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Jbear, that is just too funny! Mine just stretched hers across the shopping mall, so far that people were stepping over it to get by! Now it works great to tie her up! Just kidding!

I had no choice but to use one with my son. Being autistic, he had absolutely no sense of fear up until the age of about 5. He would run on to the road in a split second. I opted to use the wrist strap style, one went on my wrist and the other end on his wrist. I could never understand why some parents chose to use initially, I am sure they have probably saved a lot of grief for quite a few parents.

I think using a baby leash at this particular time would be bad for me. Zane is going through the "puppy" stage. He has been panting and barking and trying to lick things. That would probably just motivate him to do it outside to lol.

No, I don't use a leash at home! I don't even own one yet, as my child isn't even walking. I was just wondering why some of you think they are bad. That's all. Geez! Some of you really like to make a__sumptions!

Hi! I like leashes, I was one of those kids who liked to wander. Something would interest me, so I would go check it out, next thing I knew I was lost! (mom and dad were usually too busy with little sister). I'm lucky I didn't end up on a milk carton! Even now I still wander and my husband is always saying "WHY do you do that?? I'm gonna buy a leash for you!"

The reason why I a__sumed that was because you said "than take a chance that he won't run into the road". So by saying that, I figured that you used one while the kid was out playing in the yard. Also, I already said I was sorry, in so many words, for making such a cabby response. So geeze to you.

I think that we get caught up on the word "leash". If they labeled them "baby saftey harness" then maybe people would not even feel the need to debate.

i am totally against them. they look inhumane. and i agree they are for "lazy" parents - parents who don't want to take the time to either watch or discipline their children. if you have a child that you can't control, or one who runs out of the stroller, etc., the answer isn't a leash - it's discipline!!! frankly, if i had a kid i couldn't control, i wouldn't take him with me until he was old enough to get the point that MOM runs the show, not him.

How old are your kids?

kellie, are they not for parents who have 2 or 3 children to look after? When you out with 3 children do you know how hard it is to keep a close eye on all 3 od them? I am lucky that my son will walk and hold the pram at al times. But there is some parents who need saftey harnesses to keep their children safe. Why take unecessary risks when there is items we can use to prevent them? i have never used them myself but don't think anything bad of people who do use them.

Has it occurred to anyone that not only do child leashes protect a child from running off, it's also significantly harder for someone to grab and kidnap a child who is attached to his/her parent? Every parent, no matter how perfect, has to look away from their child once in a while, and unfortunately, we share a world with predators who wait for just such a moment to snatch a child.

I agree w/Kellie... they do look inhumane. I've never seen the kind that attach to the wrist - only the harness ones like a dog would wear, and I think they look absurd. I can't figure out how they'd work anyway - in busy malls and stores it seems like you'd be tripping all around the otehr customers trying to keep your kid and their tether out of the way of them all. My mother commented on all the strange things we parents "need" nowadays to keep our kids under control - she remarks that they never had the need for such things. My brothers and I were raised to know that ifwe didn't behave where we needed to behave then the outing was over for us. Dad would take the guilty one back to the car and we'd sit there in punishment while Mom and the others had a good time strolling around and stopping for ice cream. Poor Dad! But we learned real fast that outings like SHOPPING were not times for us to play around. Parks, of course, and walks were another thing. My kids are being raised the same way. I have a double stroller - while shopping, both kids are in the stroller. My 4 year old tags along beside us. Every one of my kids knows that if they act up, then the trip's over and we go home. They like going out, so they behave. It's all in how you parent them. Kids don't deserve independence in places they shouldn't have it. They need to know who's "boss"and who has the final say. I am a firm believer that if you raise your kids to STAY CLOSE and explain why, and consistently punish them when they test your limits, that they will behave like they need to in certain situations. Heck, I don't EVER remember my parents losing track of us anywhere - whether at amus____nt parks, malls or grocery stores! And there were 5 of us under the age of 7. Mom did it problem free. I was in an airport last week and a two year old was wearing a harness on a line which was tied to his mom's chair. she gabbed away with whoever she was there with and drank her coffee without a care in the world while the 2 year old ran around like a dog on a leash. It looked pretty stupid. In my opinion, those ropes can seem to give a false sense of security, too. Truth is, if someone wants your kid bad enough, they can run up and snatch him, cut the rope and be gone before you know it. That's why I always keep mine close - they know they are NEVER to wander and we are all happier that way.

The leash with the harness detaches. The part that velcros to the harness can also velcro around a wrist. You only need the harness if your child has learned to take the leash off of his wrist. My mom used a leash when my sisters and I were small. She wore the other half on her wrist, not tied to anything. It wasn't used to actually restrain us, just to remind us to stay close. She used it at the beach, especially, which was a great place for it. Also, keeping your kids close doesn't automatically protect them. I was shopping once with my one-year-old (then) sitting in the shopping cart. A woman walked up, grabbed her, and started to run away. I ran after her, grabbed my baby, and knocked the woman down...but my daughter was close when that happened, and I was looking right at her. I'm glad it happened when I only had one kid...how would I watch one while I ran after the other?

Hee hee! I think it would be funny to try it some day when I take the dog for a walk. He'd probably feel that justice has been served for our baby. Ha ha!

To ~mom2five~, when your mum was raising you and your siblings things were different. Times change.

I agree that some children do need them. There is a joke in my husband's family about how my SIL had to be on a leash when they went to Disneyland when they were all little becuase she kept running away through the crowds. In that case I would put my daughter on a leash if she was doing that. Otherwise I don't think I would use a leash, especially not at home.