Wrist Leash for active 3year old on cruise.

[scrap4girls]

I am seriously considering on purchasing a wrist leash for my overly active 3year old daughter. She is my fourth child but I think she has the hipper boy gene. Its not the issue of me just teaching her to stick by my side. I am great at disciplining & sticking with it, if i didn't I could only imagine what type of child I would have on my hands. My Hubby is more relaxed but great about keeping kids in line. My mother in law says shes just busy but our nickname for her is crazy Maddi. She loves to walk and has tons of energy. She hates being in a stroller and has so much energy that she can keep up with the best of us.

 

Well now that we are approaching our trip i really thinking about getting a wrist leash not a harness. I hate those. I don't think a child should lead the parents around but the other way around. My biggest fear is her getting away from me while we are in port. We are using a stroller but I believe even I would get bored/sore sitting in it the whole time.

 

Anyone use this and like it :Dor even wish they hadn't:(????

[scrap4girls]

LOL, just saw one that's retractable on Amazon....reminds me of my dog's leash....:D

[Elann]

I say go for it. If it makes you more comfortable, why not.

[Karysa]

What ever it takes to keep her safe. It gives her some freedom but not enough to get into trouble. :)

[kassimer1]

i used one when we went to disney= rather kid was safe than worry about what others think

[mjkacmom]

One of my twins was a runner, and I had to harness mine if we wanted to walk anywhere without the stroller. Came in handy is crowded areas, like parades. My kids LOVED them.

[purplekisses]

My grandson has one that is a little back pack in the shape of monkey. He likes the little critter.

[nothriver]

Practicing using it BEFORE your cruise. I tried using one once at WDW and my daughter insisted she hold the parent end of the leash to "walk herself". On the bright side, while the leash experiment was a "flop", she actually LOVED "walking" herself, which kept her entertained, and thus prevented her running away for a couple hours.

 

Your daughter sounds a lot like mine! My daughter is now almost 7 and I still hesitate to actually let go of her hand! She doesn't intentionaly run away now but she's fast and inattentive, so she'll get inadvertantly get further away from me than I like.

 

Good luck, I hope you find a solution that works for you.

[newbiecruiser09]

Never used a leash myself but if I did need one I would think I would want the harness kind vs wrist kind for a number of reasons. 1) I would be concerned about her possibly pulling too hard and dislocating her arm (or nursemaids arm--DD had that twice when she was young!) 2) couldn't she just take the wrist part off and take off if she really wanted to? Our DD hated the stroller but also knew that if she tried to get away from us she would be back in it in a heartbeat. That said, do whatever you think is best for your child/situation and forget anybody who has opinions about it.

[scrap4girls]

Thanks Ladies,,, Love that our daughter walked herself. Anything that would entertain for a couple of hours is a blessing.

 

I think im going with the wrist leash. If I give her the eye she will usually stop what shes doing and pout. When she free she pretends not to hear me and avoids looking at me. This way only a couple feet away.

[OCruisers]

Go for the wrist leash!

 

I saw a child's life saved because of wearing one!

Waiting to cross a busy street in Chicago, his mother was holding his hand and he broke away from her into incoming traffic.

Thank goodness he was wearing a wrist leash and she was able to stop him in time.

 

You know your own child best. Do what you feel is needed for safely ... as well as giving a bit of freedom.

[celle]

Go for the wrist leash!

 

I saw a child's life saved because of wearing one!

Waiting to cross a busy street in Chicago, his mother was holding his hand and he broke away from her into incoming traffic.

Thank goodness he was wearing a wrist leash and she was able to stop him in time.

 

You know your own child best. Do what you feel is needed for safely ... as well as giving a bit of freedom.

 

I agree. Do what you need to do to keep your child safe.

 

I had 3 children in just under 3.5 years. I well remember that I used to have the youngest in a pushchair and the other two (one each side) on harnesses. It was the only way to keep them safe in crowds or traffic.

[Sunnyshine64]

I used one at Disney for my then-3 daughter. Felt bad, got dirty looks.. But then my teenage daughter reminded me that without it, I might not have a little girl as she was a sprinter. People who give rude looks or make snide remarks probably have never been a parent! I say take and use one! Might take o s for my 5yo son, he runs away a the time and has severe ADHD

(bio mom used drugs). Feel comfortable in your decision to out your child's needs and safety paramount.

[bus man]

I've not used a leash, so I can't comment on that. But I would think that if you decide to use one, you would want to try it out before you take your cruise. Go somewhere crowded, like a shopping mall on a Saturday, and see how it goes. If your daughter hates it, you've got your leverage: "You get any farther than 2 feet away, you're wearing the leash!" On the other hand, she might not mind it, or she might even like it. Of course, you'll also be testing out how you like using it.

 

New and unfamiliar ports are not the time to be trying this out for the first time. I would think you'd want to know how it works out while you're in a familiar environment, so then you'll be more comfortable when you're on your trip. Good luck!

[Pandot]

I have a 2 year old with ASD. Likes the stroller but also likes to walk. Is faster than lightening and will run, for fun. We do hold hands and work on holding hands and waiting while I open the door etc. But holding hands above your head hurts after a while and sometimes he wants to explore with hands free or holding something (carries 3 objects most places he goes). We have a "harness" (stuffed frog) whose legs wrap around him and buckle. Froggy has a tail, which I hold. He likes it, the "freedom" it offers him and he is never more than 2-3 feet away. Many times he will want to take Froggy along even when I don't plan on bringing it with us on our errands (daycare, groceries, children's museum, pool etc). We do get bizarre looks from time to time, but he is safe and happy and that's all that matters to me.

