Letting kids ages 8-12 check in and out of kids club

[spectrum-turbo]

Throwing my two cents in:

We are going to The Magic in September with some friends, the kids will be 9, 7 and two 6 year olds. The 9 year old is mine and there will be no checking out priviledges for him for a couple of reasons chief among them is that the 8 year old would end up with the same and ability and they would not be a good combo together out and about by themselves.
We get off the Magic and my kids & I are getting on The Wonder with another group of friends. The kids ages will be 10, 9, 8, 7, and two 6 year olds. I will be letting the 9 year old have checking in/out priviledges for that cruise because the older kids in this group as a whole are more mature and less likely to make a bad choice. I will add that there will be a dry earase board in the cabin so that I will know where the little cherubs are!!

 

[Disney_Bound2007]

NO way never.

Would you let your 8-12 walk around the mall in your hometown alone? How about another country which is where you are when you are onboard?

A passenger assaulted a younger passenger late last year and a crewmember exposed himself to another younger passenger the year before. I don't care how mature the child is, I just do not trust other people at all. There are no background checks on the other passengers.

I could not agree more! My children are 11 and 8 and you couldn't pay me to let them do this! There are ALOT of sicko's out there! I for one would be a basket case if my children where "wondering" all over a ship by themselves.

 

[mom_of_2_princesses]

I let my 10 year old have check-out privileges while we were on our last cruise. I didn't think it was any different from letting her walk home from school. It had to be a group of 2 or more and she was great with her responsibilities. I really think that it is a personal decision rather than a right or wrong decision. If I thought my daughter was going to cause problems than no way. This really has to be what you think is right for your family not what others think is right. I had to add that they paged us to let us know where DD was headed next. The staff is real good about this. What I did the first couple of times they told me on the pager she was going somewhere else I checked. It all worked out good. You should have a couple of friends going from one place to the other though.

 

[Grandma4ever]

We allowed or grandkids over age 9 to check themself in and out. We had a dry erase board in the room and each person including the adults had to sign themselve out and they had better be where they said with a return time. Caught the youngest on not signing out and when we found her where we knew she would be made a big deal of it and she had to stay with us for the next 24 hours. Boy she didn't miss a beat after that.

We talked alot to both kids about safety and that not everyone even on disney was their friend.

It worked well for us but I would recommend to anyone else who wants to attempt it to make a very careful gage as to the maturity of the child. The cruise before we let the oldest one do it but not the two 8 year lods. Just not ready yet. Good luck in making that decision. With the pagers there really isn't an issue with them needing to call before leaving the club. Lois

 

[Selket]

My older son will be 10 when we cruise (3 weeks from it actually). So has it worked for you to tell them something like "you can sign out to go here and go there but you have to be in those places?" I was reading about someone letting their kids sign out to go get pizza which is close by (? is it?) and the sports deck - is that close? I would definitely trust that he would do only what I said. But if the sports deck is across the ship or far away from the kids' club area then I'd just as soon he stay in there.

My other son is 5 so no question where he has to stay!

 

[GONETODISNEY]

Thank you for all of your replies to my concern. I know that the answer to this question is subjective. I really am glad that this question can be answered by so many people without it becoming a judgmental thread. I value the opinions of others especially since this is only our second cruise with our children.

On the last cruise we were with friends and my older son was allowed to check himself in and out since he was with his older friends. He enjoyed going with his freinds to get pizza etc. My youngest is nowhere near ready for this responsibility and under no circumstances will he be allowed to do this. I can still remember how narrow the hallways were on the Carnival Triumph -- it would be easy for someone to grab a child and get them into a cabin before anyone could notice.

thanks for your opinions .... I better decide quickly ... we have 11 days left until our cruise on the Magic. Thanks

 

[SnowWhite2]

Well, things haven't gotten too heated,...yet.

When my children reach age 10, they can sign themselves in and out of the clubs. They are very social kids so they are always in a group. And my kids have sailed several times on the Magic. Here is my rationale....

