Witnessed shocking event & got me wondering about DCL policy on biting

[Lorilais_mommie]

What happen today...
(Sunday) we went to Costco.. Crowds were not to bad, & we got in the check out line.
There were 3 adults in front of us that had 4 childern. (2little girls in the cart &2 older boys running around Age 8 or 9 )
This is not uncommon, kids run around all the time in our costco.. (Mine don't, Just how I was raised. You don't goof off while mom is shopping)

As one of the adults ahead of us is checking out, one is standing there eating popcorn, the other is watching the Costco employee load the cart. In other words no one is watching the kids. As my DH was unloaded the cart The oldest boy from in front of us went running around again.

All the sudden from the check out line NEXT to us a father of two 3 month olds yelled at the top of his lungs. "THAT BOY BIT MY KID!" I look over to see the boy running away and the baby's foot DRIPPING BLOOD! The baby's father picks up the baby & I could see multiple bite marks. My mouth dropped to the floor! :scream:
What was worse is The three adults in front of us stood there attempting to finish checking out, While 3 Costco employees come over to try & corral the boy.
Costco then called EMTs services. And When the mother of the boy finally identified herself, She then refused to give her name and contact info.
The cashier then voided her transaction, and handed her Costco card to store manager. Both parties were than escorted out of the check out line until EMTs arrived.

I don't know which shocked me more..
A 8-9 year old boy biting a complete strangers 3 mo. Old!
Or the adults trying to finish checking out like nothing is going on!


After just being stunned most of the afternoon DH asks me,

1.what would happen if DD(3) or DD(8) got bit on our up coming cruise?

2. Does age matter? 3-4 vs. 9,10,11

3. What if one is bit so bad it draws blood?

I didn't know the answers but I'm sure my Disboards will..
Both DH and I are now a little nervous about letting our new turned 3 yo enter the kids clubs with the older children.

 

[MAJPLO]

Omg. Shocking. Wow. Glad to hear Costco being supportive. How exactly do you enforce the dont mess with mom shopping thing?

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

Omg. Shocking. Wow. Glad to hear Costco being supportive. How exactly do you enforce the dont mess with mom shopping thing?

I have no problem walking right out of any store if my children can not behave. (Which I have only ever had to do twice)
My children view shopping with me as a privilege..
If I cant go to store to buy food cuz they won't listen, We eat what's in the house.
Which is normally can veggies & plain pasta. (This is not something my kids enjoy eating) The next day I asked them if they want to eat that again or behave in the store?
I remember fully when I was about 6
Not only did my mother walk me out of the store. she also found the nearest employee to hand her full cart to and had me explain why we were leaving. I never acted up in a store again!


I just also want to say..
I try to keep our shopping trips to 30-40min at most..
And have the children help me get things of my list. We treat it like a treasure hunt..
If I need milk, 1st one to see the milk gets point.. If they can remember what kind we get they get another..
My 3 yo loves this!

Costco is their favorite store.. I have many non- everyday things on my list. Like dish soap or trash bags.
And normally that means pizza for dinner.
Also the staff are wonderful (disney quality).. Many of them know us by name, we are in there so much!

 

[kmedina]

What happen today...
(Sunday) we went to Costco.. Crowds were not to bad, & we got in the check out line.
There were 3 adults in front of us that had 4 childern. (2little girls in the cart &2 older boys running around Age 8 or 9 )
This is not uncommon, kids run around all the time in our costco.. (Mine don't, Just how I was raised. You don't goof off while mom is shopping)

As one of the adults ahead of us is checking out, one is standing there eating popcorn, the other is watching the Costco employee load the cart. In other words no one is watching the kids. As my DH was unloaded the cart The oldest boy from in front of us went running around again.

All the sudden from the check out line NEXT to us a father of two 3 month olds yelled at the top of his lungs. "THAT BOY BIT MY KID!" I look over to see the boy running away and the baby's foot DRIPPING BLOOD! The baby's father picks up the baby & I could see multiple bite marks. My mouth dropped to the floor! :scream:
What was worse is The three adults in front of us stood there attempting to finish checking out, While 3 Costco employees come over to try & corral the boy.
Costco then called EMTs services. And When the mother of the boy finally identified herself, She then refused to give her name and contact info.
The cashier then voided her transaction, and handed her Costco card to store manager. Both parties were than escorted out of the check out line until EMTs arrived.

