[blparent] child leashes

[Jo Elizabeth Pinto]

I've used one of those leashes at church, and they're great in some 
situations.  It won't be long, though, till Claire will want more 
independence than the leash can give her.  I've taken to hooking one of 
those retractable dog leashes onto the backpack that Sarah wears, so she has 
a little more room to run.  The retractable leash doesn't get tangled up as 
easily as a regular one would, and if it's demeaning, well, better wearing 
that than being featured on a milk carton.

The other thing is, try to teach your little girl to answer you when you 
call her.  We're still working on that--Sarah usually says, "What, Sarah" 
when I say her name, but it's a start.

As to letting Claire stray farther than the leash will allow, I'm interested 
in hearing what others have to say.  Sarah and Claire are nearly the same 
age, I believe, and Sarah is wanting more freedom now.

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Kim Cruz" <autifroggie at comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 10:35 AM
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blparent] child leashes

> I used a child leash when my son was little.  It really helped me.  I 
> could keep track of what he was doing.  he has learned since then to stay 
> close to me.  So I think it is a good idea.
>
> Kim
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Colleen Kozubowski" <colleenkoz at yahoo.com>
> To: <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 9:00 AM
> Subject: [blparent] child leashes
>
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> This is Colleen - blind mom of Claire, who will be two at the end of this 
> month.
>
> We've had a couple of unseasonably warm days here in Chicago, which means 
> Claire and I have been playing outdoors for the first time since last 
> fall. And I can already see what a challenge it's going to be keeping 
> track of her this spring and summer. She's extremely active, and like any 
> two-year-old just wants to run around and explore. Naturally I'm concerned 
> about her safety.
>
> So for those of you who are in the midst of or have survived the toddler 
> years...do you have any tips for keeping the reigns on this child? We've 
> done squeaky shoes, and will continue to use them, but now that she can 
> take off on me in a second I'm not sure those will be enough. Has anyone 
> used those child leashes? I know some people think they're demeaning to 
> kids but it seems to me they might make sense in the blind parent 
> situation.
>
> I'm open to any and all suggestions. We have tons of kids on our block and 
> the routine is that they all play out in front of the houses. So I don't 
> have the comfort of a backyard fence to help me out here. And of course I 
> can ask other parents on my street to help keep track of Claire, but I'd 
> love to be a bit more independent than that if possible.
>
> Thanks in advance for any tips!
>
> Colleen
>
>
>
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