I used to feel totally different about child leashes than I do now. Before I had [name]Rowan[/name], I would always comment about how lazy or silly it was and I honestly feel bad about it. [name]Rowan[/name] is now at that lovely age where she is definitely a toddler, but she isn’t old enough to reason and understand why she can’t walk into the street or run at full speed down a grassy hill. I am actually considering getting one for stores/grocery shopping because she wants to walk wherever we go. She absolutely hates the little seats in carts. My husband is still very “anti leash” but he’s not the one who has to chase after her AND grocery shop at the same time. I’m not sure if she would be okay with it though…she might just sit down on the floor and throw a tantrum because she can sense she’s not free to run wherever she pleases.
I had one as a child, it wrapped around my wrist. I will never forget that. My mom used it when we went shopping and the cart would be filled with food. I was a very busy child lol. Now they make ones that almost look like harnesses. Although people look at you like your nuts or trying to walk your child like a dog I can see them coming in handy if you are in the city area. I would possibly use one when I visit NYC since strollers are inconvenient do to the large population of people, stairs, doorways etc. Lots of obstacles. Since I live in a suburb, quiet type area a stroller works just fine on the sidewalks which I would use if I were to go out. But I think they are totally harmless and convenient for certain situations. Plus the ones that look like backpacks now are almost giving your child a “job” for the day where they can hold their snacks, books etc. and you can keep a hold of them.
I think they are a good idea in some situations. We had one for my youngest sister when she was a baby and at the time i thought it was funny because she got walked around like a puppy (I was like 7 at the time, so sorry if that sounds rude). We used to have a campsite by a river and she loved to escape so she ended up tethered near my parents most of the time. We also had one for my niece but only used it maybe a handful of times. It was useful but not really necessary. We carried her or pushed her in a stroller, and as she got older she would ride piggyback on one of our backs or would hold someone’s hand. Come to think of it, we really only used that thing because it was a gift…
I try not to be all judgemental about it but I admit it irks me to see people “walk” their children on them…you know, like you would a dog…not just use them…if that makes sense? Especially if it’s hot out, or the parents are paying more attention to their friends or whatever than the child, or if the child plainly is tired, wants held, or does not want to be dragged along…that’s ridiculous…and I admit, sometimes I think “come on, pick up your kid already”.
Would I use one for my own child? Ehh…maybe if I were able to dig up the one we used for my niece, which is unlikely…it’s not something i would go out and buy, personally.
I used proper reins with my son when he started walking and progressed to the animal backpack with the strap. He hated the buggy and after two refused to get in it! He is a very headstrong child and even now has little concept of danger! As far as I am concerned its safety first. I couldn’t give two hoots what anyone else thinks. I’ve certainly found that I am much less judgemental since I’ve become a parent. I don’t let my kids sleep in our bed, have a strict bedtime routine and a designated naughty chair which is not for everyone else but works for us. I have dear friends who have techniques I wouldn’t use but they are not my kids and I am in no place to lecture anyone as I certainly wouldn’t appreciate being lectured to!
I have a baby girl as well and I’ll definitely use reins with her. We live on a busy road and I’d rather raise a few eyebrows and keep my child safe than run the risk of her running into the road and being hit by a car. Trying to juggle a dog, shopping, house keys and a toddler is difficult. Whilst I accept they are not to everyone’s taste I am happy using them 
each to their own!!
I’m not a mom yet, so I don’t have much of an opinion. I don’t really have a problem with it.
My [name]MIL[/name] said she would never have considered using them with her first son, who was very quiet and obedient and stayed close during outings. Then she had son number 2… And changed her mind. He was quiet too, but sneaky. When he got old enough, he would sneak away while in public when mom and dad were busy or tending to their other son. He was very curious and just wanted to walk around and see things. She said giving him a “leash” was actually giving him MORE freedom, because with the leash he could still wander a few feet away, but be safe. Without it, he was stuck in a stroller, being carried, or holding hands… all of which afforded this very independent child much less freedom to be curious. I think she still feels slightly bad about it, because she tells that story a lot. I completely understand where she’s coming from and agree with her reasoning.
You never know why people choose to use a harness/leash. At least they are trying to keep their kid safe! I can’t very well fault a parent for that.
I had one as a toddler. I was two when my sister was born, so she ended up in the pram and I had to walk beside, but obviously my mum couldn’t hold my hand and push the pram at the same time. My reins were just a longish piece of material with a velcro strap to put round my wrist and then my mum’s or the buggy handle or wherever. I’d use one for my child to walk down the street in a heartbeat. I love the backpack thing that people are talking about, wish they had them when I was a kid, they sound so cute.
