Safety reins?

Question

Why do some parents object to putting their toddlers into safety reins or at least a wrist strap these days?
I brought up four boys on my own and couldn't have gone shopping without growing two more arms (at least!) when they were all tiny and the older two were out of the pushchair stage without their reins.
It may seem fine with only one toddler but it is better to be safe than sorry and I never lost any of mine even temporarily and God forbid if they had slipped away and run into the road!
What is the objection? All of this nonsense about "restricting" children annoys me - they *need* to be restricted for their own good - will these same parents disobey the new law on child seats and proper seatbelts to keep children safe in cars? I never drove anyway and that is why I kept my boys safe (and healthy) when walking to the shops and so on and taught them road safety once they were older and out of reins but when they were little I didn't take any risks with their lives.

Here is a site on the new car seat law and other safety issues for those who *do* drive their children everywhere (which is harmful in and of itself) -

http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/law/index.htm

Answer 1

ive got twins that were 3 last week and i have them on reins, proper bodied ones and get a few funny looks and comments about having kids on leads etc and sometimes it bothers me, but when i started using them they were 2 and theres no way im walking with 2 year old twins on my own!! they DO NOT listen when i say stop or come back and of course theres 2 of them! if i didnt have reins, i wouldnt take them out, im not having one run one way and one the other while im on my own cos for sure they wouldnt be here today!!
they are getting a bit better now when i say stop and come back but if im on my own, ill still use them cos i cant hold their hands ALL the time, i need to let go to get in my bag then thats it, they would be off!
people should be thankful we are careful loving parents that are only doing whats best for us and of course the babies/toddlers, id rather have them close by than lost in a crowd or worse a road!
my mum said i was on reins til i was five! im not planning on using them til the boys are 5 but i will till i feel its safe to walk without them and it will be MY desicion.
good on ya, ignore EVERYONE else, ur kids cant be replaced and u should be proud of yourself for looking after them so well.

Answer 2

I bought safety reigns. Then my 18-month old decided they were the perfect toy to play spiders! I would end up with her walking on all fours or eventually with a toddler on the floor/street.
After that I tried the wristband. It seemed to cause her so much psychological stress it wasn't wort i didn't have them in the end. Once the strap was adjusted she would go hysterically angry. Maybe it's genetic ... i was forcefully restrained when i was a child and still bear the mental scars to this day.
So we ended up going places where i could allow her some freedom. I taught her to hold my hand and slowly introduced environments where it was less safe for her.
Shopping she would go in the buggy, strapped in. Not that she always took that graccefully. So we had a couple of years where shopping was a bit of a stressfull experience.
Now i have a four-year old that stops on corners and holds hands to cross but she still has a bit of trouble that she has to stay where i can see her but she is learning.
As for carseats, different rant. She loves her car seat. When it is one adult and her in the car she even gets too sit in te front. She is allowed to open her window when it is warm enough and fingers crossed, she has never even once tried to open the doors whilst moving.
Did you know that when I take a taxi it is not a legal requirement for her to be in a car seat?
Double standards ... the world is full of them :)

Answer 3

I know what you mean, I don't understand the objection either... people always complain its like treating kids like animals, they look like a dog on a leash.... but once I had three kids and my arms were outnumbered, plus my middle son is autistic and a "bolter", I don't hesitate to use the harness. I'm sorry, but safety comes first and I really don't care what people think. Whats the difference between a harness or a stroller, really? If anything, the harness is better as it gives the child some exercise. People are just WAY to worried about being PC with kids these days. I will do whatever necessary to keep my children safe, period.

Answer 4

Thank you so much for posting this. I agree 100%
my blood pressure rose at the post about people thinking using a harness on your child is no different that using a leash on a dog. I wonderr how many children would end up missing in malls and other places if more parents used harnesses on their young childen. there is no way a parent can watch their child every second. when im shopping im consentrated on what i need to get on my list, not on what my child is doing. When my son is on the harness he is safe and by my side, i dont have to worry about him running off when i go to grab something off the shelf ar are looking at cloths, or chatting with a friend i havnt seen in a long time.

Answer 5

Too true! I'm looking for some reins for my Little 1 year old who does not stop running away from me when we are in town etc. I never used them with my 4 year old but he preferred to be closer to me than my youngest. When I ask people if they know where I can buy some reins a lot seem disgusted and appaled at me!

Answer 6

I think, like everything else, it depends on the individual child. I remember absolutely HATING my reins as a toddler (yes, I really can remember) and I vowed I would never ever put any child of mine through that. But I had to buy a set for use with a highchair and then as it happened my little boy was fine with them whilst walking, and actually he seemed to like the extra security they afforded him if he tripped or fell over whilst learning to walk.

Unlike before I had a child, I would never now condemn any parent for using them. Its each to their own.

Answer 7

i think of that the secure practices reins/harnesses are a remarkable element in my view! rather whilst they're on the toddler point of desirous to be 'unfastened' of parent, yet are not particularly conscious adequate of the international to appreciate that those quite quickly shifting packing containers next to the path are quite very risky! (the horrors of the age of no concern!) till I had an abundance of youngsters, (as in, 4 below 6 or the like) i might probable end employing them whilst that they had have been given to the point of be attentive to-how and listening to parents. My son have been given to that time at 2 and a a million/2, and because then we've been in a position to basically carry his hand. (besides the shown fact that, the certainty he ought to unfasten the reins and slip off a wrist strap might have been an factor additionally ;) ) yet i develop into basically in a position to end employing it as a results of fact i did no longer have extra toddlers to maintain music of. people who've extra toddlers are doing a remarkable element via employing the harnesses. opposite to prevalent perception, no longer all parents have eyes interior the lower back/aspects of their heads ;)

Answer 8

Excellent point! My little one is now 15 months and has been wearing safety reins to walk anywhere out of the house for ages - we will advance to a wrist strap when appropriate. Paramount is their safety - and that is a parents responsibility. I see it as no different to putting his harness on in the high chair, or in the car seat, or in the buggy.

Answer 9

i dont object to rains i was a single parent all three girls had a short age gap i had the youngest in the push chair and the other 2 holding on to each side of the push chiar , this tought them that they could let go and run of but if they ever did there would be in deep poopoo, they never did let go , but i still wouldn't rule rains out , as for booster seats i have to use them but i think they are more safer without as the lap belt goes over there legs now instead of round there waist ?

Answer 10

I am not a fan of the toddler leashes, I think it is rather diminishing to the child's humanity. Leashes are for dogs and cats, or even rabbits, not so much for children, I don't think. We didn't drive everywhere, we just held hands all in a row. My gran raised six boys (each 18 months apart) without tying them up. I see why some people do, and it probably is better to be safe than sorry, I just don't like the idea of them.