Kids on a leash

[Anonymous]

I've always wondered what kind of parents would resort to such measures...

Instead of teaching our children boundaries and safety the fashion now is to strap them.
Is it OK to strap them to the stroller too? Just wondering here...

[Anonymous]

Now, I've never leashed my 18 month old nor would I drag her through a store. BUT I can understand giving her the backpack with the leash that I can hold because I have a very wild and wooly child that only runs away from me, never towards me. I don't think it's cruel and I don't thing your child is going to grow up thinking they're a dog. I do get why a parent would want to have something that gives them contact with their child while also giving their child a sense of freedom. The pictures and video you included are quite extreme. I think if you're raising your child with healthy boudaries while wanting to keep them safe then it's quite alright. But your examples are the extreme!!

[Anonymous]

what's the difference of the leash having a backpack or not?
instead of teaching them boundaries you're strapping them.
what will they learn while being on a leash?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what's the difference of the leash having a backpack or not?
instead of teaching them boundaries you're strapping them.
what will they learn while being on a leash?

Seriously? If your child is a toddler and you want to make sure they aren't bolting away from you then what's the big deal???? Oh dear God, a toddler isn't exactly ready for totally respecting boundaries. Yes, of course if they're older they should be able to respect the boundaries. Other than that if I wanted to give them a backpack with the strap it would simply be for her safety. Are you really going to make it into something it's not? Do you really think a toddler is going to grow up with issues because their mother wanted to give them some freedom while making sure they didn't bolt into traffic??? Yes, the pictures and video the OP posted are quite bad, they are also not the norm. And my next question is what the hell do you think you're doing when you strap them into a stroller or highchair? Maybe we just should just let them be able to jump out of the stroller and highchair so as to not set too many boundaries. What are we teaching them by making them sit safely in their highchair? How dare we? What will they learn? Omg, we shoud probably not make them sleep in cribs either? How will they ever learn to sleep with all these boundaries we are setting? Give me a break. It's all the same issue. I have never "leashed" my child. I will never "leash" them in the way the OP has represented. But just this week I saw a woman at a store and she had two very little girls with her. Each had a backpack that had a strap that the mother/nanny? was holding. They were all having a lovely day. The girls were able to walk about while still being within the safety of their caregiver. I saw no tears, no children in anguish, no children being drug on the ground. It was all quite civilized...and I'm pretty sure those kids were a lot happier with those backpacks then being STRAPPED into a sroller.

[Anonymous]

Kids on a leash. Reminded me of "Pants on the ground" We sometimes have both in my family.

[Anonymous]

I strap my kid in a lot if things: car seat, stroller, high chair, etc. The leash actually gives her more freedom of movement than she would have while holding my hand.

When she is old enough to be able to use her own judgement on not falling/climbing/running away, then we will discontinue using these straps, just as I did when my oldest reached that point.

I don't think think anyone really tries to keep kids in them until they are teens. They do eventually work out how to not run off and how to behave in public.

[Anonymous]

If you have a runner, the leash is your life-saver.

[Anonymous]

If you have two or more runners that like to go in different directions you might need to use it. You can try teaching a toddler boundaries, but until they get it, you gotta do what you gotta do...

[Anonymous]

I always assume the parents I see with leashes have some sort of physical disability that's not readily apparent, but which would make it more difficult to go after their kids if they try to bolt.

[Anonymous]

I think older kids should be able to obey rules and boundaries but I had one for my son when he was 1 and a half and didn't have any reasoning or understand danger. I'd rather have a child with a leash on, than a dead child who ran into the street.

[Anonymous]

And consider strollering in a store with more than 1 child. Tot bolts to escalator?

[Anonymous]

I'd much rather have my child on a leash than risk her getting hit by a car because she hadn't learned her boundaries yet.

[Anonymous]

I don't have one but can absolutely see the utility of one for certain kids in certain circumstances. Judge not....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what's the difference of the leash having a backpack or not?
instead of teaching them boundaries you're strapping them.
what will they learn while being on a leash?

You obviously don't have a toddler (or two) who are runners and won't stay next to you no matter if you're blue in the face teaching them boundries.

I used the backpacks when I was flying to Europe by myself with two toddlers. As I was checking into a flight, both of them were on the floor trying to get away. I was trying to pick one up, but the other was crying. couldn't pick two up and sign the papers. So I'm sure at some point, I looked like the mother in the pic. I was faced away from them, two kids on the ground "on the leash" So until you have been in that situation you cannot judge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have a runner, the leash is your life-saver.

absolutely agree

Before kids, I was anti-leash.

But now, with two runners, I don't flinch when I see a leash.