What are your thoughts on using the safety harnesses?

Our boys are getting to "that age" and I'm going to be going it alone for the next four months. I always use the stroller but am thinking about the safety harness as another option, although I never thought I'd use them...you know how that goes!
Thanks for the input.

 

There was a great post about this several months ago -- I'm terrible about searching in the archives, but maybe someone can find it for you?

The consensus, as I remember, was that they are great for when the kids are good walkers and have some concept of following directions. But if they're unsteady walkers, and/or if they just run off in different directions all the time, they don't help that much (except to keep them from running into the street, which is something).

Personally, I will definitely be using them, but I'll have to do it when DH isn't looking -- he is firmly opposed. I hope he'll come around once he sees what it's really like.

 

I just tried them on my 2 yr olds for our airplane trek to FL. It was hilarious. They just flopped on the floor like a doll. They did not like them. But I saw a lot of kids at Disneyworld who appeared a year or so older with them and they seemed to work well.

 

I already bought mine. The girls aren't ready to start using them yet but I want them around for practice. I got the Eddie Bauer puppy back pack style. Way cute. The girls like them but aren't co-ordinated enough yet. I got them primarily for parking lots when I am alone, which is all the time right now.

 

We used one for Sierra a handful of times because she could be a little impulsive. It worked well for hikes when we were letting them walk by themselves. She didn't seem to notice much.

 

I just used ours Wednesday, our business is 1 1/2blocks from our house so when it is nice we take a walk to see daddy but usually in the wagon. Well I decided to use the harness and it was great, and the kids didnt mind them either, although Jonathan still wanted to hold my hand. I say go for it!

 

We have the Eddie Bauer Puppy & Bear backpacks. The kids love them and even ask to wear them around the house. I agree that it can be difficult if they don't follow directions well.

 

I'm not against other people using them, but I was never interested in them. I liked my boys seated and strapped in their strollers, especially in stores with lots of items on the shelves. Harnesses would have never kept them from pulling stuff down. I still would have had to have my eyes on them every moment, plus I would never have had two free hands.

 

We have the ones by tommiguard, they are made for twins. The girls like them, although we only use them once in a while. I prefer the stroller for stores, but if we walk to the park, they are perfect. My DH is not thrilled with them but as I told him, there are too many weirdos out there to NOT have them in harnessess or some other kind of attatchment to me. People look at me but oh well, I love my girls too much to not be safe.

 

I got a couple of harnesses for a trip we took this past summer when the twins were 18 months old. I thought we would use the harnesses in the airport but ended up not. I chased the kids around the gate area like a mad woman instead . I was glad to have the harnesses along though when we visited a boat dock on that trip. The stroller couldn't go on the dock and I could just see one of the kids plunging off the dock into the water. We had the twins leashed and other people had their dogs leashed. We did get lots of comments about the harnesses and most were positive (like "That's a good idea!").

 

I found them especially helpful when the girls were younger, I found they would both run in "seperate directions" I used a lot from about 18month to 2 years.


amanda (jessica and jorja 3)

 

I had the ones that just went on the wrist and my girls did good with them, and I used it for my older dd when my twins were babies and I only had a double stroller and she had to walk...

My dh didn't like them, but when I told him when I am out on my own my older dd would run away and I couldn't leave the twins in the stroller to go get her, so I got one and I used it for her and then I used it a couple of times with my twins, but I like the stroller better...

 

I prefer the stroller, but we bought the monkey backpack harnesses last week for the girls. We tried it in the mall-wide pretty empty hallway at the time-and they did great. I would not use it in the stores themselves, but my girls LOVE to walk as much as possible but can be hard to contain. They are almost 16 months.

 

I witnessed how great they are with a friend whose twins are a year older than mine. They came to visit my house without them, once, and one twin nearly ran into the street as she got the other one in her carseat. We live on a busy street so I think they will be great for "walks" in the neighborhood and, for us, to the car.

Don't really care what anyone else thinks so long as my girls are safe.

 

I certainly am not opposed to using them when the time comes. My mom used one on me when I was a kid because I would "explore" the airport in no time flat. My friends were shocked when I mentioned them, but when I explained that when you have TWO possible darters you dont want the learning curve to be hit by a car. Better safe then sorry until they understand what is expected of them.