Leashes for Kids & Milk from a Sippy

regarding a leash. Before I had a kid I thought no way would I put a leash on a child. Well, I changed my mind when we started going places where he could wander off. We used a leash. I loved it because I knew that my kiddo would be coming home with me and could not wander off too far without me knowing it. I got positive feedback from people that commented, especially when I told them- I know who is taking my kid home from this place.

HTH,
M.

Don't do the leash thing!!! In my opinion, it is horrible to see a child on a leash, like a dog! It may be easier but try a sling or strapping in the stoller!

I used a harness for rambunctious twins. They didn't want to sit in a shopping cart and trying to shop with a double stroller was often a nightmare. The kids loved wearing their harnesses because they felt they had freedom, but I knew they were safe and nearby. I didn't care what people thought. I cared that the kids were safe and I was happy.

my daughter is a runner. We use either a hand leash or a backpack leash, but we hold her hand and have the loop around our wrists. we emphasize hand holding, but if she decides to do a runner in the parking lot or mall or whatever, we've got it covered. My husband was originally opposed to it, until he had to chase her all over the renaissance festival...hee hee. Now we get asked how we caught our fairy, since they're notoriously hard to catch. :-)

Wow. I am surprised at some many who are in favor of the "leash". I am not. I think it is possible to teach your children to be near you and not run away. Toddlers are unpredicatable, yes that is true, but these are life skills were considering here, and why not start young. I have an infant and a toddler and there are trying times for sure, but...Anyway, I will not judge any further than those remarks on that topic.

As far as the cup issue I will agree that your son is probably just getting used to the sippy cups. Try using straw cups or straw bottles ( a little cleaner and not so drippy than regular cup) or even exercise bottles, like the stainless steel ones you can get are really fun!

Personally, my opion of course....i think leashes are for animals. But everyone has their own reasons for using them. I have always taught my children to hold my hand or stay right by my side, although they are toddlers and are bound to run. But i have never used one and i have 3 children, mine were spaced out 7 years between the 1st and 2nd and 6 yrs between the 2nd and 3rd.

As for the not wanting to drink form a cup, that could just be the child getting used to not having the bottle. I agree with trying a different type of cup or a cup with the childs favorite character on it etc.. good luck

Here is a very useful article to answer your question about leashes:

http://www.essortment.com/all/childrenleashes_rvjf.htm

Regarding the leash, I was resistant at first, but my son had no fear and it got to the point where we couldn't take him anywhere because he was way too adventurous. No amount of warning, disciplining, teaching, training or other methods were working to keep him from running around no matter where we were. We finally decided to buy the monkey back pack leash from Wal-mart and it was great. Originally, I was afraid of what others would think, but eventually logic won over other people's judgment for me. My son loved to wear it and would ask to wear it when he was at home too. I know there are many people who think they are "bad" or "only meant for animals" but I didn't care about them. I just needed to keep my son out of harm's way and with having to keep up with two kids, it worked really great. To be honest though, even if I had only one child, and he was a runner like my son, I would have gotten the leash anyway. Eventually, when my son was better able to understand why he needed to stay close, we didn't have to use it anymore and he learned not to run off anymore.

In regards to the sippy cup, my son had a hard time converting to the sippy cup as well. We tried for a while and had to switch back to the bottle. Then we tried several times again over about a 6 month period and eventually he got it. I think it's just harder to adjust to for some kids. I stressed about it at first, but then my mother-in-law told me how hard it was to get my sister-in-law off the bottle. She joked that she thought she'd go to kindergarten with one. My sister-in-law eventually became a Rhoades Scholar and a very successful corporate attorney and a partner in one of the largest firms in Texas so I don't think keeping her on the bottle until she was ready to switch did her any harm at all.

In both cases, leash and sippy cup, I believe you just have to do what works for your individual child. They are certainly not "one size fits all" if you know what I mean. LOL

Blessings,
N.

As far as the harness thing goes, I would not call it a leash. I think that just asks people to think of them as dog leashes. I think you should call them a harness, just to make sure people know you do not treat your child like a pet. I'm sure you don't, but some people who may not know you will not know that. Call it a harness or safety strap or something, but not a leash.

I have one and used it while at the airport. A rude person asked me how I felt about treating my child like a dog. I thought, "Instead of your sassy remark how about you offer to help me, a mom alone with a 2-year-old and an 8-month old? But no, you're just a smart aleck." But of course I didn't say it because I'm a big wuss.

Good luck!

I

I had a harness for our daughter around age 18 months to two years. We travel a lot and she refused to hold my hand - I didn't want to loose her in the airport or the zoo. I always used to be against it, but in the end it's better to be safe than sorry.
I used it as a last resort and kept on her to hold hands... after she turned two she was fine without a harness and I sold them.

