I spent my Saturday afternoon playing 'Little Big Planet' on PS3 while hubby web surfing beside me.
During the surfing, he read an article from Kosmo, about usage of harness in young children. In the article, most experts asked rejects the use of harness in children as they damper their growth.
I started using harness on Eya since she started walking, which is almost 3 years ago. I knew about harness while I was staying in the UK. Most parents there will strap their young children with harness when they go out in public. At first, it was quite a shock to me but I thought the idea was great as you can easily know your children whereabouts compared to releasing them, and when they are not in your sight, you call out for them.
So, when Eya started walking, I searched high and low for the harness. It was not available in any children store, so I had to search for it quite some time before I managed to find it. It was from Taiwan and it cost around RM30-40, I really forgot the price of it.
As Eya was quite young at that time, it was not that hard to strap her with the harness. I still remember using it on her during our trip to Ipoh Parade. Almost everyone keep saying bad words to us, and looked to us like we are harming our little girl. Even a young kid (I still remember until today what she said) said to me, 'Macam bawak anjing' (like taking a dog). Not just her, a few aunts and people around my age stop and giving rude comments to us. For me, I didn't give a damn on what people think as long as I know my baby was safe with me.
Just imagine if I let her loose, without any strap. She will wander aimlessly on her own and if I couldn't keep up with her, she will be lost, just like that kid that got lost in Sogo. With that strap on her, I had a feeling of relief that she is with me all the time. Eya loves to hide behind clothes rack and wander into shops, so sometimes its hard for us to find her. So, using the harness, we knew she is just beside us.
Using the harness, you could not simply pull her anyway that you like. She may fall down, so the harness is just a tool that keep your child with you.
When she almost 3 years old, I bought another type of harness, more suitable for her age, which was a wrist harness. Instead of strapping the harness at her back, the wrist harness, was strapped at her wrist. It still has the same concept, but it was less restraining to her.
Until now, I don't think people still accept the usage of harness as they equate it to restraining an animal. As for me and hubby, we like to know that our daughter is with us safely, so we don't really care what the public thinks when we put the harness on her.
Now, just a few days before Eya turns 4, we had stop using the harness. Now, for every visit to the mall, we will put her in shopping trolley (if available) and sometimes, hold her hand. But without the harness, we still worry about losing her in the crowd of people.