I don't know which shocked me more..
A 8-9 year old boy biting a complete strangers 3 mo. Old!
Or the adults trying to finish checking out like nothing is going on!


After just being stunned most of the afternoon DH asks me,

1.what would happen if DD(3) or DD(8) got bit on our up coming cruise?

2. Does age matter? 3-4 vs. 9,10,11

3. What if one is bit so bad it draws blood?

I didn't know the answers but I'm sure my Disboards will..
Both DH and I are now a little nervous about letting our new turned 3 yo enter the kids clubs with the older children.

If they had her Costco card, they had her name or at least her husband's name and all of the contact information right there (assuming they were using their own card).

 

[xlxo]

I would assume it would be treated as an assault. But as they are minor, laws are useless. Then again, in international waters..... one can get creative.

The Art of the Theme Show Ship Tour didn't show captain hook's brig, nor did I see any plank, nor any provision for keel hauling.

 

[ctnurse]

An 8 or 9 year old child biting is ridiculous. It is normal for toddlers to bite, but it is our job as parents to correct that behavior, and for an older child to still be biting is unacceptable.
Was he a SN child? I am not trying to start a debate, but that could be a reason, but I would think the parents would be paying close attention to a SN child.

 

[for my family]

What happen today...
(Sunday) we went to Costco.. Crowds were not to bad, & we got in the check out line.
There were 3 adults in front of us that had 4 childern. (2little girls in the cart &2 older boys running around Age 8 or 9 )
This is not uncommon, kids run around all the time in our costco.. (Mine don't, Just how I was raised. You don't goof off while mom is shopping)

As one of the adults ahead of us is checking out, one is standing there eating popcorn, the other is watching the Costco employee load the cart. In other words no one is watching the kids. As my DH was unloaded the cart The oldest boy from in front of us went running around again.

All the sudden from the check out line NEXT to us a father of two 3 month olds yelled at the top of his lungs. "THAT BOY BIT MY KID!" I look over to see the boy running away and the baby's foot DRIPPING BLOOD! The baby's father picks up the baby & I could see multiple bite marks. My mouth dropped to the floor! :scream:
What was worse is The three adults in front of us stood there attempting to finish checking out, While 3 Costco employees come over to try & corral the boy.
Costco then called EMTs services. And When the mother of the boy finally identified herself, She then refused to give her name and contact info.
The cashier then voided her transaction, and handed her Costco card to store manager. Both parties were than escorted out of the check out line until EMTs arrived.

I don't know which shocked me more..
A 8-9 year old boy biting a complete strangers 3 mo. Old!
Or the adults trying to finish checking out like nothing is going on!


After just being stunned most of the afternoon DH asks me,

1.what would happen if DD(3) or DD(8) got bit on our up coming cruise?

2. Does age matter? 3-4 vs. 9,10,11

3. What if one is bit so bad it draws blood?

I didn't know the answers but I'm sure my Disboards will..
Both DH and I are now a little nervous about letting our new turned 3 yo enter the kids clubs with the older children.

Wow that is horrible! Thanks for sharing your story. I don't know what DCL's policy on biting is. Perhaps you should ask them. Hopefully, no one, regardless of age, will bite your child, or anyone else in your party, while you are on the cruise.

 

[Melissa S]

I don't know the official policy, but my child was bitten at preschool. They basically said because the other child was a minor they had protect their identity (my child was 3 so she told me who it was). They cleaned the area where she was bitten and we were notified. The biter went on to bite several children until the parents were called in and the child stopped. My guess is nothing would happen aside from your child being cleaned and the CMs trying to separate them. You basically sign your life away in the cruise contract.

 

[wcw57]

while I don't condone biting....really, outside of all those teenage vamp shows, who does?....

this thread seems a little .....ummmmm...,.reaching.

I mean, you could take ANY world/home town news event and play the WHAT IF THIS HAPPENED ON THE CRUISE game....

lets not worry about things which may never occur and theorize on possible outcomes....


relax.

it's a vacation.

 

[lorenni]

while I don't condone biting....really, outside of all those teenage vamp shows, who does?....

this thread seems a little .....ummmmm...,.reaching.

I mean, you could take ANY world/home town news event and play the WHAT IF THIS HAPPENED ON THE CRUISE game....

lets not worry about things which may never occur and theorize on possible outcomes....


relax.

it's a vacation.

I agree. OP, it seems far more likely your child will be bitten at Costco!

