9 year old checking herself out of kids program

watergirl

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 22, 2006
I have read that any child between the ages of 8-12 can check themselves out of the kids programs. Is this safe. I have never been a cruise I was just wondering do others let there kids do this? How far do you let them go when they check out? Do you feel safe letting them roam the ship? My DD is 9.
 
I have two DD that fit this age group. We will be going in Nov. I am not sure what to do esp since the first night on the Magic is an open house. If we do let them sign themselves out they will only be allowed to go back to the room.

JMO
 
My son was a month away from turning 9 when we cruised in Nov. I did not let him sign himself out because I didn't want to waste the time ( and the hassle) of trying to find him if we missed each other coming or going. Plus it is easy for kids (and adults!!) to get sidetracked when going from one place to another on the ship. They do give you a pager for the duration of the cruise, and your child can page you if they want to leave the club, and you can go get them. This worked well for us. I am not sure if I will let Ds sign himself out on our cruise this Nov or not (he will be 3 weeks away from turning 10)
 
I am the poster child for overprotective Mom -- that being said, there was no way I was going to let me 8 year old check herself out of the kids club on our February cruise!

We saw quite a few youngsters (I suspect they were older than 8 or 9) who were unsupervised roaming around making a nuisance of themselves -- for example, playing the old 'push the elevator button on every floor' trick.

So if I were to let my DD check herself out, you can bet she would first be getting a firm lecture about acceptable behavior.
 


I have an 8 1/2 year old son and we just sailed not long ago. I didn't allow him to check himself out for several reasons.

It was a little confusing to get around the ship at first. Don't get me wrong, you don't have to be rocket scientist as there were signs and such but at times, we did find ourselves getting turned around. Were are not idiots :p but it was the sort of thing where we would be thinking we were in one area but were in another and then had to back track. I just couldn't imagine my child not getting lost. :rolleyes:

Secondly, IMO, there was really no reason for him to check himself out. If your child decides they want to leave before your designated meet time, they can just page you. I just didn't see the benefit of checking himself out at this age. Once they leave, you have no control over how to find them until they "show up".

Lastly, not saying that Disney is unsafe but there are perves everywhere. KWIM? :sad2:
 
No way for us..my DD doesn't walk around a mall, etc by herself....she is not running around a cruise ship with a bunch of strangers....Disney or no....I will probably feel OK knowing she is supervised in the clubs, but I would be a nervous wreck with her running around on her own. Kids that age should be with their parents for safety and supervision..IMHO!!!!


:wizard:
 
We just sailed with our 9 yo daugther (nearly 10) - we did not allow her to check in or out - you can require that you be paged prior to him/her being allowed to check out so that you know he/she is leaving. However, we did not see the need nor did we want the risks associated with that, especially with a young girl. The potential bad outcomes far outweighed any potential benefits in our minds.

Also, echoing what joyful1nh said, it's bad enough having young teens running around the ship acting like, well, young teens, without having pre-teens moving about unsupervised. Kids this age do not fully understand the the boundries of acceptable behavior and should be with their parents. After all, DCL is a family vacation and families should be together.
 


I've been going back and forth on this same question. My fiance and I are taking all the crew for a pre-wedding family vacation. His youngest daughter is 14 and my oldest daughter is 11. I'm really debating about letting the 11 year old sign herself out because I am a protective parent but I also want her to have a little more freedom to hang out with the future step-sister.

I know my 7 year old will be under my total control - but what is your opinion on the 11 year old? Or do I just make arrangements to authorize the older kids to sign the younger ones out...is that possible?
 
I let my 10yo son check himself out under the following rules...

1) I had a pager and would be paged with location of where he was going and when he got back.

2) He knew 1 infraction and the privelege was gone.

3) He was only allowed to go get ice cream or go to our stateroom.

4) We tested him a couple of times so he knew we were serious.

There were some kids that were not respectful with their freedom. My son would have had the privelege taken away immediately if he had behaved inappropriately. This was 2 years age and the only reason I allowed him to do it was the fact that the staff ALWAYS paged me on his leaving and arriving. I would not let an 8yo have checkout priveleges.
 
