sooooo i have a good friend who is half Faroese and half Danish, she is dead against the use of reins and has never used them on her toddler - she says that in her culture(s) it is more expected that your child learns to respect you and learns to stay away from danger and that reins are actually counter-productive and in some way cruel because they restrain the child...

what do you think? it made me think about wether i would use them or not with elijah (i had never really thought about it) and i would like to think it was realistic not to use them...opinions please

Umm ive never really thought about it to be honest, i hardly use them as Tay is quite good and holds my hand. But for fear of her getting snatched or running off then id rather use them than do what ur friend said.

I use reigns and I also don't use them at times.

I have 2 small children and when Andrew wants to walk and I have Sophie in the pushchair too I use the reigns because I can keep hold of him easily and safely whilst still pushing my pushchair 1 handed.

I also think its good as when you have hold of the strap your child cant just run off without you knowing.

I dont think of them as cruel, they wouldnt be allowed to sell them if they were cruel... also if restraining them is cruel then surely a pushchair is cruel too?

Also think about this, would you like to walk with your hand above your head constantly? Surely that wouldnt be too comfy after a while if you were holding mummy's hand so reigns eliminate the need for this.

I can see your friends point of view but whilst my children are small and still prone to just running I will be using them. When Andrew and Sophie can understand not to run in front of cars because they are dangerous etc then I will stop using them but until that point they will be using them !!

Quote :

When Andrew and Sophie can understand not to run in front of cars
because they are dangerous etc then I will stop using them but until
that point they will be using them !!

that's pretty much what i thought...i'm not sure i believe 100% that all children can learn quickly enough to keep themselves from very dangerous situations. i was just wondering if anyone else agrees with the opinions about not using them - i have never heard them before

we use them for Tyler because he wants to be very independant and won't hold my hand... the drivers around here are keraaaaazy the speed limit is a challenge not a law and there's not even pavements that I could use as a guide for Tyler i.e. Tyler stay on the pavement.

so absolutely need reins. they also help if he trips I can hold him and save him from really hurting himself.

It would take a far better woman than me to venture out with ellie with no reigns!

Also agree that when she trips I can stop her hitting the ground.

x

I use reins with Robert, he is good at holding my hand but just never know when he is going to leg it, it would only take 1 split second and he could of slipped through my hand and run off somewhere, better to be safe than sorry i say

I sometimes use reins on Cerys. They do help to stop her falling over but they can be a hindrance because she never goes in the right direction and ends up in a twist They just give me extra peace of mind that I know she is by my side x

with leo i didnt need to use them tbh, he was so good and never left my side when we were out, but had i been walking down a crowded street or near a busy road id use them anyway,just incase

after seeing that poor dog get run over today, its been playing on my mind every since...what if that was a child so think ill be using reins more oftern with oliver

although saying that the places we walk far are usually woods or feilds, so dont really need them there, i dont tend to walk down busy roads

i can understand where she is coming from...no matter how 'good' you think your children are, all it takes is one time for them to run into the road xx

I use reins when we are in town, shopping etc.. as like the others have said 1 split second and thats it - all he has to see is a toy, another kid etc and he'd be off..kids at that age have of sense on danger (it probably wasn't half as bad when I was younger but these day you can't help but worry who's lurking )
Even with the reins on he holds my hand anyway, but the reins are there if he decides to go running off like the cheeky little minky he can be!

If its just a trip to the local shop or to his nana's etc he goes without reins but thats cos he knows where he's going and he's like a man on a mission

I use a little life riuck sack with c - a mini rucksack with a strap attatched as she is too independent to hold hands all the time and she actually asks me to put her reins on her. She defo prefers em to the traditional reins but is happy to use them too, i dont think they are cruel, is putting a stair gate on your stairs so your kid doest fall down them cruel because you are inihibiting their freedom of movement?

sorry zee but your avatar has just made me spit tea at my computer

I have one of those little life backpacks with a strap that I use if he's not in his pram, but he is good at holding my hand x

Children dont understand fear or danger.... therefore without you teaching them STOP words, how on earth would they learn.. Hot, Dangerous, Fast, Too High, etc...
As for reins, I used them vaguely with my other 2 and will do so for Hayden.. I always find the strap is too short too, once they come out of them they go onto wrist strap so I still have some form of control
I wish your friend luck

I use reins on Flick x I lost her old one so have just ordered this one
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270710437553&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
She will love it

the little life bags are amazing, what a good idea! i think they are probably the best thing i have seen reins-wise (although hopefully we won't need them in the too near future!)

The rucksacks are brill cant speak highly eough of em, with c i can put the backpack on her, attach the strap and put the loop right up my arm so it sits by my elbow then i can still hold her hand anf if she lets go ive still got her safe and she has a tiny bit of leeway to wander as the straps are longer than most reins straps. Plus its cow print and totally adorable lol

leo had a coat, it had a little pocket on the back with reins in im gonna look out for that for oliver, think it was pumpkin patch x

We had reins at first but soon found them too short and probably only used them in the first week or so of her walking. I have also invested in a little life bag on the recommendation of a friend who had a similar thing. Unfortunately though, sophia knows i have control when she wears it so refuses to, but likes other bags on her back (clever girl!). When i have used it though, it has been helpful, more so than the other reins as the rin part is longer and has a handle. Does look like you are wlaking a pet though!

So, in general I dont use reins and put her in the pushchair if she is likely to come to damger if walking. Works ok for us.

Still, saying that, i love the little life bag and the animal ones have a fold out hood to put on if its raining! Sophia's is a ladybird. So cute!

Mandy xx

i've bought one of the little life bags too, got mine new off ebay for £8.99, will be using it in the near future i think!

I use reins on callum alot he is very independant and will not hold my hand for anything and loves goig down curbs so his are always on xx

I put Wil's reins on if we are going anywhere I need to be able to keep a grip on him without a fight. Wil doesn't do pushchairs or holding hands without a fight so they are a handy solution.

Most of the time he has them on and I just leave the strap loose in case I need it.

I do look a bit funny walking the dogs with Wil and the dogs on their leads

i used reins on evan not often but if we were having a walk to my mums which is jst round the corner or taking the dog out i used them and thought they were fab

we took them on holiday and they were a complete godsend! it was so busy there is now way if evan had walked off i wud have found him so he was on his reins on holiday all the time cos otherwise wud have meant him being stuck in pram if we walked anywhere, it clearly wasnt a popular thing in bulgaria tho cos everyone was pointing at him lookin at him one woman even tried taking a picture of him (which really pissed me off) but they all were jst amazed at me having reins on him not in a bad way tho they all seemed to love it lol

We use reigns too, A doesnt mind them too much now but she hated them at first, i use them when we are somewhere unsafe where she could make a dash for it.

she does do the spinning thing tho which is annoying if i am trying to push E at the same time!