Do you leash your kid?

On my way to work this morning, I was listening to the local radio station and they were discussing parents placing their kids on leashes to prevent them from running off. One of the radio hosts commented that leashing your kid is only for fat and lazy parents. My daughter is older now but I would have never considered putting her on a leash! What in the world is wrong with holding your kid's hand? Leashes are for animals, not children.

Replies

GeorgieLove708

I love when people leash their kids, especially at amusement parks....I immediately snap a pic and mock them on FB.

I have 2 young ones, never used a leash, everyone still alive. :flowerforyou:

I had 3 kids, all still alive and I didn't use leashes either but I don't award myself a medal for that or have any objections to those who do use them.
Any more than any other item or technique which I happened not to use but which worked for others.

I hope your first sentence isn't serious - that really would be quite pathetic.

Oh, I'm serious.... :bigsmile:

If you want to be a jerk that's up to you, but you might want to look up the laws where you live. A lot of places have implemented laws regarding taking photos of other's children and posting them to social media, especially with malicious intent. Otherwise you better hope like hell the wrong person doesn't see you doing it.

neandermagnon

If by the time your child is walking, and you feel the need to leash them....somethings up! Not necessarily with the child....

My daughter walked at 9.5 months old! Sure, at that age she understood all about road safety!

I guess that's why there are parents, right? To look after the kids and teaching them how to behave.

I must admit reading this thread and all those opinions pro leashing is shocking to me. I was raised always knowing that I'm being respected and treated as a human being, not as a dog. That leashing must cause serious emotional damage to the kids

LOL

they've been used in the UK for decades (except they're called reins, because they don't go around the child's neck) -not only did my mum put me in reins as a toddler, if I threw a tantrum in a shop she picked me up by the back of the harness (which goes around the child's chest) and carried me out of the shop so I could calm down somewhere quiet.

Guess what.... no emotional damage. in fact I probably learned not to throw tantrums in shops a lot more quickly. And no emotional damage to the millions of other British kids whose parents used reins when they were toddlers, where they have been used for decades. It's normal in the UK because our pavements (sidewalks) tend to be narrow, so it only takes a second for a kid to end up under the wheels of a car.

BTW holding a kid's hand probably does work 99% of the time. But what about the 1% of the time they get away? What if you're next to a busy road? You'd seriously put your imagined emotional damage (which there's no evidence for whatsoever) ahead of a child's actual, real, physical safety? You'd walk a 1 year old child down a busy British street just a metre away from traffic, and think that your reaction time if they slip their hand out of yours, is goodenough to stop them getting killed? It only takes a second, and it also takes a second for your brain to process what's going on, and by then it could be too late. And yes, this happens, or did you miss the post from the lady in this thread who posted about that happening to a little girl in her neighbourhood?

Also, if you are trying to stop a child from running away from you, reins are safer than hand holding. Forcibly holding a small child's hand while they try to run away can actually result in the child's elbow being dislocated (their little baby joints are not very strong). That happened to a child I know, and it wouldn't have happened if said child had been on reins when they made a dash for it, because with reins, the force is spread over a wide area of the torso, which is a much stronger part of their body that their arm. If you're restraining a toddler by their arm, that's a huge force on their elbow and shoulder, and the elbow is the weaker of the two (although if there have been cases of dislocated shoulders from this, I wouldn't be surprised at all). Toddlers do not know their limits, they have no sense of danger at all. They will try to run away fast enough, or throw themselves on the ground hard enough to dislocate their elbow if you hold their hand tight enough to stop them. Or, if they manage to slip your grip rather than their bones being dislocated, then they slip your grip and could run into traffic of some other danger.

It really amazes me how much hatred some Americans have for something that is purely for a child's safety. And toddlers really couldn't give a rat's hairy behind whether dogs have leashes (which look nothing at all like a child's reins) or not. They're too young to be humiliated by anything like that. The fact you even think that they would be shows how little you actually know about toddlers. You seem to expect them to be able to just learn to walk and be like mini adults, which isn't what happens. You're shocked by people being in favour of safety devices that stop kids from being killed by cars. I'm shocked that anyone would be against something that could save a child's life....

I'm not an American to start with, I live in Europe. And no, I've never seen a child on a leash or whatever you call it.

I don't have any kids yet but I have plenty experience with kids, including taking care of my bf's kids. They're pretty crazy little girls but I've never thought of leashing them, just asking them to behave, explaining them that it's important to pay attention and act like ladies they're. They just simply hold my hands on streets and walk by me, no leash needed.

