What does everyone think about those toddler harnesses?

I was thinking about getting one for my toddler cos she has decided the pram is crap but I have a 4 week old baby so I need her stapped to something cos she is a runner. Ive seen the wrist ones but Im guessing my daughter will take one look at that and take it straight off herself. Not a huge fan of the full body ones that cover the whole chest and waist area but I have seen one that looks like a teddy bear back pack that does do up around the chest and waist area but cos the toy is attached to it and they can put a toy in the back pack bit it looks a bit better (well to me anyway). Does anyone know where I can get one from? I heard Target but I havent been able to find one there yet.

i think the ones with the teddys are a good idea !! i dont see the harm in them , you are protecting your child .. and making it fun at the same time .. baby stores and target have them or you could order on line , ive see them in my local target !!

i actually have just a plain old ugly i use on nixon when im out side ... dh has alot of car parts hanging around so i put it on him and loop it around the clothes line pole ... so he has room to move and be safe !!!

so i think they are fine to use !!

I actually don't like them because they remind me of dog leads and harnesses. My DD hated the pram from about 1.5yrs old and she is a runner too. i also had a newborn when she was 2. i used to just stick her in a trolly if we were at a shopping centre or else i just didn't go out unless DH was with me or someone could look after DD while i went out.

I think they are a godsend! Some people will give you comments, but I would much rather have my child harnessed to the pram than out on the road that's for sure. I don't know where you would get the backpack ones from, I just used the wrist strap. With the wrist strap ones, i would often put it through a belt loop on the back of their jeans instead of their wrist as it can annoy them.

Just moving this to Baby and Toddler General Discussion too....

These things to me are such a good invention. I never had one, but I wish I did. I couldn't find one at all with my first daughter & actually didn't think about it with my 2nd coz I heard they'd been banned & just didn't look. I would still love to have one though as my 2nd is pretty full on & always trying to take off. & I don't have the option of DH coming shopping due to long work hours or someone to baby sit very often, so I really wish I had one sometimes. Its a bit easier with DD at school now, but I'll have another bub soon, so I might go looking now I know they are still out there.

You can get the teddy ones from Target normally in the baby sections near all the window shades and pram accessories etc. I got my DD a normal one same thing but not fun looking and she didnt mind it but as i am tall found that the strap as such wasnt really long enough for me. My DH is dead against them and was rather upset that i would put our DD "on a lead" but i am 3 weeks away from no 2 so i've told him that when he is with us we wont use it. My DD is 19 months and has her moments of running off too.

I would much rather know my child is safe than having to worry about them running away from me and getting hit by a car or something equally as horrible. I wouldn't care about it looking like they're on a lead! If I need one when I have no 2 then I would use one, they're a great idea!

As soon as I can get DH to get our baby stuff out of storage I will be using one for Flynn - he is constantly running off on me and at nearly 34 weeks pg I can barely keep up....

Sherie the jeans loop idea is brilliant.

We have the monkey harness for Matilda & it truely was a godsend. Matilda did so well with it too. I tried the wrist ones & they were a definate no go. When I was 8 months pregnant & had a toddler who could undo the straps of the pram & would run.. the harness was a godsend.

I have the teddy bear one ( well A Monkey) But Zaccie insists on holding the tail himself. So it kind of defeats the purpose . I got mine from babies galore.

Before I had kids, I would have said they were a terrible idea. Now, well, I think they are a very good idea. Especially with 2, it only takes a second for something to happen, so I say better safe than sorry.

Mason used to be a bolter and I think they are a godsend. I would have lost him or he would have run onto the road if I didn't use one. It's amazing how people will let a child tear past but don't stop them or even make room for the parent in hot pursuit!
It took a while for him to get used to it. The first few times he lay down on the footpath in protest :lol:

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I actually don't like them because they remind me of dog leads and harnesses. My DD hated the pram from about 1.5yrs old and she is a runner too. i also had a newborn when she was 2. i used to just stick her in a trolly if we were at a shopping centre or else i just didn't go out unless DH was with me or someone could look after DD while i went out.

