Kids on leashes

kelle

My son hated being in his buggy so I tried using reins, but it backfired as he'd refuse to walk and go horizontal! I can't believe others are so against them.

Nevyn

It can take a while for a child to get used to them.
I weaned mine into them but having them on while they pottered about the garden with the gat locked and then taking them for a short walk two or three houses down the road and back again.

You can't just start out with a 10 min walk to the nearest shop.

WindSock

run_Forrest_run wrote:

hmm, just like Pavlov's dogs eh!

Yes, but will the child salvitate everytime he/she sees the lead and thinks it's walkies time?

luckat

I rather like the wrist version. It allows the child to walk freely, but be safer and stay comfortable - ever tried walking along with your hand stretched up in the air, the way a toddler holding its parent's hand must?

As for buggies - have you seen those lunatics who stand at the side of a busy road, holding the buggy with the child in it sticking out into the traffic?

simu

run_Forrest_run wrote:

good luck, start saving for your osteopath visits now!

What are you on about?

BostonB

Dreamer 7 wrote:

Personally i think they are awful, i have never used them and hate to see kids trapped in them. I know its hard to keep an eye on them at all times but it can be done

Eye is one thing catching them is another. A fast 2 yr old can easily get a jump start of a couple of meters on a fit adult. never mind someone with more than one child, or not able to sprint for whatever reason. Eventually kids grow out of them. Kids of all ages can run out unpredictably, never mind a toddler/preschooler with little or no sense.

iguana

Dreamer 7 wrote:

Personally i think they are awful, i have never used them and hate to see kids trapped in them.

You realise that toddlers in buggies tend to be strapped into the buggy too. In fact every buggy I have ever seen comes with straps attached - see. So exactly why is it ok to strap a child in a pram, but not strap them to you while they are walking?

I was walked in a rein when I was a baby. As were both my brothers. I can't say it has done any of us any harm. Though I'm not adverse to a little bondage from time to time.

kleefarr

Thaedydal wrote:

They are not leashes they are baby reins and they are a gods send.
The let a kid way but you can yank them back when they make a run for somehing and you can if they go to fall hoist them up before the hit the ground.

I did get sniped at one day on o'connell street by some dried up old spinster who looked down her nose at my child on the baby reins and said how could I tie them up like a dog.
I faced her down and told her better on baby reins then dead under a bus or fat in a buggy.

Yep. Pretty much what I would have said!

Better safe than sorry.

Actually I would just like to add that they come in handy when your young one is taking their first steps as well. Not many sore knees, bumps and brusies.

kleefarr

Dreamer 7 wrote:

Personally i think they are awful, i have never used them and hate to see kids trapped in them.

I think they would rather that than be trapped in a buggy.

nesf

kleefarr wrote:

I think they would rather that than be trapped in a buggy.

I can imagine a particularly fat and lazy 2 year old preferring the buggy.

MyBaby

We use one with our son. Its a god send. We live in Dublin city centre, so to let my 18mth old just walk down the road, would be a definite no. 1 split second and he could be dead under a car. I dont like having him locked up in his pram all the time either so the harness is good because we can go for a walk without him running out on the road or falling and splitting his head open.

The one we have goes around his chest and then comes up behind him. We would get the one that straps to the hand because we knew he wouldnt like getting his hand pulled every 2seconds and he hands would be free to move around.

WindSock

I just asked my Mother about this and she said I had one! I absolutely don't recall having one, but she was quite sure she used one for us all. Funny that, it obviously didn't leave much damage on me...:)

nobodythere

First off, I'm going to say that I'm not a parent, but it really angers me to see parents who bring their kids around on leashes, literally DRAGGING them around the place like they're walking their dogs.

I don't even know where to begin with it. It's in kids nature to explore everything around them, yes they'll get bumped and bruised but that's just a part of life. It KILLS me to see parents chatting away like gob****es and yanking the leash when their kids are trying to explore.

Thoughts please...

Nevyn

If the parents are gobeens then that is the problem not the baby reins.

Oryx

Agreed. You can be an irresponsible parent dragging your child like a dog, or just as irresponsible with the same child vegetating in a buggy or running around like a wild thing on a busy street. Or you be a 'good' parent while still using leashes buggies or holding your child by the hand, as long as your first interest is the safety and wellbeing of your child.

Its all down to the parent, not the tools they use.

di11on

Man, I am so uncomfortable with these things. Everytime I see a kid on a leash it disturbs me.

I think it's a cop-out. It's harder but better to teach a child to do what you say rather than treat them like an animal that can't understand direction. A leash is the easy way out which disadvantages the child. Surely you need to teach your children to listen to you and to allow them to learn that what you say is generally in their interests. They need to learn that you provide directions which are for their good. Putting them on a leash conveys the message that they are not capable of heeding direction and the only way of keeping them safe is by tieing them up.

When do you let them off the leash? It's going to be so much harder then.