I thought this thread was a joke at first.

^^^ the bit in bold.... exactly. You don't have kids. Looking after someone else's kids are not the same. And you may think your bf's girls are "crazy" but if they are 1-2 years old and understand when you explain to them why they should pay attention and act like ladies, then they must be child prodigies. Or perhaps they're not aged 1-2 years which is the age most kids are when parents use reins on them. Not understanding danger and being curious and wanting to explore, and not understanding their mother's explanation of why they should hold hands and walk nicely, is a normal part of toddler development. You're in for a rude shock when you have your own kids if you think your toddlers are just going to listen to you and understand the same way as a school age kid would. Maybe you'll be lucky and have really placid preschoolers, but there's no guarantee of that.

And I like that you've conveniently ignored all the points I've made about child safety, including the fact that attempting to restrain a child who dashes away from you by gripping their hand can result in their elbow dislocating. So your child is not on reins, they make a dash for the road, you're either going to grip their hand tight enough that they can't get away and risk damaging the joints in their arm, or you're not going to grip their hand tight enough and they'll dash away from you.... possibly right into the path of an oncoming car (toddlers have absolutely no sense of danger).

anyway, back to the bit in bold. You don't have kids of your own, even if you did, it doesn't mean that your kids are like other kids, and it doesn't give you the right to be so harshly judgemental of parents for what.... for using a piece of equipment that is for their child's safety. Are you like this about child car seats as well? You know, the ones that help protect kids if they're in a car accident? Because it's the same principle. I'm sure I can keep my kids sitting down nicely in the back of the car while I'm driving, but that's missing the point of what they're for. Reins are not for controlling a child's behaviour, you cannot control a child with reins, unless you want to drag your child along the floor on his or her back, which would be cruel and ridiculous. They're a safety precaution, you still have to teach your child to walk nicely and hold hands *while* using the reins. They're just there to stop them getting very far, should they make a dash for the road, as toddlers do tend to be unpredictable and very easily distracted....

neandermagnon

One thing I notice that there are those on here that are very willing to judge someone's parenting skills because they have used a harness. There seems to be some on here that are quick to blame the parents for lack of training or just pure laziness.

I think the problem is that some people seem to think that reins can be used to control a child or make them behave, when actually that's not what they're for, and not actually possible. You can't use them to control what direction a child walks in, if you pull them in a different direction, they fall over. You can't use them to stop them from throwing a tantrum, because they can still throw themselves on the floor, sit down, refuse to walk, all of that. They are for the child's safety, and if parents think they can stop a small child from dashing into the road unexpectedly... well that's like thinking you'll never have a car accident or never fall down the stairs. You can be careful, really really careful, you can be vigilant, but some things only take a split second to happen and in the case of a toddler dashing into a busy road, that split second could end their life.

I'm still astounded that this is even an issue.

and the most lazy option is to strap the child in a stroller, then you can push the stroller along and forget the child is even there... (not that there aren't valid reasons for using a stroller as well.... just that it is actually far easier to put a child in a stroller than have them walk next to you on reins... )

DawnieB1977

I'm not an American to start with, I live in Europe. And no, I've never seen a child on a leash or whatever you call it.

I don't have any kids yet but I have plenty experience with kids, including taking care of my bf's kids. They're pretty crazy little girls but I've never thought of leashing them, just asking them to behave, explaining them that it's important to pay attention and act like ladies they're. They just simply hold my hands on streets and walk by me, no leash needed.

I thought this thread was a joke

If a child is capable of understanding the concept of "acting like a lady", then the child is obviously beyond the age of restraint being a real issue.

Babysitting for older children is to parenthood as a prom date is to marriage.

They're 3 and 5. And yes, they can act crazy but not in public places. Because they're raised well and know their manners. Obviously, can't take credit for that, I'm not their mother. But they don't create me any problems when living with us.

You would expect at 3 and 5 that they're old enough to understand and hold your hand nicely. My son started doing this at 2.5. I also had a 6 month old at the same time. My son is 4 now and perfectly sensible when we're out. Kids start school at 4 in England so you'd expect them to be able to listen to instructions and understand about road safety!

My daughter is nearly 2.5 and still in that 'terrible twos' stage so she's harder work!

I meant to also say we had an awful case in England several years ago where two young boys kidnapped a toddler from a shopping centre and tortured and killed him. Had that toddler been on reins it never would've happened and that child would be alive. I know that's not the norm, but you can't take risks when you're somewhere incredibly busy. If my kids had been taken, or run over, because I was worried about them being humiliated by being on reins (as if a child who is young enough to have huge tantrums in public and still poos on a nappy can be humiliated by reins anyway!) then I never would've forgiven myself.

YaGigi

[

^^^ the bit in bold.... exactly. You don't have kids. Looking after someone else's kids are not the same. And you may think your bf's girls are "crazy" but if they are 1-2 years old and understand when you explain to them why they should pay attention and act like ladies, then they must be child prodigies. Or perhaps they're not aged 1-2 years which is the age most kids are when parents use reins on them. Not understanding danger and being curious and wanting to explore, and not understanding their mother's explanation of why they should hold hands and walk nicely, is a normal part of toddler development. You're in for a rude shock when you have your own kids if you think your toddlers are just going to listen to you and understand the same way as a school age kid would. Maybe you'll be lucky and have really placid preschoolers, but there's no guarantee of that.

And I like that you've conveniently ignored all the points I've made about child safety, including the fact that attempting to restrain a child who dashes away from you by gripping their hand can result in their elbow dislocating. So your child is not on reins, they make a dash for the road, you're either going to grip their hand tight enough that they can't get away and risk damaging the joints in their arm, or you're not going to grip their hand tight enough and they'll dash away from you.... possibly right into the path of an oncoming car (toddlers have absolutely no sense of danger).

anyway, back to the bit in bold. You don't have kids of your own, even if you did, it doesn't mean that your kids are like other kids, and it doesn't give you the right to be so harshly judgemental of parents for what.... for using a piece of equipment that is for their child's safety. Are you like this about child car seats as well? You know, the ones that help protect kids if they're in a car accident? Because it's the same principle. I'm sure I can keep my kids sitting down nicely in the back of the car while I'm driving, but that's missing the point of what they're for. Reins are not for controlling a child's behaviour, you cannot control a child with reins, unless you want to drag your child along the floor on his or her back, which would be cruel and ridiculous. They're a safety precaution, you still have to teach your child to walk nicely and hold hands *while* using the reins. They're just there to stop them getting very far, should they make a dash for the road, as toddlers do tend to be unpredictable and very easily distracted....

I wouldn't compare kids on a leash to the car seats, completely different situations. People all over the world use the car seats in order to protect a child during driving, not just the possible car accidents. And not too many people, I hope, leash their kids, maybe it's common in England but not in other countries. Because yes, it's associated with animals, dogs. Humans are leashed when they need to be dominated or humiliated, often in a sexual way, therefore seeing it with kids is shocking.

I would understand that if living in England would be much more dangerous than living in any other country, and Englsh kids make it their priority to jump under a car, and there's no other way but putting them on a leash. But there is and parents all over the world do it somehow.

jonnyman41

They are called reins in UK and have been around for years. Nothing to do with parents being lazy, just safety really. Any child can slip a hand really quick but for parents with a walking toddler and a baby in a pram, holding hands is not that easy and most two year olds are not particularly compliant all of the time. It can take less than a few seconds for a child to run into the road in front of car!!!! My kids are fully grown now and I only really used reins when the older one was around two and I was pregnant with his brother and therefore not the fastest of moving. They were very useful for every day walking, of which we did a lot since I had no access to a car!!!!!! Walking everywhere is more common here, or at least it was. As my son got older he was trained to hold onto the pram of his brother at all times but, as he was three by then, he had a lot better understanding of what was expected.

lucypeaks

No never ever ever. My daughter is now 3 and have never even considered it. She holds my hand generally, and when she doesn't she knows to stop and wait at a road (then holds my hand)

jonnyman41

[

^^^ the bit in bold.... exactly. You don't have kids. Looking after someone else's kids are not the same. And you may think your bf's girls are "crazy" but if they are 1-2 years old and understand when you explain to them why they should pay attention and act like ladies, then they must be child prodigies. Or perhaps they're not aged 1-2 years which is the age most kids are when parents use reins on them. Not understanding danger and being curious and wanting to explore, and not understanding their mother's explanation of why they should hold hands and walk nicely, is a normal part of toddler development. You're in for a rude shock when you have your own kids if you think your toddlers are just going to listen to you and understand the same way as a school age kid would. Maybe you'll be lucky and have really placid preschoolers, but there's no guarantee of that.

