Eating At Kids Club

[MamaCrush]

I know the kids are taken to a buffet for meal times. But do we parents ever find out what they actually ate??? I can just see my DS4 walking through and getting nothing but french fries and ketchup. And DD3, well-- who knows! I read here that the counselors "encourage" good choices, but I wonder how that works. I'm not trying to be the food police since it's the kids' vacation to. But I would like to know if ANYTHING nutritious is going down their throats!

Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[LoveMyBaby]

I don't have experience, but as a mom I would have to say that if I am concerned about what my children are eating, then I will be sure to take them to meals myself.

 

[MamaCrush]

I'm not so much concerned... just curious.

 

[CPM]

I can't imagine they actually are aware of what the kids eat. I walked into AP while they were eating and there were a lot of kids. I didn't notice anyone walking around to make sure they ate. If your child is a picky eater I would make sure they have something before you take them there. I took my son out every day around 5:00 or so and ordered him room service, relaxed in the room for a little down time with him.

 

[lbgraves]

There really is no way for you to know if your child doesn't tell you. Neither of my kids wants to eat with the club. The first cruise DS was just 5 and he said that he wanted to go to lunch on CC with the club so I left him in. I picked him up a little later & the counselors gushed about how he had been the one to set the example to sit in his place until everyone was done. I was very pleased. On the way to the beach DS told me that he was hungry. I asked him if he had eaten & he said no. ARG!!! He is picky but I figured that he would have at least had some chips or a hot dog. Well, I took him right to Cookies & asked for a plain hotdog without the bun. He wont touch bread. They were closing up but when I told him what had happened, they gave me two hotdogs & bags of chips for him. He ate both of them on the way to the beach. When I picked him up last time I did see that they prepared the plates with a little of everything before the kids even came to the table area.

 

[MamaCrush]

Thanks. That's pretty much as I suspected. I hadn't thought about room service or a snack first. Duh... Great idea!

 

[aprilgail2]

They didn't actually "walk" through a buffet. At lunch time they sit all the children down adn then come around with each thing and ask the kid if they want it. My daughter didn't care for lunch sice she likes to order off a menu, not have them come around with the food and putting it on her plate. Hopefully this time she will change her mind but it just wasn't something she was used to. They had standards...hot dogs, chicken nuggets, french fries etc....

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I did not allow my kids to eat with the kids club on our last cruise, because I felt we should be a "family" in the dining room. That backfired, and I finally realized toward the end of the cruise, that it is their vacation also. I saw what they served the kids, and it was more "kid friendly". So, when we cruise in September, the kids can stay at the kids club as long as they want, and if they don't want to come out for dinner, then oh well.

I would not stress over whether the kids are eating or not. They won't go hungry, and if they ARE hungry, they will eat. Even if they are not eating what you think they should be, it is only for a few days.

 

[crisi]

Its probably important to realize that your kids will not be watched carefully for a balanced meal, nor will the counselors be able to do a whole lot regarding special diets. There was a post here by a vegetarian, understandably quite upset that her kids ate hot dogs at the kids clubs at meal times, despite her telling the counselors (the counselors probably should have just said "we can't control that.") If you have dietary restrictions for your kids (vegetarian, kosher,food allergies, diabetic, etc.) or want to monitor their intake (did they eat something that was in the vegetable category besides ketchup, did they eat something other than one chicken nugget and two bowls of chocolate pudding?) the kids club is probably not the best choice for mealtimes.

 

[CPM]

I did not allow my kids to eat with the kids club on our last cruise, because I felt we should be a "family" in the dining room. That backfired, and I finally realized toward the end of the cruise, that it is their vacation also. QUOTE]


LO we did the same thing. By the end of the second dinner, the Dads went and brought the kids back to the kids club before dessert. That's what they wanted to do. It wasn't worth listening to them ask when can they go back all during dinner! Next cruise, it's all about dining with the adults!