use a harness for extremely active toddler? What do you think

[lchadwick]

I have the monkey and the puppy for my youngest 2. They are merely backups. I like the peace of mind offered that if one of their hands slips from mine I still "have" them. And since we will be there at Christmas, I'll take no chances. I'm also using their backpacks as a place to put another ID.

 

[MSSANDRA]

If a toddle lease will make for a safer and more relaxed trip for everyone than go for it. You have no one to please but your own family. My only caution is like several others;keep the tension short to avoid someone tripping over your child and causing an injury to themself or your child. if it is really crowded, carry or have your child in the stroller .January is a great time to go and the crowds are pretty low. We will be there 20-27. If I see you with your little one on the lease I will smile and say, oh, a mommy that loves her little one and wants to keep him safe!!!

Mssanda

 

[Cory's Gal]

If a toddle lease will make for a safer and more relaxed trip for everyone than go for it. You have no one to please but your own family. My only caution is like several others;keep the tension short to avoid someone tripping over your child and causing an injury to themself or your child. if it is really crowded, carry or have your child in the stroller .January is a great time to go and the crowds are pretty low. We will be there 20-27. If I see you with your little one on the lease I will smile and say, oh, a mommy that loves her little one and wants to keep him safe!!!

Mssanda

Very well put!! We will aslo be there in January exact same time! We chose that time because of the low crowds. I haven't yet bought but I am thinking of the backpack straps. I love my child so dearly and his safety is my number one priority. Whether I buy one or not is my issue, if someone else has one I will also be saying something like "what a loving parent". Let's not judge eachother and our parenting skills, EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT!!!! What works for one may not work for another.

 

[susykt4]

I work at a zoo and couldn't believe how many toddlers I saw on harnesses this past summer! Many of them had really cute animal harnesses. It seems to be more acceptable now. I got some bad looks several years ago when I harnessed DDnow6, but c'mon, I'd much rather have taken a tiny bit of nastyness from strangers than lose my kid in a crowd! Go for it and use a harness! If my zoo is any indication, you will be FAR from the only one!!!

 

[Magic2000]

On one of our trips in 2003, we were at the MNSSHP, (DH & DD were in line for Dumbo) and I heard a man yelling rather loudly - at first I thought it was a dad yelling at his child. But as he got closer, I realized the man was panicked because he had lost his son. The sound of that man yelling for his child, and the look of fear on his face, was so sad. When my DH & DD got off of Dumbo, and we were walking around, we passed by the man again, this time he was with some CM's and they were assuring him they had found his son. The man was so visably upset. It really brought tears to my eyes.

Do whatever you feel will keep your kids safe, and don't worry what anyone else thinks. And, have a great trip!!!!!

 

[hsmamato2]

Let's settle down here folks.... I have kids, the oldest is 13. A leash would've been a great option when he was 2,and took off while were at WDW..and hid...and security was called...and I thought my precious child was lost to me...we found him 1/2 hour later.... Get it?
Some kids are more active than others. Sometimes you just can't look constantly, you may turn to see a plane going over, or an interesting thing,and WHAM! if your kid is prone to take off, they do in that instant.
So what if dogs go on leashes, they work nicely for active toddlers also!
And the 'good parent' remark was unnecessary... My boys were both RUNNING by the time they hit 9 months old,and a stroller wasn't a place they spent much time in.... in fact, in many circles,its parents who *use strollers* to contain a child that are considered questionable...not by me, but by some, so it's not right to make parental assumptions based on tools we use to keep our munchkins safe....
I had 2 normal, incredibly , unbelievably,insanely,unstoppably,energetically,running type boys.... by the 2nd little prince,I got smart,and got a toddler leash,and used it when i needed to.
If I see a parent screaming at,or hitting a toddler ,I think bad thoughts...not a parent who's just keeping their kid close.....

 

[Gymbomom]

we brought one, I was having "panic" attacks thinking about my ds stepping away from me and getting lost. IMO, children's arms get tired having to hold moms hand for a long time.
We used it often when we were there.
Be prepared for some comments and looks that were not nice.

But, I knew it was either this (use the leash) or have him stuck in the stroller the whole time.

 

[stenickar]

I am also trying to come up with a safe age appropriate way to make sure that my 9yoDD(her adoption will be completed on 11-29 ) doesn't get separated during our Christmas trip to WDW. She has autism and is very friendly . She has no stranger fear at all. I have not taken her to a really crowded place yet. I know that she will be so overwhelmed(pleasantly ) by everything that she will not be paying attention to walking and to other people. She will hold my hand, but if she sees something she likes she may bolt to see it. With her difficulties with receptive language, hearing me call her in a crowd would be hard. I'm thinking of using one of the animal backpacks, as she loves stuffed animals. Does anyone know if Disney makes a backpack with the leash? She has never experienced anything more than the county fair . So I want to make sure Disney is everything I remember from my first(and second and third...seventh)trip.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Congratulations on the adoption!!! Perhaps one of those wrist to wrist leases would be a good idea for an older child.

Magic Wishes for your trip

 

[stenickar]

MSSANDRA,
Thank you, we are very excited about finalizing. She would probably like the wrist to wrist because it would seem like a bracelet. She loves jewelry so it would probably work fine. Thanks for the tip. I know our trip will be sooo magical.

 

[Bugsmom73]

I will start by apologizing to anyone that I may offend but I think the leash is not needed IF you are a good parent. When we go anywhere with my toddler son, he has the freedom to walk where he wants, when he wants...it is MY job to watch him, which is what I do. I may not be the best person to talk to while out and about because I may find that I need to walk away from a conversation in order to gain a better view of my son, but I am not there for myself, I am there for him. Just my .02, and I do not frown upon parents that choose the leash method, I know that there are different strokes for different folks.

