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Xan & Zaqs
I have a 9 month old that stood for the first time a couple of nights ago, and is beginning to learn to walk.
I decided to post on my Facebook that he had done so, and my father and I had a joke about bringing the leash out.
A girl my age completely went spastic at me calling me a lazy mother and that I should learn to carry my child not restrain them with a leash as this is morally wrong.
I believe that if your child is capable of walking, it won't be long before they can actually get themselves out of their pram, even with restraints on and begin to walk off. The last thing I want is my son to be snatched or hurt because I listened to the taunts of another girl.
Lately, I have been given a leash that is like a backpack on the child, but has a restraint system in case you need to grab the child to stop them running off. Is it wrong to use this, or is at as the other girl said, lazy?
I am also 20 weeks pregnant, and it will be even harder to carry both children, or put them both in a pram.
Exactly, allow them to explore, and follow, do not lead them. =D
The sling would be used to for the second child for a little while, my son is still too young to really run off, but he is a non listener. If he wants to crawl, he will be off, and will not stop, no matter what is in his way, or how much you tell him no.
Spastic was the only word I could really think of.
She is pro abortion and believes that no one under the age of 20 should have kids. She used to be a friend before she began hounding me about how I raise my son.
Answer
my sons 18 months and hates being in his pushchair, he just wants to walk everywhere.
i've had a harness for a while but hadn't had to use it of yet. my son has a genetic condition that effects his eye sight, so when he walked he never let go of my hand because he couldn't see that far ahead of himself.
the last couple of weeks though that's all changed, he's gotten braver and doesn't want to hold my hand anymore. so a harness or "leash" is a must for me, its a god send. he's a bit weary of it, and tugs on it trying to get away, but he's slowly getting used to it.
i've had a few other mothers preach to me about restraining him, i take no notice. i have to use one for my son, he doesn't have good depth perception, doesn't see small steps or curbs til the last minute when he's tripping over them, or know how far cars, people etc are away from him. i can honestly say if my son didn't have his harness on he would have walked out in front of a car by now. and he's a good child and always listens to me, its just he doesn't realize theres danger there, because it cant see it.
i've been told many times by people i should "keep" my son in his pram (by other mothers who know of his condition) but i want my son to grow up with some independence, not matter how little he can see.
even if my son didn't have this condition, i'd still use one. a few years ago a woman was shopping at our local supermarket with her toddler daughter. her daughter was standing right next to her, the woman turned for a second to pay the cashier and when she turned back her daughter had gone, someone had snatched her. luckily security manged to find the person that snatched her right before they left the store. but that story has always stuck with me, if she'd just had a harness on her.
i also agree with previous statements, they should be used to follow while your child investigates, not used to lead your child.
my sons 18 months and hates being in his pushchair, he just wants to walk everywhere.
i've had a harness for a while but hadn't had to use it of yet. my son has a genetic condition that effects his eye sight, so when he walked he never let go of my hand because he couldn't see that far ahead of himself.
the last couple of weeks though that's all changed, he's gotten braver and doesn't want to hold my hand anymore. so a harness or "leash" is a must for me, its a god send. he's a bit weary of it, and tugs on it trying to get away, but he's slowly getting used to it.
i've had a few other mothers preach to me about restraining him, i take no notice. i have to use one for my son, he doesn't have good depth perception, doesn't see small steps or curbs til the last minute when he's tripping over them, or know how far cars, people etc are away from him. i can honestly say if my son didn't have his harness on he would have walked out in front of a car by now. and he's a good child and always listens to me, its just he doesn't realize theres danger there, because it cant see it.
i've been told many times by people i should "keep" my son in his pram (by other mothers who know of his condition) but i want my son to grow up with some independence, not matter how little he can see.
even if my son didn't have this condition, i'd still use one. a few years ago a woman was shopping at our local supermarket with her toddler daughter. her daughter was standing right next to her, the woman turned for a second to pay the cashier and when she turned back her daughter had gone, someone had snatched her. luckily security manged to find the person that snatched her right before they left the store. but that story has always stuck with me, if she'd just had a harness on her.
i also agree with previous statements, they should be used to follow while your child investigates, not used to lead your child.
