Woman suggests parents should leash three-year-old after she ran up to her dog, sparks debate

When children are in their toddler stage, they’re still learning to understand and communicate. At such a time, an adult must accompany them and ensure that they don’t get into danger or trouble. Though it is understood that kids at that age may not understand and may act impulsively, the question is how can this issue can be tackled. @Abortionchat, created by Lynne Schmidt, shared a post on Twitter sparking a debate when she had an encounter with a toddler while she was with her dog, Zoe. The woman mentioned that she was with her dog when a toddler approached Zoe out of the blue. Undoubtedly, it is not the best idea for a child to run up to an unknown dog.

The woman wrote, “Small child runs up to Zoë. I body block and say, “Maybe we don’t run up to dogs we don’t know.” The woman was simply trying to correct the child in the best way possible for her own safety. However, the post further mentioned that the parent seemed to have taken offense and said, “She’s three.” As a reply to this, the woman quickly said, “If she isn’t on voice recall, maybe she should be leashed?” Not just the parent, but over 2 million others had different reactions to the woman’s response. There was a debate on whether her response was fair in the given scenario. With over 2K tweets, several perspectives came into play.

While some parents called out the toddler’s parent for leaving their child to run up to a stranger’s dog, others called out the woman’s reply, deeming it harsh and unwanted. @Remy_Legal said, “How about 'Thank you for protecting my child and doing my job for me?'” @AngelOfTheOzark said, “Some very, very unkind people in these replies. Very eager to pass judgment. None of you know if the kid has any special needs, if the animal has a history of abuse or a multitude of other factors. Kids and dogs are both allowed to exist in society and maybe try giving grace."

In another comment, the woman mentioned that Zoe is a rescue and service dog and that her behavior may have been different compared to other pet dogs which was all the more a reason to be cautious. @ClickingSeason said, “If she’s a danger to children in public spaces, maybe she needs to be put down?” @reclusechris49 said, “You couldn’t have found a kinder way to respond? It was a teachable moment that you made ugly.” Others thought that the parent deserved the reality check as a reminder to teach their kid what’s safe and what isn’t.

@SpiceSuicide said, “As a parent of three kids, I agree. They know better than to just run up to someone’s dog. Even my autistic child whose hyper fixation is animals won’t run up to dogs, they will walk by and at cute dogs or if the dog has a vest on they’ll go, ‘Oh that dog is working.’” @TommylavinTST said, “'She's three' which means, pay better attention to your damn kid, or else next time a strange dog might bite her. They should be thanking you!” Others had vague yet related responses that added to the debate. @Arcticstar0 said, “As a leashed kid, I approve of this message. Even though I hated my leash, it was necessary. I ran off everywhere and anywhere to go to the next thing that caught my interest.”