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Tegan hun I completely agree with you. Zander is a runner as well, but I wouldn't ever put a harness on him. We do the same, he goes into a trolley most of the time. If he's walking & does a runner, we immediately leave the shops / park / wherever we are. He has started to learn that is he runs away from mummy then he goes home. When I get to the point of pregnancy that I can't chase after him I'll make sure I have someone with me or he will stay home.

I don't use them often but they're certainly useful sometimes. Yasin is a bolter and a harness is great for travelling because in the time it takes me to find my tickets (and passposrt internationally) he can be quite a distance which in a busy airport is very scary, especially in a foriegn country with a language barrier *shudders*.
I wouldn't usually use one at the shops on a day to day basis but I've been tempted lol.

ETA - FWIW Yasin thought the monkey one was quite fun - he liked it but he didn't like the wrist one. Of course we've lost the monkey but we still have the wrist one.

I have always loved them! I am getting one for DS as soon as he is walking - he's bound to dash off at some point. I've had a few non-mums tell me how awful they look, so I just smile and say "rather a harness than a dead baby!" as I can't rely on DH to be around every time we go out to help me look after DS. My friends with older toddlers and babies have the wrist ones and I've seen 2-year-olds take them off with ease so I'll be using a full harness.

I do KWYM Sarah and Tegan, and luckily Jack's not a bolter, so I don't use one myself. BUT I know how easy it is with two to be distracted by the baby for just long enough for anything to happen to the toddler. If Jack was even a bit of a bolter I'd have to use one or I wouldn't be able to go out. It's just not worth the risk of something happening. I have seen it happen to others - one day I grabbed a little one who had bolted out of the supermarket while his mum was putting little sister in the trolley - there was a busy car park just outside the door. Luckily I grabbed him in time, but I saw how quickly and easily it happened.

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"rather a harness than a dead baby!"

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I'll remember that one Ryn LOL! Lucky for me both my mum and MIL (and SIL, for that matter) think they are essential baby equipment so I shouldn't have any probs close to home....

if you have a runner then use them I have been very lucky so far but I have a spirted baby now who may need one, one day the teddy one sounds great! I might have to got and have a look myself soon.

I have never had to use one but going to buy one for Pheen so he can do lots of walking without worrying if he is going to take off on me. If he turns out really hairy, then I might re-concider because then it would look like I am walking the dog and not a human!!! lmao

re: walking a dog comment - why do we want our dogs to be safer than our babies? Not having a go, just a lot of people have made similar comments to me and it really annoys me.

Ryn I was "Joking" you know ha ha ha!!! lmao ,Why do some people think that we walk our dogs? My dog walks me!

not just you, soul, someone earlier made the comment too and I get it a lot IRL.

We bought a monkey back-pack one for DD while we travelled to NYC in May of this year.. DD has never been a runner so i have not needed it before , BUt the thought of going through cutoms and immigration, and looking for bags etc in Los Angeles without knowing i had a firm grip on her - Night mare!
It was also great for when we were walking around NYC, i hooked her to the pram handle so she just walked along and was safe with us all, she gets bored holding hands all the time and at 3 1/2 she is too old for a stroller and too heavy to carry!

My DD's pram days are coming to end and I will definitely consider using one, particularly if I'm out with the two of them on my own.

Alot of parenting choices come down to the "lesser of two evils" I think and this is definitely one of those decisions. I don't really like them, but I can see that for some children they have their place and I would rather use one than risk my child being hit by a car or abducted, god forbid.

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re: walking a dog comment - why do we want our dogs to be safer than our babies? Not having a go, just a lot of people have made similar comments to me and it really annoys me.

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Just reminded me of a doco I saw about BSE once. Pet food companies voluntarily changed thier practices once the first scientists starting predicting problems but the UK government/human food industries didn't change thier processing methods until people had died and there was a massive public outcry/panic.

I don't have to use one yet but I consider my dog my 'first born' and wouldn't walk him without a lead if I thought he was going to suddenly dash out onto the road.
I think these are great. They allow your child to safely develop independence.

krysalyss so true!!

I think they are a great idea... you would not hesitate to put one on a dog so that it doesn't get hit by a car, so why even think it looks bad if you have it on a child. I would do anything to protect Kiara, I am sure any mother would!

and yeah the wrist ones would come straight off Kiara too...

