In the context of a AD/HD child, what is feeling towards the use of a child harness?

My parents used a harness on me when I was still in a carriage (we're talking VERY young). I actually would jump out of the carriage, and the harness would keep me from hitting pavement...lol.

On a more current note, I think a harness may give a child a sense of false restraint and may not teach them their true boundaries. So the next time they find themselves without a harness, they will have nothing to stop them. I know it may make it easier for parents to manage their kids...Just my personal opinion.

My parents used a harness on me - just as well coz I know that my brain didn't register that I shouldn't run off and it kept me out of danger.

I didn't use a harness on my kids - basically when they were like that it was too stressful to go out so we had no life instead.

This one I'll post on... my Mom used a harness on me and my brothers. The reason she used one on me is because I had the ability to disappear in the middle of Fort Wayne Indiana... with 2 major highways on either side of the church. SO, if it's a question of true safety yes I believe I would use a harness, I did so with my children not because they wondered off....but because in a crowd, you're going to feel the tug on a harness if someone tries to snatch your kid long before you would if your child pulled away from your hand and walked off. Because all kids like to stop and play with toys and sometimes a parent feels secure thinking the other parent has hold of the child. Which is sometimes not true. The only time I didn't have Katie on a leash/harness was in our town. She kept on walking to cross the street.. at the light, and walked right in front of a semi. If I hadn't have reached out and pulled her back by her collar, she would have been flattened. But it took a greater effort to do that, then it would have to tug her back with the harness. There are still times I don't trust her at crosswalks and she's 15. So as far as harness/leashes go, that is my own personal preference.

I did not believe in the use of a harness before my son was born nor during the first 3 years of his life; but, things change after new siblings arrive and you watch your child run into the street and you cannot catch them or the first time you are somewere and your child disappears. I think the use of a harness is Ok as long as it's used only to keep a child safe, not as a babysitting tool. For instance the only time we used ours was when transporting the kids alone from house to vehicle or so forth after we had gotten to were we were going it came off immediatly much to our son's anger. lol he actually loved his harness,,I think it may help if you make it a game for them and do not use it all the time.

I think it all depends on the child and the situation a person is in. Please note that even though I have worked with young children, I am not a parent.

I think using a harness in a crowded mall or store is a lot different from using it in everyday actvities.

I tried using a harness for about 6 months, My son would see somthing and just go.
Everysingle time i put the harness on he sat down and that was that.

This is one of those things that seems to work, but people feel really bad about using anyways...

I agree with Big. It's like water wings in the pool. I do see the value in it safety-wise for sure. Maybe if it was just for occasional use like the once a year trip to the amusement park. At other times you should probably work with the child in low risk areas to practice staying with mom or dad. I'm laughing thinking about Mike Myers' character of the kid on ritalin who is wearing a helmet and is tied to the monkey bars.:eek:

Hi there!

I was harnessed as a child, and I wasn't traumatized by it. I think it would be much more traumatizing for a little kid to be in their freewheeling little world and suddenly realize their parents are nowhere to be found!

With all the psychos out there, I'm astonished that harnessing very young children isn't the norm!

Grin I am going to go slightly off topic on this

I changed jobs (again )Grin

I am now working for a roofing company (driving big truck and zoom boom Forklift)

but I also work on the roof and we have to wear a harness anytime we are on the roof and working near the edge.

I dont like wearing it but it sure beats the consequences of not wearing it and making a slight mistake.

AND IM STILL A KID AT HEART

So there is the opinion of a big kid who plays with big trucks

i used a harness on my son - in crowded areas, or near busy streets. he hasn't suffered any harm; as a matter of fact he remembers it fondly. his father held one "leash", i held the other. when he tripped, he ended up swinging instead of skinning a knee.

my daughter, on the other hand, hated her leash. she's the add kid - but, it kept her from running off many many times.

i actually had parents come up to me and ask where i had gotten the harness and leash, because they wanted one for their kid - usually this was on the heels of " he wandered off and it took me an hour to find him" on a busy boardwalk or mall....

so, i am definitely in favor of the use of restraining gear on toddlers; for their safety, and for their parents' peace of mind...

