“Please Keep Your Child On A Leash”
Today’s topic of conversation: leash kids. This is nothing new – they’ve been around for years.
If you’re not exactly sure you know what I mean, a few seconds of logical thinking will lead you to the right conclusion (or you can just take a look at the image on the right). That’s right – kids on leashes. Kind of like dogs on leashes, only instead if K-9s, we’re talking humans here.
The reason I bring this up is because yesterday, as I was on my way to work, I got stuck behind a pack of leash kids. It was obvious to me they were apart of some kind of daycare program. There were about eight of them, accompanied by two adults, and some simple arithmetic will prove that some sort of organizational device was needed for this bunch of rugrats. Two adults means only four hands for eight kids, hence the need for the Jon and Kate Plus Eight hoop-style leash I witnessed. Now this I find acceptable, particularly because the kids weren’t restrained at all, but were instead holding onto a hoop that guided them along and made them easier to herd.
I understand I’m a little naive here and that there may be a perfectly good explanation for the leash kid phenomenon. Still, most of time when I see a child strapped up in a fluorescent harness, I feel an overwhelming sense of pity. Why can’t mom/dad/nanny just hold onto the kid’s hand, particularly if there is only one kid – not eight – to keep track of? Surely some traditional hand-holding would do the trick, as well as foster that essential, warm and fuzzy caregiver-child bond. I mean, if you were a kid on leash, would you not feel a little confused/degraded that both you and pet Fido were toted around in the same way?
And leash kids are taken to a whole new level with the advent of Smart Target’s Kiddo Keeper, which is basically the equivalent to those alarms you can buy to locate your keys or TV remote. The Kiddo Keeper Web site, in fact, also markets the product as a way “to monitor valuable properties or pets” – see? Umm – wow. Whatever happened to actually paying attention to your little one? At first I got a little concerned when I read the article that led me to the product, which at one point describes the Kiddo Keeper as akin to an electric dog collar that will shock your kid if he/she wanders too far away. Then I (once again) realized how gullible I am.
While I doubt any formal studies have been conducted on the outcome of people who were/weren’t raised on leashes, I do have friends of both varieties, and they’ve all turned out well. Heck, my brother-in-law was a leash kid, and I won’t hesitate to say he’s quite an admirable fellow.
I suppose some kids are just that rampantly wild that they must be restrained somehow. I’m hoping Baby Lump doesn’t turn out this way. So help me if I have to resort to treating my kid like an animal, or worse – a set of keys.
Oven Timer: 23 weeks, 1 day
I’m with you on that! I always feel sad whenever I see a child being walked along on a leash. I guess you can’t judge, but I’m one for old-fashioned hand-holding myself. By the way – are you sure that pack of 8 leash kids weren’t the Jon and Kate plus 8 kids? That’d be pretty exciting.
Yeah – I’m pretty sure those kids aren’t from around here.
I cringe every time I see a leash kid. I just think it’s wrong. If you can’t control your child by holding their hand and using your voice then you need to re-think your whole parenting strategy.
And the whole “kids dash off all the time and could run out into the street and get run over by a car”-argument? Sorry. Be vigilant. Pay attention to your kid. Parents have been doing it for centuries. So why is it that in just the past, what, 15, 20 years, we’ve felt that there’s justification to physically tie down children?
Not that I have an opinion either way on this…
do you mean to tell me that you’re not going to keep your kid on a leash and you actually plan on paying attention to him/her?? what could you possibly be thinking? ha. great post, by far one of my favorites and a topic that i truly agree with you on =) here’s a toast to leashless kids, may ours be well behaved WITHOUT being tied down.
While I was never a leash kid, my mom was. And she said she loved it, she got to run around and explore things without her mother watching her like a hawk, or freaking out if she got near a road.
I mean, how many times have you seen a mother running over to her kid on the playground and yelling “NO NO NO, Mikey, stop eating sand!” or something. Can you imagine the kid would pay any more attention if she yelled “NO NO NO, Mikey, get out of the way of that SUV driven by that asshole who’s busy texting?”
Shelly, you say “pay attention to your kid. parents have been doing it for centuries.” Well, kids have been falling down wells and getting hit by cars and getting kicked in the skull by horses for centuries (I know, I know, there are so many horses in Boston, right?). Not to be a fear-monger, but it can only take a couple seconds of inattention for your kid to get in a dangerous situation.
