Comments on: Unnecessary Baby Products – Part 2

By: m warren

m warren — Mon, 23 May 2011 05:20:14 +0000

this is hilarious. i have always been completely appalled by child leashes. however, my family is considering a move from the midwest to manhattan, and i actually had a moment today of thinking that child leash thing might have some validity. i have a 22 month old who runs all day as quickly as possible and considers most being held (or confined to a stroller) as unlawful imprisonment. honestly, before i went to babies-r-us to buy one, i’d just bite the bullet and buy a dog tie out that i could screw into the ground in central park and tether my daughter to it. i’m sure it would be made of higher quality material.

By: FirstTimeDad

FirstTimeDad — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:47:28 +0000

I just had to say that I really enjoyed reading this post. (actually the comments more than the post itself.) It really is interesting to me that an opinion post such as this can raise so much protestation. We bought a baby bath seat for our son and used it a lot. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a waste of money. I admit that we could have done without it, and I cannot even say for certain that it saved us any effort. Getting upset because someone holds a different opinion than you do is absurd. I might think that baby shoes are the best baby gear ever invented (I don’t by the way) that doesn’t mean I am going to have a fit because the author of this post doesn’t agree. Some people don’t care about being embarrassing or lazy. Some people are just paranoid. Some people see a potential danger and a sure protection and are willing to suffer any embarrassment to use. Whatever the reason many people will disagree with any opinion, but that doesn’t mean they have to go crazy trying to change that opinion. While I may not know much I do know for sure that arguing is about the least effective way to change someone’s mind. Anyways… Thanks for the entertainment.

By: Keith

Keith — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:42:13 +0000

Jax: That’s fair enough. Thanks for the comment!

By: Jax

Jax — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 22:49:41 +0000

I was always someone who looked at leashes as embarrassing items I would never use with my own child… Until 2 weeks ago lol and I’m not obese or lazy. My daughter is 13 months and a zigzagger as well as a non-hand holder And She is way too friendly. Anyhow we were in a very crowded mall when she was having a stroller break for a run around where she ran right through a crowd of people and I couldn’t follow quite as quickly without knocking over a few senior citizens and others, she was out of my sight for probably 3sec which is too long for me so we went straight to sears and bought a little backpack that had a leash attached. I still run along with her but I would rather be embarrassed when we are in the over crowded mall for a day than be the statistic who’s child was stollen in that split second… And I’m hoping we will only have to use it for a few months!! She will not be wearing it while she’s 2 years old!!

By: Keith

Keith — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:58:34 +0000

on this issue, I still think I’m right.

By: Erica

Erica — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:28:20 +0000

While, on the whole, I agree with everything you’ve said here and in the previous “unnecessary baby stuff post”, there was one instance where I had to use a “leash” – two in fact – and though I disliked doing so, it saved a lot of headache and possible heartache. When my husband and I were foster parents we, at one point, had as many as five children in our home – our 2 (recently adopted) and a set of three siblings that stayed with us on weekends. This meant I had 5, 6, 7, 8 and 13 year-olds to contend with. On Saturdays, while my husband worked, I liked to take the younger kids to different places around town. Being that I only have two hands and did not have the opportunity to teach these children when it was and was not okay to run off, I often used a leash on the younger 2 and held the hands of the older 2. You would think that by these ages that would not be necessary, but it was and I don’t regret it. All of this is to say that, while we all have different opinions – and that’s a good thing – maybe we shouldn’t judge one another so harshly. I have seen firsthand the effects of parents who don’t care and I would far rather see one who is overprotective. For any of us to assume we know better than any other parent out there who is trying to do their best is a slippery slope. Thank you for all your insights!

By: More Not-Completely-Unnecessary Baby Products

More Not-Completely-Unnecessary Baby Products — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 23:00:03 +0000

[...] by Daniel M. Clark on October 10, 2009 Last week I wrote about some baby products that weren’t completely unnecessary; it was a completely unasked-for response to a post by Keith Wilcox at almightydad.com. I promised there would be a follow-up, and here it is! Positioners, protectors and leashes – oh, my! Keith’s Part Two can be found here. [...]

By: Free-Range Kids

Free-Range Kids — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:35:57 +0000

[...] also spend countless mindless hours watching commercials about baby products that will make our kids safe. These hours watching TV are insidious because we don’t notice [...]

By: Being a Revolutionary Parent

Being a Revolutionary Parent — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:06:01 +0000

[...] after coming home from the hospital with him was to a Babies R Us. We wanted to buy him some educational sorts of things that would stimulate his brain. Well, it didn’t take long for me to realize [...]

By: Keith

Keith — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:45:56 +0000

Ok Smokey, You got me! A GPS tracker!? I was kidding! I can agree that they have a place provided a physically crippling condition on the parent’s part or an ADHD type situation on the kids part. Okay, I think we’re mostly in agreement then. Perfect!

By: Smokey

Smokey — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:35:29 +0000

Actualy we do have a GPS tracker for when my son is of walking age (but that is a whole other paraniode mother subject for another day)
And yes my nephew did have ADHD and I agree that 90% was down to his mother being one of the “too lazy to care that he was running around busy roads” type mothers but I am still glad I had that precuation.
My god daughter on the other harness didnt have anything like this but at the time I wasnt all that experianced with taking children out.
Hopfully I will be a far more responsible mother when the time comes to teach my son about road safety but I would still prefer to have one as a backup while hes learning.
Im not talking about them being off ahead tugging away or restricting their movements, im refering to a reasonable use of them, the harness being wrapped around my wrist while he still holds my hand and just there as a backup.
My point is I do think they have a (if not abused or just for the sake of cant be bothered to hold their hand or watch them) place.