Time to cut the rope on leashes for children

By J.P. Bouillerce | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Remember when the words “look both ways before crossing the street” were absolutely drilled into your head at age 4? There would never be a car coming whenever you looked. But then there would be that one time when you saw the ice cream man across the street and you went into hyper mode. Just as you were about to run across the street, a Ford F-350 almost ended your still young life.

And I’m sure every parent has had that one instance where they lost their child and went in an absolute frenzy thinking about all of the horrible things that could have happened to him, like falling in a well or getting chomped up by a Great Dane? Actually he caught a glimpse of a candy store and was in there munching on some chocolate-covered pretzels.

My point is that these are all exciting things that happen while being a parent and being a child. The sad thing is these things are getting wiped away with the recent coming of leashed backpacks. Are you serious? Since when have children become dogs? I will agree that playing with a 3-year-old is very similar to playing with a puppy, but these are human beings we’re talking about. Part of a child’s adolescence is learning by almost dying. Climbing a 30-foot tree always seemed like a great idea until you woke up in the hospital with a broken arm. But leash backpacks are keeping kids from living their lives.

Is this what parenting has come to? Are you so scared of the world that you need your children one pull of a rope away from him walking through a puddle? I loved walking through puddles. It was something that was never considered dangerous, but in our new scary world there could be all sorts of things in that puddle of water that could kill your child by the afternoon. Give me a break. Parents say how scary the world is. That just means the world will be scarier when your kid is 18 and that kid is going to get double whammy-ed when he has to experience it without a leash attached to his backpack.

People believe that parents who use these leashes do not care about their children because they do not want to put in the time to watch them and raise them well. I disagree. I believe parents who use these leashes care too much about their child and are too overprotective to let them experience anything. After reading many comments on this issue, I think many parents just want to keep their kids safe. That is all fine and dandy, but you do not need a leash to keep your kid safe?

How about watching what they’re doing or if you don’t want them wandering off, try holding their hand. Yes, your child will be completely safe on a leash, but at what cost? Your child will be less social or willing to go up to people they don’t know. Your child will also become a momma’s boy and you know those kids always get harassed in school. Either way your kid is going to get hurt. It’s a lose-lose situation for both you and your child.

Attention all parents: Let your kids jump in puddles. Let your kids almost get run over by cars. Let your kids fall out of trees. I say this because they will be a heck of a lot better off in this world doing those things than being condemned to the 4-foot radius of a leash.