What Are You All's Opinion On...

[permanentvacation]

Actually, I am a licensed daycare provider - have been for 20 years. I am well aware of the types of children we can get and the liability we have for the care and safety of them. I've taken up to 10 children ages 6 weeks - 6 years old ( only 2 children - my daughter and her friend were over age 4) by myself on weekly field trips every summer to places like the zoo, the aquarium, science center, fire departments, police departments, parks, etc. and have never used a leash. I have had plenty of kids who didn't listen properly, but didn't feel the need to put a leash on them. I simply worked with them more to get them to stand beside me, hold my hand, stand by the car, etc. I certainly was not able to hold every child's hand all the time. They learned to walk with me and with the group. I didn't have to spank them - you are not allowed to spank daycare kids and I certainly would not have done so. I just don't understand how I can do all that I do with as many children as I have and one mother is incapable of doing the same thing with her one child. I just don't understand how one mother can't handle one single child by themself.

[Blackcat31]

Actually, I am a licensed daycare provider - have been for 20 years. I am well aware of the types of children we can get and the liability we have for the care and safety of them. I've taken up to 11 children by myself on weekly field trips every summer to places like the zoo, the aquarium, science center, fire departments, police departments, parks, etc. and have never used a leash. I have had plenty of kids who didn't listen properly, but didn't feel the need to put a leash on them. I simply worked with them more to get them to stand beside me, hold my hand, stand by the car, etc. I certainly was not able to hold every child's hand all the time. They learned to walk with me and with the group. I didn't have to spank them - you are not allowed to spank daycare kids and I certainly would not have done so. I just don't understand how I can do all that I do with as many children as I have and one mother is incapable of doing the same thing with her one child. I just don't understand how one mother can't handle one single child by themself.

I also take all 12 of mine places alone too....NONE are on a leash...just a walking rope

As far as one mother and one child.....I used to feel just like you, however I had my son and the world as I knew it started rotating off kilter just a few degrees.

I had never seen or heard of a kid like him.....to this day, even after 20 years of child care, I have still never run across another kid like him. :confused:

I have no idea what made him work the way he did/does but had I not used a leash he would not be here today at 20 years old. ...and for what it's worth, he is a fantastic responsible, dependable, loyal, hard working honest young man.

[MrsB]

I also take all 12 of mine places alone too....NONE are on a leash...just a walking rope

As far as one mother and one child.....I used to feel just like you, however I had my son and the world as I knew it started rotating off kilter just a few degrees.

I had never seen or heard of a kid like him.....to this day, even after 20 years of child care, I have still never run across another kid like him. :confused:

I have no idea what made him work the way he did/does but had I not used a leash he would not be here today at 20 years old. ...and for what it's worth, he is a fantastic responsible, dependable, loyal, hard working honest young man.

I have one of those too blackcat. I am so glad he is no longer a toddler (hes 10 now)! Here are the things he did to make me wonder if we were both gonna survive.

1. When he was 2.5 yrs. I came downstairs after a 5 minute bathroom break to find he had dumped a whole brand new box of cheerios on the kitchen floor, along with a WHOLE gallon of milk and was sitting in the middle of it eating it with a spoon.

2. Age 3.5 Was upstairs 10 minutes helping my daughter put her clothes away to find he had taken the hood off my fishtank and had climbed in it. "Wook mommy, Im smimmin wif da fishes"

3. Age 3.5 Had scaled our refrigerator and was sitting on the top of it eating his halloween candy. Keep in mind, we had a free standing fridge, no counters or cabinets next to it and he had used nothing to push over to assist him.

4. He had just turned 2 so we moved him to a toddler bed from his crib. One day during daycare nap time. I put him down in his bed and put a DCB in the crib who was 6 months at the time but weighed more than my son. Had a baby monitor on them but always checked every 15 minutes too. Went in to ck because I heard baby cooing. Baby on floor and Son in crib asleep. How he was able to lift the infant out of the crib without dropping him on his head, I HAVE NO IDEA!!

So glad those years are over! But point being, he was never being "bad" or not listening, just very precotious (sp?) and curious. He has always just lacked "inhibitions" and has always been very impulsive.

Been a DC provider and parent too long to judge, every child is different and I see where something like this can be ridiculous and where it is necessary.

[SilverSabre25]

I have one of those too blackcat. I am so glad he is no longer a toddler (hes 10 now)! Here are the things he did to make me wonder if we were both gonna survive.

1. When he was 2.5 yrs. I came downstairs after a 5 minute bathroom break to find he had dumped a whole brand new box of cheerios on the kitchen floor, along with a WHOLE gallon of milk and was sitting in the middle of it eating it with a spoon.

