So after spending a week in Disney World with my five-year old and nine-month old sons, I am amazed at the lack of control that parents have over their children. I don’t claim to be the strictest father in the world and my older son can be a little wild at times but I have never felt compelled to put him on a leash.
The sheer amount of children that were of age with my five-year old boy that I observed in numerous styles of leashes was astounding. My favorite ones were the backpacks that looked like animals. How could these lazy parents feel that leashing their child is better than either 1) raising them to not run away in crowds or 2) watching their kids instead of focusing on getting their next giant turkey leg from the vendors.
My son ran more than 15 feet away from us only once during the week in Disney World. I pointed out the first kid with a leash and told him that he would be on one if he ever did it again. Maybe I should thank those people for demonstrating the humiliation subjected to these poor kids by their lazy parents. Even at five, my son was so horrified by the leashes that he never strayed from us again.
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I hear what your saying, but we did lose one of our four children at Disney World (not on a leash, or otherwise restrained) and I thought I was going to have a heart attack. It’s the worst feeling ever.
I guess it all depends on what you’re dealing with. Yes – I have too many children – at the time our boys were 6, 4, 2 & 1. My then four-year-old, who is on the autism spectrum, had a bad habit of disappearing, right before our eyes. He’s better than any magician you’ve ever met. One minute there, take your eyes off him for one second and he’s gone. I also refused to go the leash route, I hate it. However, I have to admit, after losing him, I was very tempted to super-glue him to my side.
The event didn’t scare him enough to make him stay with us – he didn’t have the capacity to understand the ramifications of his disappearance. Yes, parents need to keep close tabs on their kids – interact with them, and watch them carefully. Most importantly, they need to teach them how to be safe. However, I can fully understand why a few would feel the need to tether their children to them.
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Jennifer, I agree that it would be a terrifying thing to lose track of one of your kids.
I don’t think most parents are doing it out of fear of losing their kids as much as it is fear of actually having to be a parent.