How old should they be before you let roam?

[Justsyd2]

I think 9 is too young. My children would have to at least be 16 in order to go alone to some places. Other than that, I want them supervised at all times. I don't take any chances with my children.

 

[Aliisa]

My daughter will be 8 when we go in June and the thought of just losing sight of her for one minute makes me sick to my stomach.

There are bad people everywhere- even Disney. Unfortunately Booyakasha is wrong. Here is a story you should read before deciding. Have a great time, but keep her close

http://www.wftv.com/news/17512735/detail.html

 

[cinderkeli]

Yes there has been assaults on Disney property. There was a person one time even touched a little girl in the elevator at the Beach Club. My daughter is 16 and when she wants to go back to the room she must take her friend with her. Even at 16 my daughter is very tiny and petite and could never fight off a big guy.

 

[Amy&Dan]

My kids are 12 and 14 and I let my 14 year old son go to the food court alone to fill his mug and I let them swim alone briefly while I returned clean laundry to our room. But at 9, I wouldn't have let them. I do think your 9 year old is plenty old enough to swim in the pool alone while you are nearby reading or relaxing. I also agree different kids get different amounts of supervision. But I think a 9 year old girl is too young. You can always print this stuff out and show her that you aren't mean, you're just mainstream!

And come to think of it, I don't see many kids that age roaming alone at the resorts. So she won't feel one bit out of place.

Have a great trip!

 

[duffy]

I might let my daughter go to the food court when she was 9, or to the store, but not the arcade. And I would give her my cell phone too. I would also tell her that I expect her back in 10 min., or 15., or however long I think it takes to do whatever she's planning to do there. At that age, I let my daughters go off on their own for short periods of time, like 5 minutes or so.

I would not have let my oldest do that when she was 9, though. She has a terrible sense of direction, and would have gotten hopelessly lost.

But the arcade? She could be there for a loooong time, so I'd say no to that. Or I'd accompany her, and keep an eye on her from afar.

I compare raising kids at this age to fishing: I kept casting 'em out, and reeling 'em in. Never let them be out in the deep water for very long.

I've raised 2 daughters who are in their 20s, they're both very secure and confident young ladies. I did just buy the oldest her own GPS!!

My youngest is 13, and I would not let her roam the World all day without me, but I would let her go on an attraction alone, or go shopping alone.

 

[TheLittleRoo]

Putting my flame suit on, but for goodness sake - - you're talking about FLORIDA!! My husband is in law enforcement, was a cop in St. Pete, FL, etc. He said there is such an abundance of drifters in Florida, you would be AGHAST how many sex offenders gravitate there. Nine years old is just WAY too young, especially around the campgrounds. It makes me shiver just thinking about it!!

Imagine. If you were a sex offender... where might you go in search of kids? Disney? My son is 14 and I'm still not even comfortable with him being in DQ alone, even if I was in DTD at the same time. Granted, I'll probably have to loosen the leash this year, but I'm still not 100% comfortable with his decision-making skills or his better judgment.

 

[JennSaint]

what about 14 and a 9 year old? IMO.. i would say no. but i just want to make sure im doing the right thing. my oldest DD is 14 and her and my other DD[9] want to go to the opening of the Magic Kingdom on the first day we are there.

we are staying at the POLY and i know that me, my DH and DS[5] wont want to get up since we probly wont be asleep the night we arrive until midnight [we should land at a little before 8 the night we arrive]. we told them we want to take it easy that morning. we figured we would wake up between 8:30-9:00 and be at the park by 10:30. my DDs are not approving of this since they want to see the opening of Magic Kingdom. my DD[14] has asked me a few times if she could go with DD[9] and see the opening and then come back to the hotel.

IMO. i dont want her going. but i feel bad since they've been dying to see it. i know she would have her cell phone and would be VERY responsible if i would to let her do this. any opinions?

Personally I wouldn't let them go to a park without an adult. I think you should read the post on the theme parks board about the mother who barged through to the front of the line because her daughter called her on her cell saying some strange guy was touching her hair in the space mtn line. If your back at the resort and something happens it will take you a bit to get to them.

 

[redrosesix]

I might let my daughter go to the food court when she was 9, or to the store, but not the arcade. And I would give her my cell phone too. I would also tell her that I expect her back in 10 min., or 15., or however long I think it takes to do whatever she's planning to do there. At that age, I let my daughters go off on their own for short periods of time, like 5 minutes or so.

