[blparent] Child leashes and other thoughts

Wed Mar 17 03:32:31 UTC 2010

Hi.  Shopping carts work well in stores, at least while a child is small 
enough to ride in them.  By the time the child outgrows the seat in the 
cart, he or she should be able to understand and follow directions from a 
parent.  As others have said, not following directions would be cause for 
leaving the store or other fun place immediately.

As for church, I'm part of a very small congregation, so I've enlisted the 
support of the people there, who will bring Sarah back to me if she takes 
off.  It has only happened twice, and she has figured out that we're all on 
the same team.  That strategy might not work too well in a larger church, 
but it's possible to get some voluntary help from school age children and 
young teenagers.  There are two girls and a couple of boys at my church who 
practically fall all over each other to play with Sarah and keep her 
entertained during the coffee hour, and it gives me at least a partial 
break.  I don't feel bad about accepting help like this in public places 
because there are a lot of sighted parents who rely on the friends in their 
circle to help keep an eye on their kids.  There's a woman in my church who 
is raising her grandchildren, and I've taken over so she could have a break 
many times.

The leash has worked well for me in situations where Sarah can have limited, 
though not complete, freedom.  The other thing I do is keep a 
battery-operated child locator with me at all times.  The button part, which 
is a keychain, is in my purse where I can have easy access to it.  The other 
part goes in the backpack that Sarah wears, which the leash attaches to. 
That way, if I ever do find that Sarah is really lost, I can push the button 
immediately and have a good chance of hearing the beep from her backpack.  I 
haven't had to use the locator, though I almost did at the library once when 
Sarah slipped out of the conference room we were in and wandered off to the 
children's room.  But the locator gives me peace of mind because at least I 
would have an instant solution if I ever did truly lose track of her.

One of the scare tactics my dad used when he and the rest of my family were 
trying to talk me into giving Sarah up so my brother could raise her was 
telling me how quickly someone could snatch her, and she'd never be found 
again.  It's something that's always in the back of my mind, but my argument 
now, just as then, is that blind parents aren't the only ones who have their 
kids abducted.  It's a widespread problem, and something every parent has to 
be careful of.  Otherwise, amber alerts and the Missing Children's Network 
wouldn't exist.

Everybody has to find one or more answers that will work in his or her 
situation.  If bells do the trick, that's great.  If a leash works, then by 
all means, use it.  For me, the child locator is a good second line of 
defense.

Jo Elizabeth
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Elizabeth Cooks" <elizabethcooks at comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 8:41 PM
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blparent] Child leashes and other thoughts

> Bells work on playgrounds and things where children are expected to move 
> around a lot, but not in stores or in Church, where they are expected to 
> stay with parents.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Karla Hudson" <HudsonKC at msu.edu>
> To: <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 3:32 PM
> Subject: [blparent] Child leashes and other thoughts
>
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I have watched the posts about child leashes. I used one with my daughter 
>> if
>> she wanted to push her doll stroller around the neighborhood which 
>> required
>> two hands on her stroller. Other than that I found the leashes would pull
>> her over as she was so light. I really believe bells are the answer. Both 
>> my
>> kids have warn them on their shoes. I like them as they are a constant
>> sound. Also, as a parent you have to just always be following your kids 
>> more
>> than the sighted parents. I have played on more playgrounds sliding down
>> slides and climbing on head banging equipment than most parents. The
>> important thing is to not fall in to the trap that others are watching 
>> your
>> child. If my kids do not mind me at the playground we go home. I have 
>> also
>> brought a whistle to the playground and told the children that they must
>> listen for my whistle and that means come to me.
>>
>> As they get older it gets easier to make them check in with you and 
>> follow
>> directions.
>>
>> Karla
>>
>>
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>
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