Tidal braking (sometimes called tidal friction) has long been used as an argument for recent creation, and it remains so. However, this argument often is accompanied by the claim that the addition of leap seconds to bring Universal Time into synchronization with time measured in Greenwich is direct evidence of tidal braking. But this overlooks two important points. First, there are far more factors than tidal braking involved in the earth's changing rotation period. In this paper, I discuss the other factors showing that the picture is far more complicated than many recent creationists realize. The other factors are periodic sometimes slowing the earth's rotation and sometimes increasing the earth's rotation. However, the secular (non-periodic) change due to tidal braking always slows the earth's rotation. Second, the true reason that leap seconds occasionally have been inserted over the past half century has little to do with tidal braking. More important is that the definition of the second adopted and modified since the early twentieth century is based upon the earth's motion in 1900, which subtly incorporates a time when the earth's rotation was near its fastest rate over the past two centuries. Therefore, it is best that recent creationists cease citing the addition of leap seconds as evidence of the earth's slowing rotation.