I've been away in California visiting my super awesome grandmother for the past two weeks. (Ok, I've been home for a while, things are busy, you know!?) No matter where you go on vacation, if you have the kids, it's still tough. Sometimes even more so than at home where you have everything you need and don't have to worry about baby-proofing. Well, to help ease this situation, we chanced upon something that I thought about possibly buying before while at a store one day. I'll tell you what it is in a minute. It couldn't have come at a better time. I think because of the loss of control we have while so far away and the child's strong desire to explore and leave you in their dust, we felt really overwhelmed. So we went for it; we bought a baby leash. I know many people are really against them, but you know what? I love it. Zalah loves it. We all think its a great thing. She has the freedom to explore a little but not be far from us. Now, I know what you are thinking, why not just hold her hand? Well she really hates that. And just walking a few feet behind her is not predictable enough, she could always run off too fast or get into something. And it is easier to forget about her that way or get distracted. Maybe the idea is also so the parent is more aware and not just for the child.
We tried it out for the first time at the beach. In California, the beach is often very small, and there is hardly any sand at all in high tide. We parked on the street and went down cement steps to get to the beach at a part that was pretty rocky and closer to the water to start out with then over to the left or right. Well a large wave came and scared Zalah and knocked her on her butt and side. It wasn't very high where we were standing, maybe about her waist sitting down, but because she fell in, I was able to pull up on the strong harness that clips across the chest in two places to help lift her up before I could get my arm around her. I thought right away how great this thing is. She loves feeling independent with her monkey friend on her back, and I know she is safe and in my watch.
We also brought it to the San Diego zoo, so if she got tired of the stroller (which she
always does) we could take her out and let her have a little more room to get to know the animals. She
loved that. In fact, she loves animals so much, that she grabbed on the bars and wouldn't let go! Even when I tried to take her off to take her
into the petting zoo!
I think its a great invention. I know many parents and people disagree on using it, but if I see a fellow parent with one, I'll understand. I know it's hard to even use it because you always wonder what people think, but we think it works, so we just don't focus on that. And maybe for all the doubters, this will give you the other opinion!
I've been away in California visiting my super awesome grandmother for the past two weeks. (Ok, I've been home for a while, things are busy, you know!?) No matter where you go on vacation, if you have the kids, it's still tough. Sometimes even more so than at home where you have everything you need and don't have to worry about baby-proofing. Well, to help ease this situation, we chanced upon something that I thought about possibly buying before while at a store one day. I'll tell you what it is in a minute. It couldn't have come at a better time. I think because of the loss of control we have while so far away and the child's strong desire to explore and leave you in their dust, we felt really overwhelmed. So we went for it; we bought a baby leash. I know many people are really against them, but you know what? I love it. Zalah loves it. We all think its a great thing. She has the freedom to explore a little but not be far from us. Now, I know what you are thinking, why not just hold her hand? Well she really hates that. And just walking a few feet behind her is not predictable enough, she could always run off too fast or get into something. And it is easier to forget about her that way or get distracted. Maybe the idea is also so the parent is more aware and not just for the child.
We tried it out for the first time at the beach. In California, the beach is often very small, and there is hardly any sand at all in high tide. We parked on the street and went down cement steps to get to the beach at a part that was pretty rocky and closer to the water to start out with then over to the left or right. Well a large wave came and scared Zalah and knocked her on her butt and side. It wasn't very high where we were standing, maybe about her waist sitting down, but because she fell in, I was able to pull up on the strong harness that clips across the chest in two places to help lift her up before I could get my arm around her. I thought right away how great this thing is. She loves feeling independent with her monkey friend on her back, and I know she is safe and in my watch.
We also brought it to the San Diego zoo, so if she got tired of the stroller (which she always does) we could take her out and let her have a little more room to get to know the animals. She loved that. In fact, she loves animals so much, that she grabbed on the bars and wouldn't let go! Even when I tried to take her off to take her into the petting zoo!
I think its a great invention. I know many parents and people disagree on using it, but if I see a fellow parent with one, I'll understand. I know it's hard to even use it because you always wonder what people think, but we think it works, so we just don't focus on that. And maybe for all the doubters, this will give you the other opinion!
We didn't do the leash thing, but when our kids were little, the leashes looked like the harness we put on our dog! It seemed a little off, so we went with a wrist-to-wrist band that seemed more equitable - I have one on my wrist, he has one on his! But they were velcro-fastened and one could wriggle out of it if properly motivated. If the leashes then looked like cute little backpacks, I think we would have used one! Safety first!
ReplyDeleteMy mom used a leash for my little sister because we were always losing her, she was sneaky and fast! Just being with you guys at the zoo it [the leash] made me more comfortable because I knew we wouldn't lose her and then have to have panic attacks.
ReplyDeletei think its awesome
ReplyDeleteI really like those! It makes me feel better about going out and not worrying about him getting sick of his stroller when he starts walking.
ReplyDeleteI only really remember one leash on a kid, when i was about 8 and at Disney World. I think it is situation-dependent, like maybe some kids would hate it. But if Zalah likes it, i say go for it!
ReplyDeleteYou know how I initially felt about the leash. It kind of creeped me out.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I will say, this particular model is really cute looking and not scary! I like the fact that it's a back pack!! And a monkey! I wonder how Ari would react to it. I would be open to trying it...