Poll: Leashing/Harnassing children.

[johnnyLupine]

I don't think I have ever seen anyone actually use one of those, it looks bizzare.

 

[Nantucket_v1legacy]

These things are a godsend!
Have you ever held onto a little person's hand for a long time? Ever had to walk long distances with a young kid who wants to run across a road because there's an ice cream man there?

Silly or not - I'd rather get an odd look then have to explain where my nephew is if I went out without one.

 

[Zhukov]

I remember being slightly shocked as a kid when I first saw another kid in one of those things.

"Muuuum, why is that boy being walked like a dog?"

But eh, whatever works I guess. Seems a bit excessive, but I don't doubt that there are some kids, not to mention some parents, who need to use them.

 

[hawkeye52]

I always find it hilarious to see but I couldn't imagine doing it to any of my future children

 

[ElPatron]

I shouldn't tell parents what to do with their children as long it doesn't hurt them.

Without any kind of evidence that says that children do get damaged by those things, I'll just assume the parents are assholes and go on my way.

But the chance of a child accidentally running off somewhere a car hits them is tiny. It's probably along the same lines as the chance of getting struck by lightning.

Okay. But the burden of proof is on you, gimmie the stats of young pedestrian road deaths and lightning strikes. I think kids being ran over by cars is far more common.

And even if, my parents always taught me to never run into the street without looking.

Because children do what they are told.

That seems preferable an option to treating your child like some sort of animal.

Humans are animals by definition.

 

[Something Amyss]

If you need a leash to mind your child, you should not be a parent.

 

[loc978]

That's no way to impart the necessary lessons of how to behave in public on a child, it's just another way to ignore the child. Absolutely deplorable. If you're gonna keep the kid, raise the kid. If you refuse to raise the kid, it should be given to someone more willing to do what's right for it.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

I ticked the 'exceptional' one, meaning autistic little rascals or the like.

I don't think normal children should be leashed, it looks like lazy parenting, and I wouldn't be too surprised to find leashed kids to develop issues other, non-leashed kids normally don't have.

I see what leashes can do to dogs that aren't used to them, and how much patience it needs to bring them back to be capable of a normal, trusting relationship to humans. I really don't want to think about all the things that can go wrong inside the head of a kid that's casually leashed.

Just looking at the picture makes me kind of... angry. And sad, too.

http://www.bhsjacket.com/sites/default/files/Saylor%20Thomas%20--%20Kids%20on%20Leashes-1.jpg

 

[Thaluikhain]

IIRC, I might have been leashed as a child. My mum used to say she'd never do that, but she had to reconsider when she lost sight of me of a busy train station once.

Yes, they are demeaning, but if it stops your little kid who doesn't know any better wandering off just once, it could well be worth it.

 

[GTwander]

Never.

We all need to go back to just hitting our kids.


~On the other hand.
Not a month or two ago there was a big fiasco not 2 blocks away from where I was staying. Tons of cops, so I decided to go "the other way". Turns out some 3-year old kid ran out into traffic and got obliterated, didn't survive the trip to the hospital... and he was here on vacation with his parents. Worst family trip, ever - and a leash may have saved his life.

Though, while it may sound cruel, this is just Darwinism at work. Leashes are just preventing the inevitable.
I for one never had to be told what happens when you run out into traffic, and never caused any issues for my folks. I've even knew a dog (welsh corgi) that never needed a leash because it knew the value of looking both ways before crossing a street. If you can't impart that value to anyone/anything, they likely do not deserve the right of survival.

 

[CaptainMarvelous]

It's my experience that people who have the strongest opinions about child-rearing have the least experience in the matter. It's folly to think of children as tiny adults, or that they're capable of being demeaned the way adults would be. The kid might not like a harness but if it's keeping them from being hit by a car you really can't argue with the results.

Alternatively you could, I dunno, watch the kid? While I haven't had kids, I've taken care of my neighbours 5 year old at various points in the last 5 years, their 2 year old for the last two and my sister's daughters from a range of ages so I have at least a little experience in this and I'm pretty anti-harness after a while.

Not because I don't think it's possible they'd wander into traffic but generally if we're near a road I'll make them hold my hand or carry them or any number of other reasonable options that a)mean I'm paying attention and b)mean they can't do it anyway (because you can still have a toddler wander in front of a car on a leash they're just strapped to someone while they do it, it's really not a preventative measure in that regard). So personally, I don't like the idea. On the other hand -

But the chance of a child accidentally running off somewhere a car hits them is tiny. It's probably along the same lines as the chance of getting struck by lightning.

And even if, my parents always taught me to never run into the street without looking. That seems preferable an option to treating your child like some sort of animal.

So to answer the OP post, there's never a justified reason for putting your child on a leash.

The chances of a toddler running in front of a car when next to a road are probably pretty close to 1. Toddlers don't understand the concepts of cars, danger or mortality so are probably more concerned with something like "Look! Red! Approach with face and lick!". The age range we're considering most often seem to have the self preservation extincts of a brain-damaged squirrel so expecting them to use logic is unfeasible (there's only so often you can say, 'stop trying to grab the bacon as it's cooking' before you realise they understand but flat out don't care). Because I think we all agree 5-6 year olds shouldn't be on a leash because what the crap parents, if they can spell their own name and own a goldfish they don't need to be leashed.

