Tuesday, May 31, 2011

To leash, or not to leash. Is that really a question?

I work at a popular public attraction that affords me views into the dark side of parenting on a daily basis. The people-watching factor at my job is SPECTACULAR. You name ‘em, they visit.

One of my favorite sights to see is people with their kids on leashes. You know what I am talking about—the “backpacks” that pose as a cute little stuffed monkeys where the tail is actually a handle that can be used to yank back unruly children. Damn you, demon child! Stay away from that ice cream truck! YANK!

Now, don’t get me wrong, I believe that there is a place in the world for this space-aged technology. If I was, say, the mother to triplet boys and I was crazy enough to venture out into public with them by myself, its a sure bet I would harness those little beams of light up and yell MUSH! when it was time to hit Target. But when it is just me, my husband and our two kids, we somehow manage to handle them without leashing them.

So where do you stand on the “leashgate”?

6 comments:

  1. Okay, I know this is an old post, but I just found you so it's new to me! My boyfriend and I don't have kids and never intend to have kids, so we shouldn't rightfully have an opinion. And we don't have an opinion, per se. We just laugh at how pathetic it is when we see it - especially because the kids seem to love them so much.

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  2. Hey, I just found and already feel a deep live for your blog. So I was reading older posts and ran across this one and like all people who lurk on blogs I feel the need to express my opinion.

    The whole "kid leash" thing can get really crazy in mom circles. My own mother-in-law gave me crap about it when I said I'd buy one while still pregnant with my daughter. Her comment "I don't see the need, you're just a lazy parent if you feel the need to leash a child like a dog." Hear crickets chirping? Yeah. We can't ignore the fact that her own dog is never on a leash, yet terrorizes the neighborhood because she like likes to "talk" and "play tag" with woodland creatures. So I explained this way; we also have a dog, a very well behaved one who heels with the best of them (more for my husband than me, but I digress), but when in public we leash him. Why? Because he's a dog and might make a impulsive and bad choice, like chasing a squirrel across the road, etc. For situations where such a possibility might arise for my daughter I will have a leash on hand.

    I watch another little girl the same age and made the choice to have 2 leashes in the car, just in case. The leashes have been used exactly 3 times, total. One time being after we had gotten a flat tire and I was stuck at the tire place with them STARVING for a couple hours before I decided to screw it and walk them down the street to hunt for food. It was a busy highway with a speed limit of 50 and no other route I could take. Whipped out the leashes and walked the two year-olds down the street like chihuahuas on crack. I made them hold my hands, but just in case their judgement slipped, I had the safety of the leases on my side.

    I don't see the need to use them all the time, but that's just me. I think they're better than strapping your 5 year-old into a stroller for a couple hours...now THAT I have an opinion about. But when it comes down to it, we're all just trying to keep our kids safe without losing our minds.

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  3. Good point, Marcy. Thanks for sharing!

    Julie

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  4. Children are born with a leash growing out of each shoulder. Why do I need to buy a third one?

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  5. I normally do not commit on these types of discussions but I do feel the need to put my two cents in today so here it is, I do not like using the leash on my 4 yo because he should be able to hold my hand and stay with me but he will/can not. He is a special needs child and doesn't not understand why we can not run into the road, play in the parking lot, ect. He is also known to drop and not move where ever he is so I leash him to keep control and I do leash my 16 mo old to keep an extra hold on him when in public (my 16 mo will hold my had and stay with me most of the time) so please do not judge those who need to leash for saftey

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for sharing, Snowwhite. As I said above, there are obvious situations where they are called for, such as your situation. Everyday parenting with two parents and one child with no special needs is what I am talking about.

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