And I like that you've conveniently ignored all the points I've made about child safety, including the fact that attempting to restrain a child who dashes away from you by gripping their hand can result in their elbow dislocating. So your child is not on reins, they make a dash for the road, you're either going to grip their hand tight enough that they can't get away and risk damaging the joints in their arm, or you're not going to grip their hand tight enough and they'll dash away from you.... possibly right into the path of an oncoming car (toddlers have absolutely no sense of danger).

anyway, back to the bit in bold. You don't have kids of your own, even if you did, it doesn't mean that your kids are like other kids, and it doesn't give you the right to be so harshly judgemental of parents for what.... for using a piece of equipment that is for their child's safety. Are you like this about child car seats as well? You know, the ones that help protect kids if they're in a car accident? Because it's the same principle. I'm sure I can keep my kids sitting down nicely in the back of the car while I'm driving, but that's missing the point of what they're for. Reins are not for controlling a child's behaviour, you cannot control a child with reins, unless you want to drag your child along the floor on his or her back, which would be cruel and ridiculous. They're a safety precaution, you still have to teach your child to walk nicely and hold hands *while* using the reins. They're just there to stop them getting very far, should they make a dash for the road, as toddlers do tend to be unpredictable and very easily distracted....

I wouldn't compare kids on a leash to the car seats, completely different situations. People all over the world use the car seats in order to protect a child during driving, not just the possible car accidents. And not too many people, I hope, leash their kids, maybe it's common in England but not in other countries. Because yes, it's associated with animals, dogs. Humans are leashed when they need to be dominated or humiliated, often in a sexual way, therefore seeing it with kids is shocking.

I would understand that if living in England would be much more dangerous than living in any other country, and Englsh kids make it their priority to jump under a car, and there's no other way but putting them on a leash. But there is and parents all over the world do it somehow.

Towns are a lot smaller in Uk and as a result it is far more common I expect to walk the streets with your children in tow, School buses are not that common either so parents walk kids to school with younger ones in tow

taliar93

I don't have kids, but I offer the outside perspective, I wait at the bus stop (and do so several times a week), I see out of the corner of my eye a kid walking dangerously close to the lane that buses barrel into every few minutes, I wait and see if their parents have noticed yet, nope, they're too busy with their new baby, this kid is 2-4 I dunno I'm never around kids, all I know is that kid is FAR too close to that lane, and the bus will be coming soon, finally, the dad notices, chases his kid to catch her, she then proceeds to run into the mall next to the bus stop, they're gone for several minutes, the mum is looking at her watch anxiously, they're taking a long time and the bus will be here soon, finally the dad emerges with his daughter, then proceeds to smack her for running around. They're sitting there talking casually as their kid is crying her eyes out from the sting of that smack, and I'm sitting here thinking "all of this could have been avoided if she was on a leash" They didn't notice how close she was to being splattered by the bus, how easily somebody could have walked off with her when she ran into that mall, none of that.

This happens so often it's truly perplexing to me why so many don't leash their kid, I'm not saying you're irresponsible if you don't leash, frankly I don't really care, It's not my kid, It's not my responsibility. But it takes two seconds for something to go terribly wrong, they've started putting "hand leashes" on prams here, a simple wrist strap, attached to the pram that you put your hand into when you're walking, seems trivial, seems silly even, but it's not silly when you hear the story of a woman who took less than a minute to take her hands off her pram, answer her cell phone, and her baby and pram rolled into the river, it wasn't even on what could be considered an incline, it just happened, they found him, still strapped to his pram 2 hours later, he was 18 months old.

It seems like the sane thing to do when you think a leash could have prevented what happened to James Bulger (look it up if you don't know, not for the weak stomached) It makes sense when you see ever amber alert for a child that's just been snatched.

Do I plan on leashing my children? You're damn right I do.

BATAB

My Mom used a leash on me. I was an adventurous and independent kid and did not want to hold her hand. My mom was very progressive for her time.

bert16

No, but I leash other people's kids. None that I know... just random kids on the street.

jonnyman41

here here I also am very surprised that people are equating safety reins to being the same as dog leashes (or leads as they are called here in the uk) totally not the same thing at all and I have never ever heard of any adult ever mentioning having an issue with having been in reins as a kid!!!!! Maybe if they were in them aged 5 plus but again you never see that either!!! We feed dogs out of plastic bowls and kids out of palstic bowls when learning to feed themselves so are kids damaged by that!!!!!! Madness!!!

RunBrew

Hell yes I put my kid on a leash. I got one of the halter harnesses and hooked it to a 30' retractable dog leash. I choose how far he goes.

