What do you think about putting children on a leash?

[GingerJay]

We brought one for our DS(3) who has a tendency to dart around people and run off given the slightest provocation. Unfortunately, he wouldn't wear it so he was buckled in his stroller most of the time. I did consider putting the tether on my husband, though..he also has a tendency to disappear (although he doesn't dart around people like my son does)...so I would definitely say get one for your children and one for your run-away spouse

 

[Suellen]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducky4Disney
Are outlet covers, cabinet locks, and safety gates ridiculous too? How about child safety caps on medicine? Or the child lockout feature on car doors? Boy, there sure are a lot of child safety products that could be done away with if we were all just "vigilant" parents!

We actually never child proofed our house with any of these things. Ummm maybe the child locks on the car ~ but I think they were just set that way.

My thought on these things are they aren't there when we go other places so the kids needed to be taught to be safe. It was definitely a lot more work than just baby proofing the house.... but in the end they know what they can and can't touch at our home and anywhere else we go.

Our meds probably have childproof caps too .... but really just by default. We don't have a lot ~ but what we have is kept in a cabinet that they wouldn't be able to reach ~ though they have seen the bottles and know not to touch them.

They know to stay close to mommy and or daddy (or any other adult they are with) because we talk about it all the time. They know they could get lost and that would make them and mommy and daddy sad.

I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone ~ but we thought it was best.

 

[marciemouse]

Clrearly adopted children are a special case and you take into consideration what type of children you have before saying things to them. When I told my 3 year old that if he ran off he would have to go home with a different family he just laughed and siad noooooo. Some children do have a sense of humour. We didn't carry on with joke but explained then what he needed to do if he/we got lost.

Kirsten

Yep, to each family their own! And even each child in a family is different. Most kids have a sense of humor, but what makes one laugh might really scare another! (Disney rides are a great example of that! )

 

[LMN]

I would never have put any of my 3 kids on a leash, but that is my personal choice. I don't think it teaches the kids how to be safe in public. Kids need to learn how to be safe in crowds when they are little- it is not something you are born knowing. And they learn from being disciplined when they go against the rules. My kids are 12, 10 and 4 now, but back when they were toddler aged, they were given the choice to either ride in the stroller or hold our hands (because that is what would keep them safe). If they didn't like those choices, we left wherever we were (mall, zoo, etc.) And they learned (after leaving a few places) that we meant business and they needed to either get in the stroller or hold our hand. Otherwise, the fun would end and we would go home! I would never have taken the kids to WDW if I thought any of them would have run away from me suddenly. If they couldn't behave themselves and stay with us, then we wouldn't have gone. In our house, when you misbehave you don't get to do fun things and our kids have grown up knowing this.

 

[ILVPoppins]

I think its better than the poor child having to walk around all day with their arm up in the air. We used one with a backpack for our son.

 

[princessmom29]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducky4Disney
Are outlet covers, cabinet locks, and safety gates ridiculous too? How about child safety caps on medicine? Or the child lockout feature on car doors? Boy, there sure are a lot of child safety products that could be done away with if we were all just "vigilant" parents!

We actually never child proofed our house with any of these things. Ummm maybe the child locks on the car ~ but I think they were just set that way.

My thought on these things are they aren't there when we go other places so the kids needed to be taught to be safe. It was definitely a lot more work than just baby proofing the house.... but in the end they know what they can and can't touch at our home and anywhere else we go.

Our meds probably have childproof caps too .... but really just by default. We don't have a lot ~ but what we have is kept in a cabinet that they wouldn't be able to reach ~ though they have seen the bottles and know not to touch them.

They know to stay close to mommy and or daddy (or any other adult they are with) because we talk about it all the time. They know they could get lost and that would make them and mommy and daddy sad.

I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone ~ but we thought it was best.

this is the way we approached ti as well. We didn't use leashes or do the whole baby proofing thing. We felt like DD needed to learn at home what her boundaries were becuase the whole world is not babyproof.

 

[Zeebs]

Yep, to each family their own! And even each child in a family is different. Most kids have a sense of humor, but what makes one laugh might really scare another! (Disney rides are a great example of that! )

Totallly agree, wouldn't try this line with my youngest, he freaks out if he won't come with me and I say ok I will see you later then. The little legs just about fall off as he runs to me.

Kirsten

 

[princessmom29]

No need to feel like a jerk. Some people feel like they know everything and can't appreciate the fact that the parent knows best. It's not like we're tying our children up to trees. We do this for their safety. I wish people can respect others opinions, you don't need to agree, just respect. What is right for one person may not be right for another. By the way, you can store little "things" in the backpack. It is really convenient.

