It’s a parent’s greatest fear, and something that does happen more often that you’d be comfortable hearing about. Kids can and do go missing, and the smaller ones especially like to run off when their parents aren’t looking.
It’s scary enough that some parents have turned to buying harnesses for their toddlers, though while it provides more safety, it brings along a lot of other points of discussion that has many parents divided.
People know Kiddie leashes exist, but few would actually consider putting their kids on one. They’re in that category of unusual items that have functionality but never catch on to mainstream, in no large thanks to them being so weird.
Kind of like man purses, kid safety helmets, pop sockets for phones, and those things.
Though in fairness, pop sockets have caught on a little bit. I guess enough people have dropped their phones that they decided it was a good investment.
Though why haven’t kiddie leashes caught on? Surely your child’s safety is more important than your phone’s, right? Your kid might get hurt, hit by a vehicle or abducted in the few seconds that you look away. You’d think with these risks, having a more effective way of keeping your kid close to you would catch on.
Well, this woman certainly thinks so.
Mother’s “Popular Opinion” on child leash I am not against it in any way “ Before I became a mom I would have been the…
Posted by Kyron Dryden onFriday, August 7, 2020
Desiree Hoye has attracted a lot of attention, and mixed reactions, to her decision to keep her kid on a leash. In fact, the very sound of the words “Keep her kid on a leash” is enough to elicit some adverse reactions already. But let’s hear her out.
Maybe “harness” really is a better word to use.
“Before I became a mom I would have been the person that said, ‘I will NEVER put my child on a leash, he’s not a dog!’
We start off with a bit of nuance as she introduces us to her view. She continues to explain that, like many people, she changed her mind when the evidence convinced her. Thousands of children go missing everyday from abductions to wandering off. There’s also those dreaded busy streets with a ton of speeding cars that kids just love to run across.
“Today and every day, I choose safety because I love my children more than anything in this entire world. I will gladly take a few awkward looks from strangers over never seeing his precious face again.”
All things considered, Hoye’s decision doesn’t seem that radical or strange. It comes from a place of concern and facts, even if it may be a strange sight to see in public.
Though of course, there are some caveats to this. Kiddie harnesses aren’t in widespread use, and very few parents, if any, use them. Her child might be seen as a social outcast, associate the harness with pets, or just get some unwanted negative attention.
The safety precautions are understandable and have solid basis in fact, but is it worth the potential long-term psychological impact it might have on her kid? It might be worth looking into whether the harness really makes a difference.
And this is probably why she gets critical, and sometimes nasty, comments from other people.
Though Hoye’s rationale is too strong to be swayed by critical eyes and words.
The debate about using a child harness (or “toddler leash”) even made its way to television shows. The Today show, in particular, decided to touch on the discourse. One of the more agreeable takeaway points is that child harnesses are better off a personal choice, not a public requirement.
In fact, there’s not much data on whether harnesses really do much anyway. Maybe you can just resort to holding your kids’ hands more tightly and just being as watchful as humanly possible.
Some who’ve weighed in on the idea bring up children with special needs, or families who feel like they have sufficient enough reason to use one. And at the end of the day, it’ll only be used for toddler age anyway.
It’s also always important to consider how everyone’s experience as a parent isn’t universal. Perhaps some parents with disabilities, pregnancies or anything that might hinder their running capability might find more use in one. As is usually the case, there’s no black or white to this issue, and the circumstances always matter.
If you thought this topic was interesting, consider hitting the share button! Surely, at least one person you know might find toddlers on leashes intriguing to read about.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