I promise, your kid doesn't want you to hold their hand, or be interactive with them every freaking second of every freaking day. That's not parenting. That's smothering.

Let them run and play and fall down. But don't let them run into the street because they got the drop on you and zigged when you 'knew' they were gonna zag, and now they're in the street.

Nicolee_2014

This topic has already been discussed on here and it did not go well.

Some children don't hold hands well and slip out of their parents grip and if it came down to putting your kids in a backpack leash or them dying by running in front of a car or getting stolen, I would go with the leash.

How about you not judge other parents?

In a perfect world each child would be an angel & hold Mummy & Daddy's hand every time they left the house. In reality, it doesn't happen for some people! Everyone does things differently, every child is different. People need to mind their own business unless :grumble:

Madame_Goldbricker

[/quote]
I wouldn't compare kids on a leash to the car seats, completely different situations. People all over the world use the car seats in order to protect a child during driving, not just the possible car accidents. And not too many people, I hope, leash their kids, maybe it's common in England but not in other countries. Because yes, it's associated with animals, dogs. Humans are leashed when they need to be dominated or humiliated, often in a sexual way, therefore seeing it with kids is shocking.

I would understand that if living in England would be much more dangerous than living in any other country, and Englsh kids make it their priority to jump under a car, and there's no other way but putting them on a leash. But there is and parents all over the world do it somehow.
[/quote]

Erm, you can consider it as a sexual act to use a safety harness on a child if you like. However, I'd say that was a load of old cobblers :huh: You are aware that reins/safety harnesses do not go around a child's neck?

VelvetMorning

There are some extremely ghetto, questionable areas around here. If I had to go to one and knew my focus would be diverted away from my child who could easily become enraptured in colorful, ghetto items, yes, I would use a leash. Only to make sure my baby didn't get snatched while my back is turned -- which is not unheard of here, sadly.

jonnyman41

bad parenting is not defined by the use of a leash or not!!! Most parents that use them use for safety reasons and still interact with children fully, those that don't use them also interact with their kids fully it is just an extra safety tool Yes bad parents may use them too but there is no way they would be better parents just because they did not use them but they may lose their kids on a more regular basis

lunglady

I was judgmental too......until I had a kid.

bunnybutler29

You know I have seen them around for a while now, but never used one on my kids and my youngest is now four so he doesn't need one now. I don't care if anyone uses it or not. I see some peoples kids run by with no parents and think hey put a leash on that kid. To each their own right?

twinketta

Safety is the biggest aspect. If you feel that your child is safer in the environment that you take them to being on a leash/rein then why not?

You may be the best driver in the world but surely you would feel safer if your child was harnessed in a car seat?

Sometimes it is not about us but about the environment that our children are placed into.

There is no guilt associated with wanting to keep your child safe IMHO

Kirstyw871

No, I don't, but I would do if he was unruly and ran off.
I wouldn't give a toss what other people thought either.

It winds me up that some people are so judgemental.

Safety > idiots opinions.

xvxCelticWandererxvx

I never leashed my kids. As teenagers, maybe I should have?

:laugh:

paperpudding

....

paperpudding

re posting as quote box came out wrong.......

[

^^^ the bit in bold.... exactly. You don't have kids. Looking after someone else's kids are not the same. And you may think your bf's girls are "crazy" but if they are 1-2 years old and understand when you explain to them why they should pay attention and act like ladies, then they must be child prodigies. Or perhaps they're not aged 1-2 years which is the age most kids are when parents use reins on them. Not understanding danger and being curious and wanting to explore, and not understanding their mother's explanation of why they should hold hands and walk nicely, is a normal part of toddler development. You're in for a rude shock when you have your own kids if you think your toddlers are just going to listen to you and understand the same way as a school age kid would. Maybe you'll be lucky and have really placid preschoolers, but there's no guarantee of that.

And I like that you've conveniently ignored all the points I've made about child safety, including the fact that attempting to restrain a child who dashes away from you by gripping their hand can result in their elbow dislocating. So your child is not on reins, they make a dash for the road, you're either going to grip their hand tight enough that they can't get away and risk damaging the joints in their arm, or you're not going to grip their hand tight enough and they'll dash away from you.... possibly right into the path of an oncoming car (toddlers have absolutely no sense of danger).

anyway, back to the bit in bold. You don't have kids of your own, even if you did, it doesn't mean that your kids are like other kids, and it doesn't give you the right to be so harshly judgemental of parents for what.... for using a piece of equipment that is for their child's safety. Are you like this about child car seats as well? You know, the ones that help protect kids if they're in a car accident? Because it's the same principle. I'm sure I can keep my kids sitting down nicely in the back of the car while I'm driving, but that's missing the point of what they're for. Reins are not for controlling a child's behaviour, you cannot control a child with reins, unless you want to drag your child along the floor on his or her back, which would be cruel and ridiculous. They're a safety precaution, you still have to teach your child to walk nicely and hold hands *while* using the reins. They're just there to stop them getting very far, should they make a dash for the road, as toddlers do tend to be unpredictable and very easily distracted....