I used to judge people using harnesses, reins, etc pretty harshly before I was a parent. Let’s be honest, we were ALL perfect parents… before we had kids 
I hate to hear people who are parents still judging the parents of a kid in a harness. Odds are, said judgy parent just doesn’t have one of THOSE kids. DD has never tolerated the stroller, so I wore her well into her second year. Now that she’s 30 lbs, I can only do that for short periods of time. She is wonderfully adventurous and terribly fast, so if I lived in a city, I wouldn’t hesitate to harness her. I wholeheartedly agree that having a discussion with your child about the rules and all of that is incredibly important, so that they learn over time. However, those discussions don’t mean a thing to a young toddler with limited language, so I wouldn’t trust my parenting over their instincts in this regard.
On the whole, I see more kids being dragged by a good old-fashioned arm than a harness. 
“Odds are, said judgy parent just doesn’t have one of THOSE kids.”
Hahaha. Maybe I should go through the [name]Flip[/name] video clips we took of him when he was a toddler and pick one to post. I was worried about him developmentally for awhile because toddlers of a certain age, when taken to an unconfined space, tend to run only so far away before turning around and looking at mom/dad. Let’s just say my oldest is almost nine and I still long for a leash on him every once in a blue moon; he was a sh*tstorm for awhile when he was a toddler. And our middle son was even faster and more daring. Thing 1 and Thing 2, they were. It’s (mostly) temporary. Hard to believe, but someday they will actually listen to some of the things you say when they go places with you!
I’m not saying you’re a bad parent if you use a leash with your toddler. I’m saying that maybe it’s a necessarily difficult time, as it is totally developmentally appropriate for toddlers to experiment with separating from you.
Taking the long view for a minute…If your kid never gets lost for a few minutes at the grocery store, how will he/she learn to pay attention to surroundings and that Mom is ultimately human? Conversely, he also learns to trust that you are there for him and anxious for him to be “found”, etc. Your heart stops and your blood runs cold and time stands still while it is happening, but this experience is an essential part of his life, [name]IMO[/name]. Plus, he gets to talk with you later about what to do (you could tell him, “freeze and stay right where you are” or “find a mommy with a stroller and tell her you don’t see your mom”). A stranger kidnapping a child during one of these moments is, fortunately, rare.
It’s interesting that a lot of people seem to view leash-users as lazy parents. When I’m in a lazy mood or just need to get where I’m going, I strap my 1.5 year old into something, be it a stroller, car seat or hiking back pack. The leash, for me, is for exploring and getting outdoor exercise and learning how to properly walk on the street. It keeps me from having to walk many blocks in a crouched position while holding my tiny daughter’s hand. I also think it’s great that she has that feeling of freedom to explore.
I agree with the poster who mentioned that a lot of typical baby things- wearing a diaper, being strapped into anything, would be “demeaning” for an adult just as much as a leash!
I used one for my son when we went to the Ravens Super Bowl [name]Victory[/name] celebration at the stadium. There were over 200,000 people and I had the baby strapped to me in the Ergo carrier and my son was walking. If my husband had been with me we would have brought a second carrier and each carried a child. I couldn’t have brought a stroller because it would have been impossible to fit through the crowds or up the steps in the stadium to find seats. I wasn’t worried about him being kidnapped or anything since that is rare. But in a crowd that size if he had wandered off he could have been lost for awhile, which would have been a really traumatizing event. I was glad I put one on him because while were waiting for public transportation afterwards the crowd shifted and he got slightly pushed away from me towards the edge of the platform. He was never in any danger or going over the edge but he was fairly close and having the leash helped me not entirely freak out. While I will admit my son isn’t the best listener usually I can manage without a leash but in a situation with a huge crowd of people I think it is necessary to help keep them safe. His leash is a cute little monkey backpack with a long tail. He loves to wear it especially when I’m wearing his sister because I’ve presented it as though he’s carrying the monkey. We also brought it for the much less crowded St. [name]Patrick[/name]'s [name]Day[/name] parade but my husband was with me for it so we just put the backpack on him and didn’t use the leash.
Also as far as the whole idea of just hiring a babysitter that really isn’t something we can do financially on a regular basis. And for some events it’s things your child will enjoy attending. My son loves to attend parades especially the St. [name]Patrick[/name]'s [name]Day[/name] since with his name being [name]Patrick[/name] he thinks the parade is all about him.
Yes, please! Let’s start a thread called “[name]Honey[/name] Badger Wars”!! 
I totally agree with you on the store type of situations, it really is a developmentally necessary thing. I just think that the appropriate timing for giving that freedom can be very different depending on the child. My daughter is just now (at 21 months) getting to the point where she would actually notice quickly that I was nowhere in sight. A couple of months ago, she would’ve (okay, HAS) been clear across the store, climbing a shelf and throwing things at strangers within 30 seconds. This wasn’t even a situation where I didn’t see her slip away - she slipped her sweaty little hand out of mine and was just too fast for me to keep up! She only realized I wasn’t with her when she fell and hurt herself and she needed someone to kiss her boo boo. A harness would’ve never worked for us in this situation, either, as she fought it like crazy the one time I tried it. However, I wouldn’t knock another parent if it works for them and allows them to get done what they need to! Hopefully they won’t judge me for being the lady with the screaming kid strapped into the shopping cart.