There was a time when I thought the parents that used them were the worst people on earth (dramatic, i know).
I knew that I would never need one, I was the most protective parent out there! Well, never say never. Once at an amusement park while ordering food, my three year old climbed out of his stroller(this took about two seconds) and decided to hide behind a garbage bin. We went crazy trying to find him. Though he was only lost for about 30 seconds it was enough for me to go right out and buy one.
I have used one ever since when we have gone to Cedar POint , Niagara Falls and any other place with crowds. I have had security personal comment on them and point out what a good idea it is. I would rather be safe than sorry and any tool out there that can help me do my job as a parent is worth trying out.

On a more current note, I think a harness may give a child a sense of false restraint and may not teach them their true boundaries. So the next time they find themselves without a harness, they will have nothing to stop them. I know it may make it easier for parents to manage their kids...Just my personal opinion.[/QUOTE]

Hello Big
I would like to make a brief comment on the use of leashes or reins on kids. When a parent is on harassment while seing his/her toddler on impulse, he dreams of pulling a harness on his/her back for "peace of mind". Fortunately, harnesses and leashes are more and more popular and a vast array of styles is flourishing in UK and USA. Good deal for manufacturers ! But, as you inquire, are they really useful ? I agree with you: not really educative. Meanwhile, I feel that this restraining device could be useful for training a kid to control himself. Tell your 24 months (or more) kid: " Because I don't want to see you wandering everywhere around, I will pull on you this nice harness. (Yes, some harnesses are really nice. Just look at eBay auctions in USA or UK).It tells you that you have to stay near me in holding my hand. If you don't, I will snap on this little rope to your harness which will help you to understand what daddy and mom are saying by "Stay near".
I am sure that in using the leash only when the kid needs to be controlled, he will remember his/her parents' wants fastly. Try to make a lot of exercises around or inside home before going to malls, zoos or crowded places in pulling on just the harness.. In other words, the harness can be a useful educational tool , not the leash which is and ought to be only an emergency toll.

Wish they would have had them when my older kids were young. Couldn't use them for the twins for the obvious reasons.

Wish they would have had them when my older kids were young. Couldn't use them for the twins for the obvious reasons.
:confused:
I would like to get more information about your quote. What do you mean by "Couldn't use them for the twins for the obvious reasons ?
Thank you.

I have seen harness' for twins. One leash that forks out half way thru giving each their own space but leaves you able to pull them back from harmful situations at the sametime instead of wondering which one to jump after first.

OK this one really cracks me up. My sister alway's fought me on the use of leashes saying they were abusive and mentally cruel. Well, her two year old thinks he's a dog (literally...when you come over he'll sniff your behind and lick your hand if you let him)and he won't leave the house without his doggie leash on and I mean literally he'll scream until he passes out without his leash. I love that kid.

Oh, this fine story of you, Nucking Futs. I agree with you that symbolic play at 2 y.o. is the way to open intelligence. For this little boy, the leash is something like a transitional object with which the young toddler establishes a connection with outside reality. A dummy or a blanket are a kind of pacifier without which there can be no transition from the symbiosis mother-child to a differentiation between them. Winnicott has largely studied this aspect . And I can understand you love this young kid playing "as if" he is a dog. I know a mother who harnessed her two daughters (3 and 2) for an outing with the cocker spaniel. Both played to imitate the dog and had a real fun in doing that "as if" they were dogs. I feel it is a normal transition from the ombilical cord of the neonate and the maturity of the 5 y.o. Between, the toddler will gradually ask for more independance without knowing all the dangers around. He will scream, doing tamper tantrum, falling on the ground, wandering for more and more freedom. A caring parent will let him conquer more and more space, indeed. At the same time, the child will be terrorised if lost in a crowd. The little boy here seems telling something like :" I wish to be free but I need something reassuring like a dummy, a blanket or a leash."
Give a harness to a kid and he will have fun in playing "pony" with a friend. There is nothing cruel if the harness is used as a play and it is my opinion that wearing a harness without a leash will calm down the kid in telling him that he can do everything safe wandering. If not understanding this, the child needs to be reined until he will obey. It is half-way between liberty and security. Isn't true ?

What you say makes sense but I just kind of thought it had more to do with the fact that they just got their first pet...which just so happens to be a dog. Who knows he's two and has a mind of his own most days.

Your kids have each other a harness with a leash. You go to Wal-Mart and you buy a dog leash. You cut it and keep just the wrist loop. You sew it on one end of both leashes which will be three foot long. Very easy and useful for holding back your toddlers with only one hand. If they are too much excited , do roll both leashes around your wrist to shorten them.