this post was submitted on 22 May 2025
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Showerthoughts
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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:
- Both “200” and “160” are 2 minutes in microwave math
- When you’re a kid, you don’t realize you’re also watching your mom and dad grow up.
- More dreams have been destroyed by alarm clocks than anything else
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Children aren't pets.
Pets aren't children
Putting someone to a leash is degrading for humans. I know that there are exceptions, but If you are putting children on a leash, you are mostly seen as a bad parent and probably you are. Also: dogs are on a leash mostly for safety reasons for others.
100% you aren't a parent.
I've never put a leash on my kid because I didn't frequent extremely busy crowds. But leashes are great for kids. It gives them the feeling of self autonomy to explore, while keeping them safe.
Anyone who says they're bad has never experienced turning your back for 0.68 seconds and then realizing your kid is already gone off somewhere. They are fast.
Again, it's humiliating for children. Children are Not animals, and as parent it's you fucking job to Look after your offspring. A leash will not Help you, when you are on the phone and the children runs into danger.
Also i know that they are fast. I have two of them, one of them running like hell ;)
A two year old doesn't get embarrassed.
Parents get tired. In fact, most parents have chronic levels of sleep deprivation which impairs things like concentration, reflexes, ability to pay attention, etc. Then you have parents who might be working multiple jobs, be dealing with health issues that affect sleep, etc. A leash would make that job to keep kids safe much easier.
And I'm not sure how it works in your mind. No leash equals the parent keeping the kid safe, even though not every situation can allow a parent to keep 100% focus on the child, but using a leash the parent suddenly isn't paying attention?
How do you think that works?
Should a parent not give the kid a helmet when learning to ride a bike then also? Does using a helmet mean the parent isn't keeping the kid safe?
I'd like to know your thoughts on not utilizing safety equipment with children. I'm very curious.
Do you.... do you not understand how a leash works?
Edit: grammar
Edit 2: Ok, I just don't understand this. I cannot fathom that someone would criticize a thing that objectively and provably make life in the world safer for children. All on the simple objection that it's "embarrassing" for a person at an age that doesn't get embarrassed.
There are countless stories of children just walking away in the 3 to 5 seconds a parent looks away where the child falls off a height, falls into water (not every parent can swim, and not all waters are swimable), gets picked up by a stranger in a crowd, etc. Situations that a leash would 100% have saved the child's life.
Think about that, you're criticising and telling people to NOT use something that saves children's lives, but not using it doesn't save lives.
You are berating parents and potential parents from using something that might one day save the life of their child.
What the hell is wrong with you?
That’s your opinion. I was a leashed child at one point in my life and I don’t care at all. It was pre cell phones so that argument doesn’t work either. It’s not about the parent not wanting to deal with their kid, it’s about them not wanting the kid to bother other people and to prevent toddlers from running off in large crowds.
The age group of children that gets put on leashes doesn't have the brain development to feel shame or humiliation. Their brains have literally not developed the cortex that does that yet.
From the age of about 2 to 4, my Dad made a harness out of climbing webbing for me and clipped the leash to a carabineer on his belt when we were out and about. We were constantly going to places like Haight St in San Francisco and hiking on the sea cliffs in Santa Cruz. I 100% would have gotten myself killed without that leash because I was very curious about the fishies in the ocean at the bottom of that 50-100ft high cliff, and my Dad was wrangling me and my sibling by himself while Mom was at work.
I'm pretty sure there's a picture somewhere of me leaning over a cliff being held back by the leash because I was a rambunctious little gremlin that was about 20 years off from having a fully developed frontal lobe. And I want to find that picture and share it with my friends because I think it's hilarious.
Not a parent.
Of course it will help in that case. It's literally what it's there for. Also, the age where you can get away with leashing your kids is also the age where they aren't forming a ton of memories or where they have no social context to be embarrassed. They may be embarrassed when they're older, but that's just life.
Stop inflicting your feelings into random children.
You've got two huh.
Hey everyone check out this parenting expert over here! They've raised two kids 😲
That's basically 100% of human behavior, so yeah. Wow. Leashes? Can't fathom a situation that would warrant it. You're right. Everyone who has ever used a leash is correcting for a problem you're very experienced in, and found a better way for. After all, you have two kids.
I've met too many people like this.
Your kid is having an issue with something? "Well my kids never did that!" But said in a snide way that implies you're doing something wrong.
I never Made my Point about, that i have children. It was only to answer the post before that i "100% don't have children". It really doesn't Matter If you have children or not
You either: Lied about having kids
Or
Are a bad parent.
I don't care which it is, Im just letting you know that you've made this much clearer than you realize.
What the fuck you are talking about?
My vote is that you're lying about being a parent. But if you are a parent, then you're letting social pressures and some very strange and warped perception of things limit what you do as a parent to protect your kids.
I won't outright say that it makes you a "bad" parent, but I personally cannot fathom not taking every step I can to protect my child. And no, a leash doesn't limit their development. It factually promotes it on the very basis that it allows them to be more active in walking around and exploring in situations where it would be unthinkable to let a child walk around (heights, dangerous areas, on a boat, large dense crowds, etc.).
Being stuck in a stroller 99% of the time is awful for kids that want to run around and explore. Some parents don't have the physical strength or ability to carry a kid all the time.
Twins or even triplets that are very active and wild are a perfect example. You will never contain two very wild toddlers by just "watching them". And if you try, you are a bad parent.
Ultimately you choose a very dumb him to die on. You are wrong.
Oh No, someone is not my opinion, i start to doubt everything He/she says and put something in his/her mouth that never was said.
Nice one.
So to clear things:
I said
So, please stop accusing me things i've never written and never did and leash your children.
Tagged as 'bad parent'
Your posting style reeks of troll behavior. I'll be sure to interact with you less. 🥂
I find it very interesting that you have absolutely equated a leash with a pet and with degradation.
I have a cat, he's not on a leash. Is he my child now? Or does that just mean he's *not" my pet?
That's not entirely true. For example, dogs don't understand traffic and that running across a street is dangerous (well, most dogs. Some dogs are just very smart). Keeping them on a leash minimizes the chance that it darts across the street because it sees something it wants to get. The owner put the dog on a leash because they understand that doing so will keep the dog safe from injury. The owner recognizes that the dog doesn't understand the dangers involved.
An infant also doesn't understand (can't understand) the dangers. Putting them on a leash protects them from that danger. But it also helps the child develop independence, helps them exercise, helps them learn to walk better, helps their mental development from being able to explore and interact with the world.
Compared to just being carried or stuck in a stroller, which is ultimately boring and doesn't help at all with the motor skills, and is far less impactful with mental development as they can only observe and not interact with.