So I guess my question is, what is the trick to get assistance from the CMs to engage the child? Just some words of encouragement would go from TV watching to Piston Cup racing or Toy Story Boot camp enjoying.
Second question, will be doing the 15 night Panama Canal cruise. any different programming or suggestions on how to keep the kids excited on this long of a cruise?
Good questions - it might've been a case of bad timing, with whichever counselors were working on that cruise. I'm surprised this happened on a classic ship, as they usually have more ability to engage the kids off of those screens!
Because we come from all kinds of child care backgrounds, you will have some counselors who spend more of their energy entertaining the kids - coming up with games, getting them off computers or movies, impromptu dance parties or hide and seek. If you're lucky, when you check him in there will be a few of those on hand.
On the flipside, you'll have counselors more interested in safety. They'll be the ones who'd rather the children sit down quietly watching movies or coloring and will reprimand them for running around or climbing things. No crafts using scissors or small parts, no games with balls, no paper airplanes - some of us can be sticklers!
(Clearly, I'm not a fan. Kids deserve to be having fun in a kid's area. This is a Disney club, not a daycare for goodness sake!)
This tends to change day-to-day with the mix of CM personalities - so one day really could be a "boring" Club day, and one day could be SO full of things to do.
The Panama Cruise is the BEST for counselor-child interaction though. Not only will the ratios be down, but we really get to connect with the kids and tailor activities and crafts and make more magical moments for them. Moreso than a 3-4 day cruise full of kids where CMs never really get to devote as much time to kids as the kids deserve!
I recommend walking him around to meet one on one with counselors at Open House just like you did, and mention to the CMs that you'd like it if he wasn't watching tv all day.
A step further would be to tell a manager to make sure he wasn't just doing that while in the space so THEY can keep an eye out and continue to encourage them.
But wait, there's more!
During the Panama Canal crossing we have different programming that may be Base Camp (where the Club is moved up to the Sports Deck for the kids to play around while enjoying the sights of the Panamanian Jungles), and our super favorite SLEEPOVER NIGHT (for many reasons, the grownups on board really really like having a whole night without the kids in the room)! The kids have a whole evening of parties and fun with Disney Characters and then all sleep over with Counselor supervision overnight. You can pick up your kids at anytime!
The best part? If you're lucky, the characters might be scheduled to "tuck the kids in" to sleep. Nothing like a Disney Princess or Peter Pan saying good night to really highlight one's childhood.