anyone else get irritated with this?

[JMCDAD]

OK let me weigh in here.

Disney above all is for kids so to me the last place to complain about kids behavior .. etc is WDW.

However that does not excuse kids acting like brats, or worse parents allowing it.
I see this not only in public places but within my own family (nephews, nieces, cousins.)

Some parents for example will sit and eat and drink and talk meanwhile their kids are causing havoc. My wife and I are constantly watching our kids and never allowed that type pf behavior. Sometimes a look is all it takes


Now I am not saying my kids are perfect (they are close)

But we have never had a problem with them acting out in public.
Now at home or in the car or in the hotel room is a different story, they can drive us nuts.

 

[Drizzo67]

There is definately a difference between a child having a "moment" and a down and out brat. I, for one, am tethered to a BRAT!!!!! LOL.

My 5 yr old DD is under the impression that everyone is around to do everything for her. I don't know where this idea comes from as my 9 yr old DS is just delightful.. Don't get me wrong, I love her to pieces. She just has MOODS!!!!!!!! LOTS OF THEM.

My suggestion to the people without children who are complaining. Ask to watch the kids or babysit for a day.....you'll see that it's not so easy.

 

[Clover9990]

Originally posted by disneyjunkie
It doesn't bother me at all. I'm a parent and I agree with many of the things I've read on those threads.

There's no way my son would get away with the things I've seen kids do at WDW. If he can't sit down in a restaurant without disturbing those around us, we leave. He can't sit in a theatre and scream, talk loud, and kick the chair in front of him...

We may be on vacation, but I still have to be a parent. Yes, kids will be kids, but parents should be parents.

We all invest a great deal in our trips, they should not be ruined by unruly kids or adults.

This is the best post I've read in a long, long time. AMEN!!

 

[disneymom3]

I could care less if a child is being bratty to their parents. You want to let your kids talk back to you?? Go right ahead, honey, it's your future when that kid is a teen and has no respect for you. I may roll my eyes or be shocked by some of the behavior I see, but I honestly don't care. Kids having a tantrum, again, not my problem. Kids break down at the drop of a hat sometimes and you don't even know why.

What BUGS me is when the child's misbehavior affects my enjoyment of a meal or overall experience in WDW. Children who come up to talk to the characters when they are at OUR table are my biggest pet peave. Basically children who are not in their seats or pretty darn close to it in restaurants drive me crazy, IF that means they are near me and mine. And kids in line who are bumping into us, taking my kids toy--yes, it has happened and mine was a young toddler. (I had to retrieve the toy and then the parents looked at me like I was a scrooge.) Cutting ahead in character lines etc. That kind of stuff is what I hate and it has been hit on the head in this thread. Parents who aren't parenting or who think their child is the cutest thing ever and so you should too.

 

[Amaris]

We have been at the butt end of some ugly stares from people... My daughter suffered from a severe language impairment. At four, she did not talk at all, and the only way she communicated was through tantruming & screaming. As long as things were going her way we had silence, and if not, full blown melt downs.

I have heard everything from "you should take that child over your knee" to "I never let my kids get away with that kind of behavior." and "Some people weren't cut out to be parents ." As if it is not painful enough to have a child with an invisible disability, that people can only assume is a brat, the disgust of others was not only unwarranted, but extremely painful.

WDW was the happiest time of her life at age 4. She did have many meltdowns, and we suffered many ugly comments from ugly passers by... but she enjoyed herself more than anything in her life, and she carried a photo around of the castle for almost six months after.

We *always* removed her from situations when she was out of control, but her screaming and tantruming esculated and the stares increased. As her volume increased, LOUD comments and stares of horror from onlookers almost always got more frequent when we did.

You really can't win even if you do intervene. The intervention was FOR the onlookers, to remove her from their environment so she would not bother them. As for my daughter, it was not helpful. She still couldn't communicate with us. People were still "bothered." I went many years never going to the store to get a gallon of milk, never getting out of the house trying to avoid "bothering" people, but one day I decided I was not going to live like that anymore. One can only imagine how exhausting it is to parent a child like this. Imagine dealing with this 24/7 rather than just 5 minutes as you pass someone at a park.

For those of you who can only assume *all* misbehaving children are brats, I can only wish you happy perfect children. Sadly, not all of them appear perfect, and those of us who parent them accept them for who they are and do the best we can!

I guess I should have not commented, I don't mean to sound so negative, but I just want folks to know that sometimes, you just don't know the whole story, and maybe it would make a difference if you knew the turmoil some people endure on a daily basis.

As miracles do happen, my child is now 7 1/2 and a "typical" kid with only a one year delay in her language, but I will NEVER again make a comment about someone elses kid the way I did BEFORE I had children. Now i know better. In fact, NOW some people actually stop me and COMPLIMENT me on how well behaved she is. If they only knew!!!!!!

 

[crisi]

Thanks Amaris, for sharing that.

Its hard for people who have "normal" kids to realize what life is like for people who don't. And for people in "normal" situations to recognize how fortunate they are that their situation is normal.

Disney is especially appealling to people whose kids have disabilities. Not all those kids are in wheelchairs, and not all disablities are physical. Disney is often a trip families take to heal or capture memories with a coming difficult time - lots of step families trying to work things out - lots of Make A Wish families with a lot of stress in their lives.

 

[jodifla]

Yes, I'm always struck by how people judge kids (and their parents) on the moment's behavior. If you saw my DS during about 75 percent of a day's events, you'd think he was just a charming angel. Then there's the other 25 percent of the day. But some of that is what being an almost 3 year old is all about.

In August, we traveled next to a 15-month-old girl who charmed everyone who walked on the plane. She was happy, engaging, smiling. Everyone was gaga over her. About an hour into the trip, she went on a screamfest, and it lasted the other hour and a half of the flight. The poor mom tried everything to calm her, nothing worked. But of course, lots of the passengers who were complimentary on the way in were shooting the mom dirty looks for the end of the flight. This is the same lovely child, who was just having a meltdown that no one could do anything about.

Sure, there's some bad parenting out there. But if you don't want to be around little kids and all their up and down moods, don't go to Disney. It's what Walt built it for -- an amusement park for families. Plenty of places are meant for adult entertainment. (We don't take our son out to adult restaurants for example.)

And Amaris, my heart goes out to you. I'm glad things are better now.

 

[Sleuth]

Actually, it bothers me too. I read a lot more than I post. We have two boys, 4 and 2 and our 4 year old is autistic. He does speak some and at first glance most do not know he is autistic. Sometimes he throws temper tantrums not because of a choice but because of his disability and people automatically think he is being rotten. He is a very good kid, but sometimes when things come at him fast he can't handle it and starts smacking himself in the head, or a tantrum. I have had people say disgusting things about my parenting skills, etc. when they have no clue.

I loathe people that judge other folks' children by a first glance when they don't always know the whole story and why the children may act the way they do.

I really hope that people think before they speak or mis-speak a remark or comment about a child they do not know. It is very cruel and unnecessary, especially if the child has underlying conditions or circumstances.

 

[Sleuth]

Amaris, Thank you for your post, I didn't get a chance to read it until after I posted.

Yes, I was the same way BEFORE I had a child with a disability. I have learned compassion and patience and that not everything is as it seems under the surface.

When we took our boys to WDW in May, we were pleasantly surpirsed, our oldest is very visual and he stared open-eyed at everything. He was so good. He only had a couple of "melt downs" but they were controllable.

WDW was made for families with kids. I am so glad that the marjority of folks that visit understand this.