10yr DD, too young?

[myjeep93]

1st time cruise for 10y DD. Is this too young to let go back to room with 2way radio if she gets tired? She is responisble, but is this safe to do on board? Do most kids this age stay at the kids club when tired , and parents arent? Very confused re: kids club. Can she page us whenever she gets bored? Can we drop her off whenever she wants to go? Please help?

 

[twiceasnice]

your dd can sign herself in and out of the club. We have 11yr old twin dd and we allowed them to sign in and out, but we always made sure they knew where we were( ALWAYS UP ON DECK 10 READING, SUNNING-THE GOOD LIFE!). IF THEY LEFT THE CLUB, THEY WOULD COME AND CHECK IN. the two way radios are wonderful- that was our safe no-fail way to keep our children safe and in touch. i would allow them to go to the room, but always had to let me know there location!! JMO!!!

 

[tecdavidt]

It is up to you if you let your daughter go to your stateroom with a two way radio. We would not but again it is up to you. Age 8 is the age children can sign themselves in and out if the parents say it is ok. We did not allow our daughter to sign herself in or out. She was 8 on our last cruise and 9 for the up and coming cruise in March. We feel the ship is safe but we just are being cautious. You can drop off your child in the clubs but remember not to do it when the club is moving locations. Check the Navigator for times before you decide to put your child in or out of the club. She can page you any time when she is in the club. Kathy

 

[callahanjulie10]

I let my DD who was 1 month short from being 10 check herself in and out. We did have 2 ways but I think the main thing is if you child is mature enough to do this. You know your child better than anyone else. My DNephew was there with my DD and so were twiceasnices DDs. They are all good kids who did not run the halls screaming and terrorizing people! They also didn't use the elevators as theme park rides!

I had a talk with the dos and don'ts before I let her check herslf out.

 

[Minnee]

My dd was 10 on our cruise this past December, and she was able to check herself in and out of the club. It was OUR rule, that when she left, she would beep us with a message on here she was going, or call the room and leave a message there. This worked out great. She met up with 2 other girls, they went to the club when they had something fun going on, then the 3 would check out, and go to lunch, or go watch a movie. At first I was worried about where she was all the time, but by the end of the cruise she knew that ship like the back of her hand.
It's all up to you, you know your dd best, and how responsible she is.
Have a great trip and if your dd wants to ask some questions to someone her age that just cruised, just let me know

 

[jdm]

So the kids are allowed to take the two way radios into the clubs with them? Also, can someone elaborate more specifically on what the pagers are like? Can you talk into them, or do they just beep and then you call the club back? How does it work?
Thanks
Jenn

 

[patches-4]

We let our DD 10 at the time of cruise , sign in and out on her own. We had the pager and whenever she left you would get a beep and the message would go across screen telling us where she was going. She was always with some of her friends in our cabin or theirs, at the movies or at the pool, again always with friends she had met on the cruise. We had also met the other kids parents and we were all comfortable with them doing this. A couple of times when they were not going into the clubs at all but weren't sure where we were at the moment they would go to the club the the castmembers would page us just to let us know where she was headed and with whom. I thought that was very nice of them to do that for here. She did know where she could and could not go and was very responsible about this. I have no problems with letting her go on her own again. Hope this helps some because I had some reservations about this too.

 

[DisneyKids]

They are <b>text pagers</b>. If they need to reach you, a text message stating what they would like you to do, where to go, where to call, etc. is sent to you. Usually it's to collect your child at a certain location/time but we were paged once simply call so they could notify us that our daughter fell, bumped her leg and was fine. They work well!

 

[natsmom125]

I too am curious about whether the kids can take the two ways
into the club....anyone know.....Barb, Dave???????


On our 1-5 cruise...we let dd who was a week shy of 9...check herself out of the club twice. But she had to meet us at a certain place at a certain time...and she did. We also left her in the cabin one night while dh and I went to see Disney Dreams...she had
seen it earlier in the day with the Club Kids...anyway....we gave
her strict instructions not to answer the door to ANYONE except
her Dad or me...not even to our cabin hostess..who we were
crazy about. We told her to use the deadbolt lock when we
went out..and we heard her do this...and to be dressed by a
certain time...and she was. As bad as we hate to admit it....
they do grow up!!!

On our 9-5 cruise...we will give her more freedom to come and
go and see how she does. I don't think they can get lost...and
my only concern was that if she checks herself out of the club...
she could be up on the bridge telling the Captain how to run
the ship!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

Can anyone give us the answer about the radios...??????

Phyllis

 

[mouseclick1]

My kids took a two way radio into the club last year with no problem. About 45 minutes into our "night out" at the 70s party, they called us to say they were bored and wanted us to pick them up. We leave again in 12 days, maybe we'll leave the radios at home this time.

