What do you think about child safety harnesses?  

I have never used them but I will say this last summer we went to a big amusement park and there were so many people and my son was very frustrated when he was walking that he had to hold my hand all the time. Which in a way I don't blame him. But there were just so many people that I was so afraid that it would be so easy to lose sight of him. So having been in that type of situation I can see why parents might decide to have one of these.

I don't believe I would ever be able to use one of these just because I just can't imagine taking my children with me somewhere that I would have to have a harness on them to keep them with me but I do see the point why others use them . If you want to go somewhere and have no choice but to take your child and you have a child that wanders off , it would be better to think that you had something to protect them and keep them close by you at all times because one mistake could lead into you never seeing your child again .
I am lucky as in the area I am in , there are not a lot of people so it is easy to keep an eye on one's children but in an area where there are thousands of people you could be taking a chance if you didn't have one of these protecting your child if you didn't have them in a stroller or were holding them .
For me I would prefer to use a stroller as I find it much more convinient .

I dont like harnesses on kids. I think they look like dogs being brought on a walk. Kids like to run around and I think parents have to be vigilant of them. My 2 never had them and I never lost any of my kids.

I will never forget the first time I saw this thing. It was several years ago,and at the time I thought it atrocious! Now, I believe the harness is a good thing. Isn't it funny how you perspective changes through the years?
I look at it this way: we are only human, we can not possibly keep our eyes on a million people at once. Any thing that can possibly make it safe in crowds for kids has my vote.

I actually have mixed feelings about them. Personally, I don't like to see children confined to a leash type device. But, I can see how parents of over-active children could use them to maintain control over the running around in a public place. I wish someone would come up with a different solution though. I will admit, I used one, once. It was about 23 years ago, and I had a very, very, active almost two year old. We (just her and I) were traveling across country, via bus and plane. In order for me to handle the bag, and her, I really had to use it in the airports and stations. And she really needed to be able to exercise her legs, and me be able to keep control over her. I hated using the darn thing though, and never used it again. It just felt wrong.

Well, I used to think it was rediculous that parents didn't TEACH their children to stay with them and that they were lazy parents. BUT . . . I have completely changed my way of thinking. Now days, I'd use one too. There are too many crazy people out there to take chances.
That's my 2 cents worth

before i had kids i thought oh those are horriable little things now that i have kids i think they are great lol. granted mine are 10 and 12 so i havent used one in a long time but i used something like it when they were small. the harness ones at taht time fastened in the front so my kids just took them off. so i always made sure they had belt loops on when we went somewhere where they would be walking and it was busy like the mall, amusment park etc. i used a dog leash. i fastened it to the belt loop on the very back of the pants and they could not get to it and away we went. i got some strange looks but i was able to give them freedom, didnt have anything aroudn the chest, kept up with them, they couldnt get it undone, and it worked. it was also cheaper lol.

I really dont know what I think about it as I have never seen it myself. They are not used in our community.
It would probably keep the children safer per say but is seems that it may also dehumanize them. I cant give an educated answer as I dont know enough about them

I think it is a great idea.. an old one but lost it's appeal I guess with all the rights kids must have now.. even the right to get terrible lost or abducted and frightened to death and even never seen again.

Don't think it cannot happen. For those ofyo who also wrote that they are a good idea, you know why!

I have seen kids here whos mother sits somewhere in the mall and the 6 year old girl is looking after the 2 ands 4 year old and the mother could care less that the 5 year old boy is playing on the escalator behind her and disturbing people trying to ride it and is totally oblivious to concerned people asking him where his parents are.
I also have see a small child,, maybe 3, caught by the back of hi coat collar on an escalator I ran to to becuase I heard the terrific screaming of terror from this baby and I ripped him out of his coat. When his patrents showed, the mother yelled and the father sacked him.

A harness is a great idea for conscientious parents but for the type I described, the parents would have to hold the rein on the harness,, er,, right?
Well THAT would be too much work!

I saw them used here and there but not much. I hope they are on the comeback though. A safe way to let your child walk by himself without having his arm upstretched all the time to reach your hand.

Well, you know I used to hate them, but now that I have a 3 yr old that can disappear in .3 milliseconds, I think they have their place. LOL Now, I do admit that I don't like to see them in a mall or Walmart...I think that you should be able to put your kid in a stroller or a buggy and be ok, but in a very crowded place like a street fair or something like that, it is ok with me. I still don't like the looks of them, but I do understand their use. LOL