The Daddy Complex

I'm curious on your opinion on parents/children with leashes. Yes, I thought of asking you after reading @for--delilah reblog on this subject. Are you for or against them? Of the mindset of right place and right time for anything in life? Personally, I'm completely against them. I won't stop someone I see, but I will judge them. I understand some kids want to run off, but that's where discipline comes in, in my opinion.

Asked by Anonymous

I saw that reblog, too. When it comes to leashes, we don’t use them, but not because we frown on them.

We’re lucky that our boys listen to us most of the time. And I say “most of the time” because there have been a handful of occasions when they decided to bolt and one of us needed to sprint after them. A few of those moments literally ended in a flying tackle to save them from the swing/car/elephant stampede that nearly splattered them. Those times, a leash would’ve been nice. Hell, I’m still toying with the idea of binding up Wyatt like Hannibal Lecter and wheeling him around on a dolly.

Other parents might not be in the same situation, however. Their child may have a developmental disability or ADHD or some other problem that makes discipline futile. Even if the parent is just having trouble or outright lazy, I’d rather those kids be leashed than become a Jackson Pollock painting on middle lane of 5th Ave.

As disciplined as any child is, none of them listen or behave 100 percent of the time. The parents who use leashes are just stacking the deck in their favor. Every parent should use the tools and techniques that work work for them. And let me counter with this: When we’re near a busy street or in a crowded place, we insist the boys hold our hand. I imagine you do the same. That’s just another type of leash.

One more thing. If I were you, I wouldn’t volunteer that I judge people. It’s not an admirable quality. In fact, it’s the root of every conflict and irrational hatred on earth. And at the very least, it’ll make others not want to hang out with you. So, maybe keep that practice to yourself or, better yet, stop doing it.

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Notes

  1. heatherly84 said: THANK YOU. I’ve never leashed my kid personally, but there have been times where I’ve looked at someone else who did and thought, “I should’ve done that.” And I totally would’ve with my twin brothers when I was a teenager who watched them a lot.
  2. electradaddy said: Excellent answer! You should totally start a blog!
  3. mammalingo said: I really like this answer. While I don’t use a “leash” or whatever they’re really called, I know people who needed to and had their own reasons. They — as you said — didn’t need people judging them.
  4. mylittllovely said: The image of wheeling your son on a dolly is just too, too much. Thanks for that belly laugh.
  5. creativemommyhood said: LOVE your response to this!
  6. regeenalane said: Instead of picking on parents who are doing everything in their power to keep their children safe and under control, why don’t we pick on the parents who let their kids run around in the streets completely unsupervised?
  7. ladyofleisuredc said: OH! I LOVE this response, ESPECIALLY the last paragraph! Bravo to you!
  8. kaitmpayne said: Could not agree more.
  9. fyrikaos said: my 2cents - we leashed out DD for a period of time because she REFUSED to hold hands… kicking biting screaming etc - when we’d head into the city ( manhattan from brx) she’d have it on and it was used when she refused to hand hold! worked for me!
  10. misadventuresinparenting said: Love the response, why should anyone else have an opinion on how we choose to keep our kids safe… as long as we keep them safe!
  11. go-mo-go said: You always have the perfect response.
  12. deltaomega said: I used to run off ALL THE TIME, was totally OK with being on a leash though, I dont see what the big deal is at all, its not treating your kid like an animal, it’s just making sure you don’t lose them.
  13. thedaddycomplex posted this