Potty trained almost 3 in Club

[DIScruisers4]

We are sailing with friends on the 7 day Eastern in Feb. Our friends' DS will be 1 month shy of his 3rd birthday. He is fully potty trained. They thought he would be given a regular spot in the Oceaneers Club because he is only 1 month from age 3. Is there any chance he would be denied a spot in the Club because he is not quite 3 yet? If that happens, their only option would be Flounders, which will not work out nearly as well for them. Has anyone had this situation, and how did it work out? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[lbgraves]

IF he is completely PTd then he will be able to do the club on a trial basis & will more than likely be able to stay in it. The CMs do not go in the bathrooms with the kids at all so he has to be able to handle everything.

 

[miatamel]

Um, I don't know too many 3 year olds (especially early 3s) that can get their clothes off, wipe themselves (correctly) and wash their hands ALL by themselves. Do they really expect that out of 3 year olds? My DD has been PTed since 16 months and she still can't handle ALL of it on her own--wiping and getting up on the "big" potty would be a problem for her as she is small. She will turn 3 on our cruise in November and we were told she WOULD be allowed to go in the Club, but no mention of them just leaving them completely on their own potty wise!!
If they are going to set up a club for 3 year olds they really should take in consideration what they are able to handle, ability wise, and adjust accordingly. I don't expect them to help out 5-7 or even the 4s, but I do think most 3s would need a wee bit of help perhaps.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

Um, I don't know too many 3 year olds (especially early 3s) that can get their clothes off, wipe themselves (correctly) and wash their hands ALL by themselves. Do they really expect that out of 3 year olds? My DD has been PTed since 16 months and she still can't handle ALL of it on her own--wiping and getting up on the "big" potty would be a problem for her as she is small. She will turn 3 on our cruise in November and we were told she WOULD be allowed to go in the Club, but no mention of them just leaving them completely on their own potty wise!!
If they are going to set up a club for 3 year olds they really should take in consideration what they are able to handle, ability wise, and adjust accordingly. I don't expect them to help out 5-7 or even the 4s, but I do think most 3s would need a wee bit of help perhaps.

I would have to agree. My three year old pretty much does everything herself but she does need a little help with "certain things" (to put it nicely).

 

[lbgraves]

Sorry, but this has been the policy for some time now. They also do not allow pullups at all. Flounders is available if the child is not completely PTd. Of course the parent could make it a point to go into the club & take their child to the bathroom every hour or two to make sure that their child gets the help they may need.

I can vouch for the CMs staying outside of the bathroom when the kids go in as a group. I went in to check on my DD4 and found a girl sitting on the floor crying for her mommy softly. Who knows how long she had been in there. I told the CM outside the door when we were leaving & the poor girl got sick just as the CM went in. IDK how long she would have been sitting there if I hadn't gone into the bathroom.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

Sorry, but this has been the policy for some time now. They also do not allow pullups at all. Flounders is available if the child is not completely PTd. Of course the parent could make it a point to go into the club & take their child to the bathroom every hour or two to make sure that their child gets the help they may need.

I can vouch for the CMs staying outside of the bathroom when the kids go in as a group. I went in to check on my DD4 and found a girl sitting on the floor crying for her mommy softly. Who knows how long she had been in there. I told the CM outside the door when we were leaving & the poor girl got sick just as the CM went in. IDK how long she would have been sitting there if I hadn't gone into the bathroom.

How sad for that little girl!! That would upset me greatly. And as far as making it a point to check in on my kids, that was already in the plans!!! It's sound advice when it comes to the younger ones.

 

[Vanvmom]

I believe that their "big" potties are kid height. The sinks are outside the potty rooms, and they do make sure each child washes their hands. No help with the wiping though (not just for reasons of possible abuse, but for sanitary reasons as well).

As for pull ups, they did let friends of ours (that planned to let their 5 year old stay in the club until closing) go in at 9pm and put a pull up on him in case he fell asleep watching the movie they put in at 10pm. This way they did not have to wake their son up when they took him back to their cabin. This might be the only exception I've heard of to the no pull up rule.

 

[miatamel]

Does no one else find Lisa's story a little disturbing? Okay, fine, they have a policy on no helping. But goodness, shouldn't there be someone there close knowing how many go in and how many come back out from a group? A child could be sick or have had an accident or who knows what for a while. I don't expect them to be able to police everyone all the time but a periodic check or head count or something would be appropriate, shouldn't it?? (I guess it's on my mind because DD4 went into preschool bathroom yesterday and teacher noticed she was gone a while and went to check on her and there she was with the product of an upset stomach (you know, diarrhea--sorry) on her clothes. She couldn't pull those clothes up and go back out nor could she yell and be heard. Something like that could happen on the boat and the child would be "stuck" so to speak until someone else came in.) How scary for the kid in a strange place!

 

[lbgraves]

Yes, if they are being dropped off for the night they will allow the pullups but not during the day.

The group was finishing up a bathroom break that the CMs make the kids do every couple hours because they are aware that they will forget with all the excitement. There was one other girl with that one & my DD in the bathroom at the time. The CMs were outside the doors at the sinks supervising the kids as they came out. I couldn't understand why one of the kids hadn't told a CM that one kid was crying in the bathroom. It was the 3-4 yo group though but who knows. I am positive that they would have done a head count once everyone was back in the circle in front of the stage where they were directing the kids who were finished & discovered that there was a child missing & found them fairly quickly. The child would not have been able to get out of the club. It would have only been a matter of minutes. Having helped at the kid's school this could also happen there so maybe that is why it didn't upset me beyond being concerned for the girl getting attention at that point.

 

[mark_story]

My DD will be a month shy of three and has been potty trained for some time. We're hoping that she'll be allowed in the Oceaneers' Club with her brother - last year, she was not a big fan of Flounders.

Here's hoping.

 

[scubarn]

My daughter just turned 3 and was almost fully potty trained on our last cruise.
I would send her to the club for short programs and activities that were approx. an hour long,and them pick her up and take her to the bathroom myself, we never had a problem, also they will allow you to send you child in pullups if you stay in the club with them.

 

[miatamel]

Mark,
I was told by an agent at DU before I booked my next cruise that as long as the child is at least a month before their third birthday and potty trained they can go in the OC. (My DD2 didn't do too well in Flounders last year, either. I think it is more geared toward babies than toddlers...)

 

[off to neverland]

We just returned from our cruise on the Wonder with our almost three year old.

She did fine with the potty thing. There seemed to always be a staff member near the door sort of monitoring the comings and goings of the kids, so I wasn't worried.

The one thing that surprised me was the lack of drinks. Perhaps I missed it, (did I miss it?) but they don't get drinks throughout the day, except for meals, and my kids always seemed to be thirsty, and we gave them drinks when we took them out. I wonder, though, how kids who stay in there longer than mine fare.