While living in Los Angeles my husband and I frequented many of the
popular tourist attractions with my toddler son. One sunny Southern
California afternoon we went to one of our favorite places with lots of
restaurants and shops. There are so many things to see and lights
and activities so our son is quite entertained. As usual it was very
crowded which is challenging with a toddler. He of course did not
want to stay in his stroller and I, quite frankly wanted him out and about
enjoying the day and not strapped to a chair with wheels. So my
husband and I would follow him and take his hand and then he would break
free to investigate some colorful something and we would follow. It
was exhausting and a bit stressful at times but we only had one
then. I had seen several people especially from other countries with
kids on tethers or "leashes" and thought "that's not a bad
idea." My heart stopped several times when my son was out of
site for a moment in the crowd but then I would spot him and everything
was fine.
| Well that evening when we arrived home
there was a story on the news about an attempted abduction of a
toddler at the same location we were at that day! I was
stunned! Riveted, my jaw dropped and I could not take my eyes
off of the television as they played surveillance video from the
place I had just been with my son.
I was shocked to see how easy it was. An unsuspecting
parent let go of their child for a moment, right next to them and a
woman walked up and gently took the child's hand and started to walk
away. The child said nothing and went along. It was
horrifying. Luckily a relative saw and screamed so the
woman ran off and the child was safe. |
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Well that was it. I stood in front of the TV in shock and said,
"that's it! My child is going to be attached to me!"
I went in search of a harness that would suit my needs and found
nothing that would keep my child attached to me even if I needed to use my
hands for a moment and looked fashionable. I wanted it to blend in
with my sons wardrobe and not stick out like a sore thumb, as they
say. I also did not want it to look like a toy. No cartoons or
crayon colors, unless they come into fashion. We do research
trends. So when I could not find what I required I went to work to
design it.
I have a long history in design. I started sewing as a kid and
designed gowns while in high school. I went to Kent State University
where I was the assistant to the Fashion Design School Teachers and ran
the design lab. I helped open the Shannon Rodgers and Jerry
Silverman Fashion Museum.
Once I had perfected my Tommi Guard I started using it all over Los
Angeles and was stopped everywhere. "Where did you get
that?" "I need one of those." and "I'll
buy that off of you." was what I heard. and then the
ultimate ladies, my husband turned to me and said, "you're on to
something." No kidding, Honey.
Customer comments.
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