How do you feel about Kid Leashes???

I never used a harness for my children, but wish that I could have found one when they were toddlers. I was raising 4 kids as a single mother. Shopping was an adventure when the boys were toddlers. It would have been so much safer to have them harnessed for their own safety. On many occasions I would enter the store with the boys who at 3 years old, were quite active. My girls were 8 and 6. Once we entered the store, they would be okay for about 2 seconds and take off in opposite directions. The girls would set off after them. If I had a harness for them the excursion would have been less stressful and we wouldn't have had to run after them. I too felt the same way you do about harnesses. Today when I see someone out with their children, I tell them that the harness is great. It gives the parent peace of mind.

I don't use them never have but I have a grandson that is ADHD and I wish I would have one for him at times, he just runs off and scares the heck out of me,last time I took him to the grocery store he took off and I couldn't find him, oh....what an awful feling

My days of looking after a child, in a busy store or street, are gone but I thought they were a good idea for the child's protection. It only takes a flash for a child to dart into the street or to be snached by a maniac.

Before I became a parent, I was always shocked and astounded when I saw children on leashes. I now have a one year old daughter, who I love to bits. I like to take her with me into town to get out of the house a bit, get some fresh air, a change of scenery. In summer I am planning on taking her on 'picnics' and to feed the ducks. The only places I can take her, however, are either the grassy town square - it's a large grass area with a childrens park, but surrounded on all four sides by heavy traffic. Otherwise there are a few places where we could have a picnic and feed the ducks - all next to a very fast flowing river - the nicest picnicky place is at the junction where the river enters the sea. I was thinking about it a LOT - I hate those harnesses, but I will generally be on my own with my little girl. She's just started walking, but not old enough yet to 'obey' me all the time, so I certainly would have trouble keeping her sitting on the picnic blanket. I realised that if she ran off, and the unthinkable happened, perhaps say I got up to run after her and twisted my ankle or something - she could be under a car or speeding out to sea in a matter of moments. If she fell in that river there would be scant chance of getting her out alive. So, I don't like it, but harness it is for our picnics at least... (But at least I managed to find a pink one lol!) ;)

I was actually making a joke about this the other day, so it's funny that you've brought it up. I don't have kids of my own, but I'm not a fan of the whole leash method. I can see how it might be helpful when taking a kid to a crowded place and worrying about them running off, such as a mall, but people have managed to do without the whole leash long before they were invented. It just reminds me of someone who might have a dog, and most of the people that I've seen with them are usually looking at anything but there child, basically ignoring them (not to say all people who use them are this way, mind you). You also got to wonder what that does to a kid mentally, but none of my friends have used one, so I can't say for sure lol. I think, in the end, just letting them run tethered and not teaching them to stay close, don't run off, could potentially create problems.

Kiddie leashes probably have their uses. I'd tell the child that if he stayed near me, I'd not use the leash, but evertime he wandered off, the leash would be put on for 10 minutes. After one or two times, I'm thinking the leash would not need to be used. Now, what I'd really be concerned about would not be dog type leashes on children but dog type shock collars on children.

i think that it make your kid more safe and you will not loose them when you go to the zoo or some where with alot of people.

I never used them. I try to not judge what others do. It does bother me when you see a prante yanking on a kid on a leash like it is a dog. This is a little person we are talking about. If you can't keep them by yourside then maybe the best place for them is at home or in a stroller.

My husband and I used to joke about them whenever we saw someone using them. I personally find them repulsive. We have raised a set of twins with an older child only 3 years apart. They were a handful to keep up with but I never even thought about putting a leash on one of my kids. I just never thought this was cool. My kids were disciplined and I never had a problem with keeping up with them.

I don't like them at all. I hate seeing them on children in stores. I feel like leashes are for animals and my child is not an animal. He is only 8 months old and I will teach him to stay by my side and if he runs off then he will get in trouble. I will never buy one of those things.

I would never put my children on a leash.Leashes are for dogs.When my children were little I held their hand, or put them in the cart or stroller.

My parents used to use a leash on me when I was a toddler when we would go out because I was an adventurous baby. I would never listen to my mom if she told me to stay where I was. I was always running away from her. She told me that one time I ran away from her at the mall and she could not find me anywhere and I guess two men found me and brought me back to her. If I had kids, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them if they ran away from me.

Personally i think those are the worst inventions made. They look silly and people stare at you when you use them. If you dont want your child running around you hold there hand or carry them. They arent dogs on a leash. Maybe its just me but i dont like them silly things. Best of luck to you.

I think that the new backpacks that they have for children that have the thing you can hold is alot better than others that they have out. At times when you are in an airport its crazy and you don't want to lose your children in any crazyness like that.

I dont use them but sometimes feel like I should because my 2 year old twins do not listen, lol. It's easy to say just "raise them to stick by your side"...but a lot harder to actually do! Do you really think 2 year olds listen? HAHA! Yeah, I can hold their hands but a lot of times they dont want to hold my hand and will stop and drop to the floor and throw a full out fit! All kids are different and respond and listen differently. If Im in a store that has carts then I put them in carts, but if I were out somewhere like say, a fair or somewhere with a lot of people then I would consider using one of those just so that they wouldnt run off and get lost in the crowd. Most of the time it's for the kid's own safely. I used to have the same opinion as you until I had 3 toddlers at once!

I think perhaps there is a need at the age of 2 or three because it is so possible that the child will just all the sudden run off on you even when walking a short distance. What I couldn't believe is seeing kids that were like 6 - 7 years old on one of those because by that age they really should know better. It makes me wonder if they want to run away from their mother. I think it all has to do with the situation you have. If you had a problem with you child just runing off I can see the need for the one they put around their wrist but I don't understand the ones that are around the childs entire body. They look like they are walking their dog. I would never myself use one on a child. I would simply hold their hand if I need to make sure they didn't run off on me.

OK just for the record I do not have one of these leash things and I have never put one of my kids on a leash. BUT I space my kids out in age so therefore it much easier to handle them but if I was to have two babies at one time OMG heck yes I would have two leashes one for each. IMO I think that its much better to have them on a leash than to have two babys running two different directions both of them heading towards traffic.. See my point.. There is just so much that one mommy can do by herself and in alot of cases the dad does not help that much at all so mommy has the babies to carry plus diaper baga and everything else there is to carry or do.

I was given a "leash" as a gift by someone, yet I have never used it. It just doesnt seem like something I would want to use on my kids. I guess I can see the thought process behind it though, because some people have 3or 4 children all under 5 years old, and if you were going to an airport or the zoo or a busy mall, you'd want to know that you had all of your kids and Not just TRUST that they would obey (b/c even the most obediant kids will disobey occasionally) So, if I were in that kind of situation where I had alot of kids, that were young, i'd problably use one.. but I can easily keep track of my two boys right now. I see why SOME people may use them, i don't particualary like them though.

I don't think it's right. It seems like they are treating them like a dog. I understand they want to keep a hold of them but do it some other way. But I'm not mother so maybe my opinion doesn't count. I just don't like to see children on leashes. I haven't seen any like that in awhile but when I did I couldn't believe it. Anyway this is just my opinion.:)

Well as a parent I hate the look of the harness' but would rather have my child within range of me than being run over or snatched. We didn't have the body harness for our son, we had the wrist tie instead. It velcro'd on his wrist and at least he was near us rather than always carrying him in areas and I hated having a big clunky stroller in stores with narrow aisles and no one can get by. I can't stand these people with these 3 across strollers taking up all the aisle space in stores. I realize when you have 3 kids it is hard but that is my pet peeve. I'd rather be safe than sorry. :)