have to add, I keep seeing these posts that say "my kid won't sit in a stroller" and "my kid won't hold my hand".

What are you going to do as parents when they get older and they "won't do their homework" and "won't obey curfew"?

You pick your battles, like everything else.
It doesn't have to be a dictatorship, there can be compromise. Holding hands with someone 8 feet taller than you is UNCOMFORTABLE. Who would want to? Sitting in a stroller isn't fun, for the most part. So much is going on and you just have to sit there looking straight ahead?
No matter what you do- you get judged- especially in the little years