I would not have let my oldest do that when she was 9, though. She has a terrible sense of direction, and would have gotten hopelessly lost.

But the arcade? She could be there for a loooong time, so I'd say no to that. Or I'd accompany her, and keep an eye on her from afar.

I compare raising kids at this age to fishing: I kept casting 'em out, and reeling 'em in. Never let them be out in the deep water for very long.

I've raised 2 daughters who are in their 20s, they're both very secure and confident young ladies. I did just buy the oldest her own GPS!!

BTW, my daughter has to tell her dad the directions to EVERYWHERE. He can't take her to dance lessons without a GPS. she's not allowed to play with her DS so that she can navigate for him when he doesn't have it.
-- added by Redrosesix

My youngest is 13, and I would not let her roam the World all day without me, but I would let her go on an attraction alone, or go shopping alone.

I think you and some of the others misinterpreted the term "roam", which when we use it here would mean going away from your mum's side. So, if I can restate this in American (rather than rural Nova Scotia) english, the question would be: at what age would you let your child go anywhere alone at the resort?

As I said, my daughter has a lot of freedom in the summers at the campground, but I have yet to let her out of spitting distance in WDW.

So, I'm comfortable with giving her a little more freedom (more as a test really) eg. not always have to wait for us to head to somewhere in the resort, or to be allowed to run ahead. Like you say, 5 minutes or so. Or maybe let her go in the pool without me if I don't want to swim (provided that is within the WDW rules) But this is only because she has proven herself to be responsible and to respect the rules regarding what freedom she does have.

Still not sure what age I will let her go longer than that, but I guess I'll know when we get there. Truthfully, I think it is less about being responsible (which she is) and more about being vulnerable (which she also is). Personally, I think kids need to be given freedom incrementally in safe places so that they can learn how to use it. Just not so sure WDW is a safe enough place (even at the resorts)

 

[duffy]

I think you and some of the others misinterpreted the term "roam", which when we use it here would mean going away from your mum's side. So, if I can restate this in American (rather than rural Nova Scotia) english, the question would be: at what age would you let your child go anywhere alone at the resort?

As I said, my daughter has a lot of freedom in the summers at the campground, but I have yet to let her out of spitting distance in WDW.

So, I'm comfortable with giving her a little more freedom (more as a test really) eg. not always have to wait for us to head to somewhere in the resort, or to be allowed to run ahead. Like you say, 5 minutes or so. Or maybe let her go in the pool without me if I don't want to swim (provided that is within the WDW rules) But this is only because she has proven herself to be responsible and to respect the rules regarding what freedom she does have.

Still not sure what age I will let her go longer than that, but I guess I'll know when we get there. Truthfully, I think it is less about being responsible (which she is) and more about being vulnerable (which she also is). Personally, I think kids need to be given freedom incrementally in safe places so that they can learn how to use it. Just not so sure WDW is a safe enough place (even at the resorts)

Off topic: you quoted my post, but I didn't say the sentence about dance lessons??

 

[lucymom]

I am not familiar with Florida Laws, but in New York the law states 12 depending on the maturity of the 12 year old. You may be breaking a law. Everyone should remember this is the state Adam Walsh was killed, now we have Code Adam when a child is missing in a store or shopping mall.

Independence can be practiced in other ways.

 

[Mamiamjo]

what about 14 and a 9 year old? IMO.. i would say no. but i just want to make sure im doing the right thing. my oldest DD is 14 and her and my other DD[9] want to go to the opening of the Magic Kingdom on the first day we are there.

we are staying at the POLY and i know that me, my DH and DS[5] wont want to get up since we probly wont be asleep the night we arrive until midnight [we should land at a little before 8 the night we arrive]. we told them we want to take it easy that morning. we figured we would wake up between 8:30-9:00 and be at the park by 10:30. my DDs are not approving of this since they want to see the opening of Magic Kingdom. my DD[14] has asked me a few times if she could go with DD[9] and see the opening and then come back to the hotel.

IMO. i dont want her going. but i feel bad since they've been dying to see it. i know she would have her cell phone and would be VERY responsible if i would to let her do this. any opinions?