I usually don't comment much but I have a very active 3 year old who is special needs and sees every one as a friend. Please don't generalize and comment about parenting skills until you have walked a mile in someone's shoes. He does not understand social norms, he would prefer to have some freedom, we will offer him a choice but it is for SAFETY that we do this. He is an absolute joy to be around but we have had him vanish once, and it scared his dad whom it happened to and we were watching, he just that quick and just decides to go, he is delayed verbally and he doesn't always tell us.

I just bought a new stroller for him and plan to have to use it for his safety for the next few years because it is my job to keep him safe. We used it with DD when she was 15mos but she learned to keep near us, we have 2 and she knows that she needs to stay near us.

 

[thatduffgirl]

I never would have considered having a leash on a child until I had my last one, my DS, who is now 3. He is a wanderer, and a little escape artist!


He loves to go on what we call "walkabouts", and he is quiet and sneaky about doing it, too. My husband says I am overprotective, but when you have a child that has been returned by our wonderful local police officers TWICE I don't see how I can possibly be too cautious. In his words, "I wasn't lost! I knew where me was!"

When we go to WDW next fall I am strongly looking into the possibility of a harness!

 

[louise']

I will start by apologizing to anyone that I may offend but I think the leash is not needed IF you are a good parent. When we go anywhere with my toddler son, he has the freedom to walk where he wants, when he wants...it is MY job to watch him, which is what I do. I may not be the best person to talk to while out and about because I may find that I need to walk away from a conversation in order to gain a better view my son, but I am not there for myself, I am there for him. Just my .02, and I do not frown upon parents that choose the leash method, I know that there are different strokes for different folks.

Yes, leashes are for dogs. Safety harnesses are for the safety of a child. The harness attaches to the child's waist or hand not their neck; therefore, it is not a leash. I think that a good parent's JOB is to use whatever means necessary to protect their child. If a child is not in their stroller or refuses to hold hands that a harness is perfectly acceptable.

I think that if you are letting your toddler son have the freedom to walk where ever he wants, when he wants - then you are the one not being a good parent. You are in Disney World with crowds of people. It takes only a second to lose a child.

 

[mdhkitten]

My dd is 29 months old now and I always bring her monkey backpack harness with us to WDW. Fortunately, I've never had to use it on her, but it's nice to have just in case. My fear at WDW is that we'll be in line for something and she won't want to be held or hold my hand, and the last thing that I need is for her to try and slip under the queue! LOL

 

[aagasen]

I have a two year old too who is also an escape artist. I used the harness and ended up strapping it to her wrist even when she was in the stroller. It gave me peace of mind when it was just me, DS(6), and DD.

 

[Crazy4Disney43611]

Too all that I have caused distress to, I apologize and in the future I will try to refrain from opening my big trap and be a little more tactful in my word choice in hot topic issues such as this. I should not have made such gross generalizations as I did before, I unfortunately see too much of the negative effects parents have on their children from my job. ( I work for Children Services) So it is completely my fault fro not taking into consideration other reasons for the harness. I just see too many instances in my professional life where parents think the television is an adequate babysitter while they do "other" things and then the child ends up in harms way from being unsupervised and many other things of that nature. I guess just seeing these preventable accidents day after day have made me far too critical of other parenting techniques. Once again I am sorry to all that I have been critical of without thinking my thoughts out properly. I wish you all safe and happy trips with or without the harnesses!

 

[SusanMomOf2]

See, that was cool. That makes your opinion worth more (there's a right way and a wrong way to use a harness). And if people would just act the way you just did, we'd have a happier Internet! Kudos!

 

[louise']

Too all that I have caused distress to, I apologize and in the future I will try to refrain from opening my big trap and be a little more tactful in my word choice in hot topic issues such as this. I should not have made such gross generalizations as I did before, I unfortunately see too much of the negative effects parents have on their children from my job. ( I work for Children Services) So it is completely my fault fro not taking into consideration other reasons for the harness. I just see too many instances in my professional life where parents think the television is an adequate babysitter while they do "other" things and then the child ends up in harms way from being unsupervised and many other things of that nature. I guess just seeing these preventable accidents day after day have made me far too critical of other parenting techniques. Once again I am sorry to all that I have been critical of without thinking my thoughts out properly. I wish you all safe and happy trips with or without the harnesses!

Thanks for trying to understand the point of view of harnesses. I'm sorry if I offended you - I'm sure your a great parent. I have actually only used a harness a few times. I had a triplet harness which is even worse. But, sometimes you got to do what you have to do to keep the kids safe.

 

[freckles and boo]

Too all that I have caused distress to, I apologize and in the future I will try to refrain from opening my big trap and be a little more tactful in my word choice in hot topic issues such as this. I should not have made such gross generalizations as I did before, I unfortunately see too much of the negative effects parents have on their children from my job. ( I work for Children Services) So it is completely my fault fro not taking into consideration other reasons for the harness. I just see too many instances in my professional life where parents think the television is an adequate babysitter while they do "other" things and then the child ends up in harms way from being unsupervised and many other things of that nature. I guess just seeing these preventable accidents day after day have made me far too critical of other parenting techniques. Once again I am sorry to all that I have been critical of without thinking my thoughts out properly. I wish you all safe and happy trips with or without the harnesses!

Thanks

 

[lchadwick]

Way back when my 13YO was not even 2 I used a wrist leash to tether her 2 favorite toys to the stroller. She needed them and we never even came close to losing them. I kept the tether just long enough for it to make it to one side, so as not to worry about her choking. When she wasn't holdiing one, the spring of the tethter would let it hang from the stroller handle, but not drag on the ground.