 

[callahanjulie10]

We love taking the radios everywhere. My DD took hers into the lab area with no problem. I don't think she turned it on until she was leaving though. I kept mine on all the time.
My SIL and I went into St Maarten via tender in 2000- I was able to communicte with my DH who stayed on board! As long as he was outside on an upper deck we could talk. Also when we went into St Maarten together he would go to one shop and I would go to another. It was wonderful to be able to KIT.!

 

[mpaone]

We went on our first cruise this past October with our DS 13 DD 10 and DD 8. Both of our daughters had sign in/sign out priveleges AND the 2 way radio. We made sure whenever they left the club they HAD to contact us and let us know where they were going. Unfortunately the 2-way didnt always work and we got a lot of garble. It took a few minutes to finally figure out where they were going. The club tried to get me to take the pager but I refused becuase we had the radios. Needless to say there was a time when my DD8 was ill and they couldnt get in touch with me. Luckily I decided to check up on them as they were trying to call our room again. Personally I think next time I'll leave the 2 ways at home and go with DCL's pager. Like everyone has said it really depends on your own comfort level. You could always start out with the no privelege and see how it goes and change your mind later.

 

[WIcruizer]

I'm sorry, but I need to get this off my chest. A 10 year old, no matter how mature and worldly, is still a child. To let them come and go as they please all week is not the most responsible position to take as parents. Even with very strict instructions.

Secondly, I've never understood why anyone would CHOOSE to go on a vacation with their children, then dump them in Day Care .....oh...I mean The Club... for half the week. Seems to me, if you want a vacation alone, do it. If you take them along, enjoy their company, learn something new about them, etc. I forgot!!!!!!! Who needs to spend time together when we have 2 way radios, pagers, cell phones, and Disney staff to watch them.

For those of you who use Disney Day Care on a very limited basis, I'm not talking about you. I am referring to those of you (and you know who you are) who leave your kids there for hours on end every day of the cruise.

 

[callahanjulie10]

A huge part of the reason WHY my family goes on DCL is so that the children can enjoy the vacation also. My DD picks what activites that she wants to particiapte in and what she doesn't want. I let her have check out priviledges because I know that she is responsible. I do not let her roam the ship for hours nor do I make her go to the club for hours. Cruising is the only vacation that I feel is for the whole family. There are activities for everyone of every age group to enjoy as well as tons of stuff for the entire family to do together.
I do not think it is your job to judge anyone who utilizes the club or the lab. Our first cruise in 99 was the best vacation that we have ever taken. I was a stay at home mom until my DD started school and she was never left in anyone elses care. When she would stay overnight with a friend or go on a play date I would worry myself with" I hope she is having a good time or the I hope that she isn't sick"- when we went on DCL I knew that she was having a good time. It was the first time in 6 years that I felt total relaxation- not because I stored her in a "daycare" but because she had picked something that she WANTED to participate in and she knew that all she had to do was beep me if she didn't like it, felt bad, or just was ready to leave.
DCL has something for everyone- I don't know a family yet who can go on a vacation for 7-8 days and come back home feeling completely relaxed and still happy to be around each other!
I realize that everyone has their own opinions and they should be able to express them on this board but it should not be negative towards others.

 

[patches-4]

I AGREE WITH YOU WHOLEHEARTEDLY ON THIS ONE. I HAVE BEEN SINCE ABOUT 5:00 TRYING TO "COOL" DOWN FROM THIS POST, BECAUSE IT JUST HIT ME THE WRONG WAY. NOT AT ANY TIME DID I FEEL THAT MY CHILD WAS "DUMPED" ANYWHERE OR LEFT TO HER OWN DEVICES. SOME OF US DON'T HAPPEN TO HAVE THE OPTION OF BEING WITH OURS 24/7 WHICH I ASSUME YOU DO, SOME OF US HAVE TO WORK, WHICH IS SOMETIME 7 DAYS A WEEK AND I FEEL WE ARE ENTITLED TO A VACATION JUST THE SAME AS THE KIDS. WE DID DO THINGS TOGETHER EVERYDAY AND YES, WE DID THINGS FOR OURSELVED TOO. THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF DISNEY THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, AND OUR KIDS TOOK FULL ADVANTAGE OF THIS ON THE CRUISE. AND LIKE CALLAHANJULIE10 SAID, THIS IS THE FIRST VACATION I CAN REMEMBER WHERE WE ALL CAME BACK RELAXED AND STILL ON SPEEKING TERMS WITH EACH OTHER AND ASKING 2 DAYS LATER "WHEN CAN WE GO BACK". A VACATION IS A VACATION FOR EVERYONE OR AT LEAST IT SHOULD BE.

 

[Michelemouse]

And while I agree completely with calahanjulie and patches, my reasoning comes from a slightly different perspective...

