11 year old babysitting?

[Maggie'sMom]

Like others have said, it depends on the kid. Some 11 year olds are mature enough. Others are not. You know your kids best. You are in a far better position to make the decision than any of us. But given that all 3 kids are in the right age group for the Oceaneers Club/Lab, I think the safest bet would be for them to all go to there for the time you are at a movie or trivia.

 

[SDJEL]

We’ve done it. Oldest son watched his younger brother and sister. They watched TV in the room. We ordered room service for them, left them money for the tip and brought out wave phone. We had dinner at Palo and went back and out the kids to sleep. It wasn’t anything different than what we had done in the past.

As other posters have said, each kid is different. If you trust your kids, enjoy a little alone time. I also truly believe it is good for the kids as it teaches them responsibility in a very low risk situation. At that age, I was watching other people’s children in their homes, as I’m sure many of us were.

 

[xavier2001]

Are we talking siblings? I'd totally put on a movie, order room service, and have them stay in the room for a short while if needed. I have 2 11 year olds now. As a point of reference though, on our last cruise, my then 10 year olds, took themselves to Cabanas for lunch, and then to get ice cream and to Edge while we went to Palo. They were very responsible and even took photos of what they ate for me (not that I asked but they wanted to be sure I know they ate the peel and eat shrimp lol).

 

[Stratus22]

My 11 yr old is mature enough and so is my 7 yr old believe it or not. It all depends on the maturity level and your comfort level.

 

[bcwife76]

I'm just wondering why you wouldn't just put them in the kids clubs? Do they not like the club/lab?

 

[TortoiseTaughtUs]

I certainly babysat my younger siblings at that age. I also know that if my parents had the option of leaving the three of us with adults in a secured playroom at no additional cost to them I would have preferred it—there’d have been more space, more to do and other people to do it with, and I would have been able to play instead of just supervising my sisters and facilitating their play. I also wouldn’t have been able to articulate it at the time, but I’d have been more relaxed because I felt safer.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

Yes for us. We let our 10 year old daughter watch her nieces (3 & 6). That said, it was relatives, we were in a static place (Palo), they couldn’t leave the room, and she had her iPod with the messaging app in Disney’s app.

She will be 12 this next trip and we would for sure.

Right. This seems totally okay to me. The oldest child knows where the parents are on the ship, has a method of contact, and the kids are contained in one place. I would think especially if the little ones are asleep, this is a totally okay situation.

 

[FSU Girl]

I started babysitting when I was 11, would babysit my neighbors. I think if the 11 year old is mature enough they will be fine.

 

[pezgirlroy]

I think it is absolutely fine. It does depend on the child but if the child has done it before when you have gone to the store and back it is fine. I would probably send them to the kids club instead but I think it is fine. I am curious why people have said so adamantly no.

 

[cadien]

Based on personal experience, an 11 year old and one younger sibling is generally just fine, especially if they've watched them before. I have no idea how much the responsibility of a second younger child complicates things. But obviously it's common.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I don't think I'd ever do that, unless I was just picking up some food and they were alone for 30 minutes or less.

There's free child care. I would just do that and know that I am on call the whole time.

 

[tvguy]

Interesting replies. Until I read them, my initial reaction was "absolutely". But it doesn't hurt to take a moment to consider the maturity of the 11 year old.
I would just note that the Red Cross minimum age for their baby sitting classes is 11.
We didn't have any babysitting options for our kids where the babysitter was under 18, so I have no experience with it. And my 27 year old daughter just never did any baby sitting as a teen.

 

[Cupcakesmum]

I have an almost 11 year-old , 8 year old, 7 and 5 year old. It's a hard no for me - especially since there is a kids club they can be at. But as previous posters said it may work for the dynamic with your kids.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I would, especially for trivia which is only 30 minutes. Order room service, put on a movie and I'm sure they will be fine.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

I wouldn’t worry so much about my daughter getting out, but who can come in? Are you ok with the room steward having access to your cabin when little ones are alone? I know they’re not supposed to enter your cabin when you’re not there, but these people are from third world countries and play by different rules some times. Also, do you have a balcony? If so, no way would I allow my daughter to be alone. That’s just asking for trouble and you don’t get a second chance at life if something happens to them. Kids get curious and even with the best of intentions can make stupid decisions. I say kids club.

 

[Karin1984]

I wouldn’t worry so much about my daughter getting out, but who can come in? Are you ok with the room steward having access to your cabin when little ones are alone? I know they’re not supposed to enter your cabin when you’re not there, but these people are from third world countries and play by different rules some times. Also, do you have a balcony? If so, no way would I allow my daughter to be alone. That’s just asking for trouble and you don’t get a second chance at life if something happens to them. Kids get curious and even with the best of intentions can make stupid decisions. I say kids club.

What a prejudice thing to say, as if there are no people from 2nd and 1st world countries working on the ship who could easily talk their way into a cabin. 'These people' have a lot more to lose when they behave out of line, and are therefore a lot less of threat than those in higher ranks. It takes one crazy person, and that is regardless of nationality.

 

[Dug720]

What a prejudice thing to say, as if there are no people from 2nd and 1st world countries working on the ship who could easily talk their way into a cabin. 'These people' have a lot more to lose when they behave out of line, and are therefore a lot less of threat than those in higher ranks. It takes one crazy person, and that is regardless of nationality.

Also, DCL has very strict policies about staff NOT entering a cabin with unattended minors. See the thread about room service for a kids’ room. Crew will come back at another time if minors are in a cabin alone - or in one case in Concierge ask if the child minded stepping across to the lounge.

 

[bumbershoot]

Though I do have to ask, where is the need? the kids clubs cover almost all hours.. unless you plan on doing the District until the wee hours..

Agreed.

And it would be so much more fun for them.

I think we baby kids way too much these days and it's why we have teens and young adults you can't trust with anything. I know when I was a kid I was babysitting neighborhood kids and babies at that age.

I knew plenty of kids that couldn’t have been trusted with a pet rock.

I personally was in charge at home by 9, but even in the latest 70s we kept that a secret. And my mom knew that I was incredibly protective of my brother and abnormally unwilling to get in trouble.

Most kids I knew could not be trusted in that way.

And I have enough friends that I met later on who were abused by their babysitters to know that even kids people thought could be trusted weren’t deserving of that trust.

This isn’t “we coddle kids” issue.


And even when I was watching my brother, I wasn’t on a cruise ship 10 stories above the ocean.



Oh and when I was 11 we got into an argument (just after my mom left for work, which was an hour away and it was 1981/2) and as I tried to close the door to my room, he let go and I took the end of my finger off. So even with the most responsible, sometimes little kids can be irritating enough to wind up with big problems.

 

[jerseygal]

Nope, Never, imo not mature enough to handle unforeseen emergencies.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Agreed.

And it would be so much more fun for them.

Not for my kid. She HATED the kids clubs. At 7 she described it as “ the kindergarten from Recess” ( think Lord of the Flies). She hated the chaos and felt talked down to most of the time. She would have been way happier with room service and a movie.