Photo: @amyepeters via Instagram
The time Lindsay MacKenzie?s three-year-old son, Haiden, bolted in front of a pickup truck was easily the worst moment she?s had as a parent. ?I?m so lucky the driver saw him just in time,? says MacKenzie. ?I was in tears.?
While toddlers can also be runners, they can?t go very fast or get very far. But three- and four-year-olds who like to make a run for it can be down the street in a flash.
Their reasons for dashing off are likely to be different, too. Running is a new skill for toddlers, and they may want to practise it. For preschoolers, however, ?running away might be one way of taking initiative, of exerting their independence,? explains Beth Stockton, an early childhood educator and a professor at George Brown College in Toronto. Given that they?re too old for a harness, how do you prevent this frustrating behaviour"
1. Be ready for it

You know your kid and whether she?s prone to darting off. ?Maybe there are certain situations you need to avoid for a little while, to minimize your stress,? says Stockton. If leaving your kid with someone while you run errands isn?t an option, you can take other precautions, such as unloading the car first and then unbuckling your child from the car seat, so they go straight into the stroller or into the house while holding your hand.
MacKenzie, for one, keeps Haiden in his stroller more often than she?d prefer because she?s afraid he will run.
2. Distract and engage

When three-year-old Miles* ...