Do you know what your teens are doing?

[yamahaboy]

hahaha very true...video games are pretty stupid on the cruise neways...if u wanna play vg's then u can do that at home hahaha....ture that the stack isnt that fun but the music is good for me haha

 

[Tiggerlvr91]

When I was on the cruise my parents made me come back to the room at about 1am. The only night that I stayed out that late was the frist night when I was in the Stack. I usually was back in the roon at 12 or 12:30. Me being only 13 this was the time that the kids my age were going back to bed, and I was left with nothing to do. The Stack was rather boring and I think that 13-17 is a little too broad of an age group.
One night when I was going back to my room I saw I group of kids jumping from the elevator shaft from the 6 to the 5th floor( I think). There was also a group of young adults down at the bottom and they were cheering them on. These adults were drunk and were not thinking of the safty of the kids. When I was in my room getting ready for bed I could still hear the bang of them jumping ( and I was on the 2nd floor!!!)

 

[brack]

The parent should enforce what time your child is in their room, not DCL. Come on, this is what is happening in the world today, let someone else do the rules and enforcing and the parents just sit back and complain. My opinion is the parents of these teenagers should be sought out and chastised as well. Cause I tell you what if I were to get a phone call or a visit from someone in authority about one of my children, that would be it, they would be with Mommy and Daddy the rest of the time. They would obey because so far my children know who to respect and who to be reverent too.

Thank you Cypress_Star. This is exactly how it should work.

My DS is 31 years old but when he was a teenager he knew what was expected of him. I would never have had a problem with him on a cruise because he would have known that he too "would be with Mommy and Daddy the rest of the time" .... once he could walk again.

Now before I am accused of being a child abuser my DS rarely ever needed to be spanked. He still loves me and actually wants to go to WDW/DCL Cruise with me often.

ps: My DS is going on the cruise with us next week and I do not expect any problems from him or his wife!

 

[staylor]

Brack, you are hillarious. I'm gonna tell your son you said that.
Just kidding!
Staci

 

[mickeymom923]

We have cruised on DCL twice and have never seen what you described. I have seen rude teens on Carnival but I realize that it is a cruise and chances are most of the teens are good kids. My children have been cruising since they were 10 and 9 and they are now 18 and 17. It is because I trust them that I continue to go on cruises and they know at any given time I might see them and they better be behaving. My son has a curfew of 3 am and the last night I let him stay out all night. Normally he doesn't. My kids just like hanging out with the other teens. I might not know exactly what they are doing but I know what they are not doing.

 

[goofyforus]

Just as a comment. My family cruised DCL in June 2004. My twin teens were 17 at the time. My kids are very well behaved but they did witness rude behavior. They both were required to check in with us by midnight and leave a note if they were to be out later. Parenting is the key. My kids know the rules, you behave badly, you stay home the next time. I have approached parents of rude teens and it is very clear that most of the time the parents are the same. Kids live what they learn. Other parents were not aware of their kids behavior. If i witness rude teens, i turn them in. They like most bullys feed off threats and intimidation and will get away with what ever they can. It's up to us not to be intimidated by these children.

 

[krhardy]

I know I go out on a limb here, but I would say the problem lies more with the parents than with the teens. I would have never dreamed of acting that way, because if my mother had heard about it, I might still not be able to sit down. I feel justified addressing this issue, because I am a mother of 3, and a teacher. I have to remind myself, quite often, that it is the parents who need some discipline. It takes hard work to raise respectful children. I often tell people that my house is NOT a democracy...it is a benevolent dictatorship. My children know that their opinion is important to us, but that in the end, whatever my husband and I say is the law. THere are far too many parents out there trying to be their childrens' friends, rather than take the hard road of knowing what they are doing. Please understand, I know that I am by no means a perfect parent. I know that I mess up, but I also see the kids at my school who are obviously the boss in their houses.
When we have cruised with our children in the past, yes my husband and I have wanted to do our own thing, but as a parent you can never be too busy doing what you want to do, to make it a point to know where your child is and what they're doing.
I know I'm probalby going to catch some flack for this post, and that is anybody's perogative, but after dealing with many of the children that I have dealt with over the years, and seeing how they treat their parents and ARE TREATED by their parents, I feel justified. I do realize that this is not ALWAYS the case with misbehaving teens, but it is a large contributing factor. Please rest assured that if it were EVER one of my children, they would not be allowed to leave my sight after I found out.

 

[soccerdad-Chris]

I know I'm probalby going to catch some flack for this post, and that is anybody's perogative, but after dealing with many of the children that I have dealt with over the years, and seeing how they treat their parents and ARE TREATED by their parents, I feel justified.

Kelley--
I know you wrote this a couple of weeks ago, but I just read it. My opinion is that you deserve praise and not flack for your post. I was going to chime in with my own detailed post in agreement with you, but after typing for 5 minutes or so, I realized you basically said it all:

Respectful kids are raised by parents who themselves show respect.

Kudos to you, Kelley
Chris (soccerdad)

 

[LiserAnn]

"Respectful kids are raised by parents who themselves show respect"

I totally agree with soccerdad-Chris! Having said that, I don't think it's appropriate for teens to be *hanging* out in hallways and stairwells at 2am. I completely understand the desire to talk with new friends (I may be old, but I do remember those days very clearly) but as quiet and respectful as one thinks they're being--the room doors aren't that thick and laughter carries, etc. I just feel it would be great if there was an alcove or the like where the teens could comfortably sit and talk to their heart's content...no music, just a nook for them to gather and talk, since that's what it sounds like they want to do. At 15 I would have rathered sit in a comfy chair as opposed to a hard stair that 50 million other people have walked on ... helps the conversation to flow better!! LOL Just my 20 cents.........