Leashes for children?
C M
I'm a 26 year old male working in a retail store, and one thing I have noticed in the last few years is the increasing popularity of these leash straps or leash backpacks for small children. What do the majority of mothers and fathers think about this? Is this just my generation of adults who do this to their kids? I'm not really sure how to feel about it; I realize children can run away pretty fast, but I don't think my parents would ever strap me to a leash if I were still that young. I guess it just seems a little lazy to me.
Answer
No, it's not your generation who invented it. It goes back as long as recorded history pretty much. Ever hear the expression "Time to cut the Apron Strings"? That's because back in the day mother would tie an apron string to the wrist or pants or whatever to the child while she would do laundry or cooking, to keep them close but not have to hold onto them the whole time. (Aprons typically had a string long enough you could go around your body 2-3 times usually so you could convert it for other uses.) It kept the little ones who were old enough to walk close while letting them explore. Few people could afford a fence and baby-gates weren't heard of (though kitchens with half-doors WERE used at times to keep children in the kitchen, they were more likely to be used to keep the pigs out while letting the fresh air in.) I saw these half-doors also on the end of pews in old family churches so the door could be closed and the toddlers were contained, I loved it! There were even people though who would tie the feet of a sleep sack and the babies had to learn to walk with their feet tied basically (think Sweet Pea in the old Pop-eye comic strips...)
I know when my mom was raising kids she used the apron string method, either with an apron string or with a piece of rope or twine (watch the movie "Brother Where Art Thou".) When my nephew was little they had more options with the wrist ones, and started making them more comfortable and safe for the kids with it going around their waist (my nephew had a fanny-pack one so he could carry pennies and toys around and we could attach a leash to the end, it was elastic and he'd pull then bounce on the end and crack up.) The ones today for toddlers is a harness which doesn't put a lot of pressure on the tummy or neck while they are learning, then they usually convert to a wrist one for older children who are expected to have learned (from the harness based leashes) how to walk with mom/dad.
These are meant as a 'safety' net. A child can duck and weave between and among adults faster than you know. And sometimes there's a health issue (pregnancy, arthritis, whatever) that can make an adult even slower. I'll never forget the time in the mall when my daughter (a little over 1 I think at the time...) ducked and ran for the escalator, a bunch of teens with cells not even noticing her as she moved between them and they were all using cells... a woman grabbed her literally inches from the escalator as my husband was ready to start punching and pushing people to get to her. It's not meant to drag them around by, but for that moment of impulse when the child takes off. They have very little sense at this age and little to no impulse control.
The place I always used my daughter's leash was at the leash-less dog park (no really.) The dogs were free. She had no sense and would run up and pet a dog with no hesitation. Holding her hand was extremely difficult on the terrain and wouldn't have given her the freedom to explore. It taught her that when a dog approaches, mom makes you stop and sit down and then pet the dog, you don't run towards a dog because mom will stop you even if you're not right with her. She is STILL good about that, off the leash, because we were consistent with her dog manners. But we got more than one person laughing at us because their dogs were off leash and she was on a leash.
It was also helpful at the airport when I had a 4 month old in a front carrier on my chest, her on a leash, hubby was carrying bags and car seats... I literally didn't have a hand to hang onto her with. And there's way too many stories of kids under 4 running into the street or through a parking lot while mom was distracted.
My daughter loves her leash-backpacks even though we don't put the leashes on them anymore. So she wears them now for fun and because she loves them. She has an Elmo front-carry harness (where Elmo is on her front) and Minnie on her back. She loves that. :)
So it's not lazy. When seat belts came out in the cars some parents called that lazy. Just make them sit still, you don't have to tie them to it! Seat belts in a stroller, oh come on teach them to sit when you say so! Making a child get up and run around is not lazy, but recognizing that an accident happens in a split second so do something to childproof a little is good parenting at home, but when you're out and about it's not?
Kids have been hurt from having their hands held too tightly, yanked back, thrown to the ground to get them out of the street, or worse... hit by a car while mom is attending to another child, has bags in her arms, or something.
