Hellobee Boards

Hmmm...my LO is super independent like your LO but she is also pretty compliant. I wanted to prepare her to learn to walk holding our hand for her safety and bc we have a trip coming up in a few weeks and I don't want to have a battle at the airport during our layover (from WA to AL with layovers in TX)...it's a long flight so I want her to be able to walk during the layovers but not run away and get hurt/lost.

So, I do "practice walks" with her in our neighborhood. We live on a quiet street that ends in a cul de sac so no cars during the day except our neighbors. We walk from our house to the mailbox at the end of the street. At first it was so new to her so she willingly held my hand while she looked all around...But after a few weeks our walks weren't new to her and she wanted to walk by herself. If she won't hold my hand I tell her she needs to hold mama's hand and fortunately she is very compliant and will let me hold onto her hand again when she hears my "serious voice"...and sometimes it's just switching hands so she can be on the other side of me and she's ok holding my hand. I think this is good practice for her so she knows that when she walks around outside the house, she is supposed to hold my hand.

So far so good (*knocks on wood*) but if for some reason she refused or if she threw a tantrum I would tell her she has to hold mama's hand or we are going home and if she refused I would pick her up and carry her home. My LO LOVES being outside so I'm sure this would quickly teach her that not holding my hand means the walk ends and she can't be outside. My approach to parenting is to be consistent and teach your LO what you expect in a safe setting (not overwhelming or chaotic) and they are usually able to learn what behavior is acceptable very quickly. It's not fair to expect them to behave perfectly in a certain setting if they've never been shown what is expected of them. Just my thoughts