Okay, you may be a mom who dreads seeing these things on children too. I say "too", because I used to feel that way, until I realized my child is a "runner". Yes, at 2 1/2 he is prepping himself to be an Olympic runner in a moment's notice. He just looks away and Boom! He's off! There is no stopping him.
A great friend suggested I try a harness style one, with a cute stuffed animal, but my son picked out this one for a trip we recently took (very cool and masculine, isn't it?). I have to say, it is THE BEST investment we've EVER made for him, at
$13.99! Target. It even has a whiteboard under the flap, but we haven't used that yet, as I feared he'd draw everywhere except the backpack.
We started on a walk around the block.
Then, the airport. This was the main concern for a mother of a runaway. It was either this or the stroller, which would have been so restraining prior and in-between two 2 1/2 hour flights.
When he was safe from the fear of running away, he would simply just wear the backpack to hold his toys and sippie. Then I could easily grab the strap when it was time to walk back.
The best, when he just wanted to participate in pushing all our gear in the airport on the way home. We never did use our stroller, except to lug around the carseat and carry-on.
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here for more great ideas of What Works For Me Wednesday.
We had a monkey shaped backpack/harness for our son and he LOVED it. He called it his monkey backpack.
ReplyDeleteI used to loathe these "child leashes" until I had a toddler/preschooler and totally got it. =) People who don't get it either don't have children or are living in denial.
I love our bear harness backpack! My son wore it in airports and zoos, my daughter has worn it outside and at Peter Piper Pizza. It's such a huge help and a necessity for keeping kids safe in crowded places!
ReplyDeleteI have a runner also. Long story short he almost made it to a busy intersection before I could catch him...actually I never would have caught him. He had a guardian angel watching over him and just stopped in his tracks suddenly. I still think about what could have happened. We use a monkey backpack and I get the occasional stink-eye..LOL :)
ReplyDeleteI got my little girl the monkey backpack too! I love it because she gets to feel independent and I get to feel safe!
ReplyDelete