Your Kid is Not a Dog

Posted on 07 12, 2006 under Stuff by gregoryng | View Comments

Where there are large crowds, there will no doubt be parents with their adventurous toddlers. Unfortunately, that means you will see what I consider to be an inhumane parental practice: using the toddler leash. For those who are unfamiliar, here"s how it works: you strap a velcro strap to your kid"s wrist or in some cases, a harness to their chest, and then you hold on to the other side of the strap.

Does that sound familiar? Maybe because that"s how you make sure your dog doesn"t run away. I have news for you. Although your kid may poodad like a dog, and sometimes smell like a dog, they are not dogs.

Some people feel leashes are fine. They reason that it is less restrictive than keeping their kids in strollers and that their kids run away on them and that is scary. I agree. A kid that runs away in a public crowd IS scary. But what is most scary is the inability for a parent to keep track of their kid"s hand or the ability to control your kid verbally.

Many parents of multiples say that it is an act of necessity to use these restraining devices. As a father with no such situation, I have a tough time saying either way. But what I can say, is although I feel for how difficult having multiples must be in public, it just looks wrong to have leashes on them. What"s next, you gonna put a muzzle on them too? Oh yeah, those are called pacifiers.

Has anyone used these things and can convince me that these are ok?

 

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  • Latia
    Geez, I post a lot on here...this is the only honest parenting I see-and I\'m a mom. I try to look at things as practically as possible. I hates tha frou-frou (sometimes).
    As someone who has lots of experience in dealing with toddler aged children (I have worked with toddler-12 year old children since I was 16...) I find it very difficult to totally cut out the idea of a child leash. It sounds harsh, I know. Hopefully, my child will be easy to contain and keep by my side. However, not all parents have it that easy. I have tried to take three children onto their porch in their local safe neighborhood only to find that within the blink of an eye, one child has run up the street and another to the backyard. Have you ever seen hyperactive children with overworked, overtired caretakers/parents? It is already hard enough to stay awake let alone run after one or multiple children. What would you suggest? The idea of tethering your children seems really mean until you have multiple hyperactive children to take care of. I think that the whole slingshot-body strap-thingy seems a little cruel. I had a neato Elmo wristband that had a short phonecord like connection to my parent\'s wristband. It looked like a bracelet with a string attatched. Would you say that is a little cruel?
    Oh, and again-I\'d use this things only in the case of an hyperactive, hard to contain child.
  • rupertz
    I hate leashes...they truly are for dogs. One of my favorite leash experiences was when flying recently with my wife a two (young kids). We were waiting at the airport at 10 in the morning to board the flight. There was a mom there with a two-year old whose only words were \"pepsi\" \"pepsi\". Each time the kid said it his mother put a bottle of pepsi to his lips. Of course the kid was tethered...who wouldn\'t be if you jacked your kid up on pepsi? Unreal.
  • redhawk
    I think the worst aspect is the time the kid figures out he\'s untethered and *really* takes off.
  • BmoreDad
    To quote the greatest show of all time, \"This leash demeans us both \"
  • wingnut
    Last year at the state fair I saw a dad with what I would call a reverse leash. He had a piece of bungee cord tied to his belt and his son just held the other end. If there was slack or the cord was let go it would signal the father. While I still believe that keeping an eye on your child or even just holding your child\'s hand is the best bet, this does seem better than the inhumane leash.
  • wahoodad
    Ah, yes...need to cut off their use way before 4 or 5. I stand corrected.
  • noodad
    Wahoodad, pacifiers as a whole are a good thing.(when used appropriately)

    But when you see kids who are 4 or 5 years old and a parent slaps a binky in their mouth at the first sign of trouble: That\'s a muzzle.
  • wahoodad
    I saw a very unhappy kid tethered to a leash held by his dad at Story Land in New Hampshire. He looked absolutely miserable and thoroughly embarrassed. The saddest thing was that he was probably about 4 or 5 years old. I kept picturing his dad walking him up to a ride and unleashing him, \"Go ahead. Go ahead, boy. Ride the Bamboo Shoots, boy. It\'s okay...\" Terrible.

    I wouldn\'t put pacifiers in the same category as the kid leash, though...
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