I let my kids go to church and Sunday School without me in close proximity. Many clergy have been accused and convicted of molesting children.

I let my kids go to public schools (and very highly rated ones) and two teachers in the system during this school year have been arrested for molestation.

Yes, there might have been people assaulted on the cruise ships. But I don't think my child has a higher instance of it on a Disney cruise than in their everyday life. If we were going on a mega RCCL ship, I don't think I would feel comfortable letting them run by themselves. It helps that we started cruising DCL when they were 7 and 9 so by now we all know the routine and layout of the ship.

Would I let my 10 or 12 yo run around WDW without adult supervision? Absolutely not!!! Because for $60 any pedophile can get into WDW and it is so big. Cruises weed out a segment of the population.

As so many previous posts have said, it all depends on your comfort level and your kids maturity level. You can't judge other people's circumstances.

Flame away

 

[WIFamily]

I have let my son check himself in and out since he was almost 9. We have used walkie-talkies at home since way before that for when he would go outside and play at his friend's house down the street, and we are both comfortable with that. On the ship he calls me on the radio when he is leaving and tells me where he is going, and again when he gets to his destination. If he can't reach me for some reason, he is to stay put until he can. He also knows that if he screws up even once and forgets to call me, then it's game over and he goes back to being treated like a 5 year old. And he knows that *I* know exactly how long it takes to get from, say, The Lab to Quartermasters. I'll know if he's dawdling or detouring.

I agree that bad things can happen anywhere. And I would never go ashore and leave him to wander the ship by himself. But I believe in raising him the way I was raised -- knowing that independence is a privelege, not a right, and is revokable. Also that the rules of stranger danger apply on the ship just as anywhere else. He knows not to take the elevators, not to stop and talk to anyone, etc.

It has worked well for us so far, but everyone has their own comfort level and has to make the decision that is best for their own family!

-gina-

My wife and I have been debating this. DS will be almost 10 by the time we cruise, and we're bringing walkie talkies. I think we'll see how he is on the ship the first day, and then give him the "One Chance" and see how he does. He'll have certain rules, like only to come to us, or go to the room. He will not be roaming around the ship at his leisure.

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

We need a smiley with a ping pong ball that goes back and forth over a net -- although this has been a very civil discussion

Our 12 year old yes, because he would come and find us if he was bored --not a wanderer at all. The 8 year old below that is stirring the pot?? I'll have a GPS ankle bracelet on that kid until he is 21 so no, not for a long time.

 

[Amyg]

Interesting thread! I didn't know kids were allowed to check themselves out of the program at all.

My son will be 11-1/2 by the time we cruise next year but I doubt that my DH will allow him to be away from any adult supervision. Although I feel that DS should be ready at that point, we will probably err on the side of caution since my DH would not be comfortable with that. We shall see come next year...who knows, things may change.

 

[Ruth B]

do the club page you whn children leave?

 

[tammymacb]

I gave my kids this lecture on our first cruise..

"Guys, this is EVERYBODYS vacation, mom and dad want to have fun, we want YOU to have fun. We aren't going to give strict rules and limits so you can make friends, hang out and have a good time. HOWEVER, if I hear you're misbehaving, if you don't do what you're supposed to do or go where you're not supposed to be you will be with me EVERY SECOND for the rest of the cruise. It's simple and your choice."

They towed the line and behaved well the entire cruise ( they're good kids and I knew they would ) We all had a great trip.

 

[mom_of_2_princesses]

Interesting thread! I didn't know kids were allowed to check themselves out of the program at all.

My son will be 11-1/2 by the time we cruise next year but I doubt that my DH will allow him to be away from any adult supervision. Although I feel that DS should be ready at that point, we will probably err on the side of caution since my DH would not be comfortable with that. We shall see come next year...who knows, things may change.

My DH was not real comfortable the first couple of times but then he was O.K.

do the club page you whn children leave?

Yes. I would just tell them that is what you like them to do also to make sure they do it.

I am impressed that no one has been nasty on this thread.