There IS a justified reason to have kids on a leash, that being you're safety conscious but also want your children to run around and exercise. The alternative is usually putting them in a pram (or whatever the american word for that is, baby carriage?) so they're safe but costs them exercise or do what I do and use your long legs and spatial awareness to keep them watched and safe or what not. Which is fine for a young 20 something, probably less so a 60 year old with back pain or a mid forties obese individual who has somehow inexplicably procreated and now has to watch an 18 month old baby who is significantly faster than them.

So in summation, I don't support the use of leashes but I understand the practicality and decision to use them.

tl;dr, I don't like leashes, some people might use them and while I disagree in certain circumstances it makes sense. Feeding your kid treats for behaving and letting them poop in the park is kind of a 100% unacceptable rating.

 

[Agayek]

I was never put on a leash, nor do I know anyone who was. The practice itself I don't see as particularly abhorrent though, provided the kids are within a certain range. A kid just learning to walk or too young to really understand the basics of pedestrian etiquette (or just one of those unholy nightmare children that do nothing but piss off everyone within 300 feet) can (and possibly should) be leashed, for their own safety if nothing else. The way I see it, it's functionally a stroller that lets the kid practice walking on their own. As long as the parent isn't literally dragging them around, there's nothing wrong with it.

A leash on a kid over 5-6 years old is probably over the line however. They're old enough then to know where they should and shouldn't be. The only exception to this is the aforementioned nightmare children that exist solely to make everyone miserable. Those should stay on a leash until they turn 18.

 

[Teshi]

Sometimes a person needs to keep track of a runner toddler while out and about AND needs to be doing something that requires the use of their hands. (For example, attending to a second child that is an infant.) In those situations I think those leashes are a lot less cruel than keeping a hyper, curious two-year-old locked down in a stroller, and certainly less cruel than losing him or her.

 

[Risingblade]

It makes sense if you're going somewhere crowded with a lot of kids.

 

[Genocidicles]

Me and my siblings were leashed as children (the wrist kind, so not as bad I guess.)

Even then it was only used as some kind of punishment for misbehaving.

 

[kickyourass]

Like it or not some kids are just runners, and sometimes parents are in situations where they can't keep a firm grip on their kid, in such a case I think it's better to have the kid leashed or otherwise restrained then running wild.

 

[Xdeser2]

yes, leashes should totallllly be used

God Forbid parents should be EXPECTED to keep an eye on their child at all times

-____-

 

[GTwander]

Like it or not some kids are just runners, and sometimes parents are in situations where they can't keep a firm grip on their kid, in such a case I think it's better to have the kid leashed or otherwise restrained then running wild.

Then smack them the first time they do it.
When they cry, tell them "trust me, getting hit by a car will hurt a LOT worse".

The only reason runner-kids run in the first place because they think the parent's reaction to that shit is funny. It's a fucking game, and the only cure is solid knowledge that said shit will NOT be put up with.

The lack of being able to punish your kids through a good wallop is what's wrong with society today. They act up in ways that were unimaginable 30 years ago, and it leads to criminal delinquency.

 

[Soundwave]

Alternatively you could, I dunno, watch the kid? While I haven't had kids, I've taken care of my neighbours 5 year old at various points in the last 5 years, their 2 year old for the last two and my sister's daughters from a range of ages so I have at least a little experience in this and I'm pretty anti-harness after a while.

Of course parents should pay attention to the kid when they're on the harness. The reason you have the harness is to restrict the child's range of movement, it isn't a license to ignore your child. Kid could be eating something he picked up off the ground, or any number of things.

My mom had to use one for my brother when she broke her leg. Without it, if he'd bolted (which he had the habit of doing) she'd have been unable to get him.

It's really easy to tell someone else how to parent children, and many self-appointed experts on the internet are little more than children themselves (this statement isn't directed at anyone in particular). Plenty of people shouldn't have children, but I'd argue that ones that leash theirs at least care enough about their kids to sacrifice their own public image for their child's safety.

 

[Kae]

It's my experience that people who have the strongest opinions about child-rearing have the least experience in the matter. It's folly to think of children as tiny adults, or that they're capable of being demeaned the way adults would be. The kid might not like a harness but if it's keeping them from being hit by a car you really can't argue with the results.

IDK. My mother remembers being on a leash and finding it humiliating. I'm not exactly sure how old she was, but I've seen kids anywhere from toddler to about aged seven on a leash, and most people form permanent memories by seven. Even if they aren't aware of it then, they'll remember the experience.

I can confirm that...
I remember it, and it was pretty humiliating, I mean I was pretty clumsy [small](OK, still am)[/small] and I didn't like to hold hands, and as I said there were 4 of us, it was fairly embarrassing, I was 6-7 at the time, don't know if my brother and sister would be more humiliated since they were 8-9 and 10-11[footnote]The other one was 4-5, yes we did come out in a strangely specific schedule, 1 year 8 months apart from each other, yes that is pretty weird.[/footnote], but yeah, it makes you feel kinda stupid.