Travis Kelce told the New Heights audience he was a leash kid (Image via Getty Images)
“She eventually got pissed and sick of us getting lost, and she put me in a … leash.
“I was a leash kid, yeah,” he said. The “leash” was really a safety harness. Travis told it as a joke, but the setup was practical.
Travis Kelce was the kind of toddler who could not stay put, and his mother Donna had a fix. Talking with his brother Jason on the New Heights podcast, the Chiefs tight end laughed about it. Travis started walking at eight months old and kept bolting. Donna used the harness for about six months, mostly at busy outings and festivals. She had a reason. Jason had once wandered off at a county fair, and a police officer had to bring him back. The story came up in an October episode of New Heights. He was walking at eight months old. Most babies take their first steps closer to a year, so Donna had a baby with a head start and no sense of where to stop.
Travis, of course, called it a leash. That word is funnier than harness, and it gave the podcast segment its hook. The early walking also fits the player he became. A tight end needs quick feet and a lot of motor. Travis was already moving before his first birthday.