 

[NewfieMom]

Would I let my 10 or 12 yo run around WDW without adult supervision? Absolutely not!!! Because for $60 any pedophile can get into WDW and it is so big. Cruises weed out a segment of the population. (Trying to use quotes here for the first time - don't know if successful or not!)

Not meant to be a flame by any stretch of the imagination, but I just wanted to point out that pedophiles come from all walks of life and all socio-economic levels. Just as some people seem to think that Disney is totally friendly and safe, others seem to think that if the people they are with have money, then this stuff is less likely to occur. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Child abuse knows no boundaries.

Okay, will put my work hat away (was a Child Protection worker in an earlier life) and add that we will also have this dilemma when we sail again in '08. DS1 will be 11, almost 12, and DS2 will be 9 and a half. I'm not sure yet about sign out privileges - will decide the closer we get. But if we do allow it, it will be with very strict guidelines, and the "you mess up - you lose the privilege" rule firmly in place! But I agree with the posters that have noted this is an individual decision based on your knowledge of your child. Realistically, all we can do is try to teach them the best way to be safe, and how to make good decisions - unfortunately there is so much beyond that which is out of our control.

 

[NZMUM]

We too are going to have to think about this for our cruise next year. Our DD will be nearly 12 & our DS will be 9. Last cruise DD was nearly 10 & didn't have sign out priveleges. I am leaning toward not giving either of them it this time round either.

Not because I don't trust them, but because I don't trust other people. As a previous poster said it would be easy for someone to grab a child as they walked past a stateroom. The corridors are usually empty during the day.

If my DD makes friends (as she did last time) I may let her check herself out if she is with others, but not on her own.

 

[SnowWhite2]

Newfie -

Yeah, the pedophiles do come in all flavors. It is just that on a cruise, you are "captive" and they know who you are. In WDW, you can buy a one day pass, go in and make a quick exit without a trace. I just don't believe that pulling a child into your cabin - one where you can be easily found and identified - is the threat.

 

[disneydance]

on the last dc we took my dd was 11 and was wih her dance team celebrating winning 1st place at 10 nationals all the girls had the privvalge to check them self out as ling as they were with4 girls on her dance team in avanced select there are 20 girls all of there were on the cruise also since there was a group of 20 giorls each girl and each parent had a walkie talkie and the kids had notify us if they were leaving the lab or what it worked at very well and all of the girls enjoyed having to much freedom

 

[westieridgeback]

Too many rooms for someone to slip a child into.

 

[JNorris]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the 10-12 year olds automatically got sign in/out priviledges. In other words, you don't get to say to the Lab "they can't sign themselves out". It's just the 8-9 year olds that you can specify whether or not they can sign in/out by themselves.

Maybe I'm wrong about this. But it seems that's the way it was when we went on the Wonder March of last year. We said "no signing in/out" for DD almost 8, but her cousin who was 10, automatically was allowed to sign in/out. Of course, she was responsible enough that we could tell her not to leave without having us paged first, but my DD, who will be 9 for the cruise this September, and 10 for the cruise in 2008, will NOT be mature enough. I'm like the other poster, who said they would have a GPS on that kid until the age of 21!

 

[kaseyC]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the 10-12 year olds automatically got sign in/out priviledges. In other words, you don't get to say to the Lab "they can't sign themselves out". It's just the 8-9 year olds that you can specify whether or not they can sign in/out by themselves.

Maybe I'm wrong about this. But it seems that's the way it was when we went on the Wonder March of last year. We said "no signing in/out" for DD almost 8, but her cousin who was 10, automatically was allowed to sign in/out. Of course, she was responsible enough that we could tell her not to leave without having us paged first, but my DD, who will be 9 for the cruise this September, and 10 for the cruise in 2008, will NOT be mature enough. I'm like the other poster, who said they would have a GPS on that kid until the age of 21!

No, it is not automatic. We were on the Wonder in Oct. of 2006 and we did not give our DD10 sign out privileges. At our Concierge meeting the Kids Club CM specifically asked us what we wanted for our 10yr old DD.