As for the sippy - skip it. The little paper cups (2 or 3 oz) work great for kids to learn how to drink from a cup with little mess - and you can just take some along in your bag for outside. Start with a small amount of liquid in the cup, so the mess isn't too bad while he is learning...

Good luck!

I bought the money leash from target and love it. You never know what could happen now and days so better be safe than sorry. When using it I have gotten all positive responses from people about how smart that is and they should get one.

As a 43 year old woman, I would have preferred my mom have a tether on me as a child opposed to me getting lost or abducted. I DID NOT like "getting lost"

My stepson (now 20) hardly EVER drank anything. One or two sips and he was done. It drove me nuts! I wish I had a nickel for every time I had to tell him to finish his drink. He STILL doesn't finish what he poured for himself! LOL,

We got a backpack "leash" for our daughter when she was younger. She loved having it, even liked to wear it places without the leash. I think that comparing it to an animal is not the point, no one thinks their children are animals nor do they want to treat them like one. It gave my daughter freedom to feel like she was exploring and learn how to stay close by herself without having to uncomfortably reach up to her tall parents big hands.

I am sorry to offend any of you that have used the "leahes", but I feel very strongly that no one should have their child tethered up like a dog. Children are people too! My husband and I took our 4 young children (four year old twins, a three year old, and a two year old) to DisneyWorld, which includes through DFW airport, to Orlando airport, and to three different Disney parks over 5 days, and back through the airports. Never once did we feel like we needed to put any of them on a leash! That was about 6 years ago. More recently, I have been the daily babysitter for a two year old and an infant, along with caring for my own two year old. Even with all three of them, we went on all kinds of outings - play area at the mall, storytimes, the park, etc. and never did I need to put them on leashes! Even at two years old, they knew that if they were to take off running from me, we would immediately leave and they would not get to play, so they usually stayed right with me. If they started to wander off, they were reminded and they would generally listen. If they didn't, we would leave. Maybe some of you can see a reason for using a leash for some rare occasion, but for the most part, I find it appalling that anyone would treat their child like a pet. Instead, try teaching them to listen, or if need be, like someone else suggested, put them in a stroller or carry the infant in a sling (a safe one!) so that your arms are free to hold your toddler's hand! For goodness sake, don't treat your child like an animal!
Now, if you would still like to listen to my advice on sippy cups, try, like a few others have suggested, a regular cup. Don't put much in them at a time so that spills aren't a big problem. If you are adamant about wanting to use sippy cups, you can try using the soft spout ones first that are more like bottle nipples. Then as he gets used to that, you can switch to the regular sippy cups. My youngest always preferred the straw cups instead of regular sippy cups, so maybe give those a try instead. They have some of those that are spill-proof as well with closing lids, that are great for long car rides or outings. Hope that helps!
-M. (mother of 5)

I've been thinking about the leash thing ever since reading some opinions here on Mamasource, and I have developed a strong opinion. I THINK THEY ARE A FANTASTIC IDEA. Having your child connected to you to keep them safe is smart. Why do people put their dog on a leash? Duh!! To keep them from running away where they could get hurt or even vanish. Why would you not want the same for a child?? There is nothing barbaric or demeaning about it all--that type of thinking is simply narrow-minded and ridiculous.

Another bonus, your child gets a little more freedom than he would have if he were glued to you hand-in-hand or locked down in a stroller. It's definitely a win-win if you ask me!!!

I was always against leashes. They looked barbaric to me. The only time I thought if they had to be used was when a family with more than one kid went to an amusement park, airport dept store, etc. But one day when my son was not yet two I was home from work because I had knee surgery and was at the point that I was stir crazy and decided to take a walk with him. He never ran too fast in the past that I couldn't catch him. Well he took off and I couldn't run I still had a cane and could only walk slowly and carefully. He ran into a very busy street and by the grace of God someone saw him jumped out of their car and grabbed him. If he was that age now and I had to do it all over again, I'd use a leash.
Sippy cup, he just has to get used to it. The nipple of a bottle and the flow of a sippy cup, totally different. Give him time.

You can get leashes in target that go on like a back pack (they are an animal such as a bear) and then the tail is what you hold onto , so kind of fun for the child , but if you have a kid that likes to make a run for it and you also have an infant then sometimes these things have to be done.

Will your son drink through a regular straw? If so why not try and plastic cup with a straw , not ideal when out and about but maybe start at home and then try again with a sippy cup that has the straw rather than a spout. My 3rd child refused a sippy cup with a spout but would drink from the type with a straw.