My feelings obviously - not backed up by scientific research :-)

Nevyn

it is not a leash , it is a harness.

and have you ever tired to get a 2 year old to understand in the way you seem to think they should be able to ?

Be safe not sorry

mossieh

Thaedydal wrote:

it is not a leash , it is a harness.

and have you ever tired to get a 2 year old to understand in the way you seem to think they should be able to ?

Be safe not sorry

Wow, I find myself in agreement with Thaedydal...I don't see where the debate is here folks, the harness is incredibly handy as a compromise between where the kid wants to walk and where you want them to. They have enough freedom to feel grown-up and you know that they're safe as well as the fact that they're getting good exercise for little legs. What's the problem?

If the harness is being compared to a leash for a dog, is having a baby sleep in a cot with high sides like keeping an animal in a cage?

di11on

Kind of like this harness here:



It's principle that makes me uncomfortable, doesn't matter weather you call it a leash or a harness or a restraint or whatever. I don't believe there is a need for these things and that everything these harnesses do can be achieved with a little more attention and care to the child.

I agree with previous posters that it all depends on the parent and on the child and that obviously, using one of these things doesn't make you a bad parent. I'm just saying that I don't feel its the best way to keep your child safe.

Just like they say with baby monitors etc. - they aren't a substitute for a loving, caring parent that is paying attention to what their child is doing.

Scofflaw

di11on wrote:

Just like they say with baby monitors etc. - they aren't a substitute for a loving, caring parent that is paying attention to what their child is doing.

And just like with baby monitors, they can be a godsend to a loving, caring parent who is paying attention to what their child is doing...


cordially,
Scofflaw

Nevyn

Have you ever tired to take a 2 year old for a walk ?
Esp when they are just starting out ?

Yes child have rights, yes we love our children but
children also need training and to have thier behaviours curbed and when they are that small
they won't stop when you tell them to or yell at them.

Have you ever tried to chase after a 2 to 3 year old while pregnant or while pushing an infant in a buggy ?

nesf

Scofflaw wrote:

And just like with baby monitors, they can be a godsend to a loving, caring parent who is paying attention to what their child is doing...

http://www.wellingtongrey.net/miscellanea/archive/2007-05-27--the-truth-about-wireless-devices.html

di11on

|.Murderer.| wrote:

I think I used to be restrained in one. The sore wrist is annoying but you soon realise that running away = pain so you quickly learn not to run at something - however shiny it maybe!

I think this is the issue for me - that the corrective action is the result of an inanimate object causing pain and/or discomfort for the child rather than a loving action from the parent.

Gran Hermano

Anyone know of a device similar to the electronic dog collars but suitable
for toddlers? I'd be interested in knowing whether they exist as they would
allow junior to learn he has to keep within a safe distance and if he strays
too far he'll receive a little jolt. Plus to the casual observer it wont look
like he's on a leash and it'll mean when I bring junior and rover out for a
walk I will not need to have my hands tied up with two sets of leashes.

nesf

di11on wrote:

I think this is the issue for me - that the corrective action is the result of an inanimate object causing pain and/or discomfort for the child rather than a loving action from the parent.

So, you disagree with car seats then?

di11on

nesf wrote:

So, you disagree with car seats then?

That's ridiculous.

With car seats, you are protecting children from death or serious injury resulting from the extreme forces which would be produced if the vehicle were in a colision or went out of control. They aren't in seats because they are likely to wander around the car... they're in them to protect them from potential severe forces.

In this situation, there aren't corrective actions a parent can take to provide the same protection.

di11on

Gran Hermano wrote:

Anyone know of a device similar to the electronic dog collars but suitable
for toddlers? I'd be interested in knowing whether they exist as they would
allow junior to learn he has to keep within a safe distance and if he strays
too far he'll receive a little jolt. Plus to the casual observer it wont look
like he's on a leash and it'll mean when I bring junior and rover out for a
walk I will not need to have my hands tied up with two sets of leashes.

Gran Hermano understands :-)

Nevyn

no Gran Hermano was taking the piss.

So di11on you can't see an dangers when a person is taking a 2 year old for a walk then ?

nesf

Di11on, you missed my point. What I'm getting at is that the discomfort or pain caused by an inanimate object might be because of the loving actions of a parent. A toddler needs to be restrained in some way when walking near traffic (I think we can all agree on this) the question is one of balancing the child's desire to explore with the need to restrain them along with one of practicality. Baby reins allow the child more freedom to explore while still being suitably restrained. Putting them in the buggy on the other hand stiffles this freedom (though depending on the child this mightn't be an issue) and "holding their hand" only really works if you are fit enough to catch up to the child when they inevitably break away which isn't an option for some people.

Nevyn

It is not even the levle of fitness it is the fact that the kerb and passing cars may be less then 3 foot way and all it can take is that few running steps.

The restaint that the bbys rein offer is a lot less damaging then what a child can do when resisting against an adult holding it's hand/wrist.