I would probably just go with them (of course we always try to go for rope drop anyway) but I wouldn't let them go by themselves.
I would consider letting my DD14 go if she was with an older sibling but probably not with a 9 year old.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Off topic: you quoted my post, but I didn't say the sentence about dance lessons??

Often, when people want to respond to one sentence in a quote, they add their own comment within the quote in a different color than the original poster's. I assume the blue writing is a response to your GPS comment from redrosesix.

 

[redrosesix]

Off topic: you quoted my post, but I didn't say the sentence about dance lessons??

Sorry... I was adding that. I'll fix it.

 

[michelleiada]

Well, maybe I am over protective but my daughters are 15, and almost 14 and I will still keep a tight leash on them when we are there in May. I think 9 is much to young to be doing anything alone. Even if there were two, three, or even four 9 year olds together. This is just much too young to be given that much freedom and too young to know what to do in a dangerous situation. In my opinion, you can never be careful enough with your children. Even a mature 9 year old should always be supervised by an adult!

 

[redrosesix]

I am not familiar with Florida Laws, but in New York the law states 12 depending on the maturity of the 12 year old. You may be breaking a law. Everyone should remember this is the state Adam Walsh was killed, now we have Code Adam when a child is missing in a store or shopping mall.

Independence can be practiced in other ways.

Really? They aren't allowed to go to school by themselves until they're 12?

 

[redrosesix]

Let's see DD17 and DD15 were about 12 and 14 (with a cell phone)when we let them go to the arcade walk around the resort and go on different rides from us in the same park. I did not send them off to a park by themselves at that age. I did in 2008 when they were 15 and almost 17. I let DD15 walk from the Swan to Epcot by herself after she slept in from being sunburned the day before. We stayed on her cell phone with her the whole time and met her at the international gateway. It's so nice now that they can do some things on their own because DD8 can wear on your nerves rather quickly.

Actually, this is the type of response I was looking for. I can understand why DD would ask to go on her own, since she is used to that, but I was wondering what age parents did let their kids go anywhere on their own at the resort.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

So, if I can restate this in American (rather than rural Nova Scotia) english, the question would be: at what age would you let your child go anywhere alone at the resort?

Therein probably lies the rub. In a documentary I saw, I think it was a Mike Moore production...He interviewed Americans and Canadians...by far the Canadians were much more lax about these things. Americans get fed asteady stream of media fear. In the last year, my dad was up in Canada and he was very impressed that the news there is just news - not the over-sensationalized (often) highly opinionated, highly characterized stuff we get here. It's gotten so bad that many folks get their news from spoofs like the Daily show!

Still, I stand by what I said. I've been in bad situations. I'd never want my nine year old to be in the same situation if I could help it. A nine year old just isn't strong enough to defend themselves against an adult.

 

[duffy]

Let's see DD17 and DD15 were about 12 and 14 (with a cell phone)when we let them go to the arcade walk around the resort and go on different rides from us in the same park. I did not send them off to a park by themselves at that age. I did in 2008 when they were 15 and almost 17. I let DD15 walk from the Swan to Epcot by herself after she slept in from being sunburned the day before. We stayed on her cell phone with her the whole time and met her at the international gateway. It's so nice now that they can do some things on their own because DD8 can wear on your nerves rather quickly.

Sorry-just read the headline only-now that i have read the whole thing in my opinion 9 is too young to be on their own.

I just read this. I let my daughter go to Poland when she was 16. Yes, SIXTEEN. And Poland, the country in Europe.

Alone.

She spoke not one word of Polish.

She was to live there with different families for 9 months.

She flew-alone-to London, and then to Warsaw. She spent 9 months in Poland.

During her trip, she also travelled to Germany, the Czech Republic, France, the UK. By herself.

I am very glad I allowed her that opportunity.

 

[Disuser]

Just a day or two ago there was a woman telling us on this board about a man that would not leave her 11 year old daughter alone. He kept stroking the childs hair and finally had to be taken away by a CM.

Nine is to young to let run. About 25 years ago I let my 15 year old and her 13 year old brother have the run of magic kingdom. Today I would think long and hard about it and then probably I would say no.

 

[Buckeyemouse]

Under no circumstances would I let a 9 yo have free reign to go to go to the areas you mentioned. I like most others feel it is a safety issue. A suggestion I have would be to allow he to go the the arcade while you were nearby to keep a protective eye on her. This would give her the freedom she may desire and give you the peace of mind that she is safe.