I have seen leashes on children tied to trees, and table legs, and strollers. All at disney.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I would never have put any of my 3 kids on a leash, but that is my personal choice. I don't think it teaches the kids how to be safe in public. Kids need to learn how to be safe in crowds when they are little- it is not something you are born knowing. And they learn from being disciplined when they go against the rules. My kids are 12, 10 and 4 now, but back when they were toddler aged, they were given the choice to either ride in the stroller or hold our hands (because that is what would keep them safe). If they didn't like those choices, we left wherever we were (mall, zoo, etc.) And they learned (after leaving a few places) that we meant business and they needed to either get in the stroller or hold our hand. Otherwise, the fun would end and we would go home! I would never have taken the kids to WDW if I thought any of them would have run away from me suddenly. If they couldn't behave themselves and stay with us, then we wouldn't have gone. In our house, when you misbehave you don't get to do fun things and our kids have grown up knowing this.

I feel the way. There's no way I would have taken my son to WDW if he were a runner. I would have waited.

Just as I waited until he was able to sit down without bothering others before I took him to the movies or Broadway shows.

 

[KPeveler]

I feel the way. There's no way I would have taken my son to WDW if he were a runner. I would have waited.

Just as I waited until he was able to sit down without bothering others before I took him to the movies or Broadway shows.

Not everyone has the luxury of staying home with young kids til they are old enough to stay where they are told... My mom used one on me when I was 3 and my sister was an infant in a place we could not have a stroller (the deck of an aircraft carrier). It was the only place we could wait for my dad's ship to come in... Sometimes staying home all the time simply is not an option.

As I said before, I will use one if that is a way of maintaining my child's safety, but I am hardly going to tether my kid to a table!

It all comes down to personal choice and the family's needs...

 

[LMN]

Not everyone has the luxury of staying home with young kids til they are old enough to stay where they are told... My mom used one on me when I was 3 and my sister was an infant in a place we could not have a stroller (the deck of an aircraft carrier). It was the only place we could wait for my dad's ship to come in... Sometimes staying home all the time simply is not an option.

As I said before, I will use one if that is a way of maintaining my child's safety, but I am hardly going to tether my kid to a table!

It all comes down to personal choice and the family's needs...

Who said I had the luxury of staying home?? I am home now, but only because I was laid off in December. Before that, I worked full time and did work full time when all 3 of my kids were toddlers. Believe me, children are very smart. When you tell them "we're not going such-and-so place" (that they want to go to) because you are choosing to run off and not be safe, they figure out pretty quickly that they need to make better choices in order to get to go do fun things. And to the pp that mentioned not going to the theatre until ds was old enough to sit still: I had to laugh! My ds (will be 13 next month) did not see the inside of a movie theatre until he was 5! No kidding- that's how old he was before he could sit down and behave for 1 1/2 at a time!

 

[KPeveler]

Who said I had the luxury of staying home?? I am home now, but only because I was laid off in December. Before that, I worked full time and did work full time when all 3 of my kids were toddlers. Believe me, children are very smart. When you tell them "we're not going such-and-so place" (that they want to go to) because you are choosing to run off and not be safe, they figure out pretty quickly that they need to make better choices in order to get to go do fun things. And to the pp that mentioned not going to the theatre until ds was old enough to sit still: I had to laugh! My ds (will be 13 next month) did not see the inside of a movie theatre until he was 5! No kidding- that's how old he was before he could sit down and behave for 1 1/2 at a time!

I am not talking about fun things like movies or disney, i just mean in general. People here in the past have said or implied that these harnesses should NEVER be used... and parents still need to go to the grocery store and other such places.

 

[mjkacmom]

I feel the way. There's no way I would have taken my son to WDW if he were a runner. I would have waited.

Just as I waited until he was able to sit down without bothering others before I took him to the movies or Broadway shows.

Do you only have one child? It would seem to be overkill for a whole family not to go to WDW because one child still has difficulty with impulse control. Ds7 was almost 5 when we went to WDW, and didn't need a leash, but if we were there when the twins were 2, we would've brought the leashes.

We used them when they were 2 at crowded events, and didn't stay home, because that doesn't seem fair to the older kids (fireworks, street fairs, etc.). Now, I never brought any children to the movies until they were ready, because I didn't want to bother others, too. However, I don't see how leashing children can ruin the vacations of total strangers.