I really think that most people are using them in situations where their child is at risk of being quickly lost, run over, trampled, etc… I personally don’t know anyone who uses it on a daily or even weekly basis. I’m sure that changes in a city living situation, because the risk of being hit by a car is amplified.
@tk, [name]Will[/name] do. It will be hard to pick one that does him justice!
I used to giggle at them when I was in my late teens/early twenties, but I don’t think they’re so bad now. Not a mom yet, but I could see myself using one, especially in an airport. Traveling is so stressful now (I’m in the US) that I would take any help I could get.
I don’t want to offend the others and Iam not a mother to judge but these is absolutely cruel imo.I have seen my aunt use leash in my 2 yrs old cousin and I couldn’t even look at them. She was crying all the way and in one moment she just stop walking so my aunt though it was appropriate to drugging her with the leash and she was literally on the floor while my aunt was keep moving!!The picture still hunted me on my mind!! I mean leashes are for dogs, right?Children must be free and not be trapped.I understand that some kids are disobeying and the parents worried about their safety but come on there isn’t other way to control your kids?
This is my opinion and I am apology in advance if i’am been rude on someone.
I can see why you would think harnesses were cruel if this is the only way you’ve seen them used. I’ve never seen anyone use a harness this way on a child. [name]Ever[/name].
Restraining a child is not “trapping” them if it is for their own safety. My child screams when I put her in her carseat. Should I just let her ride on top of the car because that’s where she’d prefer to be? Of course not! As parents, we often have to decide between what is popular and what works for our children to keep them safe. That can be very different from one family to another. Your aunt, however, sounds like she could use some parenting classes. I’m sorry that you had to witness that!
ETA: You could also consider what strollers are used for. They restrain a child so that the parent can move faster. A harness, on the other hand, is not meant to be used to “walk” a child (as some people might a dog). It’s only to keep them from darting away, the parent still should be slowing down to the child’s pace and walking with them.
I’ve only once or twice actually used the leash part when my son was wearing it and that was just to stop him from moving further from me until I reached him. Most of the time he was either wandering off slightly and I just held the leash to actually give him more freedom or I held his hand and the leash at the same time. I would assume your cousin cries when it’s put on because past experiences with it. My son loves to wear his and he isn’t a child who likes to be restrained. He hates being buckled into a stroller or car seat but is fine about wearing the leash. I still have only used it twice. Children can’t have unlimited freedom. They would hurt themselves. I love letting my kids explore but we have several baby gates in our house because otherwise my daughter would fall right down the steps.
I’ve never used them, but I was visiting my parents last week and we visited the National Aquarium and it was super crowded. I saw a little girl with one and as my arms were worn out from holding hands with my toddler who was constantly pulling on them I was a bit envious.
When my son was small, we lived far away from my parents, so we used the “leashes” in airports. He’d get to walk around and get his energy out before we got on the plane, and he thought he was king of the world walking around by himself. I was free to keep track of all the stuff I needed to travel alone with a one-year-old that had to change clothes three times a day, and he was free to use his little legs so he wasn’t insane in the plane. Although he only wore it twice before he figured out how to get it off.
My son is barely walking yet, but when he gets going I plan on using one - he’s rather energetic (to put it mildly) and I have horror images in my mind of him darting out into traffic or something. I don’t think they’re cruel, it’s not like I’ll be dragging him along. It’s just for my peace of mind knowing I won’t have to sprint after him whilst heavily pregnant as he takes off down the street.
I tried to use one on my oldest when he was a toddler and he was having none of it! He pulled on it and very quickly figured out how to get it off (but he was also capable of unbuckling the stroller seat belt at that point). So I didn’t try it with the others.
The only time I find myself getting judgemental about leashes/reins/harnesses or any of the other devices we strap our children into are when I see the parent on the phone or Facebook - that kind of thing (and naturally, I assume they do that all the time and aren’t just taking a quick, much needed break); however, as the mom of a toddler and older children, you will have opportunities to raise your eyebrows at me when you see me allowing my toddler to eat [name]Fig[/name] Newtons out of the container in the grocery cart in an effort to distract her attempts to unbuckle herself, while I talk to my 16 year old daughter on the phone, who is supervising the 12 year old in cleaning her room and the 9 year old in eating something that isn’t served through a window! Good luck fellow parents and future parents. [name]Just[/name] love them - that’s what counts.