Andrea: Hey, did you know more accidents happen from riding in shopping carts than from leashes? Estimated close to 24,000 kids under 15 injured from a shopping cart, and most of those are from falling from the shopping cart. Shopping carts are not the safer choice.
No, it's not your generation who invented it. It goes back as long as recorded history pretty much. Ever hear the expression "Time to cut the Apron Strings"? That's because back in the day mother would tie an apron string to the wrist or pants or whatever to the child while she would do laundry or cooking, to keep them close but not have to hold onto them the whole time. (Aprons typically had a string long enough you could go around your body 2-3 times usually so you could convert it for other uses.) It kept the little ones who were old enough to walk close while letting them explore. Few people could afford a fence and baby-gates weren't heard of (though kitchens with half-doors WERE used at times to keep children in the kitchen, they were more likely to be used to keep the pigs out while letting the fresh air in.) I saw these half-doors also on the end of pews in old family churches so the door could be closed and the toddlers were contained, I loved it! There were even people though who would tie the feet of a sleep sack and the babies had to learn to walk with their feet tied basically (think Sweet Pea in the old Pop-eye comic strips...)
I know when my mom was raising kids she used the apron string method, either with an apron string or with a piece of rope or twine (watch the movie "Brother Where Art Thou".) When my nephew was little they had more options with the wrist ones, and started making them more comfortable and safe for the kids with it going around their waist (my nephew had a fanny-pack one so he could carry pennies and toys around and we could attach a leash to the end, it was elastic and he'd pull then bounce on the end and crack up.) The ones today for toddlers is a harness which doesn't put a lot of pressure on the tummy or neck while they are learning, then they usually convert to a wrist one for older children who are expected to have learned (from the harness based leashes) how to walk with mom/dad.
These are meant as a 'safety' net. A child can duck and weave between and among adults faster than you know. And sometimes there's a health issue (pregnancy, arthritis, whatever) that can make an adult even slower. I'll never forget the time in the mall when my daughter (a little over 1 I think at the time...) ducked and ran for the escalator, a bunch of teens with cells not even noticing her as she moved between them and they were all using cells... a woman grabbed her literally inches from the escalator as my husband was ready to start punching and pushing people to get to her. It's not meant to drag them around by, but for that moment of impulse when the child takes off. They have very little sense at this age and little to no impulse control.
The place I always used my daughter's leash was at the leash-less dog park (no really.) The dogs were free. She had no sense and would run up and pet a dog with no hesitation. Holding her hand was extremely difficult on the terrain and wouldn't have given her the freedom to explore. It taught her that when a dog approaches, mom makes you stop and sit down and then pet the dog, you don't run towards a dog because mom will stop you even if you're not right with her. She is STILL good about that, off the leash, because we were consistent with her dog manners. But we got more than one person laughing at us because their dogs were off leash and she was on a leash.
It was also helpful at the airport when I had a 4 month old in a front carrier on my chest, her on a leash, hubby was carrying bags and car seats... I literally didn't have a hand to hang onto her with. And there's way too many stories of kids under 4 running into the street or through a parking lot while mom was distracted.
My daughter loves her leash-backpacks even though we don't put the leashes on them anymore. So she wears them now for fun and because she loves them. She has an Elmo front-carry harness (where Elmo is on her front) and Minnie on her back. She loves that. :)
So it's not lazy. When seat belts came out in the cars some parents called that lazy. Just make them sit still, you don't have to tie them to it! Seat belts in a stroller, oh come on teach them to sit when you say so! Making a child get up and run around is not lazy, but recognizing that an accident happens in a split second so do something to childproof a little is good parenting at home, but when you're out and about it's not?
Kids have been hurt from having their hands held too tightly, yanked back, thrown to the ground to get them out of the street, or worse... hit by a car while mom is attending to another child, has bags in her arms, or something.
Andrea: Hey, did you know more accidents happen from riding in shopping carts than from leashes? Estimated close to 24,000 kids under 15 injured from a shopping cart, and most of those are from falling from the shopping cart. Shopping carts are not the safer choice.
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