I think that leashes, while not for everyone, are an expression of love and protection. Don’t judge a parent for wanting to keep their kids safe, even if it’s in a way that wouldn’t work for you.
the jon and kate clan lives in PA by hershey park….just fyi
i was totally a leash kid, not always, but at busy places like disney world and in cities like nyc. i too cringe when i see children on leashes, until my mom broke the news and all my friends made fun of me. my mom said i was a really adventurous kid and was constantly trying to explore my surroundings, so it was easier to keep me an arms length away, especially when older relatives were walking with me. i have no recollection of it and i dont think it has at all affected who i am today. but maybe there should be an age limit so it doesn’t play more of a role in childhood development.
I was a lease kid. I had no problem with it. While I believe my mother to be one of the greatest and most attentive I’ve met, I usually got away, especially at the mall. Where I would hide inside circular racks of clothes and wait for someone to find me (not call out for me, find me.) I’m with Al. One second of inattentiveness and your kid could be in front of an oncoming T. I think that putting a child on a lease is a perfectly acceptable way to make sure your kid doesn’t wander to far. You can’t do everything with one hand. And if baby lump is anything like half the kids I’ve been with, at some point, they will reach the adventuresome stage, and when that happens…. be sure to check inside the clothes racks
Pam, yes I know I spelled leash wrong… you should know by now I am the worlds worst speller…
I despise the kid leashes. Sometimes I want to walk around central park with scissors just in case I see one. Although NYC is tough and I would rather save my child than them run into the street, I feel like they can be ‘trained’ (sort of like a dog can be trained…but don’t be judgmental in bad my reference) to respect their surroundings. That is what growing up is all about. Sure there are exceptions, some kids don’t listen, but then…the parents should be more diligent at keeping them in their sights and arms reach. I see plenty of dogs in the city who are very well behaved and off of leashes even!!! However, kids are people…would you as an adult want to be on a leash?!?!? I doubt it! To each his own, but I will never put my child on a leash.
Haha yes, Amanda … I know. It’s okay though – you caught it before I did!
Wow, Kristin – what an awesome comment! I agree with every part of it.
It may look demeaning, but in certain (and certainly not all) situations, a tether is a remarkably practical and in some ways, liberating tool, as one commenter pointed out.
I wonder how many of those who espouse the hand-held child actually have had to try to shop or negotiate a mall or city street with a toddler? It’s remarkably difficult. A tether gives the child freedom to walk on his/her own. I think you will find that children, especially 2-year olds are incredibly loath to have their hand held constantly, not to mention the fact that you can’t do much of anything with one hand. Unlock your car, get a credit card out of your wallet, etc. Your child has a mind of his/her own and wants to exercise their independence. Just wait until you’re in the checkout line with a toddler screaming (and I mean shrieking at the top of their lungs) to just get down on the floor and investigate the magazine rack.
No, I don’t think they’re right all the time, but in some situations, they can be useful and as I said, liberating for the kid. Not to mention that nobody can snatch the child away from you. Believe me, a child can disappear from your view in literally a second or two of your attention turned away. In fact, they delight in hiding from Mom or Dad.
I definitely agree that the “leash” with the little ring that the child can hold is better than the harness. While I do think that so many parents nowadays have little to no control over their children, harnesses just seem so restrictive. But given the choice between letting my child run around at the end of a leash or having to push my child in a stroller until he’s 8 and thus perpetuating the laziness of Americans… I’d go with the leash. At least then he’s getting some cardio.
Thats just wrong. And disturbing. What kind of over protective controlling parent would do that? I hope they have the money to pay for the years of therapy.
I’ve always wondered about “leash kids”!! Hilarious post. I get the daycare reason, since there just are too many children to keep track of. However, I really do feel bad for the 1-2 children on actually leashes that I see every once in a while.
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Also, what kind of age range are we talking about? A two or three year old on a leash is perfectly fine, I think, by five or six it’s a little creepy, your kid should be able to walk with you without you having to have constant control of them.
This is true, Allie – I agree. Another thing I noticed while looking at pictures of leash kids online is that sometimes a really small child is unable to reach an extended adult’s hand for hand-holding.
Plus, some major back pain would be associated with the adult attempting to hold his/her kid’s hand.