I'll start by saying I don't like the leashes, but I have used them. The circumstances dictated it. I had a 3 year old and 1 year old and was traveling alone. I needed to have the baby in the stroller, the toddler walking, and I had to pull our carry on luggage, so I put the toddler on a wrist to wrist leash only while we were at the airport. I just think you need to teach your child boundries and there are too many ways to do it than to use a leash on a regular basis. However, if safety is an issue, then maybe you need to. I will mention that I have gotten these wristbands from Stuck on You where you can write the child's name and your phone number. If you can teach the child to show a grown up that if they are lost, then you've got some sort of security there too.

On to the sippy cup. If it's only been 2 weeks, he's still learning is my guess. Try using the sippy cup without the valve in it so that he actually gets some juice without having to work too hard. You can also use the old fashioned tupperware ones where you have to suck a little bit but not a whole lot, and then move on to the standard sippy. Also, are you holding it for him? If he doesn't get that you have to tip it up, he may not get anything to drink even if he tries. A final thought is to try a straw top cup. My youngest took to a straw top cup much better than a sippy cup for about a year. Now that he's two, he can do either, but from age 1 to 2, it was straw top cups for him.

I used to have attached wrist bracelets for my two year old (got them at Target or Babies R Us, I can't remember) that were a nice alternative to the backpack leash but they aren't near as sturdy. One on his wrist, one on mine. But his elbow popped out of socket and the possibility of that being a recurring injury had us putting away the bracelets for good. I'm also considering a safety backpack because although you teach your toddler to hold your hand, to stay near you, to not run away, all it takes is a split second where you let go of their hand while you juggle groceries and car keys and they have run into the path of car driving too fast in the parking lot. At that point, would you have ever cared what someone thought about your use of the safety backpack if it had saved your child's life?

As for the sippy issue, I second the use of straws and just plain cups. In order to ensure our little guy gets enough fluid, I basically approach him with a sippy of water or juice every hour and tell him "Drink!". If it's a little drink or a big drink, I don't care...as long as he's getting fluids.

My daughter would take off with a blink of the eye. We used a harness type leash on a few occasions for safety, I think one time was when we went to the Bronx Zoo. We go alot of dirty looks, but she was safe. Recently I saw a man who had a watch with an apparently strong string on it attached to a velcro bracelet that his little boy wore on his wrist. It looked like it worked pretty well and less noticeable than a leash.

Leash: I do have a leash for my son. There are those who say you should just watch your kid better. To me, it was a matter of safety. I would use it when I was freaked out about him getting lost or running away from me (a common occurence), like in the airport or when we were in China (my family was paranoid about my little Chinese American boy getting kidnapped-awful I know). He actually likes the leash. My son is a little older now (2.5 years) and, although won't hold my hand or walk next to me all the time, he eventually learned to never ever go into the street and to always hold my hand while crossing the street or in the parking lot. Sometimes buttering him up by telling him how much Mommy loves to hold hands with her handsome boy would help.
My 35 year old cousin is one of the most friendly well adjusted persons I know and remembers her mom having to use a leash with her b/c she always was running away. My cousin certainly doesn't seem scarred for life because she was on a leash while her 3 other siblings weren't.

Sippy cup: My son rejected the bottle at 3 months and after feeding my son from one of those little Nyquil medicine cups (formula/breastmilk not Nyquil!) for 4 months and trying what seems like every single sippy cup on the market, my sister suggested a straw. It worked. His daycare provider was overjoyed. There are plenty of straw cup designs on the market.

Good luck!

I had the leash and I would do it again!! Let your hubby chase your children and he will want it also! Don't worry about your baby drinking fluids he will get used to it and he will get thirsty just keep on filling it up.....he is drink from it more eventually!! Have a great day!!

I could have used a leash when my older kids were little but they only made the ones that look like harnesses and I really did not like that. If they were little now, I would definitely look into getting them. Having an infant and a toddler that has new found freedom and speed for that matter is difficult. You either end up more housebound like I was with 3 toddlers, or restricted to where and when you could go anywhere.
I also worry about my 2 yr old getting enough fluids during the day. She does drink from a straw and regular sippy but she really likes drinking from a regular cup. I have small cups that I put in maybe 1/2 inch of juice, milk or water and she drinks it and I give her more. She has gotten really good at it but does tend to tilt the cup so it spills (and tries to water the plants with milk ) so I do have to watch her.

I think leashes are a god-send! My little boy was a darter - he'd run away from me every chance he got. My husband was against the leash, but I asked him, would you prefer the alternative (too terrible to speak or type). I bought my son a leash (at Walmart) that looks more like a teddy bear shaped backpack and the tail is the leash part. My son loved it so much that he still tries to wear it...and he's five.
Now on to your sippy cup dilemma. Keep up the force! Don't go back to bottles. Offer your child a little amount of liquid in the cup and tell him he can have a sticker when it is all gone. Keep that up, slowly adding more liquid to the cup. That ought to do the trick!