Father Explains Why He Has No Shame In Putting His Child On A Leash

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There are two streams of thought when it comes to putting your kid on a leash.

Despite all the judging some parents get for putting their kid on a leash , one dad decided to share his parenting choice of keeping his little one close at hand in a post that anyone with a “wild child” will completely comprehend.

The Dad behind the Parenting blog No Idea What I’m Doing: A Daddy Blog shared a story about a recent trip to the farmer’s market with his toddler daughter Aspen. He explained why he feels feathers about keeping her on a leash in public.

“We were at the farmers market. No shame. I put this kid on a leash.”

Edwards noted his daughter a “wild child” and says that the leash has already kept her out of danger more than once, while also keeping him sane.

He explained that the real issue with having a “wild child” is that you just can’t win. If he leashes her up? He gets dirty looks. If he lets her fly free? Dirty looks again. Oh, and actual danger to boot. “Because the fact is, if I didn’t put Aspen on a leash while at amusement parks, the zoo, a crowded mall, or the farmers market, she’d be the lost child announced over the intercom.”

“She’d be the kid popping up in every Facebook feed for wandering into a shopping center parking lot, unattended. She could be the child climbing into the tiger cage. Because I can’t, for the life of me, keep her from moving,” Edwards said.

Edwards mentions both his daughter’s curiosity as well as her “Olympic” speed as reasons for leashing her up.

Responses to the post have mostly been positive with Edwards saying: “Most people have discussed how they used to judge parents with leashes, but then, boom! They had a child and realized that putting their toddler on a leash really helped keep them safe,” he told Scary Mommy.