I wouldn't compare kids on a leash to the car seats, completely different situations. People all over the world use the car seats in order to protect a child during driving, not just the possible car accidents. And not too many people, I hope, leash their kids, maybe it's common in England but not in other countries. Because yes, it's associated with animals, dogs. Humans are leashed when they need to be dominated or humiliated, often in a sexual way, therefore seeing it with kids is shocking.

I would understand that if living in England would be much more dangerous than living in any other country, and Englsh kids make it their priority to jump under a car, and there's no other way but putting them on a leash. But there is and parents all over the world do it somehow.

Using reins on children (or leashes on dogs for that matter) is now a sexual thing???!!!

My goodness, that comment takes the cake :laugh:

Also did you read PP's post about how streets are narrower in England and footpath (sidewalk) is so much closer to the road.
I didn't use reins either for my kids - but I live in a quiet rural area - nothing like a busy city.

Some posters seem incapable of seeing that not all children or all places/situations are the same as their own children/places/situations.

BTW, please add Australia to your list of countries where this is common - only in England but not other countries is wrong by at least one country.

paperpudding

I love when people leash their kids, especially at amusement parks....I immediately snap a pic and mock them on FB.

I have 2 young ones, never used a leash, everyone still alive. :flowerforyou:

I had 3 kids, all still alive and I didn't use leashes either but I don't award myself a medal for that or have any objections to those who do use them.
Any more than any other item or technique which I happened not to use but which worked for others.

I hope your first sentence isn't serious - that really would be quite pathetic.

Oh, I'm serious.... :bigsmile:

Like I said - pathetic.

and probably illegal -certainly would be here.

Kirstyw871

What sort of weirdo takes a picture of other peoples children without the parents knowledge?!

What the hell is wrong with you!!!!!

Loasaur

When I was a child, my parents took me to this big mall 4 hours away from our house. We were with their close friends. I was playing with some toys on the table in the food court and my mom left me in the care of her friend while she went to stand in line for some food. My moms friend turned around for a minute and I was gone. They found me 2 hours later in the parking lot (which is multiple stories). A year or so later, my parents brought me to a beach and there was a strip mall. I was playing peek-a-boo in the clothes racks with my Dad while my mother looked at some clothes. When I didn't "peek-a-boo" back, my dad opened the clothes rack and I was gone. They put the store on lock-down but it was too late. I was walking up and down the strip. A nice lady saw me and heard about the missing child and brought me back, but anyone could've picked me up. From then on, I got the leash. My parents were just too afraid to lose me again. :P

I wouldn't leash my child unless they gave me a reason too, but not because I'm lazy and don't want to watch them, but because of safety.

tlacox1

When my 17 year old was 2 I used one because I went on a field trip for my niece and I was on crutches so keeping up with him was difficult. At the time I didn't like the idea of it but felt I had no choice. Thankfully I did because he tried to run across the train tracks at the zoo and the train was coming. No way I could have stopped him while on crutches because I couldn't hold his hand.

Nowadays, it is so dangerous and kids are getting taken daily that I can't really blame parents for wanting to do that. I have a 2 1/2 and 5 year old and don't use one BUT I definitely can understand why some do use them. You just never know anymore.

4homer

Have I? no. Do I care what other parents do? no. I never understood the need for some parents to judge others.

DamePiglet

I wouldn't compare kids on a leash to the car seats, completely different situations. People all over the world use the car seats in order to protect a child during driving, not just the possible car accidents. And not too many people, I hope, leash their kids, maybe it's common in England but not in other countries. Because yes, it's associated with animals, dogs. Humans are leashed when they need to be dominated or humiliated, often in a sexual way, therefore seeing it with kids is shocking.

I would understand that if living in England would be much more dangerous than living in any other country, and Englsh kids make it their priority to jump under a car, and there's no other way but putting them on a leash. But there is and parents all over the world do it somehow.

I think these guys think child restraints are sexual...

Not sure about anyone else.