Leashing your child at Disney World

I was in the World a few weeks ago and one of the surprises was how many guests were leashing their children. Now I am not talking the special needs harnesses for children with special needs, I understand and comprehend the need and circumstances.

I saw parents that tethered their children together like the chain gang, which made it difficult to bypass the family. Parents whipping their kids around that were in generic harness, yanking and flipping them around. There were so many different versions of taking your child for a walk in the parks I was dumbfounded.

And then, the on and off the attractions while tethered. I was actually surprised Disney allowed this. A parent pulling their child off the boat by a leash like she was fishing and the kid flopping on deck like a fish being reeled in.

My children are young adults and admittedly I am out of touch with the new child raising techniques. When my kids were young and when I needed to keep them close, my DH and I were old fashioned, we held their little hands. When did this become obsolete?

I decided early on not to leash my children. They always held our hands or were in strollers. As they got older they had the choice of holding hands or walking directly in front of us. I think part of the issue with some parents, not all, is there there is little discipline. I have a friend whose kid would be gone in a heart beat if he wasn't tied to something. They never discipline him.

I never used the walking harness at the World, but I never used it like the above either. I have seen both sides of leashes, and some parents know how to use them properly, some just don't.

We used one with DD only at the local mall, and in the Dominican Republic, largely because there were no crowds and it allowed her a small amount of freedom, while she was developing her walking and staying nearby skills. She felt more independent, and I had some peace of mind.

Treating kids like fish, of animals being trained is just a bit over the top for me and those harness leashes are not built for picking the kid up, so that would be a safety issue. Not sure how Disney would handle it.

I don't know Haunted Gabe, they carry their little dogs in bags and scooters, and put their kids on leashes.

Parents who put a leash on their kids should be...

Well, let me stop there...