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Two is actually a really great age to establish the importance of like vs the importance of safety. Can' control your darting? Don't like holding hands? Tough ****. WHEN you are safe to walk, THEN you can walk. He won't ALLOW someone to help him? For heaven's sake, he is two. And your DIL is a pushover.
What alternative to walking do you suggest, and how is it superior to using a harness?
Parent alone with an infant, toddler and diaper bag/carry on in the airport. Yeah sorry, using a harness allowing the toddler to walk, freeing up hands for infant and bags while allowing toddler to safely expend energy prior to flight? Win-win.
Parent alone with an infant, toddler and diaper bag/carry on in the airport. Yeah sorry, using a harness allowing the toddler to walk, freeing up hands for infant and bags while allowing toddler to safely expend energy prior to flight? Win-win.
And what is your solution? Strap him into a stroller? That's better than a harness where he can walk on his own, explore, learn while walking that he needs to stay near? A stroller is FAR more confining than a harness, how is that a better solution.
How does allowing him to NOT be responsible for staying near teach him to be responsible for staying near? The point of the stroller was to make the connection between his freedom and his responsibility. When HE could be responsible to be safe, then he could enjoy the freedom. With a leash, he gets all the freedom and none of the responsibility. It takes about 2 instances of watching like a hawk, collecting the escape artist child and explaining that I guess you are not ready for the freedom of walking yet. We will try again next time.
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I was no pushover, but that still didn't keep my 2 year old from running. When he got a little, he was able to understand more and also do a better job of controlling his impulses. But in the meanwhile, he didn't get hit by a car, which would have been a likely possibility given that we lived in a busy city.
It does help to stage this education where the kid is not going to die.
And if that "when" isn't going to happen right that second...what do you do, just not catch your plane? lol
My main objection was the notion that what this kid "likes" is of paramount importance. If I had a yet untrained little one going on a trip, I would use whatever means was necessary.
I don't think anyone is advocating a harness in lieu of teaching them. The fact is, the while they are in the process of learning, there are times when it isn't practical or safe work on that particular lesson. Sometimes those times can be avoided but sometimes they just can't. Life isn't put on hold just because your toddler hasn't learned yet. A harness used occasionally won't keep them from learning anything. A lot of it is simply a matter of outgrowing the behavior.
I honestly think a lot of the disdain for leashes surfaces because they actually are NOT an efficient, fully effective child-restraint device.
Users here readily admit that they aren't REALLY teaching the child while using the leash. The consensus from posts here shows that they basically keep the kids from dying/getting kidnapped while "allowing them to burn off energy."
That means the kid on a leash isn't getting the education that a dog on a leash is often getting (sorry if it offends "harness users" but it really is the most logical comparison) when an owner is teaching them to heel, etc. It's more like that dog that is pulling its owner along the path. I have never seen a parent use a leash while actually training a child. It's always JUST a tether.
Which leads to the other reason leashes don't receive the same public approval as strollers: As a tether, they don't fully keep kids under control and out of the way of other people in crowded places, where they are MOST likely to be used.
Much like a retractable dog leash, they are not often used to keep the child as close as possible to the parent and leave a trip/tangle hazard for other adults trying to get through the busy place. Strollers aren't that much better but they usually are kept closer to the body (arm's length) than a leash.
Best wishes to ANY parent trying to wrangle multiple toddlers through an airport. There is no perfect solution, except patience for all parties.
I honestly think a lot of the disdain for leashes surfaces because they actually are NOT an efficient, fully effective child-restraint device.
Users here readily admit that they aren't REALLY teaching the child while using the leash. The consensus from posts here shows that they basically keep the kids from dying/getting kidnapped while "allowing them to burn off energy."
That means the kid on a leash isn't getting the education that a dog on a leash is often getting (sorry if it offends "harness users" but it really is the most logical comparison) when an owner is teaching them to heel, etc. It's more like that dog that is pulling its owner along the path. I have never seen a parent use a leash while actually training a child. It's always JUST a tether.
Which leads to the other reason leashes don't receive the same public approval as strollers: As a tether, they don't fully keep kids under control and out of the way of other people in crowded places, where they are MOST likely to be used.
Much like a retractable dog leash, they are not often used to keep the child as close as possible to the parent and leave a trip/tangle hazard for other adults trying to get through the busy place. Strollers aren't that much better but they usually are kept closer to the body (arm's length) than a leash.
Best wishes to ANY parent trying to wrangle multiple toddlers through an airport. There is no perfect solution, except patience for all parties.
I disagree on several accounts.
The disdain isn't due to lack of teaching or due to presumed ineffectiveness. It's simply due to their resemblance to a dog leash. Nothing more. Hence the constant comparison.
A stroller is just one more thing to wrestle with toddlers at the airport. It takes a free hand to push it and why on earth would you insist a toddler be restrained in a stroller during a layover if he's already had to sit during g one flight and will need to sit again for another one? Just so you can show him you're the boss?
I've never seen a retractable harness or one that is long enough to cause a tripping issue for other adults. They may exist but that's not what I've seen.
The disdain isn't due to lack of teaching or due to presumed ineffectiveness. It's simply due to their resemblance to a dog leash. Nothing more. Hence the constant comparison.
A stroller is just one more thing to wrestle with toddlers at the airport. It takes a free hand to push it and why on earth would you insist a toddler be restrained in a stroller during a layover if he's already had to sit during g one flight and will need to sit again for another one? Just so you can show him you're the boss?
I've never seen a retractable harness or one that is long enough to cause a tripping issue for other adults. They may exist but that's not what I've seen.
"Nothing more"? That's uncharacteristically dismissive of you.
There are even more reasons. How about "unpredictability"? A kid in a stroller is IN a stroller and not likely to run out in front of another person walking.
Layovers? A child in a stroller can sleep. Why would I want to sit for an hour at an airport gate jerking my child back and forth on a leash? I would rather just take them to a less busy area and let them run around for an hour. Best of both worlds.
There are dozens of things to wrestle with when you have little kids, all the time. There's nothing like the day you realize you don't have to cut up their food, tie their shoes, wipe their bottoms.
But there are actual, specific reasons the OP's own daughter had reservations about using the leash besides just "disapproving looks from strangers." After posting here, the OP now has a few more.
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Best of both worlds.