CJLKIM said:
but what is your opinion on the 11 year old? Or do I just make arrangements to authorize the older kids to sign the younger ones out...is that possible?

It all depends on the 11 year-old herself. I can't answer about the older kids signing the younger ones out.

We've sailed four Disney cruises, and our 11 year-old has sign-out privileges, as she's familiar with the ship. (Actually, she seldom spends anytime in the lab. She just prefers to hang with other kids and go to the movies or Oceanquest.)

You'll know what's better for you once you're onboard, and become familiar with the ship. Have fun! :)
 
AmyM said:
I let my 10yo son check himself out under the following rules...

1) I had a pager and would be paged with location of where he was going and when he got back.

2) He knew 1 infraction and the privelege was gone.

3) He was only allowed to go get ice cream or go to our stateroom.

4) We tested him a couple of times so he knew we were serious.

There were some kids that were not respectful with their freedom. My son would have had the privelege taken away immediately if he had behaved inappropriately. This was 2 years age and the only reason I allowed him to do it was the fact that the staff ALWAYS paged me on his leaving and arriving. I would not let an 8yo have checkout priveleges.


These were our rules EXACTLY!!! Add one more, make sure they wear a watch. My kids (12 & 9) usually left right after dessert & then met up w/ us at the evening show.

You know your own kids & what they can & can't handle. This was also our 3rd cruise & they were very familiar w/ the boat (sometimes more so than DH & I!! :confused3 ).

Actually my 9 yr old is more responsible than the 12 yr old. I do not think older kids can check out younger ones unless they are 18.

You also have the right to switch mid-cruise your choice, if you feel your child can handle it, change to sign out privelages and remind them it IS a PRIVELAGE NOT A RIGHT!!!!

It truly is an indivdual choice.
 
My twins (who will be 9 on our sailing) were crushed when they found out I won't be letting them sign themselves out of the Lab, since Big Brother had the privilege on our last cruise (he was 12! They still don't "get it"!). Too much to explore, too many directions two kids can go off into! I figure there's no where they need to be that I can't be close by.

When the 12 yo signed himself out, I/he had the CMs page me with his destination. He handled it fine. He'll be 13 and in the Stack next time around, I'm not sure they have that pager option. I'll still set the ground rules with him (especially no going into other kids' cabins! no kids in our cabin!) and set meeting times.
 
We just got back and I did not let my DS9 (10 next month) check himself out. He is WAY too immature and I wouldn't have been able to enjoy myself wondering where he was and what he was up to. I think a lot of it depends on the maturity/responsibility level of your kids...
 
AmyM said:
I let my 10yo son check himself out under the following rules...

1) I had a pager and would be paged with location of where he was going and when he got back.

2) He knew 1 infraction and the privelege was gone.

3) He was only allowed to go get ice cream or go to our stateroom.

4) We tested him a couple of times so he knew we were serious.

There were some kids that were not respectful with their freedom. My son would have had the privelege taken away immediately if he had behaved inappropriately. This was 2 years age and the only reason I allowed him to do it was the fact that the staff ALWAYS paged me on his leaving and arriving. I would not let an 8yo have checkout priveleges.

So, I assume that when the child wants to leave, they have some type of process to do so? They just can't walk out of the room?

Also, does the CM page the parent when the child signs out, or does the child need to do it? Just curious on the amount of control.

My DD who will be 8 on our October cruise gets bored easily, and I could see us running back and forth to the club a number of times during the day. She is very responsible, so I don't worry about her running amok, but the last time she was on the boat, she was 2 1/2, so there is no real memory of the ship and just how big it is. This is one of those things my wife and I would forget about until the last minute. :wave2:
 
last year we cruised twice, DS was 8 the first time and was a month past his 9th birthday the second time, and we gave him the sign in and out privileges both times, no issues arose. He was on his 3rd & 4th disney cruises, knew his way around the ship and had studied the deck plans w/me before the cruises. he was allowed to go from the club to the stateroom, though he could then leave a note and go to the drink station or scoops or plutos on deck 9, or to the basketball court, or to quartermasters, likewise with a note. and after going to one of those places he listed on a note he had to return to the stateroom. or he could go back to the club and check back in and leave us a note telling us that, too.

