Using kiddie leashes at WDW

[rrobin3051]

I used a the doggie backpack kind on my little guy and it really didnt work because he was just under 2 and he would pull unless we were going the direction he wanted to go. I never got any dirty looks though. At the airport it worked best and I had so many people smile at it and comment and younger parents ask where to find those at...lol. Now that yours are a little older I think the wrist ones work fine. I used a wrist one once in DW on my 4 y ear old and it worked great..i could push the stroller and know he was next to me without having to hold his hand. I would go for it and take a stroller as well. If it doesnt work out they are so light and little and that that they can just be packed away. Again i never got any dirty looks from anyone..in fact I seen a ton of leashes. I even seen them on older kids. There was a mom by herslef with 4 kids and they were looped through thier belt loops..i thought that was pretty neat.

 

[Coopsmum77]

I would say if you think you need one, use one. I never liked them, until this past trip when I saw my youngest cousin in action. He's 18 months old, and quite the runner. I even took to calling him Forrest. He spent a lot of time in a stroller, but when he was out he had his "monkey on his back". I made the mistake one time in DTD while everyone was finishing up eating of taking him outside and putting him down. His older brother laughed at me while I tried to catch him. Needless to say, he spent the rest of the time waiting riding the train, sitting very still.

He is quite funny with it on. He goes to the end of it, and leans forward, then runs back and forth like he is flying.

I never thought of the hand in the air all day argument, but it makes sense to me. I will definitely keep that in mind when I decide whether or not to use one for my own kids.

 

[jsmla]

Many years ago I was firmly in the "no leash" camp. I thought they were demeaning. Seventeen years ago DS was five. He had been a placid easygoing toddler and, even at five, would have been more than happy to see WDW from the comfort of his sister's stroller. He had always walked along holding Mommy's hand without any problems. DD was two and a half. She began walking at nine months and from that time forward hated her stroller. She could escape in three seconds flat. At two and a half she had the speed and agility of a gazelle and the cunning of a miniature Houdini. One second you've got her by her sweet little hand, the next she's halfway down the street. DS's babyhood had not prepared us for our little tornado of a daughter.

In 1990 we went to Disney World. We love vacationing with our extended family so we invited DBIL and my mom along. We enjoy their company and they made very convenient babysitters. This way we outnumbered the kids two to one. We had the kid thing in the bag.

On our first day at the Magic Kingdom we lost DD. We lost her twice, one time for over ten minutes. That afternoon I drove straight to the Kissimmee Wal Mart, swallowed my pride and bought three leashes. I found out how little my abstract ideals meant to me while my baby was missing. DD was "leashed" until she reached the age of understanding the phrase, "If you don't stay right here with Mommy we're going to leave the pool (park, zoo, store, Magic Kingdom) and go straight back for a nap!" We took lots of naps.

Jennifer

 

[shananv]

I used them when my kids were young at crowded places like the state fair. My son has Asperger's and my daughter is just full of life and energy. They are 15 months apart, and I just had my hands full. I got looks and comments, but I rarely commented back. Why sink to their level? Don't let anyone ruin your good time. We are going on our first WDW trip this November, and the kids will be 8 and 7, so we will not need the leashes this trip, but does anyone know if they come in adult size? I always lose my husband at Walmart. . .

I always receive unsolicited parenting advice from my coworkers without children about picky eaters, television habits, fashions, and many other hot topics. If I am having a good day, I smile and say thank you. If I am having a bad day, use your imagination!

 

[shellybaxter]

I guess what I'm trying to say is I personally wouldn't use a leash on my child, although I have no children yet. I would use hand holding to help keep my children with me at all times. I turned out fine so it must work.

How you "turned out" is irrelevant for someone else's child. All children are different and require different interactions. Hand holding is actually far more restrictive than the harness lease that I used when we took my niece to WDW at four. She had never been anywhere with so many people and was so excited she just wanted to run. The harness allowed her to wander (which hand holding does not) away from me a short distance and feel much more independant even though she was attached to me.

 

[irisbud]

Not a parent yet, but I think that if using a leash makes you comfortable, then by all means use it.

