That, and streets are deadly hellscapes over there a lot of the time. Driving laws are barely enforced and infrastructure is almost like it's intended to kill anyone who dares to exist outside a car.

It's fuckin wild. I used to manage a toys department in an American burger big box store in a small town so I saw some shit. It's either parents with kids on leashes or threatening them or hitting them in the aisle, my fellow Americans often treat their kids like shit, the image of the overindulgent parent isn't really what you see around. Kids get treated like this and grow up to be adults who don't break the cycle.

Your American mum bringing a leash over and using it on you somewhere in Europe 51 years ago hardly makes me wrong on all fronts.

In fairness, that's why I feel like getting a leash.

Plus the oldest is 13 and at least she's responsible enough for us to look away for a few minutes and she will still be there.

The last one wouldn't look both ways before crossing a street...

Oh completely 100% agreed, and neglect isn't the only form of child abuse going on but CPS has visited them plenty of times and interviewed all the kids and neighbors (before we moved in) over custody battles with some adopted ones. (they're all related, long story with too many identifying details but some parents died and all the children are cousins and siblings) so they at least aren't doing anything that CPS cares about.

But holy shit I have never wanted to curb stomp my sister in law a-la American History X more than when I went over one day and I could hear screaming halfway down the 1/4mi driveway, and when I walked in she was in the 6 year Olds face screaming at the top of her lungs about how she's tired of telling the 6 year old to put her shoes away, four of the kids were slowly doing chores in the living room and kitchen with tears running down their faces, and I could hear the 13 year old sobbing upstairs. Their mother screamed so hard and long that she burst a blood vessel in her eye and detached the retina. As usual though the moment she saw me she stopped and pretended like she wasn't doing anything.

Since then I've had my phone on record in my pocket whenever I'm coming over unannounced just in case I can catch it. Bare minimum it will be something to show the courts when one of the kids becomes a serial killer.

Their dad is no help, he's an enabler and honestly a broken shell of a person when it comes to his wife.

Grandparents are worse than parents.

My wife watches them whenever she can, and takes them on surprise day trips to get away from their parents and some of the siblings when possible but holy shit they do not make it easy to take them anywhere.

I don't regret marrying my wife but I can honestly say my in-laws are insane and anyone could understand why I hate them.

Uhhhhhhh what was the topic again? Sorry for the vent.

The leash was fine.

The choke chain really had an effect though.

I don't remember it at all. I have ADHD which may be related to why they got me a leash.

I'm more curious if they have a leash for the bedroom.

My autistic son would happily play in the park. Just once every few months he would decide that “now is the time to run” and just take off as fast as he could in a straight line. How would that play out in a busy street.

People can’t imagine that: so much of the time things are calm, straightforward to handle, but if EVER you let your guard down for a second at the wrong time, you’ll end up on the news as a “tragic story of grieving negligent parent.”

As you said, he's disabled. I have a trisomic uncle and I would've understood if he was put on a leash (he wasn't, he just listened to my grandpa, but not everyone has it so easy). I don't understand the need for it in other cases. I mean, two of my friends' kids are runners and all we do is just run with them and grab them when the time is done, they/we have never had any need for a leash. I'm sorry if people have harassed you about it though, I certainly wouldn't. I just voice my questions and opinions in voluntarily attended online spaces.

People having little patience for children is yet another example/consequence of social decay. Imagine being a grown adult and treating kids with anything but playful kindness...

I literally have never seen a kid on a leash IRL (I'm not American) nor heard anyone say "goddamn this kid is so hard to raise, lemme put him on a leash". Never seen a pic of my gramps on a leash, or a history book showing leashed kids. Through millennia kids have been properly raised without leashes. So, I ask again, is this not just another example of how incompetent people have gotten at being people in some areas of the world?

Just spitballing here, but I kinda wonder if modern tech isn't worsening children's impulse control. Having constant instant gratification surely has some negative effects on it.

Anecdotal evidence here, but my friends who are parents cut way back on how much tech time their kids got, and they said there was a huge improvement in their general behaviour.