Last weekend, my family and I drove over to Six Flag’s Discovery Kingdom for a brief vacation. On my way to yet another roller coaster, I glanced over at one of the many benches that lined the pathway, and what did I see but a toddler struggling to free himself from the confinements of a child leash. These leashes, harnesses, or reins (whatever you wish to call them), are becoming alarmingly popular with parents nowadays. Parents are leashing their children as a substitute for watching out for them.

The first thing that ran through my mind was how the poor little boy looked like a pet instead of child. On other occasions of seeing a kid leashed up, I’ve thought the same thing as I watched his or her parent push and pull him or her around like dog. If you look up the definition of “leash”, you will get something along the lines of “a chain, strap, etc., for controlling or leading a dog or other animal.” Children are not pets and there is no reason to treat them so.

Because children don’t know what is right or wrong, they usually rely on the yes’s and no’s they receive from their parents. When you think about it, kids on a leash won’t get an adequate understanding from a jerk to the wrist that pulls them away from the precarious stand of oranges. The kids simply won’t understand why.

Those who use these leashes are ones that will likely be dubbed as parents looking for a quick fix or easy out to their problems, which adds to the air of laziness that society is slowly but surely gaining. I also believe that these parents do not own up to their parental responsibilities, they should keep their eyes out for their children and leashes let them relax that awareness to an extreme.