My dad and I went to MK over 4th of July in 2002. We got pushed apart by the crowd and I could not find him for a minute or so due to the sheer volume of humanity. Even though I was 19 at the time, it was still somewhat frightening. I can't imagine what that would be like for a little one or their parents.

 

[tpayne]

Use the leash. I have seen children get swept away from their parents at various parks. Even if it's only for a minute, it seems like days to them. If anyone says anything or gives you a dirty look, tell them you are trying it out to see if you want a dog. That'll shut 'em up. I never used them but if I had known about them, I would have have tried them. We went to an amusement park in the Smokies when my ds was only 2. I had a cast up past my knee and crutches. Need I say more?

 

[melanell]

I do feel bad about the constant hand holding, because I know it can get very tiring/sore for a little one.

My only major concern with simply telling a young child to stasy by you is this.....even if your child would never purposely leave your side, what happens when people jostle by you, run by you, or you get caught up in a crowd leaving an attraction. It's so easy for someone to come between you & your child without meaning to.

As a parent, I try very hard to never put myself between a child and a parent, but I see others do it all of the time.

DS does not use a stroller or a harness in day to day activities. But, I will probably pack a harness and the stroller for Disney, and decide what works best for us when we arrive.

2 years ago, when he was still in diapers, we founf overalls to be the best choice. He didn't have to use a stroller/harness and he didn't have to keep his little arm up all day. We just hung onto his overall straps.

But overalls went out the door with potty training. Bummer!

 

[jenelope]

Found this on a site about Historical Boys Clothing and it proves leashes/harnesses have been around longer then most of us realize.
HBC has very limited information on children's harnesses and reins before the 20th centuries. There is some information that they were not uncommon for extremely young children from the 17th until the 19th centuries, but went out of favor in the 20th century.

Ever hear the phrase "tied to mother's apron strings" or "time to cut those apron strings?" The phrase has its roots in the fact that mothers actually did tie their children to their apron strings so that they could go about their daily chores without their children wandering off and getting into trouble. The concept is nothing new. I think the judgemental attitude toward them might be.

I always end up holding the hands of the children who are temporarily entrusted to my care. The decision about harnesses or leashes is their parents' to make. If I had a child, I'd use my own judgement based on their habits. If I had a wanderer, you bet they'd be on a harness. And I'd follow it up with a "stay with me." I wish I'd had a harness for my 11 year old cousin in May. I learned my lesson fast. Disney Quest with an 11 year old with even a mild case of ADD is completely exhausting and nerve-wracking.

 

[WDW4ever]

We never used a leash but sis-in-law has a runner. They want to take the kids but she's worried about him taking off. I mentioned to her when they went she might want to look in to a wrist leash. They make sense to me and it's not like you're dragging 'em around by the neck on a knotted rope all day

 

[ntsammy5]

I got some dirty looks from people but I didn't care - at least I didn't lose my kids. I say do it.

We did this in the very early 80s with DS who was a wanderer, and got horrible looks from people too -- it was a torso harness back then. Who cares what people think? Do what you need to do to keep your children safe. More power to you!

 

[corgi_monster]

I'm not a parent yet, so maybe that's why I find this a little confusing:

I've read several posts on here about school-aged children being placed in harnesses. Wouldn't a 4+ year old kid figure out how to remove the contraption and break free? Just curious

 

[Cool-Beans]

I'm a huge fan of leashes!! I didn't use them, but I wish I could back in time and slap myself for not doing it.

The leash lets the kid move a little ways from you and explore a bit. It saves your back from carrying the kid or bending down to hold his hand. It saves his little arm from reaching up to hold your hand.

Plus, some people (like me) have 3 kids and only two hands!! The leash lets you hold on to everyone.

I see no difference between slapping the kid in a stroller and using the leash. Either way, the child is restrained - just less so on a leash.

I do think 4 years is a little old for a leash. A four year old can be taught not to run off. Mine were, anyway. I couldn't have made it through otherwise. Not with three little ones under 5 years!!!

I do see one problem with leashes - parents taking their eyes off the kids while shopping or whatever. Again, big fan of leashes (huge!), but people still need to keep an eye on the kid, for Pete's sake.

So, that's my $.02 on that.

