At what age do you allow your child to check themselves out of the kids club?

[fairytalelover]

Disney allows kids to check themselves out at the age of 9. Do you think that is too young?

 

[KristiMc]

I think DCL allows it at age 8. We started to let them at 10 but they had to let us know they were leaving.

 

[Ofinn]

DCL allows it st age 8. I think its up to you. You know your child best. I allowed my kids at age 8. Kids mature differently, and are parented diffrently so I dont think a stranger can tell you the appropriate age to give your child that privledge.

 

[OKW Lover]

Disney allows kids to check themselves out at the age of 9. Do you think that is too young?

Its entirely dependent on the child. Some are ready at that age, some aren't. Only you can judge the level of responsibility in this case.

 

[cruisehopeful]

My youngest was 14 when we first started cruising. I let her sign come and go to the vibe, but she had to have her wave phone with her at all times so we could keep in touch.

My kids consider me to be overprotective. I would have never let anyone younger than Vibe age roam around on their own.

 

[bumbershoot]

I haven't yet let DS go on his own. He's 11 and as tall as me (and is good at martial arts).

By our 2nd scheduled cruise in 2016 he'll be in the "teen" club on Royal. We will definitely get an internet package so he can have his "fauxn" ("faux phone"...wifi only, no cell service) connected to send whatsapp wifi texts to us.

On Disney he carried his "fauxn" and sent messages through the Navigator app when he was ready to leave the Club/Lab.

 

[Macmaro]

My daughter is 8 and meet some friends in the lab that were 8 and checking themselves in and out week before last on the Fantasy. My daughter is very mature and pretty trustworthy but there is no way we would let her. Especially after the recent news story and post about someone on the Magic molesting an 11 year old. Whether or not I trust my child is irrelevant when there are predators around.

I would like to add that I wish some parents would question their own decisions about letting their own children run free. The only issue we had on our magical trip (and this is true of almost all of the trips) is the children (mostly girls in the 10-13 year range) acting inappropriately. It didn't ruin our trip but it is annoying. Here's a couple of interesting things I observed.

1) Two girls on deck 9 kept messing around near the elevators. Every time an elevator would empty they would jump in, press all the buttons, jump out, and laugh uproariously. I made two trips (via the stairs) to deck 11 over 20 minutes and they kept at it.
2) I was walking down a hall of staterooms and was passed by a group of 3 young ladies running. They passed by a plate near a stateroom door with fries and a drink that a guest had left in the hallway for cleanup and one of the girls kicked it (she had to go out of her way to do it) and knocked the food, ice, and drink everywhere. The fries were mashed into the carpet next time I passed.

Obviously many parents feel their children are safe on a Disney ship (and for the most part they are) but I don't think some think about whether or not their children are mature enough to handle the responsibility.

 

[Lauralaylin]

We're going on our second Disney cruise in a few weeks, and I'm letting my 9 year old sign himself out. He doesn't like loud noises (auditory processing disorder), and it was SO loud the last time we went. There's no way to get away from how loud it is. He was miserable, and I want him to have fun on this cruise. But at the same time, I also want a bit of adult time for things like my mixology class. We've decided he's allowed to sign himself out with set rules. He's good at obeying, and he isn't a troublemaker or a rough and tumble type, so I don't see him making trouble for others. He has to call us every time he goes anywhere, and I may make him check in often anyway. I'm trying to encourage him to sit on a lounge chair and read. What just happened last week to that girl does trouble me, but at the same time I don't want to hover or be a helicopter parent. I'm hoping this will work out, and he knows at any time I can take away this privilege from him.

 

[disny_luvr]

We just got off the Fantasy a few weeks ago and we did not let our 9-year-old twins sign themselves out. They are well-behaved, mature kids but I was more worried about others on the ship. We sent along a wave phone with them. I was nervous about that, too (didn't want them to lose it), but they did a good job keeping it in one of their pockets. When they wanted to leave they'd call us. It worked very well.

 

[bumbershoot]

He has to call us every time he goes anywhere

How will he be calling you?

The CMs will call to let parents know kids want to leave, but that's for kids that can't go on their own. I'm not sure they'll make that call for a child who can check out.

I don't want to hover or be a helicopter parent

Picking up a *nine* year old from a ship that holds thousands of strangers isn't, in any way, shape, or form, helicoptering or even hovering.

He doesn't like loud noises (auditory processing disorder), and it was SO loud the last time we went. There's no way to get away from how loud it is. He was miserable

Ear plugs.

If he's upset enough to leave, will he be in a good mindset to try to find a nice *quiet* place to be?

If he goes back to the room and the room attendant is cleaning, the attendant won't stay. So your room won't be done. They won't be in there when a child is alone.

 

[lanejudy]

I would have never let anyone younger than Vibe age roam around on their own.

Just to say... DCL automatically allows anyone in Edge or Vibe self-check-out, there is no option to it. If parents wish for an 11 or 12-yr-old to NOT have check-out privileges, that child must attend the Club/Lab. The Club/Lab is the only kids' space that has parent (adult) sign-out requirement. I believe it can be waived starting at age 8.

The bottom line is that only you know your child, his/her level of responsibility and trust, and your own comfort with the child being independent.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Ofinn]

Just to say... DCL automatically allows anyone in Edge or Vibe self-check-out, there is no option to it. If parents wish for an 11 or 12-yr-old to NOT have check-out privileges, that child must attend the Club/Lab. The Club/Lab is the only kids' space that has parent (adult) sign-out requirement. I believe it can be waived starting at age 8.

The bottom line is that only you know your child, his/her level of responsibility and trust, and your own comfort with the child being independent.

Enjoy your cruise!

