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Parents and Guardians Forum>Too young to walk holding a rope?
Unregistered 08:16 PM 09-18-2015
Our 15 month old is at a daycare center at my work. I got a chance.to look out the window to try to see.him playing at the playground on campus. To get there, they have to walk across a road on campus leading to a parking lot. The teachers have the kids holding onto.a rope, but nobody is tied to the rope and they are not in harnesses, they just hold onto the rope. I was always a little weary of this, but I figured they know what they are doing because they have been great care providers. However, as I was watching, I saw my son drop the rope and bolt straight toward the road! A teacher did get to him right before he got there, so no harm done, but now I'm very worried about this practice. It seems fine for older kids that are 3 years old, but for a 15 month old who just started walking; Does that seem a bit unsafe to have them cross a road without even having their hand held? How old should they be before they are being walked just holding onto a rope?
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spedmommy4 08:24 PM 09-18-2015
New walkers are too young to use the rope. That is a lot of motor coordination to expect out of such a young child. - Hold the rope, walk, maintain a line, and follow directions on top of that. A stroller or buggy would be a much better choice. I would mention what you saw and your concerns to the director.
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Febby 08:54 PM 09-18-2015
Originally Posted by spedmommy4:
New walkers are too young to use the rope. That is a lot of motor coordination to expect out of such a young child. - Hold the rope, walk, maintain a line, and follow directions on top of that. A stroller or buggy would be a much better choice. I would mention what you saw and your concerns to the director.
Agree.

We'll use them within the center when we have to move ones or twos around the building, but if they do run off the rope (and sometimes they do), there's really nowhere for them to go. There's a front lobby and hallways full of locked doors. They can't reach the handles for the exterior doors.

We'll use them for the threes and fours outside. I would trust my current group without the rope, actually. School age is expected to be able to walk in a line without a rope.
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laundrymom 04:54 AM 09-19-2015
I agree. 15 mo is too young.
My goodness, some kids aren't even walking by then. I'm a home, not a center and my waking age is usually closer to three years old. Generally I put my youngest 6in the stroller and my oldest 4 walk holding onto straps I have secured onto the stroller. Every child is different, of course, and they have more staff, but I think that's too young.
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Heidi 06:13 AM 09-19-2015
Too young. I live in a rural area on a cul-de-sac, so I let mine pretty much go free when we're walking, but they're in the stroller or cart until about 2. Depends on the kiddo.

At the very least, a safety harness would be better. They are little back-pack animals that they could then attach with the strap to the rope. $10 or so at WM.
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