[rapf777]

My heart literally stopped!!! Giuseppa, my 3 pound chewawa and I were outside talking to our neighbors. Giuseppa was playing with my neighbor's newborn. We see a car coming down the road and with our hands we told the car to slow down which THANK GOD they did. My dog was on the other side of the road doing her business and we wanted to make sure she was not going to dart in front of the car. The next thing we know Giuseppa runs across the street right in front of the car. My neighbor's husband ran and grabbed her just in time. I just stood there screaming. I started to break down and cry. We are having a problem with her just running across the street. This is not the first time she has done this. The problem is she is TOOOOO fast and by the time our reaction hits she is already across the street. This only happens when she sees other people outside or when we are about to get into the car to go out. That is why we put a fence up in the back and side of the house because we live an a HUGH lake and Giuseppa has no fear of water and she always ran towards the water. My mom suggested putting her on a child leash even if its just going to the car to go out....I am torned about this...should I or shouldn't I get one?? Any opinions are greatly welcomed.

Rose

[annaguat]

Get the child lease! I have one runner and have two leases. I have a one for the other little one too eventhough she doesn't need it. Gabi appropriately has the monkey one. It looks like an adorable little back back and the tail is the lease. There is a pocket in the back of the monkey body that you can put the lease in when she doesn't need it. I don't care what people think. It is not worth my child's safety. Gabi is a runner, climber and fearless. I have night mares about my sweetie babe beeing run over. Some children are just that way. Trust me because she is my 11 th child and it is just who she is. She scales a 6 foot fence in well under a minute. When camping she ran to the river, jumped in the middle, she was wearing her safety vest, and was laughing her head of at us. Totaly fearless! Anna

[Ms.Judi]

How scary!! Glad everyone is ok. Mommy has your heart started beating again??? It is so amazing how fast they can be especially when it involves something dangerous.

[CEB]

Think of it as a tether or safety device and not a leash - and get one. If Guiseppa is active and fearless, its better to be safe than PC. Glad everyone is ok!

[JustBarbara]

First off, I'm so glad no-one was hurt though your blood pressure and heart rythm clearly got an unwelcomed workout. I myself don't care for the leash idea at all but I know others who swear by it. What I have done with DS is put in a clear demarkation line so that he is not to go onto the sidewalk without me. Whenever we are outside walking - he always has to walk on the inside. He has run ahead of me and turned around laughing thinking it is funny - and I am no-nonsense, not a hint of smile serious about immediately addressing it. We tend to sit/play on our stoop, especially at the end of the day for 15-20 minutes. If he - or any of his trains - cross the line we immediately pick up and go indoors. That being said, I cannot imagine watching as your child darts across the street. Last summer an 8-year-old neighbor was selling lemonade with her best friend and she darted right in front of my car - waving both hands and yelling 'Lemonade for sale'. My heart almost stopped - I continued on my way another 50 yards and then decided to drive around the block and have a little talk with her. I drive slowly on my road because there are plenty of young kids but still no matter how slow you are going if you hit anyone, especially a child ...

[jia6567]

Ive got a wild one too!! We live in the country so she hasnt never ran out in the road but she will run off when we are out places......runs off while we are shopping, run through parking lots, etc. It is soooo scary cause mine is very fast too, she is gone before I know it. So anyway I got the leash....My last straw was having to kick off my heels and run through the mall like I was chasing a criminal or something.....so embarrassing. I didnt feel like I had a choice so you could look at it that way. Its for her own safty. I am so glad everyones ok...how scary. I say get a leash!!!

[dutchmum]

I swear by the leash. We have three of them, when not in use, like we are taking the stroller, the leash is holding on to the strawcup and stroller. No more cups running away. I don't have the back pack kind, i don't like those, but i have the wrist/upperarm kind. It has a velcrowband strap a curly strechable leach and another velcrowband strap.
My son loves to run away and he is fast. We live right next to the river, so once we are out of our yard and going to walk the dog it is leash on my dog and son. It is quite a sight since J want to hold the dog leash as well.
Just do what you feel is right.

[DeeVee]

Glad your heart is beating again! That is a heart attack moment for sure!

On the one hand, a tether can be a lifesaver (literally). Jesse runs off, with no concept of what the consequences might be (he has developmental disabilties, so it's a little bit of a different issue). The tether is a great help in malls, McDonald's, wherever there is a crowd and more than one route of "escape." And where you have planned ahead to use it.

For myself though, I know that if I am just out talking to a neighbor, it would probably be a spur-of-the-moment thing, and I would not have the tether handy and strapped to my child. I think a rule such as, "you can't go past the tree on the front lawn, for ANY reason", (or the third crack in the driveway, or whatever visual marker you can use) is more practical. This works for my other three children very well (unfortunately if Jesse is with me, I pretty much can't stop and chat unless I pick him up - he's almost three years old so those visits tend to be short - LOL).

[angel_bayou]

Glad she's ok!! Hopefully you can figure out how to keep her from running away! I know Olivia is fear less as well and I have thought about a leash a time or ten!

[SKL]

I think I'd be off to shop for "leashes" at my first chance. Your daughter needs you - you can't have another heart attack!

Good luck!

[Suzeb1]

I have a darting child too and I think a leash is a great idea. While we've never used one, we literally never went outside (unless there's a fence) without my holding her wrist until the past month or so. I simply could never let go of her.

She's gotten better as she's gotten older (she's 3 1/2) and we work a lot on "stop" and what that means, but I know that it's a developmental thing and the impulse to run is built in. So no matter what others think, do what you need to do to keep your baby girl safe!

Susan

[AngelQT]

Angelena has a leash... She even wears it around the house... She used to do the darting thing, but now when she has the leash on, she know she can't run... She even holds the end of the leash (the part that I hold) and thinks she is still restricted! She looks like she is walking herself~

[afl]

I would say go for the leash.


For those that have said they just set boundaries.... I've done everything in my power to get through to my DD about staying near me, listening,etc and nothing, but nothing makes her listen. So, what do you do in that case? I could take her back inside or whatever 100 times and the 101st time she would still just do it again.

[Betelnut]

My Dad's solution:

"Her butt will hurt if she steps off that curb." (Said about me when I was a toddler.)

I think he gave me a few swats and had that dead serious look in his eyes. No hysterics, no histrionics, just that dead serious look. Brrr! The look alone was enough to freeze me.

Anyway, if a few swats is out (which it seems to be for everyone), a leash seems to be the only other solution.

[DPline]

Even at age 5 my son is still very implusive. He had his bike taken away last week because he went right off the curb and across the street without even looking. Yes, he knows better, but he just didn't even think. This has never been an issue for my older son or younger daughter, but for him . . . he just forgets himself from time to time.

We used a leash for him recently while at Disney because I could not be sure he would see a character and dash off to say 'hi.' One end around his wrist and one around mine kept him safely with us.

Each child is different and you have to do what works for you and your child to keep them safe.