What is the problem with reins?

[lucyellensmum]

?????

peachy im expressing an opinion. obviously you should do what suits your particular situation.
juliet, road sense is a life skill, and it is up to us as parents to teach it to our children. sure you can put a toddler and small child in reins. but if said toddler has never been walking on his her own then at the age of ten or eleven they are far more likely to be run over by a car.
which is why it is ESSENTIAL to teach them road sense and i think reins hamper this.

children under the age of three can be put in a pushchair, and older can be taught road sense. let me reiterate that mine are a complete and utter nightmare. as can be attested by the mom's in dc's school. if they can be taught road sense, then any nt child can. ( i'm not speaking about special needs as i have absolutly no experience of it)

thread hijack, sorry.
ucm how are you and the baby doing? havent seen youround for a while.

cylon babe, its not just about road sense.

dd does have an inkling of road sense but in full on tantrum mode will throw herself anywhere, no exclusions.

if anyone wants to think my child looks like a dog then fine, i care far more about her safety than upsetting a stranger.

Yer fecking right it is - WITH REINS ON!!

Well presumably most parents would abandon the reins by the time their children are going to school - if they walk there that is! so they can learn road safety then as well as being taught it a be-reined toddler. They're not designed to prevent children from having fun, rather to help restrain them whilst they learn a bit of common sense re roads. IMHO. You will always get the odd child who runs out after a ball whilst playing and gets knocked down by a car but I don't think all children knocked down were all rein-wearers.

cyclon -"reins are for dogs not humans". May I ask you - are you actually saying then that someone like myself for example is actually treating their child like a dog?

I have a child with SN's who has no sense of danger and who also runs off, a mad and fast little 17 month old who goes in the opposite direction, and I'm pregnant. I like my DD's to have freedom and use their legs but I also want to keep them safe. If some sort of rein type contraption helps me and makes my life easier and my kids happy then why can't you be happy for me?

Larvely thanks CB, DD has been screaming her pretty little head off for 2 days because of teeth and DS has been a little monkey cos he knows I will give in when the baby is crying . Today has been very very bad, but lovely Dh has come in with a bottle and told me to come on here....god am rambling but it's good to get it out.

Well it's compulsory to restrain children in cars now so why not extend it to very LOs walking along a street? I used to make my dd walk wherever possible (not always on reins, it depended on the situation) so she'd be nice and tired to go to bed at the right time. She's a good walker now - she can go for miles.

Oh an byt eh way, i religiosly, without fail, every single morning get each DD to stop at the road, check for cars, then cross quickly. I use this back pac thing with DD2 now and then when I need it.

You make not personally like reins, you have a right to that opinion of course, but saying they are for dogs is insulting to those that find them useful.

something I ahve noticed is that children on reins tend to be allowed out of their buggies earlier (n one of mine ahd buggies in regular use by 2 years), and I think you can learn more by standing at the kerb to wait for a car to apss than sitting strapped into a buggy oblivious of kerbs etc

I would suggest that any child on reins after school age can safely be assumed to have Sn

Well reins sure as hell do not work on cats! Our new cat wasnt' allowed out for a few weeks so muggins here had to walk her on a cat lead every few days to give her some fresh air. Walking on a lead is not something that cats do .

nighty upsetting a stranger shouldnt even come into it. everyone does what they think is best.
but i still feel that reins hamper children excessively. it IS possible to teach a child not to run off without the use of canine accessories.
i'm expressing a pov as asked by the op. i will stick by this and wont be bullied into aggreeing with anyone else. i respect everyones right to do as they think best...

Actually my old cat did walk on reins LOL but he was a think mog with little self respect

Um, I think describing something many of us find essential is the biggest bullying tactic being used on this thread!

And stating my childs SN is not bullying. Its real. I wont ever feel abd about explaining that

sorry describing as a canine accessory

congrats on your pregnancy tc. when is the lo due?

cylon, clearly you didnt see my previous post. my 10 year old never needed reins, stairgates, etc etc. so erm...i do know how to teach road sense. dd is a very different child however.

canine accessories? now that is offensive.

might get me some nice burberry ones, innit.

You can have an opinion without insulting people cyclone. I use a rein like thing with DD2 and I am insulted by you infering that I treat her like a dog and am unable to tech her road sense becasue I sometimes use a rein. Neither of these are true. I'm not asking you to change your views on not personlly liking reins, I'm asking you to think about the language you choose and how it could be insulting to people, that's all.

Actuallyn though, should I find a canine accessory helps me to keep the ds's safer then I would happily use it

So why do I care???