Do you leash your kid?

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

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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.
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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.