Why I Hate Child Leashes

“Put Your Kid on a Leash” they say

Hey, I am not saying they don’t have a place in today’s crazy world. Let’s face it, as much as we don’t want to think about it, the threat is real and some people are sick and others are just bat shit crazy. I could understand why some parents would want to throw a child leash on their kids but that’s not me.

I guess I’m just old school and watch my kids like a hawk. I make sure they are walking in front of me at all times. The rule of thumb is if they can’t see me they have gone too far. As for the park, don’t go watching YouTube videos and scroll down Facebook, put your phone in your pocket and keep your eye on the prize. Just check out this social experiment on Child Abduction by Joey Salads. It’s creepy how easy it is.

If your kid isn’t shy

For some reason my kids are both shy with strangers which is a bad thing because I desperately want them to be more social but it’s a good thing because they stay away from strangers. However, if the social experiment is any indication of how easy it is to take kids, than all it takes is less than 30 seconds of you not paying attention for you little one be taken away. So your hawk game really needs to be on point.

Festivals, Airports and Crowded Events

As mentioned, I think the best way to keep an eye on my kids is to hold their hand or have them walk in front of me. I never let them out of my site, but if I were considering some sort of protection against the unknown, I would probably opt for a wrist link. I think it makes my kid look less like a pet and acts more like an extension of us holding hands.

Child GPS Tracker?

If you’re a tech dad, than a gps tracker could be a great solution. You still have the digital tether to your child but don’t have the physical cord. Most of them have an SOS Emergency feature that will let you program up to 3 numbers in the watch. If your kiddo is in trouble, they push a button and it will not only call those numbers but send an alert to your phone so you can take action. You can also find their location at any given time like the find my iphone feature.

If you don’t like the watch, Jiobit makes a clip on tracker but I personally don’t like it because your kiddo or the kidnapper could easily remove it they wanted.

Emergency Contact Card

At the very minimum, you should have an emergency contact card with your kids. Especially if you’re going to be in a crowd. As a matter of fact, would recommend making several and put a few in each car because you’re probably going to lose a few.

This contact card can have any contact information you desire along with a picture of your kiddo. So in the event that he or she does get lost, a good samaritan will know who to call so you can get your kid back. You can find several free contact cards like this one from the CDC