There is a laundry list of things I said I would "never" do when I had kids. About half of those went right out the window once I had my son. They say ignorance is bliss and man, is it ever easy to criticize what parents do when you don't have any children of your own.
A few weeks back, I hurt my back and traded in my usual stroller for a lightweight, umbrella-style one (more on that stroller in another post). As you all know, I live in the city. Specifically, I live in a third-floor condo on a fairly busy street near an intersection. Lugging my usual stroller up and down stairs, with a toddler in it was not ideal. And then the back problems. So I decided the umbrella stroller was the way to go, at least for now.
The drawback to that umbrella stroller is that because the front steps to my building are somewhat steep, but the steps aren't necessarily deep, it makes pushing my son up or down the steps while in the stroller impossible. That's not necessarily an issue because my son is pretty good at going up and down the steps when holding my hand and the railing. What it does mean is that he has to get in to and out of the stroller when at the bottom of the steps. There's about ten feet of sidewalk separating the front steps from the street. You know, the street with all the moving traffic in it.
So, all this to get to my point. Which is that my toddler, it would seem, has no fear of running into the street. What's more, he has perfected the art of dropping his body weight suddenly and snatching his hand out of mine. He's wiley, that one. He, like many kids his age, wants to be independent and sometimes just doesn't want to hold your hand. Yes, I have a death grip on his hand most of the time, but between his efforts to break free and my other hand being full of a stroller, lunch bag and whatever other nonsense I've got going on, that death grip isn't always 100% reliable.
So....I've been thinking. About a leash. Or, um, child harness. Which has to be one of the top five things I would NEVER do when I had a kid.
I know, kid leashes are wildly unpopular. And I see them used in settings that don't make sense to me. I hate, hate, hate the thought of them. But you know what? I hate the idea of a critically injured kid a lot more. That ten feet of pavement between the front steps and the streets isn't really enough of a buffer for my piece of mind. I'm beginning to realize that in my case, this might be a life and death decision. Oh, I know that sounds overly-dramatic. But, it would take just about one second for my son to break away and be in the street. Actually, the only reason I still use the stroller every day is not that my son can't walk the two blocks from our house to his preschool. He can and would love to. It's that he doesn't reliably hold my hand for the duration of the walk. Some days he does. Some days, not so much.
While I talk to him (sternly!) about the dangers of the street, and while I tell him he's got to hold my hand at all times, the reality is that he's not yet two years old and he's not going to comprehend the consequences. These darn toddlers, they are just not reliable!
So, I'm thinking about it....what about you other parents out there? Anyone use a child harness, particularly if you're walking on a busy street every day?
In other news, we're all sorts of off schedule this month, having been celebrating our nation's birth and all, so Main Line Mama's post will be featured this Friday.
