Did Your Mother Ever Put You on Leash With a Harness When You Were a Toddler?

[Gary O']

Did your mom ever put you on leash and harness as a toddler, or did you ever use those with your children?

Uh, no
It was all I could do to keep up

One time, at the old JC Penney store, I was hanging onto my mom's coat
Looked up, GNAH!....IT ISN'T MY MOM!!!
Took me several panic stricken minutes to find her

Did that same trick with my kids
Walk fast
Give 'em that I could get left and raised by gypsies feeling
Never an issue

Now, with Gramma, when she went to 'Monkey Wards',
she'd leave me in the ol' black '51 Chevy
Windows rolled up
Locked
Middle of summer
Coat on
Sweat can be rather cooling if you have sense enough to roll the window down

 

[Em in Ohio]

I believe my brother was. (bad memory)
I did put my youngest daughter into a full harness. She was terribly reckless as a wee one, she liked to run through the clothing stores and hide in the racks. She had no fear, and no regard for her own safety. This child did not understand pain until she actually hurt herself.
On a visit to the hospital to see her grandfather, we had her "leased up" and as we got off the elevator into his ward, the nurse at the desk said "I wish more people were like you and took responsibility for their children" From that day on, the odd and awkward looks from strangers no longer bothered me.

Ditto. Your daughter's description fit my son to a tee. He had no "internal control mechanism" and no amount of discipline or behavior modification worked.

I lost him in a Sear's Department Store (clothing department) that was about to close at the end of the day - The security folks ordered me to leave! I said, "I'm not leaving. I came in with my son and he is missing!" We finally found him inside a storage compartment beneath a tee-shirt display. After that, the leash was mandatory!

 

[hollydolly]

Yes we had Reins (as they were called here) when we were kids, there was only a year between all of us, so most of us were barely walking when the next came along, so harnesses were needed. I remember my baby sister who is 7 years younger than me having one similar to this...

 

[Aunt Marg]

Yes we had Reins (as they were called here) when we were kids, there was only a year between all of us, so most of us were barely walking when the next came along, so harnesses were needed. I remember my baby sister who is 7 years younger than me having one similar to this...

Wow! Now there's a true collectors item!

Can't help but chuckle over the horses on the front!

 

[Sunny]

Good grief, no! She would have been horrified at the idea. But then, I was an only child and pretty well behaved.

 

[Kayelle]

I was an obedient child so I was never leashed.
My oldest son was leashed though when he was a toddler, and not in the safety of his stroller. I didn't care that others judged my mothering skills, as the first time he tried to run out into the street, his fate was sealed and that was that. We took him tent camping near a river when he was about three years old, and I tied his leash to the end of a rope just short of the river. No way I was going to loose him to a tragedy. He's in his 50's now, still head strong and I love him even more now than I did then. His younger brother was seven years later, and the perfectly manageable child. I deserved it by then. lol

 

[JaniceM]

Actually, I've never seen a child on a harness/leash.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

My parents never did. I was a free range kid. But I do remember other kids being tied up outside. And there was no fancy harness- just a rope tied around the waist. I don't believe the practice wasn't that parents didn't love their kids, it's that they honestly weren't aware of the dangers in what they were doing. I was in grade school, walking about four miles a day, by myself; but they did the same when they were growing up.

 

[Kayelle]

Come to think of it, I'd like to put a leash on my husband. He walks twice as fast as I do and if he doesn't hold my hand he gets away from me.
Hmmm, something way too familiar about that.

 

[hollydolly]

Actually, I've never seen a child on a harness/leash.

Then

...and now..... .....

 

[Ferocious]

Did Your Mother Ever Put You on Leash With a Harness When You Were a Toddler?
Sure did, and a muzzle, and handcuffs.......and that was only when I was behaving myself

 

[win231]

My mother put a leash on me. But she put it around my neck & used a slip knot.

 

[toffee]

dont know --but she certainly put me on a leash at 14 ...ewwwwww

 

[Dolly]

Yes she did. And we put our daughter on one too (when we were out) She would have been 42 last month

 

[AmberTea]

Mom always had a hold of my hand in those years, but I think these days and with parents taking their
kids out in large settings, fairs, events etc, and all depending on the adventurous aspect of the given child,
it might be a wise thing. Two years ago and at a fair I found a child of which ended up being two years old,
walking lost but happy through crowds of people, looking for and saying assertively "mommy!" My man and
I followed the child about 30 seconds and closely and immediately decided LOST. Not knowing if we took care
of the child to get him to a security guard at the fair grounds, and if the parents saw us, we could be deemed as
a child abductor. But we did the right thing quick and took the tiny tot, and sat on a bench, while another trusted
person went to get the security guard at fairgrounds to come and access the situation. **Ended up the parents had
both turned their backs for a moment away from their child and he took off.

 

[Aunt Marg]

Mom always had a hold of my hand in those years, but I think these days and with parents taking their
kids out in large settings, fairs, events etc, and all depending on the adventurous aspect of the given child,
it might be a wise thing. Two years ago and at a fair I found a child of which ended up being two years old,
walking lost but happy through crowds of people, looking for and saying assertively "mommy!" My man and
I followed the child about 30 seconds and closely and immediately decided LOST. Not knowing if we took care
of the child to get him to a security guard at the fair grounds, and if the parents saw us, we could be deemed as
a child abductor. But we did the right thing quick and took the tiny tot, and sat on a bench, while another trusted
person went to get the security guard at fairgrounds to come and access the situation. **Ended up the parents had
both turned their backs for a moment away from their child and he took off.

A happy ending thanks to good folks as yourselves!

 

[Damaged Goods]

Did your mom ever put you on leash and harness as a toddler, or did you ever use those with your children? My mother never did, and I rarely saw that, but when I did it seemed strange. Suppose these days with all the kidnappings, it may be handy. When I was younger, folks would leave their sleeping babies outside stores in the carriage while they shopped, and never had a worry.

Is this what they mean when they say that a parent had a toddler on her/his hip? I don't recall ever seeing a kid on a parent's hip and can't imagine how it's possible unless the kid were strapped to the hip like a six gun.

 

[AmberTea]

Then

...and now..... .....

this is an excellent option for all parents to consider (imo)

 

[Aunt Marg]

this is an excellent option for all parents to consider (imo)

Any parent who has ever had a child get away on them knows all too well the sick feeling that follows.

As a young child I recall my parents reminding us kids over and over and over again, stay close to us, don't stray, stay right by our sides, I want to see you at all times. Outings like that, that concentrate on such aren't outings at all but rather, exercises in putting on through undue stress.

At least with a safety harness a parent can free themselves from the constant worry of a child getting away from them. They definitely had their place.