Momversation: Kids on Leashes

09.26.11

I’m not really sure that this requires any words. Enjoy and share.

  • http://twitter.com/RNTgirl RNTG Kirsten

    *LEASHING* not leasing…lolololololol

  • http://3kidsandus.com/ Cat Davis @ 3 Kids and Us

    You know, I use to be one of those parents completely against leashes. They look ridiculous and well … it’s a leash for crying out loud.

    Then I ran into some situations where I wished I had one. Example, the State Fair with two toddlers. It was a nightmare with my kids darting every which way and sometimes they just wander. So I’m not 100% against using them anymore but I still haven’t bought one yet.

    • http://jessicagottlieb.com JessicaGottlieb

      I’m not opposed to them at all. I know plenty of parents who need them for reasons that we’ve never thought of.

  • http://lastshredsofsanity.com ShanLastShredsOfSanity

    My daughter had that last backpack leash with the monkey on it. We got it at Target and it was FABULOUS. Leashes are great because your young child get some autonomy while you still have a hold of them. They are especially helpful when the kid is too old/big for a stroller (and probably doesn’t want to sit in it anymore, either) and you want to allow them some freedom. I loved using it at crowded malls, etc. Ro got to walk around & explore but she was never far out of my reach or site.

    I will tell you that some people looked at her like she was a circus freak, but after seeing a child get hit by a car at CostCo because he got away from mommy, I never went anywhere without it.

  • Anonymous

    We actually thought about it when my daughter was younger and WOULD NOT hold hands. And she has a rather intense relationship with the stroller (or really constraint of any kind) – has pretty much hated it since about 8 months old. Thus, when we were packing to go on a 3,000 mile cross country trip, we decided to try it, if only to alleviate some of her discomfort with with the stroller. Yeah, not so much. What we found, at least in her case, was that though she didn’t care for holding hands – hand holding provides a known boundary. If you put a backpack with a leash on a kid who’s just started walking, they go go go go go until the leash tugs them back and often down – with little or no force exerted. So we didn’t use – and we RAN after her. 

    • http://jessicagottlieb.com JessicaGottlieb

      I’d pay good money for that video. Not of her falling down, but of you chasing a toddler with a teddy bear backpack leash.

      • Anonymous

        Best exercise plan I’ve found… maybe the most fun too… :)

  • Anonymous

    We actually thought about it when my daughter was younger and WOULD NOT hold hands. And she has a rather intense relationship with the stroller (or really constraint of any kind) – has pretty much hated it since about 8 months old. Thus, when we were packing to go on a 3,000 mile cross country trip, we decided to try it, if only to alleviate some of her discomfort with with the stroller. Yeah, not so much. What we found, at least in her case, was that though she didn’t care for holding hands – hand holding provides a known boundary. If you put a backpack with a leash on a kid who’s just started walking, they go go go go go until the leash tugs them back and often down – with little or no force exerted. So we didn’t use – and we RAN after her. 

  • http://www.rageagainsttheminivan.com kristen howerton

    It’s interesting the way people judge kids on leashes but don’t think twice about a child restrained in a stroller seat. 

    I don’t use a leash, but with four kids under 6, there have been a lot of times where it probably would have been safer having one (or four) of my kids on one.  I’m thinking instances like walking near busy streets or where getting lost was an issue.  But these videos of parents with just one kid walking around non-threatening environments?  I don’t know, seems like they could just hold a hand.

  • S0rceress0

    My mother had a good stout leash and harness for me, difficult for adult hands to get off, impossible for me! We were at a pier one day when a woman looked at my mother and said in an absolutely disgusted tone “On  a leash like an animal!”
    It was at that particular moment I chose to attempt my high flying act. No warning what so ever. I saw water, I wanted to swim. I ran straight for a slat and LEAPED. I was one of those children who had no fear of water at all. It was a good drop to the water below. No chance of salvation.
    You can imagine how this would have ended if my mother had been as opposed to leashes as that woman was. When she finished pulling me back, she looked straight at the woman and said “But I still have a child.”
    and calmly walked away.
    I learned swiftly that my daughter too, had a penchant for darting across a street, a park, a highway. No fear or sense of danger until she got older. Yes, the leash saved her too.