wrist strap or reins for 2.5 year old?

Carmina_Piranha_3

i used reins with roo when he was little and wanted to walk. not all the time but if we were near a road or river. but he seemed to grow out of needing them and i gave them away.

now he seems to have hit the terrible 2s with a vengeance (he was 2 and a half about 2 weeks ago) and has started running away purely to be defiant. other mums have said that their toddlers suddenly turned into monsters at this age so it seems to be an age thing but in the meantime i have to go into town sometimes and there are roads in most places we walk. the other mums i know leave their children strapped into the pram all the time but i don't think that's going to suit us.

he's a giant of a child and reins wouldn't fit and would look silly i think, so i bought a wrist strap yesterday but it is too small - won't fit over his hand.

i just wondered where i can get a wrist strap that is suitable for a child with hands like dinner plates, and opinions on whether he's too old for restraints? i know it looks as if you're walking a dog but is it really any different to restraining him in a pram?

did anyone else use restraints at this age? i know some children aren't in a pram at all by this age, and he's not in his very often - only if we're walking miles and there's no bus route. do other people have children who just aren't as naughty as mine? should i just keep him in the pram during the most dangerous times?

starlite_2

hi,
we use a backpack with a parent handle for our 2 year old.
They are fabulous as he doesn't feel as restricted as with normal reins.
They are fairly adjustable too so you should find one that it will fit him.

http://www.littlelife.co.uk/out-about/6/index.htm

Oh and as for if we 'ought' to restrain them. I'd much rather see a child restrained than injured or worse by running into the road. They are so fast it only takes a second.
I think 2.5 is still very young to be expected to walk alongside your parents and to understand the dangers of roads.

vixarooni

Im 100% behind reins. Its a load of tripe about thinking its like walking a dog. It totally isnt.

I work in a shop on a saturdays and the amount of youngers who run around the place pulling stuff off shelves and leaving them all over the floor because their parents are too selfish to look after their own children properly.

Id rather see a good mother with her child in reins than running all over the place. Safety aswell as teaching how to behave in an area (which alot of mothers ive seen fail to do miserably)

if you get him out of the pram it will burn some much needed energy off to i suspect!

Carmina_Piranha_3

thanks, that's fab! that won't look babyish on him :T

he doesn't need restraining often, i take him for lots of places that are safe for running around. i don't know why i'm trying to justify it - plenty of people use the pram to restrain their children. but there seems to be a bit of a stigma about using reins etc.

somebody suggested this morning that i buy a snack tray for his pram so he can rest books on it or play with toys etc. in the tray if i'm in the bank or post office and need him to stay still for a couple of minutes.

starlite_2

You will find the backpack really useful. I let him wear it all the time and keep the handle in it so I can easily clip it on when needed. He likes to carry a drink or a couple of toy cars in it and doesn't mind wearing it which is great as he really struggled with wrist straps and normal reins.It's also got a nifty waterproof hood zipped into the top.

We have a ladybird one for my daughter, but she's not walking yet.

jamgirl

i used one of these on my son. i can't remember how old he was before i stopped using it but i was definately using it at 2 1/2.
sometimes i think i could do with one now and he's 10!

http://www.clippasafe.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_2&products_id=12&zenid=0d6d056beed1a0ea65948fe051b3dc2c

dangers

I've used reins and wrist straps for my two boys. Both works, although I was told a story by a member of the public who said that his grandchild had had his wrist broken by using a wrist strap - he was running off and mum tried to stop him. But better a broken wrist, than the child running into the road I think. I think the backpacks look good (if they will wear it!)
Hope that helps and I hope that I haven't put you off either

vixarooni

Ignore the stigma. If anyone comments, punch em one (without your child looking) that will give them something to make a comment about

joking!

Penny_Watcher

jamgirl wrote: »

i used one of these on my son. i can't remember how old he was before i stopped using it but i was definately using it at 2 1/2.
sometimes i think i could do with one now and he's 10!

http://www.clippasafe.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_2&products_id=12&zenid=0d6d056beed1a0ea65948fe051b3dc2c

We used something similar with DS1 until he was about 3 1/2. We told him that it was so he could look after me and make sure that I didn't wander off . Worked a treat!

Cruiksl

I have seen someone in Toys R Us that had reigns on and they had replaced the back strap with a small dog lead.

I started smiling and the mum spoke to me and said her son was a nightmare for running away and this meant that they both had a bit of freedom ! She literally took her son walkies :-)

shelley_crow

my ds has always has a wrist strap x