Raising children these days requires parents to take more initiatives. Young parents not only have to hear opinions from family members but also have to put up with random users on the internet commenting on their parenting methods.
Jordan Driskell is a young father of five quintuplets. His quintuplets happen to be 5 years old. As you can see, caring about 5 children who are the same age can be quite difficult. Especially at 5-years-old when a child is curious and likes to explore.
The father of 5 made a decision to find a creative solution to control his children. He bought leashes meant for children to control his rambunctious little kids when they are in public together.
In the past, Driskell bought a 6-seat stroller that they used for his children. However, that grew tiresome very quickly because the kids would be bothered when inside it. The stroller was also inconvenient to take anywhere.
After Driskell had posted a video of the family’s outing to the aquarium on Instagram, he received a lot of negative feedback directed towards the parent’s method. The video of the kids on leashes went viral with over 3 million views. Hundreds of people commented about how the children were not animals and hence should not have been leashed.
Others commented, “If you can’t manage the pressure, don’t have so many kids.” Others offered disdain masked as advice, “Can’t you just properly train your children?” Discuss to them why fleeing is risky.”
Besides, Dr. Deborah Gilboa, an expert in parenting and adolescent development had a different opinion. She does not think a leash will make your child think they are an animal. And if the alternative to a leash is to stay at home, then of course, the leash is a much better option!
According to Dr. Gilboa, a leash is a great tool for younger children or neuro-diverse children to be controlled in a public environment. However, she said that if a neurotypical child is not off a leash by the age of eight and nine, and hence has not developed their listening skills, that might be troublesome.
In conclusion, parents should be able to effectively communicate with children verbally instead of relying on tools like leashes. Additionally, parents should have the freedom to parent the way they want without facing unnecessary judgment from society.
