10yr DD, too young?

[mpaone]

WIcruzer,

I dont know if you were talking to me personally but I feel the need to respond to your post. My kids spent time in the CLUB not DAY CARE as you put it because that is where THEY wanted to be. Why would I make an 8 & 10 year old stay with their mom and dad all day by the adult pool (this is what my husband and I chose to do)....How BOORING!!!!! They would've have hated it though we did ask them if they wanted to be us.

My kids are very vocal and if they dont want to do something they will tell us right off the bat. This is a vacation for the whole family, so the way I see it everyone should be able to do what they want (within reason of course). They never ran aimlessly around the ship because we knew where they were at all times. They were always with "their friends". They both made a ton of friends that they still correspond with via email 4 months later. I call that a successful vacation!

Im sorry your idea of a great vacation is forcing your kids to be at your side 24/7. Personally it sounds boring as h*ll! But thats your perogative. For the amount of money we spent we wanted to make sure everyone had the best vacation possible. AND THEY DID! So much so that they cant wait to do it again next year.

 

[kmgl78]

I understand the posts about the responsibility of the child in regard to checking in and out etc. However, being responsible is not the only thing to worry about. Is it really safe for someone to wander the ship alone? For example, if my daughter was walking down a long hall on the ship, couldn't someone just reach out of their room, grab her and pull her in, or are there always so many people in the hallways that she would never really be alone? Thanks in advance for your reply.

 

[patches-4]

It was our experience that there were always people, with children usually, in the hallways. Our DD never went anywhere alone. She was aways with her friends, may of whom were on the same deck as us, or going to meet them with her brother. Alot of the time we would trade off times to "watch them" with the other parents. We would be within sight of them but not really be in their space. I felt very comfortable with the arrangement we had with our DD.

 

[dianthus]

Wandering the halls alone is not a good thing, but Patches-4 is right. There is a great deal of traffic in the halls/promenades. The stewards are always in the halls on Decks 6 & 7.

The buddy system is best. Our DD could only sign out of the club, or go exploring as long as she had at least one of her friends with her ( usually 2 or 3). We always knew where she was. She would check in every 30 minutes, just to be sure. They really didn't roam from the club that often, only to meet us for lunch, or the pool, or some other pre-planned activity. I felt very comfortable with our arrangements too.

I don't think I would have granted her as freedom if she was alone, because of the potential dangers you cited. She made friends with at least 4 girls, 2 of which she was inseparable from the entire cruise. My DD is not the type of child to disobey us and wander around alone. The freedom was good for her. If your child is not like that, I would have reservations about sign out priviledges.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Wow, after reading this thread, I'm not sure what to do.

I had already decided that my dd(9 almost 10) would not have sign-in sign-out priviledges because I want to know where she would be all of the time but now I'm not so sure. It sounds like quite a few 10yrolds out there are allowed that priviledge and the beepers allow the kids to tell you where they are headed.

I think we will start off without the sign-out priviledge and if it becomes an issue for her we will deal with it then.

I'm not particularly concerned about safety (it's disney after all) I'm more concerned about how large the ship is and how we would find each other, etc.

Any more recent opinions on this subject?

 

[trishy]

My dd was 11 on last year's cruise and she automatically had the sign-out privilege - I was surprised that they allowed it for children under 13. I'm an "at home" mom (got the 24/7 routine and everything), but I don't feel the need to be away from my kids. I do agree that DCL clubs have an OUTSTANDING program for kids and more often than not the kids are "crying" to get to the clubs - seriously! (as WI will find out). I wholeheartedly disagree with letting children navigate the ship on their own. A buddy system is a good idea, but the better solution is to have the club "Beep" you when your child is leaving (they WILL do this - they did it for me last year) and have a meet point established by the first night of the cruise. On our cruise a teen jumped overboard while docked at St. Thomas - anything can happen. Even on a "Disney" ship. If anyone here thinks there have never been or never will be pedophiles on DCL - I think they are living in a fantasy world. How much time would it take to swipe a kid out of the hallway into a cabin? My experience navigating the halls is that there may be the opportunity - why risk it? I plan to shelter my kids from too much independence as long as I can - no need to rush them into that world. After all, they are still "kids".

 

[peter pans family]

i just want to make one thing clear that it is completely safe on the ship!! yes, you can drop her off at the kids club anytime it is opened. any other questions ask!!!

 

[mrsmouse]

my DD's are 8 & 11. i'm going to use the "wait & see" technique. i want to know where they are at all times. if they want to leave, they can page us and meet us somewhere. for now, they are both SO EXCITED about the kids' programs, i don't anticipate them changing their minds.

we're doing the parks for 6 days prior to the cruise... this cruise is our r & r time (so to speak) and a time we are all looking forward to. if we're together... wonderful. if the kids are having a terrific time with other kids doing new and different things... fantastic. that's what makes us all so unique & special- our different interests. i can't wait for that disney magic to work in 24 days (30 'til the cruise)!!!!!