by Shannon Lawrence

Created on: September 28, 2009

Gone are the days where kids can safely wander off and have some helpful person bring them back to mom. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that "800,000 juveniles are reported missing each year," with 25% of those being kidnappings by strangers (http://miamishield.com/childabduction.html). Any parent knows how quickly a toddler can take off, and how easy it is to be distracted by little things, such as paying at a store or holding the door open for someone. Parents have options to keep their children safe, however, with one of those being child harnesses. While some may see them as cruel to children, others choose to see them as a safety net to keep their children safely beside them.

The major argument against child harnesses is that it is cruel, and that parents are treating their children like animals. Yes, leashes and harnesses are used on animals, and the principal is the same: keeping them safe and not allowing them to run away or into danger. Small children do not yet understand why they can't just take off when they see something exciting before them. They don't understand what sort of danger this poses, even if mom and dad have tried to tell them. Even teenagers still have an immortality complex, where they think nothing bad can happen to them, only to other people, so how can one expect a small child to grasp the possible consequences of something so basic as to run over to look at that cool puppy in the window while mom is distracted for a moment? They can't!

Many will argue that the parents must be doing a faulty job if they cannot watch the child at every moment, but most of those people are not parents. The most overprotective parent will have moments where they are distracted or must do something that takes their attention away from their little one. Everyday things that non-parents take for granted are often a chore for parents, especially those with multiple children, or children at such an age where they are physically able to run away quickly, while mentally unaware of the consequences of their actions.

Harnesses come in many different sizes and shapes these days, all of which now aim to be comfortable. The two basic types are harnesses attaching at the wrist and harnesses attaching at the chest. The wrist straps tend to be Velcro, and they are easily slipped out of by an enterprising child, making them the least safe option for parents. The chest-attaching harnesses come in many different forms, including a straight-up harness, a vest,

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>