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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Has anybody used a harness or a wriststrap? Or any other ideas for keeping a buggy-fobic 15-month-old alive...

59 replies

justaphase · 02/01/2007 16:14

My 15-month-old has only been walking for a month but loves it. He now has a major tantrum every time I try to strap him in the buggy.

I am happy to give him the freedom to practice his new skill but while he is reasonably good at holding my hand most of the time he does on occasion let go and run off - a favourite being to step off the curb and than back up again... or try to touch the cars .

Has anybody used a wriststrap or a harness? Which one is better? It is one of the things I thought I would never use but hey...

Or is there any other way to deal with this?

OP posts:

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andaSOAPBOXinapeartree · 02/01/2007 16:19

I'm not sure they are a very good idea - I think it is better to just devote your time to training them to hold onto the buggy while you are pushing it.

For the first few months of walking we took the buggy everywhere with us - if the DCs let go of it, they were told once to hold on or they would go into the buggy - and that is exactly what happened

It didn't take long to train - as long as you are consistent with putting them in the buggy if they don't hold on - and not letting them out again no matter how much they squeal

I just think that the wrist straps give a false sense of security and you are not really teaching them how to be safe while they are wearing them.

BadHair · 02/01/2007 16:19

Ds1 got his wriststrap off in about 2 minutes flat. Which was lucky as I'd bought it from a mailorder company and to be honest I think it was made from off-cuts of dog-lead material - it had pawprints on it!

A harness is much better, although you do tend to feel like you're marching a little prisoner along. I didn't want to use either, but the harness was definitely more useful. Although as I'm tall I wished the straps could have been a little longer - I had to stoop to hold the reins without lifting ds off the floor.

footstep · 02/01/2007 16:22

Hi justaphase (good name!)

No advice I'm afraid, but every sympathy. My 15-month-old dd is just the same.

I'll keep my eye on this thread and hope some lovely experience MN-ers come to your (our) aid.

footstep
x

Original poster

justaphase · 02/01/2007 16:24

He is not even 15 months yet, I am not sure they can be trained successfully this young. I am just worried he will jump under a car in the meantime...

OP posts:

Original poster

justaphase · 02/01/2007 16:25

thanks footstep... have you tried any of the dogleash options?

OP posts:

TheArmadillo · 02/01/2007 16:27

I used harness - found it very good. Though the straps weren't quite long enough and I had to stoop slightly, but as he was growing so quickly it wasn't for very long.

Ds did mess about on the harness sometimes, but for peace of mind it was brilliant. We did teach him to hold onto the pushchair or our hands at the same time, but while he was still learning they were brilliant.

I think they are really good - you can still teach them about road sense etc at the same time.

Ds is 2.3 now and I rarely use them as he is quite good now.

Carmenere · 02/01/2007 16:27

A wrist strap is pretty useless imo for most of the reasons that the other posters have said but I used reins for a few months whilst dd was at her most unpredictable. I diddn't like using them and I don't like how they look BUT I did find them useful for a short while and I was glad I had them.

juuule · 02/01/2007 16:31

At 15months old I would use reigns and take the pushchair. I found that although we would start out walking, the child usually got tired and asked to get into the pushchair (although I have been known to end up carrying a toddler and pushing an empty pushchair). I've found they don't normally object to the reigns and they are insurance when the child forgets to hold on to the pushchair. I have also taken a sling for them to sit in when they get tired walking. Better than pushing the empty pushchair and saved my arms when carrying.

RubyRioja · 02/01/2007 16:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WigWamBam · 02/01/2007 16:33

I fully agree that they can't be properly trained either to hold your hand/the buggy all the time, or in road-sense at that age, and I found that reins were indispensible when my dd decided at 13 months that she wanted to walk everywhere. I used them in conjunction with teaching her to hold my hand, so I held both the reins and her hand in the same hand, so really they were just an added safety precaution against her dropping my hand and running off into the road. And because she wasn't let loose with the reins, she didn't end up with a false sense of security - the security came from holding my hand, the reins were just a back-up. And very valuable the one time my neighbour pulled up across the road and dd tried to run across to him in front of a lorry ... had she just been holding my hand she would have been under the wheels.