I was a leash kid and my kid was a leash kid. Neither of us have turned out too disturbed! My leash had a little harness that went around my chest and I particularly used to enjoy it when mum would actually swing me on it. Good stuff….
I meant to say – in response to the ‘why don’t parents just hold their hand’ commenters… If you’re shopping for clothes or carrying bags it’s a bit difficult to also hold on to a toddler. Leashes come in handy then.
Those of you who do choose to use a child-leash, please, for the sake of the rest of us, pay attention to your kid while they are on these leashes. I was in the Disney store with my son when he was 18 months old, and a woman had her kid on a leash, so she apparently felt she didn’t need to pay any attention whatsoever to what her kid was doing. My son was standing there minding his own business when this kid runs by and clotheslines him. The mother’s reaction? She started screaming at her kid, as if it was his fault that his mother wasn’t paying attention. I dunno, with multiple kids maybe I could see this being a necessity. But, I am perfectly capable of holding my two year old with one arm while navigating the mall, pulling out my credit card and signing a reciept. And my son is indeed a handful, but I recognize that and don’t try to take him to a store or other places for longer than he can handle.
Yeah, it’s pretty easy to say until you end up with a runner. My 3 year old has NO fear and feels no pain, so running and throwing himself at things is just a big game for him. Currently a single parent due to deployment with a special needs child AND a new toddler in addition to him, I just can’t bring myself to disregard him enough to let him wander as his adventurous little heart sees fit.
I’m more than willing to put up with condescending attitudes, ignorant judgment and people who think they know me if it means keeping my child safe and nearby. He loves his doggie backpack and “walking” me with him around a store on the occasions that he’s in a particularly mischievous mood.
At a certain age children are natural escape artists and explorers. I’m not talking about having a 6 year old in a harness, but a rambunctious toddler is a whole different story.
Well, the first time my two-year-old ran out of the grocery store straight into the parking lot, my Rabbi suggested I get a leash. I had never needed one with his brother, but this one was big, strong, and wild. I figured people could judge me, but at least it would keep him alive. I still held his hand, but it freed him up to walk away from me a little and explore. We only used it half a dozen times before he learned that there are certain implicit safety boundaries and did not need it anymore.
Anyone who judged me clearly had not raised a child like him
It’s interesting… before my son was born I was passionately against leashes for kids. I thought of it practically as child abuse. But then, as Marissa points out, the little bundle of chaos shows up and it’s a whole different story. Most of my good intentions went straight out of the window…
It’s impossible to imagine beforehand how hard it can be to reason with, or even physically restrain, a defiant toddler who is determined to spend fifteen minutes investigating the litter bin or the crisp wrapper on the floor while you’re trying to get to an appointment.
That said, I’ve never actually used a leash, but I’m now a lot more understanding of those who do.
I think all kids should be leashed out in public. Its annoying to those of us non-breeders when your kids run around like maniacs in malls and other places. Even the most well behaved kids have tantrums and act out and the rest of us shouldn’t have to deal with it.
Leashing a kid isn’t going to affect how the kid turns out, the parenting is what counts.
I’m a proud leash kid! My sisters were not. I do not blame my mom because I LOVED the game “hide and seek” and would play with her while she was checking out in stores, waiting in lines, shopping, etc. Except most of the time she didn’t know she was playing and just had a lost kid on her hands. Enter leash. I needed it. I understood what it was. And it was velcro so I could take it off if necessary.
There is nothing wrong with a parent trying to prevent their child from getting separated from them in a crowd while allowing them freedom to roam. Who can hold onto a toddler’s hand all day when you have to bend over to do it (I’m tall! That would kill my back!) and what kid wants their hand held above their head all day. My daughter hates having her hand held because it is so restrictive, but wandering independently is a no-go in a crowd. Please don’t “feel sorry” for my kid! She’s way happier and healthier running around than trapped in a stroller all day, and I am no “inattentive” mother.
I too once felt like you. Then I had an autistic nephew. Many autistic children have no sense of boundaries, safety and most do not speak so the need for such devices are necessary for their personal safety.
This has made me realize that I should never judge another parent until I have walked a mile in their shoes. As goes for most things.
Does anyone know where to buy a hoop-style leash like the one in the first picture above?
Thanks!!