Aibu to not want my dc being strapped into Walk o dile

[Castleheights]

Im prepared to be told I am being silly but, I feel uneasy about groups of children being strapped together.

At my dc nursery they have arranged a trip into town using a walk o dile. (Sorry don't know how to link). It's a so called safety device for keeping children safe when there are not enough adult hands available.

Aibu to think it looks unsafe because if one child falls so will others? Furthermore there are plenty of parents who would help if asked, nursery have said they don't want any parental help.

You are being silly. So nursery want to ensure the safety of all children, but you don't? Right then

Having googled it actually says on their website 'don't worry if one falls down they won't all fall over'. Have you had a good look on there yourself?

So they could potentially stumble if another kid does? I'm sure they'll be fine. Much safer than one of them breaking free and running into the road, surely?

Eh? Is it a rope they all hold onto with plenty of adult eyes?

I can't see the problem, tbh. My DS has gad this type of thing since nursery and they are very effective.

But i'm not sure if the thing you're talking about has attachments - like mountain climbers?!

The links seem quite long and it is for their safety I think if a child trips a member of staff would catch them I'm sure the ones I have seen are only 4/t children long. Have you said to nursery you are unsure about them they might be able to reassure you

Tripping over will do less damage than if one of the children run into the road.

Don't be ridiculous.

I'd rather my kid fell than got run over or went missing.

Surely walking with an adult is better than strapping children together ?

There is not going to be 1 adult (or even 2) per child in a school or creche environment.

Anything that ensures the safety of my kid is a no brainer for me. Even walking with my own two kids on busy roads is a nightmare, I can't imagine having to look after multiple kids ....

The whole point is that there aren't enough adults so walking with an adult isn't an option.

The other option is that the children never go anywhere or do anything. How dull for them.

Just Googled it and it looks like a great idea!

So now one staff member can ensure the safety of around 6-8 kids who are all secured together safely. No way would one trip cause everyone to fall down.

And they don't look like they strap 30 kids in , just smaller bunches.

Yabu

I do understand what you saying about staff ratios but, parents want to help and are being told they can't.

There will be adults walking with them they will have a ratio it's just a safety precaution incase 1 break s free I guess. Tbh I was a nursery worker decades ago and we managed to take 3/4 year Olds out fine by just holding hands but I can see why they are used it keeps the wanderers and the bolters together it's just like a wrist strap or those rein backpacks really

Parents need to have full disclosure these days which is fair enough

I wouldn't want my dd walking with a parent that I didn't know tbh, I'd much rather it was dB's, trained staff looking out for her

I can't believe that going for a walk is considered a trip. If my ds was not out in the fresh air every day, torrential rain notwithstanding, I'd be unhappy. He's been walking everyday with a walkodile since he was 16 months old.

I've seen this being used in my town and it looks great

One adult at the front, one adult at the back and every child strapped on

If one falls, others won't unless they trip over the actual child. The line is not taught. It's quite slack with leeway for slower walkers and trippers

Ok then. I'm being bu.
Thanks for your comments.
I still think adult supervision is the preferred option

They use of these at a nursery near my office in the City. I've seen a kid trip and look about to fall but the contraption stopped him, none of the others so much as tripped.

It's good. Local nurseries use them. They usually have around 8 children between 3 staff. But it means if one was injured, tired and needed carrying, or one staff taking one to toilet then potentially one staff could safely walk all the remaining back safely.

The nurseries here take children out every day of weather permits so parents helping wouldn't work. I assume at your nursery they also need to have the teachers in charge not one parent watching their own child closely but another child not so closely.

I saw a small group of 6 being taken around Waitrose counting and buying fruit this morning actually.

From the Q&A on their website:

Q. What happens if a child using Walkodile® falls over?
A. Nothing - a falling child will not lead to the rest of the group falling over too. Individual children have fallen over during trails & no effect was evident to the rest of the group. In fact, our safety advisers said that if the mass of the other five children is greater than the mass of the falling child, it's impossible for the falling child to make the rest of the group fall. Furthermore, their report stated a child falling linked to the product is an advantage, because the child has more time to react to the fall as they're falling at a slower rate because they're linked to the other children. And of course if a child does fall, the supervisor can give it as much attention as needed, as the other children in the group cannot wander off.

Sounds fine to me - and as they say, safer than if there was an adult holding two children's hands, as if any of them did fall, the others wouldn't be able to run off.

Maybe they've had issues in the past with parental help though - people not turning up when they said they would or not actually being helpful or big bun fights over who gets to do it. Either you trust them to take good care of your child or you don't, if you do then let them make this decision themselves.

OMG, I've never seen these before but I think they are brilliant and Google led me to the Walkodile Duo which looks perfect for my 2 year old twins who very often run off in opposite directions so I avoid taking them anywhere near roads, etc. Going to get one now!!

My DD's nursery uses Walkodiles and they're fine. The kids are out with them almost every day, no problems at all.

Yes I have to say I'm debating getting them as a childminder!