A woman in South Carolina had one of her videos on social media go viral due to her using a toddler leash for her son. Rather than be left in peace to enjoy their day, it got a lot of heads turning, quietly admonishing her on her parenting.
TikTok user Kay (TikTok/Kay_20.20) shared the video herself, where she and her son were walking out on the boardwalk at the North Myrtle Beach. Clearly enjoying the scenery, Kay’s son runs ahead of her but not too far. In the video, a teal leash extends from Kay to her toddler, where a soft strap is secured to his wrist. As fast as he wanted to be, he couldn’t go very far.
“I really get tired of pushing a stroller, so I just do what works for a busy, fast toddler,” Kay wrote in the caption of her TikTok video, and recommends others get one, too. However, Kay notes in her video that people were staring.
“I’m a single mom and I gotta do what’s best for me and mine,” Kay says and swats away the haters. Instead of letting gawkers change her mind, she says she’ll keep doing it, despite how it looks. Her son is obviously a ‘runner’ after all.
Surprisingly, the toddler leash actually gets a nearby man to ask Kay, “Where’d you get that strap-on?” He sounded amused, but that’s speculation as the video ended before Kay gave a response. Given how people reacted in the comments, the man likely has kids of his own.
How People Online Reacted to Kay’s Use of a Toddler Leash
Unlike Kay’s uncomfortable experience on the boardwalk, people online, specifically TikTok, were mostly in support of her parenting. Many were quick to point out how fast kids can suddenly disappear due to distractions. “He’s proving your point in real time,” one commenter wrote.
Other parents left comments too, sharing their experience using toddler leashes. “My two-year-old is a runner,” one parent wrote, adding they’ve used it while visiting zoos and amusement parks.
Some viewers brushed the hate aside and praised Kay for her choice. “I will NEVER judge a child on a leash. He’s on there for a reason,” one viewer wrote. “I don’t care what they think. You are a smart, great mom,” another said.
One commenter offered Kay a suggestion. Rather than use a toddler leash that straps to their wrist, but rather the backpack models. “Backpack leash draws less attention,” they wrote. Those often use cute designs in order to be less conspicuous, in addition to clipping across their chest for security.
Although toddler leashes seem silly in the moment, the general consensus on Kay’s TikTok video was that it’s better to be safe than sorry. Who cares what it looks like if it means minimizing the odds of an accident, right?
