Pregnancy Info HOME

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.

There is nothing worse than a screaming toddler doing whatever they want in public, with a screaming mother following along. Leash or no leash, if they can't listen and behave, don't take them out.

Well, I have a different perspective on the leashing thing. My mom leashed me as a kid It was leather with straps. Pretty barbaric looking if you ask me- at least the ones they have today look nicer and have safety releases on them. Anyway, she'd take me to the department store and I'd hide under the clothes racks or run to some other department. She couldn't handle me disappearing on her anymore so I got the leash. It didn't traumatize me or anything and it helped my mom worry less about me being kidnapped or disappearing on her. She did get scolded by some old women once and she offered to take me off the leash and let them take me around the store for the afternoon. They declined the offer and dropped the subject pretty quickly. LOL!

If you feel your child NEEDS a leash to stay safe when out and about. Don't take your child out of the home until you can TEACH your child restraint!

To my opinion- That is not an easy thing to do. There are so many things that needs to happen outside, how can you keep your child in the house. BTW, a child does not "learn" restraint for some time, so explain how is that going to work.

Before I had children when I saw someone using a leash I would get so mad, and think to my self why on earth they are treating a child as a dog. But now that I have children I never mind when ppl use them. Although I still wouldn't put my child on a leash, I wouldn't feel right. I think it is all up to the mother if she thinks her child can’t control her/ him self and that she has to do it then so be it.

In general I would not use a leash, simply because I think they are tacky. But I can see some situations where a child may have special needs that makes discipline ineffective. A leash would be necessary to keep them from taking off on you.

I'm curious...all of these people who are saying you shouldn't take your kids out in public until they can behave, how old are your children? There is a world of difference between an infant and a toddler. The infant whose perfect behaviour you're so smug about will change overnight, to a toddler who realizes he has a mind of his own. Are you going to quit going to the grocery store or to church for a couple of years and shut your child in the house for that long? Children need to be exposed to situations where there are crowds. They cannot learn how to function around people if you shut them in the house until they are four or five years old. And for a small child, running away is not always an active act of disobedience. The world is full of wonderful things they've never seen before, and when they see something interesting they naturally want to go see what it is. A toddler's legs develop faster than his brain...the leash gives the child a chance to experience the outside world while their brain catches up to their legs. I saw a three-year-old get run over by a suburban in a parking lot once...it's unlikely that would have happened if the child was on a leash.

jbear - it's even more unlikely that child would have gotten run over if his/her mother/father had been paying closer attention. sometimes "leashes" give moms more reason to not watch as closely - so who knows? it may have happened anyway.

and to add another note - i am not anti leash but definitely do think they are tacky....if someone saw you spanking your 2 year old because he wouldn';t listen to you and stay close while you were out, they'd be more inclined to turn you in to child protective services than if that same person saw you put your kid on a dog leash. strange world we live in. discipline is definitely out, i'd say.

Leashes are tacky and for lazy parents! No one said raising a child would be easy...teach your children to listen to you. Parents are in charge not the kids.

Jackie, I am not trying to start anything but I just want to know. Do you have children and if you do, do have a toddler who is not yet 2yrs old yet? And did you take your toddler out at all? I think we all have to be real here, 1 and a half yr olds are not trying to disobey you when they run away. They are just acting their age. You of course can attempt to teach your child discipline and/or restraint at that age but discipline has a totally different meaning to the child. Forcing a 1 yr old to walk at your side and just hold your hand is so funny to me. I can imagine penalizing this child for acting their age. I do not think that I would use a leash in a large crowd bc I am paronoid and think that I would still loose my kid, but, I think that they are very useful. Hey, we restrain our children all the time for their safety. We strap them in their strollers, car seats and bouncy chairs. What is the big deal when we strap them to ourselves?

MOMOF5-I totally agree with you!!! My mom had six kids and we did not get lost either, and she did it all alone as well. (while my father was at work) Children were taught to listen to their parents and do what they said asap, as opposed to this new age c___p where kids are the parents. I have seen so many children run the show in resturants, theaters, malls, etc., and the parents don't seem to give a care. Kids who will throw fits until their parents give them what they want and kids who are allowed to do whatever they want and say what they want. Leashes for children are for lazy parents. And if you have two or three children that you had and you can't take care of without leashing one or two of them up while you are about, then you have a serious problem. You need to figure out who the parent is and who the child is.

any child who is on an outing with mom and less than 2 years old, as you mentioned in your post, should be in a stroller, in the shopping cart or holding someone's hand. babies that young do not need to be wandering around - leashed or unleashed. it's not the right time and it's not the right place. i agree with you all- mom2five, jackie, and WOW.

Well, I am the oldest of eight. The younger kids are stairsteps in age. At one point, my mom had 4 kids 5 and under. She did not know about the baby leash but she would have given her left ovary if to use one. She did not have a problem raising her children nor did we run all over her. She just understood that certain ages had certain stages. She did not force her 1yr old to comply to the same demands as her 5yr old. But, with that said, I think that I am going to gracefully bow out of this debate. I am getting annoyed and I do not want to be mean.

To most of the nay sayers about leashes, how can you say parents who use them are lazy? I know that it takes more energy to have a child on a leash and be right behind them then to just "leave that child at home until he/she can learn control." If that was the case then no toddlers under the age of roughly 1.5 year would be out, if you are lucky. I have children 11 months apart, so I KNOW it is hard to watch one and chase the other at the same time. I would rather have my youngest in the stroller and my oldest on the baby leash. Then I know that both are safe. And just so you know, while you say leash users are lazy, it takes more enegery to walk around with our kids on a leash or not than it does to leave them at home. What makes a good parent is how happy you are able to keep your kids while keeping them safe at the same time. I see no harm in using leashes in malls or amus____nt parks. I would rather get dirty looks from those who think it's "inhumane" than have my almost 2 year old run off in a busy area. And FYI, kids over 2 take off from their parents too.