things to say if you use harnesses

Hi! DH and I have been having a good time coming up with phrases for people who feel the need to cooment on our kids leashes...

1. Yup, our kids have leashes and you need a muzzle!

2. If our kids grow up to think they are dogs because they use a harness then would you please donate to a therapist cause we have a bigger issue then just keeping our kids safe.

3. Wow, you are so right! We are unfit, will take them and raise them because making cruel
comments in front of kids is such a value we want them to have.

4. Wow you are so right, we just wanted to keep them safe what were we thinking!

 

Mods.. sorry meant this to go in 2nd year..can u fix please?

 

This is great, because I plan on using them for my girls too and have heard of people making crued comments!! Thanks! I like the 4th one for sure!! It's so obvious. I feel like saying, YOU try keeping them in a stroller for an hour then tell me what you think about leashes AKA CHILD SAFETY RESTRAINTS!!

 

How about: "Mind your own business"
I just don't want to make any excuses for whatever I think works best for us. People wont' understand anyways unless they were to chase after two toddlers.

 

The first time I took my kids out with their harnesses I got an awful stare from an older man and a snotty remark from teenage girl, "I would so kill my mom if she did that to me." I felt like responding, "Maybe that's why you are little snot!" The truth is like Gigantor said, people do not understand unless they have had to chase two toddlers who frequently like to go in the opposite direction. I can tell you that we did not have to use the harnesses for long, our two eventually got used to walking with us and not acting so :wacko: about it.
But the best response is to hold your head high and be confident that you are doing what works for your family even if on the inside you just slap people for their stares and comments.

 

I just told my husband yesterday that when ours can walk, I'm buying backpack leashes! Glad you are having fun with it. That's my plan, too.

 

I must not even have time to look at any funny stares! most moms are smiling at me! maybe those are just the other twin moms...

anyway, yes, doing what works for me and I'm keeping my children from getting run over are my top priorities.

I would say that I try to make sure that the kids are holding my hands when we walk with them... so that they are being "trained" to walk safely near me. they do get away from me sometimes and that's when I'm especially thankful I have the backpack leash on.

good luck! just let the comments roll off your back!

 

I ask them if they've ever raised twins, and if not they can kindly take mine for a day sans restraints and then report back!

 

I had to drop my dog off at the vet Friday for boarding and I had the girls with me. It was a short walk into the office so I thought I'd let them follow me in instead of having to haul out the stroller, etc... Well, I got them each out of the car and they went in opposite directions and there I sat with the dog and a leash and a lady was standing there looking at me and I told her I needed a couple more leashes... I don't think she thought it was very funny but I sure did. I decided right there I was going to purchase a couple of the kiddie leashes.

 

I used the leashes as an opportunity to train them into hand holding but as a back up in case one got a way. I never got a comment...ever. Perhaps, it was me, and I'm scary looking or something, but no one ever made a comment nor did I have anyone stare(that I noticed). I was mentally prepared for all that mess, but I fortunately didn't need it. Ha.

 

I just purchased backpack leashes to get the kids to and from daycare and was dreading the comments and looks. Surprisingly, all that I have heard are things like those are so cute, and what a good idea, and I need one of those. I do the same as pp - I still make them hold my hand, but I have the strap on my upper arm in case one of them decides to drop and run! I was one that was "against" it, but it only took a couple of times with both of them running in opposite directions in a busy parking lot, especially now that I cannot easily catch them and hold them both, for me to realize that I just don't care what other people think when it comes to the safety of my kids! Love the comments, though, and will use them if the situation arises!

 

I can't believe people have the audacity to comment! What business is it of theirs? That would drive me insane! People can be such A-h*les!

 

The only comments I ever got while using the leashes were positive ones -- like "Wow, that's a great idea, wish I'd thought of that!" or sometimes humorous ones. Maybe the negative people just kept their mouths shut. I did get some funny looks, but they weren't unfriendly funny looks.

I didn't use the leashes that often, though, because it seemed like there was a very small window of time when they were actually helpful. When the kids were too young, they would just take off, come up against the end of the leash, and fall down. :laughing: And by the time they were 2.5 or so, they were old enough to (mostly) hold my hand on their own. (We were also big stroller people -- maybe if your kids are stroller-resistant, you wind up using the leashes more often.)

But even though we didn't use them that much, the kids loved their "backpacks" and were happy we had them!

 

The only comments I got were a bunch of laughs one day:

I had taken them to the mall for playtime (maybe almost 2 years old) like I did every day and instead of using the stroller (I think I had my husband's car) I put the leashes on them.

They decided instead of walking they would crawl through the mall and bark. I was in tears laughing and so were so many people that were walking by.

 

that is priceless!

 

I want a pair! What do you do when you just need to run into the bank for 5 mins? Or what if you don't have the stroller with you? People don't understand it's for your kids' safety for crying out loud! Last week in church the boys were extra adventurous, so DH took the strap off of the diaper bag and hooked the two together by their belts :laughing: . It was just a temporary fix, and we got a lot of chuckles from families sitting around us, but I'm sure there were some rude whispers too.