Toddler "Leashes"

[Lainy67]

And my daughter had a FIT. She was two and literally flung herself on the ground and rolled around and screamed and kicked until we took it off.

We are nervous. She is going to be 3 when we go, and we know we need to do one again or we WILL lose her. The fanny pack thing is cool, but I think we want to maybe make our own. Maybe if she helps color it or something she will be more amenable to wearing it.

 

[jldriscoll]

I was on the fence about the leash thing... Not that I object to them AT ALL, but I've been concerned about getting tangled up with other people or my DD getting hurt, being pulled, etc. UNTIL we went to dd (7)'s second grade concert last week and dd (4) decided to go out in the hall to find a friend, dh thought I knew where she was, I thought he knew where she was....10 sec of panic. She didn't know what the fuss was about. She knew where she was! Needless to say the girl will be leashed!!! Fortunatly my kids love to play "pets" and she'll like nothing better than to be my kitten on a leash

 

[flit]

Hi. We went to DW with my DS(4), DD(3) and DD(3). Needless to say, we had 3 leashed kids. Without them, all I could think of was 3 kids going in 3 different directions and only 2 parents to chase them. Our kids are pretty good about staying close, but the temptations of DW are great. We gave them the choice, they could wear the leash on their wrist or they had to hold one of our hands the entire time. After about 10 minutes of hand holding they were asking for the leash.

 

[dutton]

How would these work with a 2 1/2 yr old? We went in May w/her and are going again in Dec. and the hardest part w/her was standing in line. I was either holding her or chasing her! How exhausting. It seem alot of people will use these w/ one yr olds and I wanted to know it 2 yr olds tend to balk at them?

 

[vald1977]

Hi Dutton,
Our ds was 2 1/2 on our May trip and he actually liked his harness. We have one that goes over both shoulders and then velcroes around his middle. I think he liked being able to have a little freedom and not having to hold our hands every single second. Yet, he couldn't get too far. We put the harness on every morning before we entered the park so he wouldn't see it as a punishment.

 

[Chance's Mom]

I know some people don't think the harness idea is a good one, and having only 1 child I haven't used one. That being said, if I had 2 or more children to watch--I would have been the first to use one. When my DS was 2 1/2 we arrived at the Orlando airport. We arrived at the little monorail that wisks you from the gates to the main terminal just as the doors were closing. I didn't have a hold of my DS's hand and you guessed it, he slipped right through the doors. Instinct took over and I shoved my arm through the doors. They work like an elevator and thankfully opened again. Everyone on that tram breathed a sigh of relief. That was the first day of the trip
He's older now, but i still believe my gray hair started that day!

 

[BrerMom]

We have a harness from One Step Ahead that we love. The link is: http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.js...ODUCT&iMainCat=117&iSubCat=139&iProductID=333 It's called a "kid keeper" and hard to find because if you do a search on harness, it doesn't come up.

I've never seen so many harnesses at Disney as I did on our last trip. I think for the four and under crowd, there were more kids that were wearing them than weren't. The wrist/velcro leash doesn't work for us at all. DS either takes it off immediately or tries to wait until I'm not looking to take it off. The harness works well. I use it as an added layer of protection: he holds my hand whenever he wears it.

It's nice at someplace like Disney World, but it's invaluable at someplace like an airport where you have to pay attention to luggage, gate numbers, getting somewhere quickly, etc.

DS also wears his at the grocery store if I have to take him alone. He just doesn't understand he has to stay with me and can't sit in the cart (long story). I've had stares and rude comments here but never in Florida.

 

[JonHM]

Has anyone else used any good tethers or harnesses besides the ones mentioned earlier in this thread? We've never had one before, but DS is 2.5 and takes off like a shot, and we're going to WDW in a few weeks. Any other suggestions?

 

[Zephyr]

Has anyone just tried to tie some sort of rope to the toddler's belt loop?
I have a harness, but I was thinking it would just be easier to carry around a piece of small rope that I would have attached to a clip and then when he wants to be out of his stroller, just clip it onto one of his belt loops on his pants/shorts.

 

[BrerMom]

My darling son ripped the beltloops out of his pants. Proving once again that all kids are not created equal.

 

[summerrluvv]

Originally posted by crisi
Here is another one:

http://www.rightstart.com/global/st...ld Safety -Outdoor&GroupID=1214&GroupTP=Model

We bought two at Target that was a Gerber product. Cost all of $5 apeice.

I just picked up the same one. My son loves it!! We were practicing around the house with it, and he was having a ball!! I hope he still likes it when we get to Disney on Monday!!

 

[4greatboys]

I need one of these bad. My 2 oldest boys now 15 yrs and 12 yrs always stayed with me. They never ran away. I cant believe I had it so easy then. My 2 yr old thinks he is on a track team and runs EVERYWHERE full speed ahead. I have had to run after the little man more than once and he is much faster than me. Im getting one of these asap!

 

[BCVOwner in MA]

We used a wrist tether with our 3 year old during our last trip to WDW. We decided to get one after he ran through the airport security checkpoint on our prior trip-- security stopped us from going after him of course, and thankfully they quickly corralled him and brought him back. (It's amazing how fast their little legs and go, isn't it?)

We primarily use it as an added measure of protection when there are really large crowds-- at the airport, leaving the park after a parade/fireworks, etc. He didn't really like it at first, but now we when we tell him we have to "put it on for safety", he puts his hand out so we can put it on him. Then, of course, he starts debating with us as to which daddy gets to hold the other end!