Walking through the more expensive mall in my city, I stumble upon quite a scene.... A man standing next to the escalators, on his phone, facing away from the escalators, while he has his child on one of those leash things. The child is basically sitting at the top of the escalators, bound to do what children do. Where to start with all the things wrong with this picture? I understand that for some men, dealing with children is a bit difficult, but I can only imagine how difficult it is when you obviously do not care about your child at all! Putting your child on one of those ridiculous leashes is all but one hard yank from being child abuse, not to mention incredibly ridiculously stupid. This reminds me of the recurring scenes in Mallrats where Jason Lee keeps going off about the "kid on the escalator." Not only did this man pointlessly have his child attached to a leash, pf, but he wasn't even paying attention to his child. Is that why people have these leashes? So that they can have a false sense of security and think that as long as their child is attached to this leash, (I love that this is a leash...putting children on a leash..I laugh every time I type it, a leash... so sad), but if their child is attached to this leash, then basically their duties as the parental figure who is supposed to monitor their child, are taken care of... Leash = autopilot parent! Common sense...please!!! If you are going to embarrass yourself and your child by treating them like a dog, the least you could do is watch them like a child..... really?
On July 27, 1981, John Walsh's (host of America's Most Wanted) son Adam was abducted from a Sears department store at the Hollywood Mall, across from the Hollywood Police station. Sixteen days after the abduction, his severed head was found in a drainage canal more than 120 miles away from home. His other remains were never recovered.
ReplyDeleteI find this true story is very frightening. When I think of people using "the leash" on their child, I think of this story. Maybe the people using the leash think of it too. Better to have a "leash" than have an abducted child, in my opinion.
Actually, when I used to work at K-mart, part of their new hire orientation was to teach employees the emergency codes, and I remember that "Code Adam" is missing child.
I agree that the fear of having one's child abducted at anytime should definitely make parents more aware of their child when they are out and about, but at the same time, that is just simple common sense, children are curious. When you have a child and you take them to stores and such, then your first priority should be to protect them at all times, it's not that hard to hold your child's hand, use a stroller, or just pay attention to them period. I don't think that attaching your child to a leash is really necessary to be an effective parent. If someone can't control their child enough without having to restrain them, then maybe they should get a sitter when they leave the house?
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