 

[SandrainNC]

We will need one this trip too! Before I had children I thought they were horrible. And then I had children. And the thought of one of them getting lost quickly made me change my mine. You change your mind about a lot of things after you have children!!! With my oldest, we were able to hold hands and use the stroller his first trip to Disney because he was almost 4 at the time. My youngest will only be 16 months his first trip. He gets tired of being in the stroller, is too heavy to hold for long periods of time and when we try to walk holding his hand it is very hard/uncomfortable because he is short and we are tall adults, plus he tries to pull his hand away. So there is really no choice if he doesn't want to be stuck in the stroller the whole time (which would not be much fun).

Sandra

 

[disneyfantotheend]

I never used one for my kids, but feel there is nothing wrong with using them. I would not put one on a child any older than 4, but again that is just my opinion. I would not criticize if someone chose to do so. My biggest concern would be the child removing it. Especially the wrist ones, seem as though they would be very easy to get off to me.

 

[jkid721133]

Just out of curiosity, has there ever been a kid who was lost in Disney World that has never been found? Has there ever been a child abducted out of one of the parks? To all those people who say "Rather on a leash than on a milk carton?" I am just curious on whether or not there has EVER been a kid that disappeared or was abducted from one of the Disney Parks? I'm sorry, it is just my opinion, but leashes for your kids are degrading.

 

[jennilouwho]

That's our problem too. Plus, our DS (14 months) finds hand holding degrading. "I'm not a baby anymore, quit trying to hold my hand when I walk!" (Falls into a complete meltdown). He loves his backpack leash. We've been working on holding hands at home and he's getting a lot better about it, but I don't want to have to deal with the back pain from hunching over to hold his hand and the meltdowns at Disney. I decided I'm going to bring the backpack and see what happens. Sometimes he'll hand hold, sometimes he'll be in the stroller and sometimes he will use the leash.

 

[Passions71203]

Last time we went in 06 with DD (with Spe. Needs) (aged 2 at the time) we took a backpack leash thing that everyone here on the DIS boards raved about....The whole time we did not use it (Biggest waste of 20 bucks in my life! ...After our DS and DD saw the crowds of people everywhere they decided it was not a good idea to run away from mommy and daddy.... (I wish that they would do that back home) Anyway to make a long story short...I won't do it ...But I would not think badly of someone who wants to do that, if that works for your family so be it....
This time hopefully our kids will stay close to us and hold hands while we are in the parks

 

[Passions71203]

That's our problem too. Plus, our DS (14 months) finds hand holding degrading. "I'm not a baby anymore, quit trying to hold my hand when I walk!" (Falls into a complete meltdown). He loves his backpack leash. We've been working on holding hands at home and he's getting a lot better about it, but I don't want to have to deal with the back pain from hunching over to hold his hand and the meltdowns at Disney. I decided I'm going to bring the backpack and see what happens. Sometimes he'll hand hold, sometimes he'll be in the stroller and sometimes he will use the leash.

Our DS told us the same thing last time we went..."I am a big boy, etc etc etc" We just kept telling him that yes he was a big boy but while we are inside the parks he would have to hold our hands...

 

[missmun52]

Kids usually get abducted when parents think things are fine and dandy. I feel why trust people if they have not given you a reason to do so. It is not like it was ten or even five years ago and there has been a huge movement towards adults molesting and raping little children; I mean just turn on your local news or look at the statistics; you may not have heard it happening before but there is a huge rise and it may happen now. I dont know if you have any kids but even if there is a 1% chance I am going to do everything to make sure my son is not in that one %.

I personally see nothing wrong with the child restraint. I dont use one (but will probably get one) because I keep my son in a stroller most of the time but dont want to do that this trip. He does not like holding my hand and refuses to do so, and he is so full of energy that at times its hard to keep track of him. When we go to the mall and I let him out he runs away as fast as he can laughing. He likes to play and thats how he does it, he thinks mommy running after him is the funniest thing in the world but it can get him hurts, lost, or taken. I say do what you have to to keep your child safe as long as it wont hurt him (like something around the neck). Something around the wasit or arm is not harmful so go for it!



To each his own I guess, every child is different and needs different things sometimes. Parents with more than one child can know how different each one can be. What works with one may not with the other.