We have the monkey one, but only ended up using it a few times. One time another family saw it , they asked us about it and 1/2 hour later we saw them with one their kid. Another time, I am not sure what happened, but Maggie fell and it looked like DH had pulled her over (I don't think he did, it was just an accident), the looks we received were just awful, so I have felt uncomfortable using it since then. Maggie does love wearing around the house though.

dd isnt walking yet so i'll have to wait and see if we will need one... but Ryn has won any debate by a landslide with her comment:

re: walking a dog comment - why do we want our dogs to be safer than our babies?

(i realise there is no debate its personal choice, just think ryn made an incredibly good point directed at anyone who turns their nose up or makes unnecessary comments)

I think theyre a great idea. Who cares what other people think.. its you keeping your baby safe while letting them have some free time to walk. Especially if you have another baby to watch, you cant watch both of them at the same time. It only takes 2 seconds for you to turn the other way and for them to disappear or someone grab them.

Nope. Dogs are definitely not human. Doesn't mean you can't love them just as much! :)
In fact I think not being human is a big plus sometimes!

LOL :p

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I wouldn't hesitate to get one.

I was in Ikea once... having lunch in their cafe. I saw two mums with kids... they stopped for a second, and one toddler made a dash... straight through all the chairs & tables & outside into a garden area. The mother was not being neglectful or anything. It happened so quickly! She turned around and had no idea where her child was. You could see the panic on her face. I stood up and got her attention and pointed outside to where her son was.

From that day on (that was about 9 years ago)... I swore that if I ever had children, I wouldn't hesitate to harness them as a small toddler.

Imagine if you child got snatched, or bolted out on to the road into traffic, or simply wandered and got lost & panicked....

It's rare that you can always have another adult with you when you go out... and you can be trapped in your home because you can't go out alone with two kids. Both mothers & kids need to get out and see other environments, do some shopping, go to doctors etc.

I don't care what people think. As far as I'm concerned... a harness is keeping your child as close to you as possible whilst still giving them their independence. They can't get lost or snatched.

Toddlers want to walk - and I don't think it's fair to have them in a pram or trolley all the time. What's the difference there - you're just strapping/restraining them in the pram/trolley?

I was at the baby expo yesterday... and saw those backpacks. For the life of me, I can't find the brochure on it... nor remember the name. But I'm sure it's something like goldbugs? that stock them? If I come across the brochure today - I'll post again with the name.

FOUND IT --- company is called Goldbug. There is a monkey, puppy, bear, unicorn, cow & pony!!!! They are based in Melbourne... but if you were to contact them (by phone or email) they could tell you where to buy them - or maybe sell direct.

Jodie, that was a great post. I think that's a good point you make that being isolated at home is not a good option, so whatever enables you to get out with the kids safely has to be a good thing. I didn't realise until I had two kids just how easily one can distract you from the other. Anyone who thinks "that wouldn't happen to me" is kidding themselves. I am very lucky that Jack will stay put when I ask him to, but if he didn't it would be nearly impossible just getting them both into and out of the car, let alone doing anything else. And even now I am terrified that one day he won't. I was just giving advice on this to a mum at day care this morning who is unsure how to get both kids out of the car once the baby has outgrown the capsule as her older one is a bolter.

You guys actually make some good pros on the harnesses, but I have to admit I have never liked them. Even when I was a child I remember seeing kids wearing harnesses and didn't like them.
But then one thing you learn as a mum is you gotta do what you gotta do.

I do think the monkey backpack ones are cute though.

Yeah I don't like them either. I have a runner here too but I can't bare the thought of putting him in one. The backpacks I think are cute but I don't think I'd use one. Shannon I think we've always done similar to you.

But that is not to say I have anything against those that do, for me its just not something I feel comfortable with. Luckily Seth is starting to really understand how to be safe, and we have a "hands on the car" rule when he gets out of the car and generally he still is in a pram anyway. But he knows if he wants to walk he has to hold my hand otherwise I carry him or we go back tot he car/home or sit down till he is ready to cooperate. I am just lucky I guess.

Same here with the hands on the car rule :) Zander will hop out of the car now & say "hands on mummy's car" and will ask to hold my hand when we're near cars. We also do the sit down trick until he's ready to co-operate, sometimes it involves a tantrum, other times he calms down & then holds hands happily again.