[blparent] Blind parents traveling with kids

[Robert Shelton]

We had four boys, but my wife was sighted, so when we traveled with the
kids, she was there.  I remember taking the boys to the park, but where we
lived, crossing city streets was not a part of the equation.  I'm just
saying that I never realized how challenging it would be to do real mobility
with small children.

I also find myself rethinking my initial aversion to the idea of using a
leash.  I insisted on the hold hands approach, but how would that work with
more than one child?  I'm pretty sure that if I were rasing kids now by
myself, I'd consider using a leash.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Sheila Leigland [mailto:sleigland at bresnan.net] 
Sent: Saturday, March 30, 2013 8:25 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] Blind parents traveling with kids

Hi your right until you ha

Ve a child it's hard to explain how do accomplish those thiSheila
Leiglandngs that need to be done. We found it very important to teach Mark
at a very young age to answer or come when called. We considered that rule
unbreakable. At first we used one of those wrist to wrist devices but he
quickly learned how to undo the velcro. We did use a child leash from time
to time. My mother asked how we got him to sit in a grocery cart but we
didn't give him the option of not doing it. Until he was old enough to
understand traffic his safety dictated the choices that we made. Once he ran
out in front of my mother in to a parking lot and she was upset because she
couldn't figure out how we took him anywhere. We told her that not holding
hands wasn't an option. He was probablly four at the time.