Poll: Leashing/Harnassing children.

[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.

 

[Dimitriov]

As far as I can tell anyone who answered no either has a weird idea that we are all talking about kids over the age of 5 (no that is too old for a leash, duh) or else have zero fucking awareness of what little children can be like...

Seriously, I am told that when I was a toddler I would just take off running: pretty much at any given opportunity. I don't remember if I was ever put on a leash or not, but I certainly wouldn't care if my mom had done so...

Human children are in a sense all born prematurely compared to most other mammals. Small human children are absolutely incapable of looking after themselves, and have no concept of danger or mortality... sometimes I genuinely think they are sketchy on the effects of gravity!

There is nothing wrong with putting a small child on a leash for their own safety, and for their parents' sanity.

 

[Frission]

Depends. I would be better to actually hold your kids hand, like a good parent, but I remember when I had to babysit some younger cousins. Both of them were toddlers. It was an extremely taxing exercise.

So use it if you really need it I guess. It would be better to hold hands though.

 

[Mid Boss]

I loath children and seeing them leashed like this is both hilarious and practical. So... yeah! Go for it!

 

[excalipoor]

Ethan Mars wouldn't be such a loser if he had just had one of these.

How old are we talking here? Because a stroller or a baby sling does the job much better for anyone under the age of 3-4.

 

[piinyouri]

My parents held my hand, or held me, or put me on thier shoulders.

I/we got along fine.

I hate to sound like a pompous asswipe, but this seems like it's for the kind of parents who let their children run wild in the Dollar Store and mess everything up, screaming at the top of their lungs.

 

[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.

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.

Thanks for the advice, but I think I'll take the option that doesn't involve me beating my kids.

It might just be me but I think the problem with society is that there are too many people go immediately to hitting their kid. There are ways of getting your point across without hitting them.

Criminal delinquency? What the hell kinda math are you working with? Honestly I'd like to know what brought you to the conclusion "Acting up as a kid = criminal behavior later."

 

[teebeeohh]

you know who could have used a leash?
Jason
but really, WTF? i have never seen those things and they freak me out a little but i do see the use for them but everyone i have ever known just used a [whatever the correct term is for those things with wheels you put babies and toddlers in] and just put the kid in there or had someone else watch the child(or put the child in the most comfortable spot ever when you are 3: dads shoulders) while you were changing diapers.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

If someone is such a horrible parent they need the child to be leashed up they probably shouldn't have children at all.

My parents are two of the most loving people you could ever meet, yet as a toddler I had reigns because whatever I was interested in was invariably on the other side of a busy road. Keep your sweeping generalisations to yourself.

OT: The use of reigns very much depends on the child. Some children are adventurous, others are not. For kids that aren't, reigns are unnecessary. For those that are it's the parent's call, but in high traffic areas they are most likely a good idea.

 

[Shadowstar38]

If someone is such a horrible parent they need the child to be leashed up they probably shouldn't have children at all.

Keep your sweeping generalisations to yourself.

Calm down would you. You're quick to be offended by an opinion.

If a kid if young enough that they would move around at the drop of a hat, it's not that hard to hold them by the hand. Then teach them not to wonder off as they get older. I find a leash is un need in most cases.

 

[Paradoxrifts]

I dunno. Not an expert, and frankly this sort of issue is too serious to consult the likes of Wikipedia about. But a good long solid consultation with a child behavioral psychologist or some other similarly styled healthcare professional to prepare parents for the rigours and demands of parenting would probably turn out to be both a cheaper and superior alternative to buying a harness over the long term.

 

[smudgey]

A friend of mine is a single mother. Her daughter is the kind who always want to run around and look at/touch anything remotely interesting or shiny, and by the time she was two she had turned escaping from her pram into a fine art. No matter how tight those buckles were done up, she Houdini'd the shit outta that thing. She also loves being chased, and I literally had to jump in front of a car to get her after one such ecsape (fortunately it was in a car park, so the car wasn't going that fast. Still bloody scary though).

People may call it bad parenting, but two year old kids don't exactly do what they're told. They're too young to understand logic or consequences, or that they're being told off for their own good. So it may seem cruel, but i'd far rather see a child on a leash than one laying dead on a road.

 

[Sean Steele]

As someone who has no children I can honestly say... its hilarious.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

If someone is such a horrible parent they need the child to be leashed up they probably shouldn't have children at all.

Keep your sweeping generalisations to yourself.

Calm down would you. You're quick to be offended by an opinion.

If a kid if young enough that they would move around at the drop of a hat, it's not that hard to hold them by the hand. Then teach them not to wonder off as they get older. I find a leash is un need in most cases.

If you wanted a calmer response you should have perhaps phrased your initial post a little less harshly. Anyhow, let's move past that.

In principal I get what you're saying - that in potentially risky situations the parent's attention should be fixed on the child. You're right in that regard - but you can't watch a kid all of the time, anyone with kids will tell you this. And this is if we're only talking about one kid. What if we're talking about two? One squalling child can easily direct the attention of a parent away from the other child, and that's when accidents occur.

Surely it's better to have a safety measure in place that ends up not being needed than to not have such a measure in place and for the unthinkable to happen?

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

Seeing that picture I can't help but think of......

Spoiler: this

....so no, I don't think I would use something that reminds me of slavery.

 

[GTwander]

Criminal delinquency? What the hell kinda math are you working with? Honestly I'd like to know what brought you to the conclusion "Acting up as a kid = criminal behavior later."

Remember that whole thing about the lady on the school bus that was torn down to tears by a bunch of asshole teenagers?

Yeah, products of a lack of a proper smack as needed.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I wasn't leashed when I was a kid and didn't realize that was an actual thing until I was about a teenager (13 - 14) when I saw my first kid being lead around on a leash. When I first saw it, I thought it was the most hilarious thing I've ever freaking seen. That being said though, it can't be good for the kids self-esteem. Good parenting doesn't equal dehumanizing your children after all.

 

[Shadowstar38]

If someone is such a horrible parent they need the child to be leashed up they probably shouldn't have children at all.

Keep your sweeping generalisations to yourself.

Calm down would you. You're quick to be offended by an opinion.

If a kid if young enough that they would move around at the drop of a hat, it's not that hard to hold them by the hand. Then teach them not to wonder off as they get older. I find a leash is un need in most cases.

If you wanted a calmer response you should have perhaps phrased your initial post a little less harshly. Anyhow, let's move past that.

In principal I get what you're saying - that in potentially risky situations the parent's attention should be fixed on the child. You're right in that regard - but you can't watch a kid all of the time, anyone with kids will tell you this. And this is if we're only talking about one kid. What if we're talking about two? One squalling child can easily direct the attention of a parent away from the other child, and that's when accidents occur.

Surely it's better to have a safety measure in place that ends up not being needed than to not have such a measure in place and for the unthinkable to happen?

I've seen plenty of parents with mutiple kids that can handle it fine.

A safety measure sounds fine in my head, yes. But when I actually see something we use on animals being used on a child, I can't help but find it terrible.