lol that you only have a one year old and cant see yourself using them lulamae!
plenty of things i never saw myself doing.
it depends on the child, like everything else. ive got the two of them and tbh i never thought "righty o, he/she's walking now, into the reins we go".
ds never needed them. just as he never needed stairgates, socket covers, cupboard covers, never ate anything he shouldnt. my perfectly behaved boy who always did what he was told, never tantrumed and hardly ever cried. he always held hands lovely and never ran away from me.
oh how smug i was until i had dd.
dd who at one point was having up to 15 tantrums a day and thought nothing of throwing herself into the road at every available oppurtunity. Now, i hear you thinking "hold on to her tighter then, its easy?" well this is what would happen. we're walking along footpath, dd doesnt want to hold hands. i insist, dd tries to pull away but im holding on to her, so she tries a different tactic, lets her legs go and starts twisting on the floor. so im trying to pick her up to put her safetly away from the road, it ends up in a struggle, arms and legs everywhere, she's like an octopus.
it would only take one second for her to drop off the kerb.
or maybe for a little leg to kick out into the road.
so yep, reins were good for us.