Dad refuses to be shamed for putting reins on his 'wild child' 3-year-old

Clint Edwards, who writes the blog No Idea What I’m Doing, took to Facebook to share a pic of his 3-year-old daughter Aspen wearing a reins backpack.

The photo shows his little girl walking alongside him happily, snack in hand, while he holds on to the rein.

And, he says, he refuses to feel shamed because of it, even though he notes he feels judged by strangers when the 'leash' is out.

Here’s his post in full:

"We were at the farmers' market. No shame. I put this kid on a leash.

"She's a wild child, and this thing has already kept her out of the road and from sticking her hand in an ice-cream machine, along with keeping me sane.

"The real difficulty with having a wild child is that you are damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

"Because the fact is, if I didn’t put Aspen on a leash while at amusement parks, the zoo, a crowded mall, or the farmers market, she’d be the lost child announced over the intercom.

"She’d be the kid popping up in every Facebook feed for wandering into a shopping centre parking lot, unattended. She could be the child climbing into the tiger cage.

"Because I can't, for the life of me, keep her from moving. Her curiosity is incredible, and for only having a 12-inch stride, she moves faster than any Olympian.

"And sure, I get dirty looks from strangers. In fact, I'll probably get some "I'm the perfect parent and this is why you suck" comments on this post.

"And to you I say this, "I'm keeping this kid safe while maintaining my piece of mind, and that is 100% worth it.”

"Because the reality is she'll calm down. She'll figure it out, because all kids do. But until that day comes, I'm going to do whatever I can to keep her out of danger, even if it means a leash."

???

Well, we definitely 100% agree that this dad should not feel any judgment or shame for making this decision ?

But we do know that reins can be a pretty divisive topic, and they're simply not for everyone.

Though one of our MFM team says that once you’ve had a ‘wild child’ of your own (i.e. one that seems to run everywhere and disappears from sight in the blink of an eye) - you’ll know that sometimes, you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do ?

So, what do you reckon? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments below…

Images: Facebook/Clint Edwards

Read more:

• Why I've changed my mind about child reins
• MFM forum: talking about reins
• 5 of the world's most embarrassing dads