I'm also appalled that an older child would do such a thing, and that the parents would pretend ignorance. Though, all things considered, I guess they weren't pretending to be ignorant - they were ignorant! One thing for a toddler to get in the occassional nip - but an eight year old? And to draw blood? That takes effort.

You will enounter older kids roughhousing on the cruise, and you'll have to decide whether or not you need to step in. Last year a child that was clearly too old to be in Nemo's Reef barelled into me - narrowly missing our then 21 month son. I had a black baseball sized bruise on my arm for the remainder of the cruise. At the time, I immediately found a CM and asked her to enforce the age limit in NR - which she did. Had that older child rammed into my baby, I'm not sure how I would have reacted, but it would certainly have involved finding her mother/father. Its always difficult to know how to handle older children acting dangerously with no parents in sight - or worse, parents standing right there and doing nothing.

I do have concerns about our 3 year old being in the club/lab with kids up to 12 years old. Frankly, I think having that wide an age group in the same program is inappropriate. General consensus seems to be that really anyone over 10 is not in the club/lab - they bump up to the next age group to get away from the babies - fine by me. But even that age difference it too wide.

 

[for my family]

I agree. OP, it seems far more likely your child will be bitten at Costco!

.

Costco must not have had the samples out!

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

Wow that is horrible! Thanks for sharing your story. I don't know what DCL's policy on biting is. Perhaps you should ask them. Hopefully, no one, regardless of age, will bite your child, or anyone else in your party, while you are on the cruise.

I did call they do not know.. Told me to ask when I get aboard. :-(

I do understand this can happen.. Littles are at that age..
However I've never seen a little one make another bleed!

But I was wondering if it does happen is there a policy?

If the bit is really bad, than what happens? Medical services is needed.. Like stitches

And ifs done by an older child does that make a difference?

Also if the child keeps biting, can CM do anything to make the child stop?

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

Costco must not have had the samples out!

Made my morning!

 

[Summerl30]

That age group are not usually biters. Usually young kids like 3 bite and I have never ever seen blood. One of mine was a biter, but she outgrew that by three. Unless this kids isn't very verbal, that's very rare.

I'd say the chances of something that dramatic happening is VERY, VERY low.

 

[mmouse37]

I did call they do not know.. Told me to ask when I get aboard. :-(

I do understand this can happen.. Littles are at that age..
However I've never seen a little one make another bleed!

But I was wondering if it does happen is there a policy?

If the bit is really bad, than what happens? Medical services is needed.. Like stitches

And ifs done by an older child does that make a difference?

Also if the child keeps biting, can CM do anything to make the child stop?

Just guessing here but I would think if a child has been reported as biting others in the club and it happened more than once that child could be denied admittance to the club again.

If a bite requires medical attention then the medical center on board can handle most emergencies (pretty sure they handle stitches). If it got to this point I would think an incident report would be filed.

Depending on where the bite happened and if the parents of the offender were around would determine what happens at the time of the incident. In a perfect world the parents would discipline their child and keep a better eye on them. If the bite happened by the pool, will the staff ban the child from going in the pool? Doubtful. If it happened in the club and was repeated then I guess they could be banned.

Ask at the club if they have a policy on biting or bad behavior.

MJ

 

[lanejudy]

I don't know specifically what the "rule" is, but would assume it to be similar to standard preschool/daycare rules. The children would be separated; likely both parents called (though possibly informed when they arrive for pick-up if no broken skin). CMs will call for medical assistance for any immediate emergency needs. In this situation, likely if skin is broken from a bite they would call the parents to take the child to Medical and a report would be written up. They aren't likely to share the Biter's name with the other family. Depending on severity of the incident, Biter may be given a second chance before getting banned from the Club/Lab (or nursery if that age), but the victim's family isn't likely to be involved in any disciplinary action. That's all speculation since I haven't experienced such an incident onboard, but I have at a childcare setting. I'm sure you can ask when you attend Open House on the first afternoon.

