This is my controversial post for the week. I have seen countless parents at stores that have their children on a leash. There are many ways to approach this situation. Maybe the child is hard to control, tough to keep track of, your afraid of he/she being kidnapped etc... I would love to approach this with a pair of scissors, setting this poor child free from the monkey backpack leash that constrains them. Children need to be allowed to walk the stores knowing they need to stay close to mommy and daddy. Heck if they do get lost in
Target they should have been taught to find an authority figure (employee) and have you paged (personal story there). This will not only teach them how to think for themselves also it will give them experience with emergency situations. If they are old enough to walk on their own in a store, then they're old enough to be shown what to do if they get seperated from mom or dad. It may just be a coincidence that a lot of these "bound children" that are being walked like a dog are being walked by an overweight parent. This is not to offend, merely an observation that leads me to think that in those situations they are just plain lazy.
The leash is a great invention. It allows us to keep control, keep close, and maintain dominence... With our pets, not our children. Kids these days are so protected that when they get that little taste of freedom they take it to the extreme. Spend the time to teach your kid to stay close, and not wonder, keep an eye on them, and if they happen to get lost hiding in the clothes rack then it will be a lesson well learned when they have to embarrass mommy on the page system in the store.
