12 year old in Lab

[txtara]

My 12 year old niece is going with us next March....she is a very
old 12 year old...snobbish if you will....she is driving me crazy....
will there be anything in the Lab that she will enjoy....she wants
to be able to hang out with the older kids in Common Grounds....
she thinks she is going to have the worst time....I keep telling her
to have an open mind...thankfully we only have 2 sea days...
anything I can tell her to get her excited?

 

[AnnMorin]

It is coed?

how close to 13 is she, maybe they would let her move up.
If you go to www.castawayclub.com you can look at the 10-12 navigators to give her a good idea what goes on in the lab.

 

[my3kids]

My 12 year old wasn't crazy about the Lab, in all honesty. He didn't dislike it, but the activities didn't really appeal to him. He would have been content to hang out in the Lab and play video games, but there is a schedule of events most of the time. He loved the sports deck and was happy to play ball up there. He loved the movie theatre and would go to shows. The Navigator also lists events around the ship that the kids can do outside of the organized children's program. There is a lot to do besides staying with the Lab 10-12 group.

 

[CGBatch]

Being 14, I could tell you when I went on my last cruise I was 13 I was in Common Grounds. It was alot better from my previous cruise when I was 11 and in the Lab. The activities they did were few but they were fun and I have to say having a smoothie bar in the Common Frounds was an additive. Anyway the've moved it now so I have no clue how the new "Stack" is. But most of the time we just spent "hanging arround".

 

[jrabbit]

12 really is the upper limit for the kids to be interested in the lab, BUT and a big BUT it is. 13 is to young for common grounds. DCL needs to come up with a 12-14 age group program. Common grounds stuff didn't start happening until afternoon and lasted until 2am. The 12-14 age set needs some fun activities from mid-morning to midnight or so. I think that the 13 and 14 year olds would be intimidated (and shuned by the 16-17 yo). 13 to 17 is a big age span, especially if the 13yo does not have older siblings.

I would expect to spend a lot of time with your kids aged 12-14 unless they hook up with someone early in the cruise.

 

[lsmac]

We cruised last December when my ds was 12 3/4 old and he really enjoyed the Lab. Truth be known though, I think he met with a group of kids and they just "hung around" unless something really "cool" was happening in the Lab like Playstation II tournies or something.

I am of the mind too that Disney needs to seperate the group to a 12-14 yo and provide more stuff for this set. DS is going to be 13 3/4 when we sail in November and I think he will do fine in Common Grounds/Stack only because he is already a freshman in high school and therefore used to hanging with older kids (he goes to a very small private school...therefore they all hang around each other). For those 13/14 yo not quite used to that I would think it would be very intimidating.

Lisa

 

[musicgirl]

My ds was 12 3/4 and he had a great time in the lab. He loves to just hang out and be goofy! My niece (same age by a month) really didn't care for the lab. But, this is her personality. She takes awhile to warm up to other girls her age. When she went in the first night, it was after second seating for dinner and I think they had on a movie. Unfortunately, she went for the first time at a quiet time and never gave it a second chance.

From what I've read on the board, most threads indicate that it is not a good idea to move up to the teen group if you are not 13 because they felt that it was "too old" for even the 13/14 year olds at times. As those earlier have stated, they really need to work on this age group. They are "tweeners". To old for the lab, but some of the things most early teens are just not ready for.

I work with kids 5-18, and I know there are many things my ds-13 does not need to hear. He has been around teenagers since he was born (we're teachers and he's always with us). But since we're there, I know what is going on around him. Poor thing doesn't have a chance!

It really does depend on the child. Some kids are more mature than others. Some kids have very good judgement at a younger age. The best thing would be to hook up with someone her age and hang out.

 

[dianthus]

We're bringing 2 - 12 & 3/4 yr. olds with us on our upcoming cruise. They most definitely want to go to "The Stack" & are ready for it. My DD was bored with the lab at age 11, but she's very mature & used to older kids too. They both play on sports teams with 14 & 15 yr. olds, so they are accustomed to Teens. My only concern would be if there are lot of 17 & 18 yr. olds in there, as one poster said their interests are very different. I'm hoping this won't be a problem.

If the programs don't suit them, they'll play B ball & lots of Ping Pong.