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To harness or Not to harness?

September30

Have any of you parents (or parents to be) ever considered on the use of a child safe harness or child tether?

What is That?? I may heard u Asked.. So this is what Wiki has to says :

A child harness (alternative: child tether, British English: walking reins) is a safety restraint for walking with small children. The device is primarily used with toddlers and children of preschool age, and typically consists of a shoulder harness with a lead (tether) secured in the back, either directly or by means of a hook.

When the device is used, a child wears the harness and a parent or a guardian holds the end of the lead or attaches it to their wrist. This allows the child relative freedom of movement in comparison to being seated in a stroller, carried by the adult (with or without a child carrier), or being held by the hand. At the same time, the child harness prevents child separation from the adult by the way of the child running off in a crowded or dangerous area.

There exists a difference of opinion on the use of child harnesses. Those in favor argue for the benefit of enhanced safety, and increased freedom of movement compared to hand-holding or confinement of children to strollers. Those opposed to their use argue against restraining children, in favor of hand-holding. The child safety argument has been winning over in recent years and the use of the safety harness has increased.

I remembered back when I was still very much single and without a child .. I came across a Mummy who was shopping at Parkson with her toddler son (maybe 3-4 years old). I still have vivid recollection of that day.

Its was at the children department in Riverside’s Parkson Grand and as it was a sales period and a weekend, it was pretty crowded. The mummy was standing at one of the pumpkin patches in the baby & kids section choosing out bargain clothings (no doubt for her little darling). But what made her stands out is that she had a leash extending from her wrist.. and attached to the other end of the leash is her little Son! I remembered I was quite taken aback! @@ The first impression that came to my mind was.. “OMG..why is she doing that to her son?? Its a human child.. Not a Pet!”

However don’t get me wrong. I’m not condeming the use of child harness.. this thought was back when I was still very single and carefree and could not understands the working minds of a Parents

The child that I saw back then does not seems to be in any distress or being mistreated. In fact, both the Mummy and her Son seem very much at ease. The mummy is happily shopping (assuming alone) and is able to keep an eye to her little son who is safely tethered closely to her, and her son is able to roam about freely within the safety radius without the risk of getting lost in the throng of shoppers.

Happy Damian & his Harness! :D

The revelation on how useful it is come when my good friend/colleague Rachel tells me about her super-active son Damian.. who actually REQUESTED to be put on a harness during one of their family trip to a mall in KL! Her son is extremely active and he likes to run about .. however he’s also very clever.

He do understands the risk of getting separated from his parent in a big mall (Midvalley)! So therefore he asked his mummy to put him on a harness.. so that he still can roams and explore on his own (without being held and restrained by hand) and yet still safely with his watchful eyes parents at all time.

However, there are some strongly-opposing opinions on this same topic, as highlighted in this post - http://www.silverdragon.com/punkie/cybertusk/leash.html

I do agree with it to some extend.. however I also believe that everything is to be done in moderation. I do think that if the child harness are used moderately as long as the Parents and Child are comfortable.. it maybe beneficial I read from a website.. and do agree to the statements below :

Your child can disappear in a flash. Keep your little adventurers safe and close by. Have peace of mind while traveling, in a parking lot, on a busy street, or at the zoo or theme park without the confinement and inconvenience of a stroller.

That being said.. I’ve recently bought a cute one for my Gabbie.. Its in a shape of a softtoy Cow (can double as a small bag pack). Hehe.. I hope she’ll like tt ^.^

moo-moo Cow safety harness

I suppose that answers your question on what is my Stands on this particular Issue? Hahaha..!

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posted under First Time Papa

One Comment to

“To harness or Not to harness?”

On March 22nd, 2010 at 9:15 pm Valerie Says:
today my 2year old, very active daughter almost got knocked down by a car outside her playschool when she suddenly ran off and refused to stop even though i yelled several times. In my haste to catch her, I tripped and fell only to watch in horror as she continued running towards oncoming car. Thank God both stopped when they saw each other.

As of today, I have decided to get a safety harness for her regardless what people think. I’d rather have all sorts of judgmental looks & remarks than a dead 2 year old who doesn’t fully understand the consequences of her actions and has yet to fully comprehend language.