Child leashes aren’t about ethics, or whether toddlers should be treated like animals. They are about safety, protection…and the freedom of a child to indulge curiosity while remaining secure. I have to wonder about a question regarding a child leash being ethical—when strapping that same child into a stroller so that he or she can’t even walk around is not considered to be a problem.

When I was not quite three years old, I had this irresistible urge to “go see.” I wanted to go see the ducks in the park three blocks from my house. I wanted to go see the puppies across the street. I wanted to go see what the truck was doing behind the alley in my back yard. I wanted to go see—everything. I had absolutely no sense of distance, danger or consequences; like most toddlers of that age, all that mattered was the instant of time in which I was living. My poor mother, who had just given birth to her second child, was beside herself—her choices for keeping me safe were: A, hold my hand or carry me everywhere, and never let me down; B, confine me to a playpen or stroller at all times; C, a leash.  Option A was impractical; she had another child to care for, as well as a life to live of her own. Option B was confining and cruel; like keeping an adventurous puppy in a small cage. She went with option C, combined with a very big red bow in my hair just in case I slipped the leash and went off anyway. She attached a very long line to my harness and the clothesline in the back yard so that I wouldn’t climb the fence and head to the park as soon as she turned her back (and I would have!). She kept me in “leading strings” for nearly a year, until I grew out of the tendency to dart off without warning—and this practice saved me from being run over by a car at least three times, from running away from home at least once a day, and on one memorable (well, Mom remembers it, I don’t..) occasion, kept me from picking up some really neat little worms with fangs and enough poison to kill a full grown adult.

I grew up and had five children. I didn’t need the ‘leading strings’ for four of them, but one of my children was just like me, to Mom’s great glee—he had absolutely no sense of self preservation. His curiosity then, as it does now, caused him to investigate all sorts of interesting things (like those really neat worms—yes, Adam found a bunch of baby rattlesnakes, too, which my mother thought was justice personified) I put a safety tether on the boy. It was either that, or put him in a playpen with a lid on it. Without the safety tether (or leash, or ‘leading strings,’ or whatever term you want to use) both Adam and I were restricted; he would run off to see anything that caught his fancy, and I was spending all my time worrying about what he would do. With the tether, he was free to go look (within limits) and if he wanted to go further, I knew where he was headed and could decide whether that was a good idea or not.  Without it, he was prime fodder for getting lost, getting run over—getting his name on a milk carton.  With it, I could put him down and let him walk around and satisfy his curiosity. He was safe, without being strapped into a stroller all the time. Our outings were a great deal more pleasant, for both of us.

No, child leashes are not only ethical—I think that any parent with an adventurous toddler is being irresponsible not to use them; they give the child freedom to explore, and the parent freedom from stress. Imagine—you can take your child to the mall, and if you have him on a child safety leash, he’s not going to suddenly disappear. That’s peace of mind for both of you.