At what age is it safe for the kids to be "on their own"?

[Jmarie76]

Hello,

This is the first time for me using the forum site. My husband and I will be traveling with my very responsible 13 year old daughter and 10 year old son. My husband and I are toying with the idea of leaving the kids at the hotel while we enjoy a late dinner for just the two of us. My question is... are they still too young to be left alone? At home we've had no problems doing this occasionally. Also, while at the parks is it safe to let the kids venture off without us? We have safety rules the kids follow in regards to malls and such and has worked for us but, Disney is a whole other world.

 

[Alesia]

Hello,

This is the first time for me using the forum site. My husband and I will be traveling with my very responsible 13 year old daughter and 10 year old son. My husband and I are toying with the idea of leaving the kids at the hotel while we enjoy a late dinner for just the two of us.
1. My question is... are they still too young to be left alone? At home we've had no problems doing this occasionally.
2. Also, while at the parks is it safe to let the kids venture off without us? We have safety rules the kids follow in regards to malls and such and has worked for us but, Disney is a whole other world.

1. I wouldn't have a problem with it.
2. I would let them. I'd make sure one of them has a cell phone. And set a very specific meeting place in case they get separated.

There are pretty frequent posts from people who insist on taking their tween sons into the ladies room because they're afraid to send them into the men's room. Keep that in mind for some of the responses that you will get.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I'm all about age appropriate amounts of freedom. A 13 year old is old enough to babysit, so I would have no problem leaving them alone for a couple of hours if you know they are mature enough to stay in the room.

At the park, I'd let them go for an hour with a mandatory check-in time. If they did well with that, I'd go a little longer. Just make sure they have phones and know how to reach you.

 

[SmallWorld71]

You will get some mixed responses, but I personally would be okay with it.
A few notes:
DD was 11 on our last trip. She had no problems using her magic band to 'pay' for food/ snacks at the resort so they should be fine to get food if that was part of the plan. Make sure they know the pin code and how to use the magic bands.
I would not let them swim. To the best of my knowledge, Disney has signs by the pool saying that children under 12 must be accompanied by and adult but I am not sure of the exact wording. With the recent, tragic death of a little boy at the AoA pool, I would guess they would be more vigilant about enforcing this rule than they have in the past.
They will be fine to ride the rides without you once you are all in the park. But, they can't enter the park on their own. You need to be 14 or older (or with someone 14 or older to do that.)

 

[Capang]

You know your kids best and if you think they are mature and responsible enough to handle it then they will probably be fine. It shouldn't be a problem at all.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

The hotel would be a non-issue. I've been allowed to stay in hotels while my father has went out since the age of eight. As for letting them off in the parks alone, I'd make sure one of the kids has a cell phone and they have decent knowledge of the park layout.

 

[Jess_S]

I agree with everyone else. I babysat other people's kids when I was 13, so I think a responsible 13 year old is definitely old enough to be left alone for for a few hours at the hotel. I was curious about whether Disney had any rules re supervision of kids. The WDW website says that kids under 14 need to be accompanied by an adult to "enter the parks" and that kids under 7 need a person over 14 with them on rides. My view is that this leaves it open for responsible kids between 7 and 14 to do some rides on their own.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I don't know the correct answer to this, but I think we are getting there. On our next trip our girls will be 11 and 9. It will be their 8th trip!! They know the parks like the back of their hands. I don't think that will be the trip that we let them go off on their own but I think maybe at 12 and 10 we will.

We have already started testing them when in the parks when we are going from attraction to attraction, we have them lead the way so we know they know where to go and where everything is, etc...

 

[ahutton]

My kids were DD15, DD13 and DS10 on the last trip; my girls "look" older than they are; and for that matter, my 10 year old son does too.

A couple years ago we let the girls go off on their own while we were inside the same park and had no trouble. They gave us an idea of what they wanted to do, had cell phones and did great.

This most recent trip DD13 and DS10 went together without DD15 and were never asked about their ages; they had a great time. They were very responsible, checked in regularly and would let us know when they were leaving the park, got on the bus (coming back from AK and MK) and arrived at the hotel. They all paired up differently for different parks, depending on who was in the mood to do what, and it worked out that each kid had alone time with DH and I - which was really fun!

 

[Thing 1]

I would be ok with both of those things. I would not go too far from your resort without a car as it can take quite a while to get from resort to resort using WDW transport but I would be fine leaving them in the room while you had dinner at that resort or a close by resort. I would also allow them to enjoy two or three rides and then meet back up with you as long as they would for sure stay together and not fight and have a cell phone.

 

[Accident]

13 can get working papers and start earning. You know your kids best, my recommendation is try this out a couple times at home to see how they take the responsibility. I was watching my sisters at home by this age.

one hotel suggestion, make sure you lock out the adult entertainment on the tv and maybe start them off with something for movie night when you go

 

[Baklava]

Will the 10 year old obey the 13 year old if it's necessary? The sibling relationship is a big part of the decision.

 

[ajwolfe]

I would be comfortable with this, if the kids wanted to go off on their own. My boys are 11(almost 12) and 8 right now - they've been several times and I can easily see them being able to navigate the parks on our next trip alone if they wanted (at 12 and 9). I wouldn't force them to do it, it would be only if they wanted some time to explore without us.

 

[Tiffylv]

.

 

[JiminyJ]

good thread that i will following for my own kids ... oldest hitting this soon

 

[eeyoreandtink]

My DD is almost 12 and knows the parks well. She is an only, but I could see doing this if she had a friend with her. I think as long as they have a phone and stay together it should be fine.

 

[North of Mouse]

Hello,

This is the first time for me using the forum site. My husband and I will be traveling with my very responsible 13 year old daughter and 10 year old son. My husband and I are toying with the idea of leaving the kids at the hotel while we enjoy a late dinner for just the two of us. My question is... are they still too young to be left alone? At home we've had no problems doing this occasionally. Also, while at the parks is it safe to let the kids venture off without us? We have safety rules the kids follow in regards to malls and such and has worked for us but, Disney is a whole other world.

Only 'you' know how your children can be trusted and how responsible they are. We, too, had an older dd & ds 3 years younger. Our dd was 'very' responsible and trustworthy, and we left them together at that age. Our ds, on the other hand, was 'not' left alone until he was about 16. Together, they did great. Dd 'ruled' while we were not with them and he knew, and respected that. They also got along great together which made the situation just fine.

 

[worm761]

I have to say that I am a paranoid parent. (DH stops me from helicoptering so I'm just paranoid. LOL) I wouldn't leave my kids alone in a hotel room. Not even at Disney and we go yearly.

I would have no problem with letting them wander the parks by themselves if I were in the park with them. If it were me, I would do the dinner alone with DH inside a park and let the kids go off for a few hours on their own if they are familiar with the parks.

 

[cdhale]

I plan on letting my DD13 and DD 13 go off on their own in the parks this trip. I think travelling with DS2 may cramp their touring style a bit! I also plan on letting them watch him in the hotel room. They take him to the pool at home (they are both year round swimmers), but the Disney pools are probably too crowded for me to feel comfortable letting them do that.

 

[holden]

I would leave my DD12 (almost 13) and DD8 alone together in a hotel room if we were eating dinner in the same hotel - rent them a movie and set them up with snacks with strict orders not to leave the room or answer the door. I'd also check in with them by cell every hour.

I'm a bit overprotective, but I think this would be fine.