'Not ashamed': Mother justifies why she leashed her toddler son in New York city

An Indian mom of two has spoken back at critics on the internet after her child wearing a leash on a family vacation to New York City was filmed. Shubhangi Jagota, a Canadian-based Indian woman, posted a video of her 3.5-year-old son running and jumping in Times Square, securely attached to his dad by a child leash.

She wrote in her caption, “He’s 3.5 and we’re not ashamed to say we put him on a leash. In a city like New York, this was hands-down the best decision for our trip. Our little runner always wants his freedom, and this gave him just that—without giving us a heart attack every 5 minutes. He got to explore without holding hands every second. We got peace of mind knowing he wasn’t getting lost or—let’s be real—stolen. The best part? He thought we were on the leash. He called himself the sheriff and us his captives. Honestly, everyone was winning. We ordered a set of 2 —one 8.2 ft and one 4.92 ft. We used the longer one for NYC and it worked out perfectly.”

Jagota said that the leash enabled their energetic toddler to experience the city while remaining close enough to be safe without the hassle of holding hands all the time or worrying about him getting away. "He got to have his hands-free adventure. We got reassurance he wasn't getting lost or—let's be real—kidnapped. The bonus? He thought we were on the leash. He deemed himself the sheriff and us captives. Honestly, everyone won," she continued.

The mother said that she used two varieties of leashes, a shorter one in populated areas and a longer one in open areas, to strike a balance between freedom and safety. The comments on the video were disabled, apparently to avoid any backlash.

Though safety harnesses are common at venues such as theme parks, airports, shopping centers, and festivals, the trend has been widely criticised on social media as "inhumane" or "lazy parenting." Nonetheless, parents of toddlers, particularly those with more than one children, frequently come to the defense of the device as a useful safety tool, especially at non-familiar or busy venues.