These days, it can be hard to raise kids on your own. Not only do young parents have to deal with family members’ views, but also comments from strangers on the internet about how they raise their children.
Jordan Driskell is a young dad to five sets of five children. His five children are now five years old. As you might guess, it can be hard to take care of five kids the same age. Even more so when a child is 5 years old and still likes to explore.
Jordan Driskell, a dad of three years, chose to think outside the box to solve his problem. He bought leashes made for kids so that he can keep his energetic little kids in line when they’re out in public.
Driskell used to have a pram with six seats for their big family. But that got old very quickly because the kids were worried when they were in it. Another problem was that the pram was very hard to move around.
This way, when the family goes out, the little kids can run around and explore without their dad losing sight of them or control, which keeps them safe.
Driskell shared a video of his family’s trip to the aquarium, which got a lot of negative comments from people who saw it. Over 3 million people watched the video of the kids on leashes. A lot of people said that the kids weren’t animals and shouldn’t have been on a leash because of that.
“Don’t have so many kids if you can’t handle the stress,” said some others.
Others looked down their noses at them and said, “Can’t you just properly train your kids?” Talk to them about why running away is dangerous.
Dr. Deborah Gilboa, who studies parenting and teen growth, had a different view. She doesn’t believe that a leash will make your kid feel like an animal. So, if staying home is the only other choice, then, of course, the leash is the better choice!
Dr. Gilboa said that a leash is a great way to keep younger kids or kids with neurodiversity under control in public places. As for neurotypical kids not being able to run free by eight or nine years old and not having learned how to listen, she said that could be a problem.
By then, parents shouldn’t need things like leashes to talk to their kids; they should be able to do it just by talking.
Parents should be able to raise their kids however they want without having to worry about what other people will think.
What do you think about kids walking around with leashes on? Write your answer in the box below. Get your family and friends to read this and let you know what they think!