David (@ Third World County) always has nice comments for me and I love his posts about the fair tax. I have to talk about his post, entitled Child-raising 101, as it is both hilarious and sad. He saw a mother at the post office with her young child harnessed on a leash, and recommended as a joke that “this book, Teach Your Dog 100 English Words, should be used as a ready reference by every parent of a young child who wants to have their children grow up to be civilized human beings but doesn’t want to stifle their creativity, initiative or personality.”

My first reaction was to laugh, as I have been occasionally guilty of yelling at the little one to SIT AND STAY….. but then I can’t really imagine leashing him though, I guess I understand it if a) you are at a busy amusement park with tons of people or b) you have so many children you don’t have enough hands for them all. With just one, however, I think it’s much better to just teach him to hold my hand and stay put (perhaps this is where the whole child vs. dog thing comes in, eh?).

Of course, you say, nobody would treat their children like their dog - but I’ve seen some scary examples of just that, not just about the harnesses (if you must use one, don’t use it to drag your child along, use a stroller, my goodness) but also bribing with food, barking out commands, etc etc. On the whole, treat your child as you would want to be treated, even my little guy responds best to being treated with respect at less than two years of age.

What do you think - are leashes and all this just part of the necessary baby items, or a sad reminder of the demise of society?