Alone in their room???

[pattyT]

Dh and I were talking about when our kids get older -
and it got me to thinking -
WHAT AGE would you leave your kids in the room
We have big ages gaps between kids so here is a senerio -
The Oldest (age ?) is awake watching dieney movies before bed,
the younger ones are sound alseep...

You would like to go down by the pool and have a drink or go sit in the lobby for an hour...
You have cell phones or walkie talkies so he/she could get ahold of you if need be...

SO how old does he/she have to be before you would do this...

 

[ducklite]

When our son was 13 we started to leave him alone, but we never went far or long. To the bar at the resort, or maybe to the hot tub while he was watching a movie.

I think it depends on your kids and their maturity level.

Anne

 

[cbrfan]

I think it would depend on the maturity of the oldest child. Before I'd leave them alone at WDW I'd want to have left them (successfully) on their own at home quite a few times.

 

[nygrl]

i think 13 is a good age to start.. mu nephew comes to hershey park with us every year and i leave him with my ds for a few years now and he is 15 now he might have even been 12 the first time.. but like someone else said it all depends on the chils and his maturity level

 

[minkydog]

I did not feel comfortable leaving my oldest until he was about 15, especially with the younger two. He just wasn't mature enough to really keep an eye on them. DD is 12 and I still would not want to leave her alone. Who knows how many people have access to that room? If someone knocked on the door and yelled "room service", she throw the door open in a flash! It would never occur to either of my kids that someone would try to hurt them. Let alone if either of them got hurt in the tub or on electrical cords. I'm really not a nervous mother--at home--but in a strange place with no trusted neighbors nearby I am very uneasy.

 

[powellrj]

I too have large age gaps between my children, and while I have had the oldest babysit at home I would never, ever think about leaving them alone in a hotel room until they were older teens. I travel alone for business and a hotel isn't the safest place for a women alone, let alone a young teen.

A hotel room isn't the same as being at home alone. While it may seem safe, you don't know who is watching your room, who the staff is, who is in the room next to you or across the hall. We have had situations happen in hotels (fire alarms, water malfunctions) that the kids know what to do at home, but in a strange situation its a whole new ballgame.

 

[ms.ojo]

Wow..some really good things to think about!!!

My first thought had been "depends upon the maturity of the child" maybe 12 (thinking of my neighbor's daughter) BUT some of the "what if's" you people mention would give me pause to consider doing this w/ any child younger than 16!!

When I was young and single I traveled a lot for work and saw a LOT in hotels. One time at 1am someone opened my door w/ a KEY!!!!! I screamed and they left. They never said "oh I'm sorry" (as in it was a mistake) or anything!!! This was a 5* hotel and fortunately I had that extra room bolt on...but lets just say I didn't go back to sleep quickly!

 

[Ask"WhyNot?"]

It completely depends on the child. I have a neice who's 9 who would probably be ok now, but I have another neice who's 15 whose maturity I'd question. I babysat at 12, but some kids aren't ready.

 

[Disneymomofsix]

I think it depends on what you are doing and how long. My oldest is almost 12, but I think I may have left her with her younger brothers for five minutes while I went to get a drink at the food court in my refillable mug (when she was only nine). Or I would send one of the kids there to get a refill. (We were staying right next to the main building at French Quarter). I agree with other posters that it is different than leaving them at home - my daughter is mature and sometimes wants to stay at the house with the door locked and other instructions in place while I run her sister to dance five minutes away or for some milk closeby, but she might get nervous if I left her in the room in charge of other kids while I went to do laundry at the hotel.

 

[disneychrista]

It really depends on the child and what you do at home. I would never leave my child alone in a hotel room that had never been left alone at home or that was uncomfrontable with it.

 

[dreams4disney]

I really think it all depends on the child. I have four boy's. They are all to young to leave alone at this time. However I can see leaving my second child alone sooner or at a younger age than I would my oldest. Not for long periods of time though and never to leave the resort grounds. That is just me. I am paranoid about things. I am always so afraid something is going to happen. I am this way even with a sitter at home.