We homeschool our children which means that I am with them pretty much 24/7, which I absolutely love. When we go on the cruise we find that we spend part of the time together and part of the time with much needed "alone time". My kids tend to pick and choose their activities from the listed offerings and while they are off doing their thing I can sit and read or do an adult activity. When they are not in the club we do things together. My DD10 will have sign out priveledges on our Nov. cruise. She is very responsible and mature for her age and I am sure she will be fine.

Now I understand the original poster was talking about people who use the clubs for longer periods than we do, however I always think it is a dangerous thing to generalize. There is no way to know if these kids are "dumped" at the clubs or if they have chosen to be there. It is so easy to tell other people how to do things, but without a complete understanding of that person's life and situation (which you cannot truly have unless you *are* that person) it is, IMHO, wrong. Why put others down simply because they choose to do things differently than you would?

Just my opinion.

Michele

 

[1karen]

Ditto.
We found that two of our three children wanted to be in clubs all the time. Our oldest cried every day until we signed her in. I work with at home and with my family. My children have all been with me and their father, everyday, all day. They need to socialize with others their age not just their parents.

I found the clubs visit were a great topic of conversation everynight at dinner. They would tell us everything they did, who their new friends were and what was coming up. Always happy and excited.

I think alot of people think their better than others, especially people they don't know.

 

[imgoingtodisney]

DS will be 10.5 by the time our Nov cruise comes along. I am still undecided on whether he will be checking himself in/out of the Oceaneer Lab. DH and I have recently begun to let him stay home alone for a few minutes at a time. DS is a responsible child and as long as we know where he is headed we may let him check himself out. But alot can happen in 11 months and we will need to see where we are in this regard.
We are planning on letting DS choose (to the most part) when he is in the Lab and when he isnt. We'll make our couple only time around his schedule - (ya right says DH.) Im sure DS would rather be in the Lab than laying in the sun with mom. As I said its mostly up to him.

 

[dianthus]

I agree with the many posts on this thread. It depends on your child. Start slowly, don't allow sign-out at first. See how your child does... When you & your child get to know the ship better, you can make the decision whether to let them sign out on their own.
That's what we did with our 10yr. old DD. She felt very proud that we trusted her and granted her some independence, which is good for them. We set strict ground rules & she followed them well. She proved to us that she could handle responsibility & we could test it in a somewhat controlled setting. A think a 2 way radio is perfect for this. We plan on doing this for our upcoming cruise. Our DD is very excited about it too.

If we want to raise independent, self assured kids, we need to allow them to learn responsibility and earn independence when it presents itself. With all the dangers out there, it's hard to let kids in the "tween" years to this. The confines of the ship and the club allow parents to do this with a little less worry. If anything, letting them sprout their wings a bit on a ship that is programmed for kids is responsible parenting. It's a good learning experience for both!

My DD had such a good time in the club & made lots of friends who she still talks to & emails around the country. She made flubber, was in a show, went on a cool scavenger hunt around the ship, went to a glow in the dark party with her friends and got to hang out in Commons Grounds ( the teen's club). There are many kids who would kill to have experiences like that.
We went to the pool, played ping pong, did excursions together, ate and saw the shows as a family and dragged her out of the club every night. We all had the best time!

One person's dumping, could possibly be another one's fun!
I didn't see one kid not having fun in the club. No 8AM to 1:00AM club captives on our last cruise

 

[DIScrusnmommie]

I caught on to this thread because I, like jeep93, am also trying to decide whether or not to let my 10 yo ds have signing in and out privileges. I have the 2 way radios ready and I love the paging system. While my ds is mature for his age and very disciplined, I'll be the first to say, I'm not sure that he's ready. And I say this not only because I am a sahm, and I have homeschooled him, but because he is MY CHILD. As you all know your children best as well.
On our last cruise (with the kids) I mustve seemed like the worst mother in the world to some people. My kids were "dumped" at the clubs 1st thing in the morning and left there until dinner time. BUT....you see thats where they wanted to be. I tried my darndest to get them to spend time with us to no avail. I had to beg them to come and have dinner with us! They were making friends and having fun and GASP!!!!!, enjoying their vacation too. Kids need a break as much as adults. I refuse to MAKE my kids stay with me doing boring "grown up" things if there is something that they want to do that is both safe and fun for them to do. I also refuse to make them stay in the clubs if thats not where they want to be. I am also the most overprotective mother in the world. Granted our last cruise wasnt on DCL. There werent any pagers, so I checked on them personally several times a day. As I'm sure many of you do anyway, pagers or not. I'm really looking forward to seeing what DCL has to offer my kids. You shouldnt judge someones child rearing style if you dont know the whole story. That person may not agree with the way that youre doing things either. This is just my two cents. Please dont take offense to anything that I have said. Thanks for listening. Jeep93, thanks for posting the question and please let me know what you decide to do.
Happy cruising everyone.
Kelly