I completely agree with you. I work full time, homeschool my kids, my husbands out of town most of the week. My kids are very mature, independent,self sufficient, responsible good kids. They have to be due to our personal circumstances. I would hate to have other parents tell me not to give them independence on a ship. I would never tell another parent what they should do. Every time an incident happens people start freakin out. People need to keep in mind tens of thousands of kids cruise every year without incident. I chose to let them check in and out at age 8 and 9 and they handled it fine.

 

[Alexle2007]

I allowed DS8 last May to have sign-out privileges and room charging privileges and he did great with them! He didn't purchase a single thing and he knew he had the privilege. He is a year ahead in school so DH and I have to get to use to him doing things more independently. He'll be off to college and will have just barely got his driver's license.

 

[Ofinn]

My daughter is 8 and meet some friends in the lab that were 8 and checking themselves in and out week before last on the Fantasy. My daughter is very mature and pretty trustworthy but there is no way we would let her. Especially after the recent news story and post about someone on the Magic molesting an 11 year old. Whether or not I trust my child is irrelevant when there are predators around.

I would like to add that I wish some parents would question their own decisions about letting their own children run free. The only issue we had on our magical trip (and this is true of almost all of the trips) is the children (mostly girls in the 10-13 year range) acting inappropriately. It didn't ruin our trip but it is annoying. Here's a couple of interesting things I observed.

1) Two girls on deck 9 kept messing around near the elevators. Every time an elevator would empty they would jump in, press all the buttons, jump out, and laugh uproariously. I made two trips (via the stairs) to deck 11 over 20 minutes and they kept at it.
2) I was walking down a hall of staterooms and was passed by a group of 3 young ladies running. They passed by a plate near a stateroom door with fries and a drink that a guest had left in the hallway for cleanup and one of the girls kicked it (she had to go out of her way to do it) and knocked the food, ice, and drink everywhere. The fries were mashed into the carpet next time I passed.

Obviously many parents feel their children are safe on a Disney ship (and for the most part they are) but I don't think some think about whether or not their children are mature enough to handle the responsibility.

Teenagers can get ouf control. I think this is unfortunately normal teenage behavior for some kids. They probably act the same way at school. There were some issues on our last cruise. My kids went to guest services a couple of times to call security on some kids in the Edge that were bullying other kids. I can only teach my kids how to behave. I cant do anything about the other kids.

 

[MunFam]

I will not allow my daughter sign out privileges until she is in the 10-12 year old range, and even then, it will be to join us as a family, no roaming the halls, no wandering the ship. There are WAY too many unreported cases of rape and molestation that happen in hotels and resorts. Kids are afraid to say something, they are threatened, shamed and feared in to not saying something...so they don't. Often times the family will not learn about the incident for 10+ years. And then the family is dumbfounded as to like "how did this happen and how come you never said anything to us about it?"... trust me on this. I place a higher value on my daughter's youthful innocence versus most because I know what it feels like to be robbed of that and I will do everything I can to protect it. Am I a helicopter? Nope. Run, play, have fun, live your life, but you can bet your tail I will be watching like a hawk for [potential] predators.

 

[CesD]

I guess it depends on what you let them do on land. So you let them go to the mall/ movies alone? We do not let our 10yr old do that when we are at home so they are not allowed to ck themselves out of the kids club.
Also, it is not only about how mature/ responsible your kids are, it is also the fact that predators/ other rowdy, careless people also board cruise ships. It's not helicopter parenting at all

 

[GooniesAndy]

Totally depends on the kid and the situation, I think. I wasn't comfortable enough to let my 9-year-old check himself out of the club on our May cruise, and then halfway through our October cruise I decided to let him have sign-out privileges. We had friends along whose daughter is in the Edge age range and the two of them were hanging out a lot. She carried a wave phone with her at all times and was extremely good about checking in with her parents. He was only allowed to check himself out when he was hanging out with her and he was to check himself back into the club if she was not going to be around and I wasn't readily available. It worked out just fine and he really enjoyed the taste of independence. A few weeks later we let the two of them go off on their own a few times at Disneyland and they loved it.

 

[Krissy22222]

DD is 9 and I always get her self check privileges, but I tell her she must not check herself out unless I am in the waiting area calling her name, or making eye contact with her. Helps in the situation of long lines.

 

[Amw1064]

My daughter is very mature and been on over 20 Disney cruises so she knows the ships well. She is now 13 and I would no way allow her to go anywhere by herself on the ships. (Good thing I didn't as we were just on the Dec. 18th sailing of the Magic where an alleged incident occured.) We were with another family whose son was also almost 13 and I did allow them to go off together to the Edge, get drinks, play ping pong, etc. However there were strict instructions for Abbey to be brought back to us if he decided to go back to the room or somewhere else. Also you can message anyone in your party with your own phones for free so that was a great option while on the ship.

 

[jahber]

We allowed our 8yo son to check himself out of the clubs if he was with his 11yo sister and if they stayed together. We had a plan for where they were allowed to go and they always had to call us before they moved. There are phones all over the ship, plus there are officers and cast members everywhere they can talk to--what kind of a situation do we have if we just stop trusting the crew altogether, and yet are willing to place our lives in their hands? We also allow our daughter to go from the club to the pool deck alone. She's in middle school, for goodness' sake. A very dear friend of mine was raped in a bathroom in her middle school. And yet people still allow their kids to go to school--everything is a risk. Because I AM fully aware of the risks in life, I make reasoned, educated choices about what I *personally* consider safe. If someone else isn't comfortable allowing their kid to be unsupervised, that's also great parenting. You know your kid best, and that's all you can do.
Fwiw, my kids don't roam the ship. They go from one approved place to the next, calling or leaving a note (INside the room) as they go. We know this, as we've seen them around the ship when they didn't see us (and yes, followed them on occasion). They've proven themselves trustworthy. If that ever changes, that will be the end of that freedom.