 

Do what you feel is right; ignore the rest. Do watch for dislocations if she tends to drop out from under you (with the wrist harness) and do try it out before you get on the ship. But good luck, have fun and be safe.

[SadieN]

Make sure your daughter cannot unhook the bracelet. We once got yelled at by a dad because thought we were laughing at his kid wearing a leash. Dad didn't realize we were laughing at the kid undoing the bracelet for the leash.

 

When our kids were younger we used the harnesses. (remembering the above mentioned kid). DD and her cousin held each other's leash in Disneyland.

 

Now we would probably get a backpack with a leash. My theory is if they are old enough to walk they are old enough to carry something. I'm not a 'sherpa'.

[Traveller20074]

I could not care LESS what people might think on our cruise. We WILL be using leashes for the 3 year old girl we are taking. My granddaughter who is very strong willed :D Her safety is more important than some stranger's opinion :) :) :)

[lotusbogardi]

My 17 month old is intelligent, active, independent, and inquisitive.

 

Did I mention quick? If something catches her attention she's off like a jackrabbit.

 

I use something very similar to this: http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=333

 

I like the fact that it secures around her chest instead of just her wrist. I have nightmares about possibly dislocating her arm if I had to yank back on one of those wrist deals. with this one, if I really need to yank her out of harm's way, I grab the back of it and lift her up. The funny thing is she loves it. If I pull it out, she runs right to me because she knows she's going to get to walk for herself instead of being carried or pushed.

[bean24]

My son had ASD and before he was diagnosed we went to Disney, I knew he would want to move around and he did . We put the harness on him and we all had a great time, our last cruise we used mostly the stroller but sometimes we did use it. I don't care what people say I want him to be safe

 

 

---

I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?ahawtr

[Carnival_Brides]

We used what we called a "Puppy Pack" with my two year old niece on her first cruise. We figured it looked less weird than a "leash" and she liked the pink puppy. It gave us the option to remove the leash, but when it was on she had a little bit of independence.

[Traveller20074]

We used one that looked like a monkey. I don't like the hand leashes, but YMMV :)

[jonathansburden]

We tried the wrist one and wound up in the ER with a dislocated shoulder... Daddy was holding it and letting the little guy run as far as he could on it, he ran to far and it jerked him back. Totally daddy's fault for letting him use it like that, but we don't use it anymore.

 

Now we have a Yoda backpack that we took apart and sewed a harness into, he loves giving Yoda a ride and taking a "Jedi walk".

[scrap4girls]

Since I couldnt find a leash. I think their not being sold because dislocating shoulder can happen. I took the leash from my keys and hooked it to my pants and let my dd hold on to the handle. So far so good. Sunday and today, she been pretty good about walking with me. A couple of time shes let go and ran off but I reminded her if she does this she has to sit in a stroller. Only bad thing with my key leash is the length isn't long enough and she keeps stepping on the back of my shoe. I wish back pack harness hooked in the front and not the back. I don't like the idea of her leading me. Going to look on line for something.

 

Thank you for all your support. I cant stand it when people are so judgmental when all we are trying to do is keep our children safe. Ill be sure to put them out of my mind. :cool:

[ElsieToo]

We also used the kind that is a backpack shaped like a monkey, and you as the parent hold the tail. Well, we *tried* to use it when DS was just under 3 and we were going to WDW. It worked great for a few days (and we had soooo many comments about how darn cute he was with it on! No judgmental LOOKS, if you know what I mean, at which I was pleasantly surprised.), but around the 4th day he decided that he wanted to be the big boy and hold the tail, and refused to let anyone else hold it. :rolleyes: Not so helpful for the parent when there's nothing to hold on to, lol.

 

They sell them at Target, and they're on sale right now:http://www.target.com/p/Eddie-Bauer-Harness-Buddy-Monkey/-/A-11119070

[lotusbogardi]

I don't like the idea of her leading me.

 

This is the exact baby harness I bought for my daughter:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-baby-toddler-walking-safety-harness-soft-Pink-/120740552860?pt=UK_Baby_Baby_Safety_ET&hash=item1c1cb2a09c

 

If you look at the sides closely, the right side is attached with a very firm snap, and I was able to unsnap it and that is what I hold. It snaps over on itself again to form a loop. You could probably put it through a belt loop and snap it. I am not leading or following. We're side-by-side. And, again, if she got a little rambunctious and I wanted to pick her up, I would slip my hands through the back, make sure I had both ends of the velcro closure against my palm, and lift her up into my arms. We only used it with my older daughter when we were taking her somewhere like the renaissance faire. We use it much more with my younger daughter who is MUCH more impulsive.

 

Thank you for all your support. I cant stand it when people are so judgmental when all we are trying to do is keep our children safe. Ill be sure to put them out of my mind. :cool:

''

 

I used to look at people that way until I had kids. It is a necessity! My baby girl loves the freedom of walking on her own, but she is so quick and so impulsive it scares me to death.