Baby reins?

[Nessynoonars]

I have a very active and independent 1 year old. He is not quite walking yet but don't Think it will be long. I was just wondering if baby reins would be a good option for him as he likes to do things independently.

What complete and utter bollocks. Don't believe you about your "background" either. Bullshit.

I used reins. My DDs would also sometimes lean into them. They weren't damaged at all and are all perfectly normal twenty somethings now.

Before having DC I never knew that reins were controversial (probably because I didn't know anybody with small children etc). But now DC is 18months old and I use it with her I've had a couple of people telling me I am cruel. Both these people don't have children themselves and they can't possibly know how difficult it is for me to walk with my little toddler without the reins. I can appreciate it if someone doesn't want to use them but I use them because my DC will let go of my hand and want to run (and often) and I'm terrified she will be too quick for me one day and hurt herself. I also think it's nice for her to walk and not be pushed in the pushchair all the time. For me, reins are used from a safety perspective. DC isn't old enough to understand what things are dangerous but is old enough to walk and so while things stand like that, I don't want to take any risks. I'm pro-reins and I look forward to the day the two people who called me cruel have their own toddlers and I'll see whether they use reins or not. Hurrumph.

The ones I remember from childhood had a leather harness, often with a cartoon character or similar eg Peter Rabbit. IIRC this bit could be used to keep the baby secure in the pram ie there were hooks in the pram to attach to the harness. Then there was another attachment for the reins.

I am aware that my description sounds like4 a dog harness and lead, but they did the trick.

I hope you told them to fuck off and mind their own business!

We used them. They're pretty useful for preventing your child from going head first into the pavement when they trip (if the rein are short enough for that). I've not used wrist leashes, but I suspect they're less effective at preventing a stumble from turning into an injury, and holding hands doesn't work well when the kid is 15 months old and the parents are tall. I can't remember exactly how long we used them for, but I don't think it was very long, maybe around 4-6 months when the child had just started walking.

I don't see many kids in reins, but nor do I see many kids that age walking when they're out and about. They're usually in buggies/strollers.

Go for it. They're great

@rzb I totally agree.
Reins are very useful in preventing falls as well as street accidents.
We found that walking (facilitated by reins) really helps to develop good strong legs, and manual dexterity in general.

For us, reins enabled getting our children used to being expected to walk when we were out and about. Initially they'd walk only for a quarter mile or so, once or twice in an outing, and we had to be prepared to suck up the significant additional time this added to running errands. Inevitably, their stamina and coordination grew, they got faster and more confident and less likely to fall, and for us, this seemed preferable to leaving them in a buggy for hours whenever we were running errands. It also meant they could interact with stuff - gravel, tufts of different grasses growing at the side of the pavement, examine the various ironworks in the pavements and ask what they were, learn to avoid dog poo, play in puddles... all that fun stuff.

Also, the reins and harness meant they had both hands free to play with stuff, rather than one being gripped by an adult, so I think they perhaps had more scope to explore and express themselves in those months of being new to walking than had they have been holding hands. And, being on the tall side, my back is eternally grateful for the reins.

DD loved her little life ladybird backpack, she packed her treasures into it and used it long after her reins were removed.

Once she was walking, she was much happier walking everywhere than being in her pushchair. She wasn't a bolter but our priority was to keep her safe, the reins gave her a little bit of freedom, and we knew she was secure.

They aren't cruel, they are a very sensible opinion.