 

[LMN]

Trust me, been there, done that at the grocery store and never resorted to a leash. My kids QUICKLY learned that they were expected to behave in public, no matter if that were the grocery store, the mall or wherever and if they didn't there were consequences when they got home. When ds and dd1 were little (2 1/2 yrs apart) I did many a grocery store trip with dd in the cart and ds holding onto the side of the cart so that I knew he was with me. Dh worked alot of hours when ds and dd1 were little, so at that time, I was doing my grocery store shopping in the evenings with them after work. I don't miss those days!!

 

[JDUCKY]

I used one for DS at WDW when he was about 20 months old. That toddler phase can be tricky. They want to walk but not always in the direction you're going!

I had a simple blue harness with a tether on it. We were in Epcot one day, around the Mexico pavillion, and we were going left and he wanted to go right. Well, the tether put us at an impasse. I kept telling him no, we're goingt this way, and he finally fell to ground in a heap and had a fit. Some young kid, late teens/early 20's, walked by and mumbled "Poor kid". I looked up and quipped back, "Poor kid? How about poor Mom!" Forget about losing your kid; what about the possibility of an ECV vs. small-kid collision? OUCH!

Are outlet covers, cabinet locks, and safety gates ridiculous too? How about child safety caps on medicine? Or the child lockout feature on car doors? Boy, there sure are a lot of child safety products that could be done away with if we were all just "vigilant" parents!

D4D

Why not just wrap your kid up in several layers of bubble wrap?

Hermetically seal them up in a padded room with no outlets, bulletproof glass for a window, etc.

Never had any safety stuff when I was a kid growing up and I managed to make it this far alive....so did tens of millions of other people from my generation and before (and from after, too)




Child doesn't want to listen and instead throws a fit on the ground. Fine, let them. Just stand there and wait for them to finish or pick them up and hold them no matter the amount of screaming. Being a parent means having to put up with that. Fact of life.

They don't want to listen and want to keep walking away? Strap them in the stroller where they can't. They'll eventually learn.

 

[GSDRescuer]

Didn't care about what anyone thought about DGD (2.5 years old at the time) on a leash. She was an extremely fast runner and could disappear in a crowd in seconds flat. The leash kept her safe. I don't care what anyone else thought.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Not everyone has the luxury of staying home with young kids til they are old enough to stay where they are told... My mom used one on me when I was 3 and my sister was an infant in a place we could not have a stroller (the deck of an aircraft carrier). It was the only place we could wait for my dad's ship to come in... Sometimes staying home all the time simply is not an option.

As I said before, I will use one if that is a way of maintaining my child's safety, but I am hardly going to tether my kid to a table!

It all comes down to personal choice and the family's needs...

I never said I would have kept my son in the house if he had been a runner. I would not have taken him to WDW

 

[disneyjunkie]

I am not talking about fun things like movies or disney, i just mean in general. People here in the past have said or implied that these harnesses should NEVER be used... and parents still need to go to the grocery store and other such places.

Most of us are saying that WE would not use a leash. We aren't bashing those who feel differently.

 

[ILUVPOOH1]

I wish more people would put leashes on their kids as well as some muzzles!!

Can I put a muzzle on my teenager?

 

[mking624]

Why not just wrap your kid up in several layers of bubble wrap?

Hermetically seal them up in a padded room with no outlets, bulletproof glass for a window, etc.

Never had any safety stuff when I was a kid growing up and I managed to make it this far alive....so did tens of millions of other people from my generation and before (and from after, too)




Child doesn't want to listen and instead throws a fit on the ground. Fine, let them. Just stand there and wait for them to finish or pick them up and hold them no matter the amount of screaming. Being a parent means having to put up with that. Fact of life.

They don't want to listen and want to keep walking away? Strap them in the stroller where they can't. They'll eventually learn.

I don't understand the issue of parents using safety devices. I have a very curious 13 month old and another baby due next month. Yes, I use outlet covers and cabinet locks as well as trashcan and toilet locks as these all seem to be "treasure boxes" for him. So what? Great that you chose not to use them or that they weren't used for you. Who cares if other parents do? It's not hurting you and your family any...there's absolutely no reason to criticize another family for opting to use them.

Personally, as a parent, I don't "put up" with my child's disobedience. I may have stood around once or twice, but guarantee that's it. My son is getting a swat on the hand with a scolding so he knows he can't just throw a temper tantrum any time he doesn't get his way. And that has curbed his behavior WAY more than just standing around because he is realizing there are consequences for his actions. Being a parent means recognizing you're the one in authority...NOT the child.