Figure 1.--There are a number of variants of the moddern child walking harness in chich the child is secured around the waist and shoulders. The most common is a wrist link in which the child is secured around the wrist Parents can hold the other end in their hand or indeed around the wrist also.

There are a number of variants of the moddern child walking harness in chich the child is secured around the waist and shoulders. The most common is a wrist link in which the child is secured around the wrist Parents can hold the other end in their hand or indeed around the wrist also. This appaer to be a relatively recent innovation and primarily used for security in crowds. We have also seen these available in nylon webbing. Wrist harness is really inappropriate. There are concerns about the wrist link. The real danger with it is that if the child falls down he can hirt himself. The natural physical reaction when falling down to protect one's face with both hands. Here only one is free. The result can be dangerous. Some mother, however, find them very useful. Take a look at a comment from a mother who used it, "I first got the Clippasafe Wrist Link, when I had my second child, just before my eldest turned 2. He is now 7 and we have still got the Clippasafe. I found that it was invaluable when taking my eldest to Playschool as he wanted to walk, but the pram I had for my second was not the one I wanted and was very heavy to push, so I couldn't hold my son's hand to walk him. I got the Wrist Link and at first my son didn't want to wear it, but we made it fun for him, pretending that he was like a puppy, and you wouldn't let a puppy walk along the road without a lead. He loved the idea and soon found that with the Wrist Strap he had much more freedom to walk "alone". We then went on to use it with the second when the third was born, and the third when he started wanting to walk short distances. We still have it and will keep it for now as it is a good warning if the children don't walk nicely. The only problem is that after a while, the observant child will watch how you put the strap on and soon learn how to undo it if they really don't want it on. So you must still keep a close eye on them. All in all it is an invaluable tool for teaching road awareness with a degree of safety, especially if the child is larger than "average" and the normal reins are too small to fit comfortably around the chest." The advantages are that you know where your child is. You can allow freedom, but still have control. Great for the larger child who find reins uncomfortable The disadvanatages are that your child can soon learn to undo it. When they run off they are like a bungee jumper.

Created: July 18, 2003
Last updated: July 18, 2003