DH and I had a conversation the other day about what age we would let our children roam a park alone. We thought maybe 14-15 for the oldest and 13 for our second son. Then again I know that at 13 he would always be with his older brother who would be 15. I think those ages would also work for leaving them alone at the resort. Only 4 more years!!

 

[mercydisney]

:confued3 i have left my 9yr dd w/her 4yr sis to get coffee in the morning. they watch tv i have my walkytalky, they lnow not to answer the phone or
open the door to anyone!!! We usually take a trip wout dad so their's no one to watch them.. I always stay close to foodcourt trans because i am alone. I don't stay long at foodcourt. I get coffee I leave and run to room. Both dd's are very responsible...And I think my older dd scares the heck out of the smaller dd about strangers and so forth I do feel safe.

 

[MAKMOM41]

13 year olds babysit... so I would think they could understand not to open the door for anyone but Mom & Dad. We've travelled on Cheerleading compitions with 7 & 8 th grade girls & they sleep in thier own rooms.... adult were not allowed with the girls. My husband & I have Nextel 2 ways... so I say 13.

 

[pediatric-rnp]

A hotel room isn't the same as being at home alone. While it may seem safe, you don't know who is watching your room, who the staff is, who is in the room next to you or across the hall. We have had situations happen in hotels (fire alarms, water malfunctions) that the kids know what to do at home, but in a strange situation its a whole new ballgame.

This is my concern. I was very comfortable leaving my sons alone at home for short periods of time at about age 13, and they had cell phone contact with us, neighbors numbers, and I always let a neighbor know they were alone. But, they were in familiar territory. I did not leave them alone in a hotel room at that age -I just worried they wouldn't know where to go if the fire alarm went off, even tho I always review that when we first get into a room, and then there are the stories of people saying they are hotel employees knocking on the door - but they really aren't. My younger son was very naive at that age, and would probably have opened the door, as it would be an "authority" figure in his mind.

I think it really is individual - every child is different, and some children travel more than others and are very comfortable in a hotel setting.

 

[dtsaos]

Totally depends on the individual, but probably no younger than 12 IMO.

 

[rt2dz]

There are laws that state a minimum age that a child must be before left in the house alone for even the shortest time. I think it may vary state to state, but I know that my god daughter, who desperately wanted to babysit & was WAY mature for her age, had to wait until she was 12 (by law). After the minimum age, I think it depends on each child's maturity and experience level.

 

[Mom to Jordan]

So many things to consider. Children are so different DS is almost 13 as are two of his cousins. DS would be fine and even ok to watch his younger cousins. One cousin would be ok but not comfortable with being alone at a hotel. The other I would not trust alone while I went to the REST ROOM. It also depends on where you stay. I would be ok with DS in our room at WL while we ate down stairs at AP. i would not be ok if we were out of the building or if we were staying at a resort without inside hallways. I would never leave with out cellphones or without very clear rules on staying in the roon. He opens the door to no one until you call him from outside the door to let you in. You also start small and work up. Run to the gift shop or food court for ten minutes and see if he is ok.
I would also only consider this if he is used to sitting at home for a few hours and the younger child obeys him without question. Know he is suppose to be asleep but this is important in case of an emergency.
Good luck making a choice.

Jordan's mom

 

[polly p]

It would depend on what you meant by resort grounds. If you were doing laundry in the hotel maybe 13 babysitting age. If you were going to have a couple drinks I think you need to have some one older.

 

[nemomama]

I wouldn't leave my kids alone in a hotel room to be responsible for younger siblings until they were much older - at least 16 or 17. In my opinion it is just not safe - why take a chance on something happening just so I can go get a drink? Yes, it does depend on the maturity of the child, but even the most mature 12 or 13 year old can panic in an emergency situation, while in unfamiliar surroundings. Plus, I'm sure some hotels have rules about children under a certain age being unsupervised in their rooms. 10-13 years old sounds much too young, in my opinion.