I agree with others -- the likelihood of your child being bitten while in the kids' space on a cruise is akin to the likelihood of being bitten at your local playground or grocery store or public school. If your child attends any kind of preschool or childcare (while you work, go to the gym, attend church, etc.) -- it's going to be similar. If you feel the threat is significant enough, you make the decision to keep your child out of the secured programming on DCL and only bring them during Open House times when you can be present.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[MAJPLO]

I have no problem walking right out of any store if my children can not behave. (Which I have only ever had to do twice)
My children view shopping with me as a privilege..
If I cant go to store to buy food cuz they won't listen, We eat what's in the house.
Which is normally can veggies & plain pasta. (This is not something my kids enjoy eating) The next day I asked them if they want to eat that again or behave in the store?
I remember fully when I was about 6
Not only did my mother walk me out of the store. she also found the nearest employee to hand her full cart to and had me explain why we were leaving. I never acted up in a store again!

I just also want to say..
I try to keep our shopping trips to 30-40min at most..
And have the children help me get things of my list. We treat it like a treasure hunt..
If I need milk, 1st one to see the milk gets point.. If they can remember what kind we get they get another..
My 3 yo loves this!

Costco is their favorite store.. I have many non- everyday things on my list. Like dish soap or trash bags.
And normally that means pizza for dinner.
Also the staff are wonderful (disney quality).. Many of them know us by name, we are in there so much!

 

[jcjen519]

I don't know specifically what the "rule" is, but would assume it to be similar to standard preschool/daycare rules. The children would be separated; likely both parents called (though possibly informed when they arrive for pick-up if no broken skin). CMs will call for medical assistance for any immediate emergency needs. In this situation, likely if skin is broken from a bite they would call the parents to take the child to Medical and a report would be written up. They aren't likely to share the Biter's name with the other family. Depending on severity of the incident, Biter may be given a second chance before getting banned from the Club/Lab (or nursery if that age), but the victim's family isn't likely to be involved in any disciplinary action. That's all speculation since I haven't experienced such an incident onboard, but I have at a childcare setting. I'm sure you can ask when you attend Open House on the first afternoon.

I agree with others -- the likelihood of your child being bitten while in the kids' space on a cruise is akin to the likelihood of being bitten at your local playground or grocery store or public school. If your child attends any kind of preschool or childcare (while you work, go to the gym, attend church, etc.) -- it's going to be similar. If you feel the threat is significant enough, you make the decision to keep your child out of the secured programming on DCL and only bring them during Open House times when you can be present.

Enjoy your cruise!

I agree with all of this. I also imagine that an 8-9 year old biting a baby is a very unusual set of circumstances. I'd bet biting happens on cruises but probably more so between toddlers or preschool aged kids. my son is 5 and him biting or being bitten has not been an issue for years. I can't even imagine him biting any child at this age let alone a 3 month old.

 

[lbgraves]

Just guessing here but I would think if a child has been reported as biting others in the club and it happened more than once that child could be denied admittance to the club again.

......
Ask at the club if they have a policy on biting or bad behavior.

MJ

Our experience with bad behavior happened on the Fantasy's MV in the Edge. A 10yo who had been allowed to age up was constantly acting aggressively the first two days, even throwing coins at the CMs when they were giving directions for an activity. They were not allowed back in the Edge after the second afternoon. I don't know if they were allowed into the lab since we didn't have kids in that age range, but I would hope they weren't since they were too rough for the 11-14 group.

 

[smiths02]

I don't know specifically what the "rule" is, but would assume it to be similar to standard preschool/daycare rules. The children would be separated; likely both parents called (though possibly informed when they arrive for pick-up if no broken skin). CMs will call for medical assistance for any immediate emergency needs. In this situation, likely if skin is broken from a bite they would call the parents to take the child to Medical and a report would be written up. They aren't likely to share the Biter's name with the other family. Depending on severity of the incident, Biter may be given a second chance before getting banned from the Club/Lab (or nursery if that age), but the victim's family isn't likely to be involved in any disciplinary action. That's all speculation since I haven't experienced such an incident onboard, but I have at a childcare setting. I'm sure you can ask when you attend Open House on the first afternoon.

I agree with others -- the likelihood of your child being bitten while in the kids' space on a cruise is akin to the likelihood of being bitten at your local playground or grocery store or public school. If your child attends any kind of preschool or childcare (while you work, go to the gym, attend church, etc.) -- it's going to be similar. If you feel the threat is significant enough, you make the decision to keep your child out of the secured programming on DCL and only bring them during Open House times when you can be present.

Enjoy your cruise!

This is pretty much what I was going to say.

I am sure that there are policies for injury that would be similar to a daycare.

I also hope that it would be very unlikely that this would happen with proper supervision (it sounds like neither the 8-year old or 3-month old were supervised enough).