he is well behaved, never caused any trouble for anyone. we talked during the drive to the port about situations -- like he was to assume that anyone who approached him and said they were sent by mommy or daddy was lying because mommy & daddy didn't know anyone on the ship and we wouldn't send anyone else for him. he was never ever to go into anyone else's stateroom unless we took him there ourselves. we talked about identifying who the cast members were, and how to go to them if he felt uncomfortable about anything (go to cast members from the club, or at guest services, or an officer, or even a restaurant host/greeter maitre d') someone else was doing. never lean over a rail for any reason whatsover--even to view a dolphin. no running. that when in doubt or confused, the stateroom was where we would be returning when all else failed and no one else is allowed in. and if someone was grabbing him and trying to do something against his will, to scream as loud as he could "help help help this stranger is hurting me!" we always told him where we would be -- we really didnt ditch him much, maybe to go to quiet cove for 90 minutes, or one evening in Palo. he didnt care for much of the lab programming, mostly enjoyed playing PS2 on the big screen in the evenings. a few nights we went to sleep and he let himself in.

but we have a very responsible mature child. i have a nephew 5 yrs older than him to whom i would not give such privileges--so you have to know your child.
 
Nope no way no how. You are on a floating city with 3000 other strangers and crew. The man arrested on RCI the other day with child porn on his laptop and the story yesterday on NBC showing people just ignoring a "child" being "abducted" and screaming help help have convinced me no child of mine will ever have sign out privileges. I don't care how inconvenient it is to come get my child, the alternative is far worse.
 
PoohJen said:
My twins (who will be 9 on our sailing) were crushed when they found out I won't be letting them sign themselves out of the Lab, since Big Brother had the privilege on our last cruise (he was 12! They still don't "get it"!). Too much to explore, too many directions two kids can go off into! I figure there's no where they need to be that I can't be close by.


Hi Jen,

Looks like we are on the same double dip cruise this Aug.

Your Twins will have company as my dd (9 at time of sailing) will also not be allowed to sign herself out.

This will be our first cruise and with all the things we can't control, having to page us if she wants to leave the club is a small price to pay.

Ed
 
Just mho....It's not how well you know your kids, it's how well do you know the guy in the other cabin...or employee that concerns me. Anyone cound pull them into a room or a closet on their way back from the club. I never want to be in the position of never knowing what happened. :rolleyes2
 
I posted this just yesterday after seeing it on rccl message boards. You can never be too sure.

http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBYO5T80LE.html

Cruise Passenger Arrested On Child-Porn Charges

Published: Mar 20, 2006



TAMPA - A cruise had an unexpected ending for one passenger after a U.S. Customs inspector found child pornography on the man's laptop computer.

Clay W. Long, 45, of Ponte Verde Beach, stepped off the Legend of the Seas cruise ship about noon Saturday at the Port of Tampa, after a seven-day Royal Caribbean cruise to Mexico and the Cayman Islands.

A customs inspector asked to look through files on Long's laptop computer, according to an arrest report. There, the inspector found a file labeled "Dell Hard Drive Backup," which contained pictures of children in sexual poses.

Long was arrested on one count of possessing child pornography. He was released from the Orient Road Jail on Sunday after posting $2,000 bail. He could not be reached for comment.
__________________
 
I agree with Flagger....my DD-9 won't be allowed to have sign in/out privledges.....I trust her and my other kids immensely, but I don't trust everybody else on the ship. Granted, most people are probably good, normal people, but you never know. I remember looking at a wall of pictures of registered sex offenders who were living in the area of my kids' preschool a few years ago.....there certainly is no way to pick one out by just looking at them. Ships and hotels creep me out more so than other public areas.....seems like it'd be far too easy to pull a kid out of hallway and into a room. I might give the kids a little freedom (e.g. let my DD-9 go somewhere with my DS-13), but only if they are together. Maybe it's a false sense of confidence, but I feel better if they are together.
 

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