Children on Leashes Is This Really Acceptable to Society

English Literature

Children on Leashes: Acceptable or Not?

There is no doubt that being a parent is one of the greatest challenge some people face in their lifetimes. Parents have to keep up with their children in more ways than one. For parents of children who wander, have impulse control issues, or for parents that are completely overwhelmed in general, some of them have resorted to the use of leashes to control their children in public places. There is a fervent debate over this issue. Some of the primary concerns are whether the use of leashes on small children is a form of abuse or not. What is quite interesting is that there are strong opinions on either side of the spectrum of this issue, as well as a great deal of people who are confused and in the middle or gray area. There are plenty of parents that use toddler leashes, as there are companies who sell them, and none of them are going out of business due to lack of demand any time soon. There are parents who are vehemently against the use of leashes on children who immediately conjure the comparison of leashing toddlers and leashing pets. Then there are a great number of parents that can both see the practicality and sometimes the necessity in some cases of leashes, yet they also cannot fully agree with their use because something about toddler leashes is unacceptable. The paper will explore the debate and conclude that while generally, the author disagrees with the use of toddler leashes, the paper does not deny that there may be some relevant circumstances when the use of toddler leashes is not a bad idea, nor is it abusive.

Based on the research located on this issue, there are some initial patterns of the parents who advocate for the use of leashes. Most of these parents are middle class. Most of the parents who use leashes are parents of multiple births, meaning they are the parents of twins, triplets, etc. There is also a minority of parents who use leashes for children who have special needs, such as ADHD, autism, and other conditions. These parents, as most parents are, are very sensitive to be accused of being bad parents. They argue that they use their leashes because they cannot run in different directions at the same time. (NY Times, 2011) These parents also argue that the use of leashes is better than a stroller with a harness because the children can be mobile, but still within a safe distance to the parent. (NY Times, 2011) Furthermore, based on the comments of parents who use leashes, the comparison between toddlers on leashes and pets is facile, though it may be somewhat true from a macrocosmic view. (NY Times, 2011)

On the other side of this issue, there are parents who are strongly opposed to the use of leashes. These parents are also middle class, with the same kinds of issues with their children (multiples, ADHD, etc.) Their argument is one of safety and cruelty. They base their arguments of the numerous reports of injuries sustained to children because of the use of child leashes. (Cannales, 2011) Since the inception of toddler leashes, there have been reports of injuries such as shoulder dislocations, collarbone injuries, rotator cuff damage, and other minor injuries (bruising, nerve damage) because of the leashes. (Cannales, 2011) These parents contend that the leashes just are not safe and put the child's safety in jeopardy, and they find this cruel. Some of these parents think that the leashes are a cruel trick and poor substitute for parental control.