2. Age 3.5 Was upstairs 10 minutes helping my daughter put her clothes away to find he had taken the hood off my fishtank and had climbed in it. "Wook mommy, Im smimmin wif da fishes"

3. Age 3.5 Had scaled our refrigerator and was sitting on the top of it eating his halloween candy. Keep in mind, we had a free standing fridge, no counters or cabinets next to it and he had used nothing to push over to assist him.

4. He had just turned 2 so we moved him to a toddler bed from his crib. One day during daycare nap time. I put him down in his bed and put a DCB in the crib who was 6 months at the time but weighed more than my son. Had a baby monitor on them but always checked every 15 minutes too. Went in to ck because I heard baby cooing. Baby on floor and Son in crib asleep. How he was able to lift the infant out of the crib without dropping him on his head, I HAVE NO IDEA!!

So glad those years are over! But point being, he was never being "bad" or not listening, just very precotious (sp?) and curious. He has always just lacked "inhibitions" and has always been very impulsive.

Been a DC provider and parent too long to judge, every child is different and I see where something like this can be ridiculous and where it is necessary.

I'm laughing at these! How funny! Your son sounds bright...and like he might be capable of levitating?! :: I think the cheerios and the fish tank are the best, .

[SunshineMama]

I have definitely used one before on my dd when we went to DC. Didn't want her bolting!

Now, I HAVE seen parents abuse these things though, which gives them a bad name. At the beach once a parent actually tied their toddler to a beach umbrella so they could get some sun. That wasn't cool.

[lovelife]

I have mixed feeling about the harness aka leash. When my ds was a infant my mil sent us a box of goodies. Inside the box was this monkey back pack harness. I instantly got upset. Why would my MIL send me a leash! I took it back to wal-mart and got back a whole 2.00 (it was on clearance). I remember being annoyed for days. :confused:

Now that I am older and a dcp I can see how they can be useful. I understand training them to walk with us, hold hands ect. All my dck are really good in that department (right now). However, I have seen providers at the local park I go to and I cringe when I see them letting the children run so far ahead of them next to the road. Knowing at any moment they can dart in the road. Some children respond well to a simple "hold my hand" or "stay by the stroller". However, lets face it some kids are used to the booming voice. One we can not provide. So I think if a child needs a leash type device to help train them to hold on or stay by their provider then so be it.

[daycare]

I had to use a backpack leash on one of my 4 year old kids a few months back when we went to the museum. He threw a massive tantrum because I would not allow for him to go into the gift shop. As soon as I said, I am sorry johnny but going in there is not a choice, we can go blow bubbles instead, he yelled no and took off running for the front door. Lucky for me I had other adults with me and I took off after him leaving the others with the other adult. I had to put it on him unwillingly and it made a little bit of a scene, but I was not going to let it happen again. I saw my life flash before my eyes in a matter of 2.5 seconds.

I wrote a report when I got home and made the parents sign it..

[Blackcat31]

I have one of those too blackcat.

Been a DC provider and parent too long to judge, every child is different and I see where something like this can be ridiculous and where it is necessary.

Oh thank goodness I am not alone!! ::

• My son was 3 sitting in a chair petting our elderly cat. He was so cute and calm (which was so UNLIKE him) that no one noticed he was actually giving the cat a hair cut
  
  
• Another time, he and my nephew (both about 2-3 yrs old at them time) drank ALL of the left over beer in the returnable bottles leftove from the nightbefore. (We had entertained some friends so there was a full case of bottles) Ewwww!
  
  
• Another time, he dumped out a 5lb bag of sugar onto the kitchen floor and had gotten his TOnka loader and dump truck out so he could play gravel pit
  
  
• He would get up in the wee hours of the morning and steal things out of the fridge.....when cleaning his closet out, we found empty bottles of soy sauce and frosting containers
  
  
• He also, got into my DD's markers and completely 100% (NO EXAGGERATION) covered his body from toes to head in multiple colors. He didn't miss a single area of his body.
  
  
• He once got a wire coat hanger stuck under his eye lid and wasn't hurt but boy was he mad that he couldn't pull it out!
  
  
• At 3 he RARELY spoke (he could, but chose not to 99% of the time) so once when leaving the babysitters in the evening, he was throwing a fit because he didn't want to go home. I told him he had to go home to bed because the next day he was going to the YMCA for something fun and he says without missing a beat, "F@*k the Y." (My DH had to pullover he was laughing so hard)

He filled my contact case full of toothaste at least once a week between the ages of 2-4.... (No matter where we hid the toothpaste)...
things like that were pretty common, no rhyme or reason as to why he did what he did but he just did.... :confused:

I am sure there are 100's more but those are a few that come to mind. He was simply the type of kid who when told something was hot, he HAD to touch it before he believed you. VERY balck and white. VERY analytical and very smart.

I am sooo glad though (not for you but for me ) that there are mor elike him out there.......LOL!! ::::