Leashing your child

I may not be a parent, but it drives me crazy when parents put leashes on their children. I understand that they want to keep track of their child, but feel like you shouldn’t treat your child like an animal. If you can’t keep track of your children, maybe you shouldn’t have them.

I have enough trouble putting my dog on a leash. I think this is hurtful and embarrassing to a child. I most commonly see children on leashes at malls and amusement parks. People stare at these poor children and give them unneeded attention. How does this affect a child? Do they feel like they’re just being pulled and dragged around? Do they feel like their parents don’t care?

I know parents care, but it seems like the easy way out. It seems selfish to me, like the parent doesn’t want to give their full attention to their child. When I was younger, I had occasional nightmares about getting lost in the mall. I don’t think I ever got lost in real life, but I must have been worrying about it if it was in my dreams. Would a leash have made me more comfortable to be in crowded places? I don’t think so.

I think being on a leash may make a child scared of busy places. It is preparing a child for a traumatic experience. How will a child learn to pay attention to their parent and not run off? Again, I feel like this is taking the easy way out.