To leash or not to leash, that is the question.
Raising a child is not easy, it’s certainly not a cakewalk. Walking with multiple children can be downright chaotic.
Jordan Driskell, 31, is a dad who knows the chaos all too well. He is helping to raise five children who are 5-year-old quintuplets.
Recently Driskell took a whole lot of shade on social media for walking his children while they were on a leash. Without this mechanism, a normal shopping trip can turn into a frantic meltdown.
This father used to be able to take little Zoey, Dakota, Hollyn, Asher, and Gavin out in a 6-seat stroller, but they are growing up and they prefer to walk. And besides, can you imagine just hauling that stroller around and pushing it up and down aisles?
This father decided to keep them in front of his eyes at all times by using a child leash. This keeps all of them from wandering off, and he says that the kids love it.
Not long ago, he posted a video online of the five children on a leash during a day’s walk to an aquarium. The clip has now gone viral with over three million views and counting.
Most of the comments were making a mockery of this dad for using the leash.
“They are humans, not dogs,” one person commented. “Can’t you just properly train your children?” Discuss to them why fleeing is risky,” another added.
“If you can’t manage the pressure, don’t have so many kids,” someone posted.
“That’s a disaster. If you can’t handle that many kids, don’t get kids at all,” another person stated.
Amid all this judgment online, Dr. Deborah Gilboa entered into the fray. She is an expert in parenting and an adolescent development specialist.
She called the leash an inventive issue solution. She said it’s not treating the children like animals, it’s parents simply finding a way to cope and it is better than just keeping all the children at home.
What do you think? To leash or not to leash?
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