My experience was that starting them early meant she didn't refuse to wear them - she didn't know any different because we started using them as soon as she was walking outside - and because she was used to wearing them she didn't do the dangling-from-the-reins trick that a lot of older children try.

juuule · 02/01/2007 16:34

Ruby - I forgot about reigns helping to stop them tripping up too much. Sooo true. Saved a lot of scraped knees with mine.

RubyRioja · 02/01/2007 16:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

juuule · 02/01/2007 16:36

you're not on your own.

mellowma · 02/01/2007 16:38

Message withdrawn

mummyhill · 02/01/2007 16:57

Used reins with dd till she started nursery back in september 2005. She ran off and through the school gates in the first week luckily another mum bought her back as I couldn't waddle fast enough. She was made to wear the reins to and from nursery till DS was born. Now just the threat of them is sufficient to keep her with me. We have statred using the reins with DS now as he wants to walk everywhere and at 15 months I do not believe that he is old enough to train to hold the pushchair. Rather a child on reins than a squashed one thanks very much.

mummyhill · 02/01/2007 16:59

However I would like to point out that they are only effective at keeping children out of the raod or the hands of strangers if you keep hold of the strap. I get so cross when I see little ones wandering round with the straps dangling behind them.

PanicPressiePants · 02/01/2007 17:00

I have reigns and while I don't use them all the time, I do always have them in my nappy bag just in case.

Much better a few frowns directed at you than a lost or hurt toddler. And they're not forever.

shosha · 02/01/2007 17:07

Message withdrawn

poinsettydog · 02/01/2007 17:08

Yep, used both with dd2. Reins not for very long as they were too short. You can make those wrist straps pretty tight you know! And if the option was wrist strap or buggy, she at least knew she had a choice.

Didn't need them for long but they were extremely useful for those couple of months we needed them.

BaileysMilkshake · 02/01/2007 21:29

X-posts

DD used a harness, and when throwing a tantrum it was handy just to pick her up - she looked liked a child shaped carrier bag [wrin]

Her wrist strap was useless as she got it off in seconds!

Have you though about one of those little cars or trikes with a arent handle that your DS will enjoy rising in and you have him contained?? At 15 months a car is probably better that a trike, this might give you an idea

nikkie · 02/01/2007 21:43

I found a harness better than a wrist strap.I looped my arm through it and held her hand IYSWIM but dd2 was like this (wanted to walk like dd1-dd1 actually wanted the buggy though)

cat64 · 02/01/2007 21:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

lackofgravitas · 03/01/2007 09:35

The wrist strap we have is hopeless - really small, I'm sure it would be VERY safe if only we could get it over DD's hand in the first place. It's found a new life as a collar and lead for a stuffed dog, so that's okay. DD LOVES her reins, finds it a real novelty wearing them (she rarely does cos she's a lazy madam and likes to sit in her pushchair, plus we walk mostly on quiet roads with wide pavements, and in a highly pedestrianised town centre).

wrappingpaperBOwZZAndribbons · 03/01/2007 09:40

soapbox you are coming from a position where the child doesn't actually want to be in a pushchair, which is fair enough because that is what the OP is about. But I think reins are useful especially in situations where roads are involved or where a pushchair is not ideal (eg at an aquarium or in certain museums). I used them with both mine at that sort of age very effectively. DD is 2 1/2 and I am sometimes tempted to get get them back out! I have trouble with her holding hands sometimes - she will march along with her arms folded - but I don't want to be using the pushchair on the school run which is really not very far.

juicychops · 03/01/2007 09:58

ive used a wrist strap on ds since he was 1 and its great! He loves it and gives them more freedom than reigns. When he's naughty i put him in his pushcahir

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