Am I a Bad Father???

[phred84044]

I took my 7 year old son on Tower of Terror. In order to entice him to go on the ride, I told him that it was "just an elevator ride." Am I a bad father for stretching the truth just a little bit about the ride?

Here is my son after the ride:

 

[DizNee Luver]

Ewwww, that does not look like a happy camper!!! Has he gotten into an elevator since????
Not sure I would have explained it that way myself......bad father, probably not!!

 

[blackjackdelta]

Bad father, I probably doubt that, but will he believe you about other things?

Jack

 

[charmama4]

ohhhh!! you tramautized him for life!!! Just kidding. Did you take him on Dumbo, to balance it out?

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Awww!!! Poor little guy!!

My parents did that to me at that age with POTC. I was so scared, the drops were just way too much for. I was terrified and I'm 21 now and I will never forget it. I can go on POTC with no problem, but I'll never forget that and I won't let my parents ever forget either.

 

[shishigirl]

OHHH! I am feeling for you and your son and laughing at the same time! That picture is memorable! I totally had the Parent Tower of Terror parental guilt experience after we took our almost 4 year old on it (I like to say almost 4 instead of 3 cause it eases my guilt!) in october and it scared the bejeezes out of her!! Having not been on the ride for a few years and having shown my little girl ride clips from online, I thought we were ok cause she was really excited for the "tummy-ticking" elevator ride! Someone in line even made a comment behind our backs about how how could people take "their babies" on this ride. I was perturbed when I heard that cause I had "totally prepare" my child for this ride (haha!) and was by no means forcing her to come on it. Needless to say, i felt terrible the rest of the trip for taking her on it and she emphatically states she will never ride the "tower of terrible" ride again!!! No judgements here! If you are a terrible parent, Im right up there with you!

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't think it's wrong to take littler kids (and at 7 he's not littler), but since we live in a building with an elevator, there's absolutely no chance I would have told DS it was just an elevator ride! We've done quite a bit of talking about how very UNlike an elevator TOT is, so he will continue to go in the elevator!

And actually he didn't mind the ride itself, but didn't like the "turn electric blue and disappear" part of the ride...that's the reason he won't go on it in the near future.

So if you're actually asking for any sort of advice for the future, I'd stick with the truth rather than just anything to get him on the ride.

 

[LittleBlackRaincloud]

My mother did something similar to me when I was little with Space Mountain. I've never forgotten it, and am still leary when people tell me rides are 'easy'. What's easy to them is not always to me. I am a certified ride weenie. It took the other girls about an hour of sweet talking and such to get me on Indy a couple of weeks ago. It just takes a lot for me to trust people when they tell me a ride is no big deal.

I don't think you're a bad father, I just don't think your description prepared your son for what was about to happen. Maybe he'll try it again later, maybe not. Either way, you're not a bad dad.

I would do a better job of explaining things from now on though....if he'll believe you...

 

[LuLusApple]

Just an elevator ride? LOL!!!
Reminds me when I was tossed in the pool and told swimjust kidding
Sometimes we have to coax our little ones into new adventures. He'll be fine I am sure

 

[DisneyPhreak]

LOL phred. You and me are alike. I did the same thing to my son and that picture could have been identical.

 

[Jackoman]

LOL, that reminds me of when I was little. My parents put a bunch of clothes on me (including a hat, of course) so I exceed the height limit to ride Star Tours! Except I loved the experience, though. I think it was more of persauding the cast member instead of me, though.

 

[PigletGurl]

No, my father said the exact same thing. He also said something that the elevator will take me to the ride or something hahaha

but i ended up liking it!!

 

[mechurchlady]

Parenting involves building trust with the child. When he is 18 and you tell him college is good for him he will not trust you and will live forever in your home. I see the future of a traumatized child in therapy and not trusting anyone.

Dad: I is just a ride to the store.
Son: I remember the just an elevator ride trick, no way am I getting in the car.

 

[Stacerita]

The kid will be fine. You are not a bad father. He will not be traumatized or scarred for life. Even kids who willingly go on the ride, get scared and upset after. No big deal. Now he knows he doesnt like it and won't go on it again. But to say that the trust he has in you is lost, or that he will be permanently damaged is silly. Seriously, there are kids who look like that after they see Mickey Mouse. They get over it.

 

[RuthieT]

no that doesnt make you a bad father... We took our almost 5 year old daughter on it in December and told her it wasnt that bad and we would get her any toy that she wanted afterwards... She was more shook up more then anything else and didnt want to go on any dark ride the rest of our trip to DL... haha

 

[alvernon90]

I'm with mechurchlady, though perhaps her prediction for how things will turn out might lean toward the "worst case scenario" end of the spectrum. Are you a bad father? Let's examine the evidence:

You are a liar. Good fathers don't lie to their kids' faces, at least not for selfish reasons. You lied because you knew your son would be afraid to go on the ride if you told the truth.

You purposely terrified your own son. Good fathers protect children who are too young to protect themselves, they don't throw them into gratuitously scary situations for selfish reasons.

You don't know whether doing these things makes you a bad father. Good fathers don't need to ask strangers if treating their kids like crap makes them bad fathers. They already know they answer. They can see it in the faces of their children who have just undergone a physical fright and seen their main anchor of trust ripped away from them over a stupid amusement park ride.

Take note of the other posters who pointed out that they have never forgotten when their own parents told them similar lies. That may help explain things someday when your son would rather go camping with his mother and her new husband than go back to Disneyland with you.

 

[LuLusApple]

The kid will be fine. You are not a bad father. He will not be traumatized or scarred for life. Even kids who willingly go on the ride, get scared and upset after. No big deal. Now he knows he doesnt like it and won't go on it again. But to say that the trust he has in you is lost, or that he will be permanently damaged is silly. Seriously, there are kids who look like that after they see Mickey Mouse. They get over it.

You are right.....I have pics of my kids with Santa like that LOL
Do they say no thanks I don't want the presents anymore? Nooooo

 

[shishigirl]

I agree with Stacerita that he will not be traumatized and scarred for life. There are alot worse things that could traumatize a child and send him into therapy than a trip to disneyland and ride on the tower of terror.

 

[alvernon90]

Lies My Father Told Me:

1. It tastes like chicken.

2. Hockey is way more fun to watch than football.

3. If you stand up for yourself he won't hit you.

4. Your mother and I were married more than nine months before you were born.

5. It's just an elevator ride.

 

[Stacerita]

Lies My Father Told Me:

1. It tastes like chicken.

2. Hockey is way more fun to watch than football.

3. If you stand up for yourself he won't hit you.

4. Your mother and I were married more than nine months before you were born.

5. It's just an elevator ride.

Santa
Easter Bunny
Tooth Fairy