Saw a little kid on a leash at work today.

[TheMightyFavog]

Well-behaved kid. I now am of the opinion that leash laws should exist for toddlers.

[Chan790]

1. I've been trying to get those things banned for years.

I think the concept is a good one, however the execution is poor. I, unfortunately, come in contact with the child-tether on a frequent basis. If used as designed or for the purpose intended and wielded by a responsible adult, it would be a reasonable and practical solution to a identified problem. They, in my experience, almost never are.

I most often see these devices used by a certain type of overbearing-yet-absent, neurotic-yet-distracted parent as a surrogate for their responsibility or as a blunt instrument of control. I've seen kids tied-off by one (like one ties off the family beagle to a lamppost to enter a store.), I've been children yanked-off their feet by one (as a means of compliance to a verbal command or because the parent was startled to attention by the less-dangerous thing their toddler was about to do.), I've seen children injured by them: one end in the hand of a disinterested parent more concerned with their scone, latte and their conversation partner than their child, the other end attached to a child who is turning blue because the intersecting 4 feet of leash is wrapped around table legs, stools, displays, etc. throttling them. I've seen them used to literally drag a child through a supermarket.

I almost never see them used correctly. There lies the problem. Adults are too irresponsible to be allowed tether their children. That's a sad state of affairs. In the hands of the immature, those uneducated in their use or those not properly respectful of them they're no less dangerous than a loaded gun.

A leash is not a babysitter. It does not give you permission to take your eyes off the child. It most certainly should never be used to abuse a child and its' use to control your child must be applied as lightly as possible.

[MiddleFingerMom]

5. Most incredible use of hyperbole I believe I have seen in YEARS...

.
.
.
"In the hands of the immature, those uneducated in their use or
those not properly respectful of them they're no less dangerous
than a loaded gun."
.
.
.
Give a child a loaded gun and give a child a leash with a child on
the other end and, depending on their nature... watch how many
people FLY towards or away from the child with the gun and how
many towards or away from the child with the leash.
.
.
.
Whoever you're communicating with, by whatever means you are
doing so, whether or not they were listening with an open mind up
to thispoint in your presentation... has/have just, in their mind(s),
dismissed EVERYTHING you might have had to say to them.
.
.
.
Some flaws in some of the other things you posted -- but this one is
the ultimate dealbreaker as far as effective persuasion. I recommend
dropping this part.
.
.
.
I don't like seeing them -- but BANNED?!?!? I HAVE seen them used
responsibly... and can certainly empathize with the absolute nightmare
every parent must deal with even just IMAGINING a child disappearing
because of three seconds of distraction.
.
.
.
I'm wondering if YOU have children. Of course, parents HAVE to take
their eyes off of their child for short periods -- looking at a label
or maneuvering a shopping cart or getting change from the cashier
are three that pop immediately to mind.
.
.
.

[Chan790]

11. To answer you.

Nope, no kids. Not having any, already raised my parent's youngest because they sucked, gave him a roof and that's about it. 15 years old, going to parent-teacher conferences because they were too busy and "you're already at the school". Taking him to little league practice...whathave you. Making sure he ate and getting him ready for school. Making sure the little snot took a damned bath at-least weekly. I did my parenting.

To be more specific, it's a repost from a few years ago. mostly the situation I'm describing is the one of parents I encountered working at Starbucks who really did treat it like a babysitter. Not taking their eyes off the kids for a second but actually using it as a crutch so they could ignore their child entirely and not be disrupted from their latte and bullshitting with the other parents. When the kid ate something off the floor? My fault. When the kid garotted herself around the table base? My fault. When they broke merchandise and I had to charge the parents for the busted mugs? My fault clearly. I mean, c'mon. I'm supposed to be watching the kid...oh wait. You're supposed to be watching your kid.

Some people are too stupid to be allowed to put their child on a leash, much like some people are too stupid to play with fireworks or lawn darts. In all three cases, the easiest solution is to just ban the item in questions so the stupid people aren't exposed to them.

[kimi]

2. I must admit

that I used one of those things on my middle boy for a few months during his toddler-hood. I had a few too many scares where I would be holding his hand in the store, he squirmed away from me, and just vanished. Vanished - poof!! Scared me senseless. I spent a lot of time searching stores and malls for that boy, and finally, because I had to run errands, and had to take him with, I resorted to a leash. Not for long, and neither of us was happy with it.

I must say, though, that he is a lovely boy - okay, he's 22, a man, really - today. Drives me wherever I want to go, goes to museums and the zoo with me, asks me if I need anything, and takes out the trash regularly. I don't attribute it to the leash, but if I'd ever lost him due to lack of a leash way back when, I hate to think of how I would have taken it.

[Ineeda]

7. Pro-leash here, for exactly your reasons. n/t

[flvegan]

3. This really belongs in GD. It would do well.

[kentauros]

4. Duct tape works well, too.

1001 uses!

[GoneOffShore]

14. Only if you give the kid gin first.

[Skittles]

6. generally, my thought when I see those things:

the parents probably have a damn good reason for using it

[Paladin]

8. Repulsive Hardware. Speaks Volumes About The Parents---None Of It Good. (n/t)

[txwhitedove]

9. Leashes for toddlers are not leather w/choke collar. We use a

"leash" for 3-yr old so he can walk on his own but restricted from darting away as he would certainly do without it. Toddler leash/harness is a monkey backpack, straps snap together in front, and the tail is the "leash" I hold. It's cute, comfortable and keeps him safe. Zeke is hyper alert and curious, calm one minute holding your hand as instructed, but in a nano-second will yank his little hand and chase after a motorcycle, goose, anything....

[petronius]

15. Your examples crack me up: "motorcycle, goose..."

:rofl:

My take on the leash is that the parent probably knows best if it's needed, but it's just as easy to be a poor guardian with a leash as without...

[txwhitedove]

17. He gets whiplash when he hears "a mowerthycle!" Last Wednesday

we let him loose to play in the water spouts of a park while listening to a free concert but he was over the hill in a blink, running after a goose. I've tripped over him while running to the car in a rainstorm because he stops dead in the driveway, looks up in wonder and says "Ith rainin, look!" Zeke has amazing rapture over everything. One wouldn't want to trap such joy and tie it to a fence post. A toddler leash is for safety and guidance.

EDIT: Oops, meant to reply to #15...

[Taverner]

10. It would add to safety

I'm a parent and I have no qualms with that

[Fleshdancer]

12. I just can't get there mentally

In my world, leashes are for dogs, not humans. I understand the safety aspect and unless a parent is literally dragging their kid with it, I won't judge, but I personally just can't do it. The concept makes me uncomfortable.

[carlyhippy]

13. I had 2 toddlers and each one was on a wrist band type tether

We were in the Mall of America. If you have ever been there, it's quite huge and crowded and not the place to have to look for a lost child.

A woman carrying fast food was walking past us, and somehow they ended up wrapped around this poor woman with their tethers ha.

They only wore them in the mall. I didn't really ever use them after that. I usually had one strapped in a stroller and one walking when we went to the store or shopping.

[Inchworm]

16. I always think of this clip when I see that

Oh Brother Where art Thou?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OouuZzqaQbU

It is near the end of the clip

:hi: