Kids on Leash

I don't like, but I have done it and do understand the need for it - in crowded places, it can be VERY difficult to always have your eye on your child, particularly if you have more than one. It can be easy for a very active toddler to get away - no matter how attentive or how great a parent you are. For toddlers with the need to wander off, I'd rather see them on a leash than hear a store call a "code adam" - that's a lost child in the US. It really can come down to a matter of safety.

It's always bothered me to see this because it just SEEMS wrong. But, I have to admit, I have a niece who's 21 now, but when she was a pre-schooler her mother would put her on a leash and from being around her then myself I could kind of understand why. I think it depends on the child and in some cases it may be justified.

Yes, of course…my child is not a dog but a human being who will have to learn to walk himself. I do not put my child on a leash as I believe that I will not be with him all his life. He will eventually have to learn the dangers of the road and how to avoid them. Secondly, it embarrasses him, gives his self-respect a severe beating. I want him to grow up independent and not abnormally obedient.

I've seen this and honestly, I actually want one. Kids nowadays are too rowdy and wont listen to their parents when out in the malls. From where I live, kidnapping is very rampant. Having the leash does not really make them look like dogs. I think I'd rather see them look like dogs than have them kidnapped. Just 2 weeks ago, a kid was kidnapped inside the mall by an older kid. He was found 4 days later traumatized.

I have never seen this sort of thing yet... but i sometimes think that with certain situations... a hand leash is needed... i have read a lot of new items where toddlers were left by their parent in airports... and that could have been avoided if children were literally tied to the parents... i would do it if the need arises... this is one way of protecting my child...

I do not like the ones that just look like leashes. I had one when my son was 3 and he didn't really grasp that walking was good but trying to walk away was bad. I went and purchased one that looked like a monkey bookbag so he didn't know it was a leash and it didn't stick out like a sore thumb. It is much easier to walk into a mall and look through a rack of clothes and not have to hold your sons hand because you know he can only go so far. but yet your child still feels like he is doing his own thing. So if it is used appropriately I guess I do agree.

Its not only a US thing, but also widely seen in India too, but not when they go out, only when they are at home and cannot manage the children along with their household chores...one of my sister-in-law does it to her daughter to not move away after certain length in the hall...i felt so sorry for her, when asked she says she is very naughty and that she cannot handle her, so has opted this leashing technique...i have a 3-year-old, i have never done that, cannot even think about doing something like that to my daughter, they are toddlers, this is the age for them to explore so many things and they are so adventurous, let us encourage them being adventerous and keep an eye on them always and not leash them and try to control them and their feelings

I don't think these are needed as much as many might think. My point is not to be mean. This "leash" simply gives a parent the ability to not demand appropriate behavior from a child. This lets the child get rowdy without the threat of discipline. People argue that this is not a leash, but I constantly see parents tugging and jerking this thing much like you would a choke chain for a puppy. This is very common to see at the malls and shopping areas where I am. I have even seen parents having lunch or coffee and tie the child off to the chair or table like an old western horse. I will admit, I laughed my tail off. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. I never used these things, instead I taught my children to behave. What happen to the days of "if YOU can't behave, WE can't go anywhere"?

I am hoping that we would never meet. I have three kids, one is 3 months old, and a 3 and a 5, when we go out shopping how in the world do you think I can hold this kids? What I do is put my baby to a sling and put the two on leash, one on each side. I'd rather hear people like you says my kids look like dogs than weep when I lost my kids.