Enforcement of 14 yr old restriction

[Nichols4]

Parents should just be aware that sexual predators are everywhere. One was arrested at the Animal Kingdom Lodge while we were staying there in 2008. I have always watched my children closely after that.

 

[mom2rtk]

I can't tell you how many other students I met at college (I started in 2006 and ended in 2012) and on my college program who couldn't do anything for themselves. Some even told us how their mom's came to clean their room once a month before room inspections at their college! I am so glad I knew how to cook and wash clothes. I also knew that regular dish soap could not be used in the communal dish washer and no you can't throw dish soap in the washing machine if you forgot to buy detergent. It was also things like what type of OTC medicine to take if you had a sniffle and when you can wait to go to the school clinic the next day vs when you should go to the emergency room/call 911.

LOL, the day I go clean my kid's dorm room is the day I turn in my mom card!

 

[wilkeliza]

LOL, the day I go clean my kid's dorm room is the day I turn in my mom card!

I had one dorm mate whose mom did just that. She also called security when her daughter (my roommate) didn't answer her phone for an entire day after they were fighting. I confused the guard when I answered the door because he just asked for a first name and I said yep that's me. He then proceeded to tell me I needed to call my mom because she was pestering security and they had enough of it. I smiled and said well that's pretty impossible because my mom's dead so you must want my roomie. After that the guards started calling us by our last names haha.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Cellphones, by the way, are a brilliant invention. "Mom, little Timmy fell down Cinderella's wishing well!" "Where are you?" "In an ambulance on our way to the Centra Care." "Okay, I'll meet you there!"

Actually I see the conversation going this way.
"Mom, I'm having a great time. I've already cut in line 5 times. Knocked over 3 little kids. And took little Joey's lunch money."
"Great job, Johnny. Keep up the good work."
"I'll see you when I get there."

 

[famy27]

I had one dorm mate whose mom did just that. She also called security when her daughter (my roommate) didn't answer her phone for an entire day after they were fighting. I confused the guard when I answered the door because he just asked for a first name and I said yep that's me. He then proceeded to tell me I needed to call my mom because she was pestering security and they had enough of it. I smiled and said well that's pretty impossible because my mom's dead so you must want my roomie. After that the guards started calling us by our last names haha.

My friend dated a guy who was in his 30s. His mom came to his apartment and cleaned the bathrooms every other week. I have another friend whose mom cut her brother's toenails when he was in college. Both of these are so wrong on just every level.

 

[mom2rtk]

I had one dorm mate whose mom did just that. She also called security when her daughter (my roommate) didn't answer her phone for an entire day after they were fighting. I confused the guard when I answered the door because he just asked for a first name and I said yep that's me. He then proceeded to tell me I needed to call my mom because she was pestering security and they had enough of it. I smiled and said well that's pretty impossible because my mom's dead so you must want my roomie. After that the guards started calling us by our last names haha.

This stuff is cracking me up.

My friend dated a guy who was in his 30s. His mom came to his apartment and cleaned the bathrooms every other week. I have another friend whose mom cut her brother's toenails when he was in college. Both of these are so wrong on just every level.

Please tell me your friend ran screaming from that relationship?

 

[KristinU]

15 years ago there was very little internet........AKK

That is not the case.

Hell, I was here on the DIS 15 years ago! 15 years ago I had acquired a professional job via the internet, done a lot of relocation research via the internet, did most of a vehicle purchase via the internet, started adoption research via the internet, etc. etc. etc. Actually, when we relocated 16 years ago, we chose our section of town because it had cable modem already. We were definitely high speed and heavily using the internet for daily life 15 years ago...and dodging all of the Walt Disney Jr. and free Applebees emails too

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Well I have put my foot in my mouth already 2 times today..........may as well go ahead with this tale as well:

3 or 4 years ago, the college training ship was crossing the Atlantic on a normal training cruise. The college received a call from the Mom of a mug (freshman) who was making his first summer training cruise to Europe and told them that her son always had a Carvel Ice Cream cake for his birthday, (which was during the next week). She was willing to bring the cake to the campus, but wanted to know how the College was going to get the cake to the ship!


Well...........after being told by various people it was not possible and getting more and more upset........she somehow got the Empire State VI phone number and called the training ship. She got the bridge and they got the Captain. Needless to say, it never happened!

That I know is a factual story!

AKK

 

[Magpie]

Actually I see the conversation going this way.
"Mom, I'm having a great time. I've already cut in line 5 times. Knocked over 3 little kids. And took little Joey's lunch money."
"Great job, Johnny. Keep up the good work."
"I'll see you when I get there."

Johnny's mom has clearly raised a very honest young man! The prosecution will be very grateful to her, someday.

 

[Magpie]

Well I have put my foot in my mouth already 2 times today..........may as well go ahead with this tale as well:

3 or 4 years ago, the college training ship was crossing the Atlantic on a normal training cruise. The college received a call from the Mom of a mug (freshman) who was making his first summer training cruise to Europe and told them that her son always had a Carvel Ice Cream cake for his birthday, (which was during the next week). She was willing to bring the cake to the campus, but wanted to know how the College was going to get the cake to the ship!


Well...........after being told by various people it was not possible and getting more and more upset........she somehow got the Empire State VI phone number and called the training ship. She got the bridge and they got the Captain. Needless to say, it never happened!

That I know is a factual story!

AKK

Oh gosh, I remember Carvel Ice Cream commercials from the radio. That gravelly voice, saying, "We have cakes for every occasion..." The guy sounded like a ninety year old alcoholic with emphysema!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Oh gosh, I remember Carvel Ice Cream commercials from the radio. That gravelly voice, saying, "We have cakes for every occasion..." The guy sounded like a ninety year old alcoholic with emphysema!

lol..........that voice was Tommy Carvel.....he founded the company and they still have their plant in Yonkers, New York

 

[KristinU]

No lie - a friend had a parent of one of his direct reports contact HR to discuss the adult child's merit increase.

 

[DopeyDame]

OK....let me tell you a factual tale. My friends daughter did a 3 month study program as WDW about 15 years ago. Security issues were discussed. Their biggest fear over kidnapping was what I posted.........changing the child's appearance. What they do to fight it is to amass security personal, both in uniform and plain clothes at the entrance. They look for what type of shoes the child had on. These kidnappers usually forget to change the shoes.

So the risk is there ad burying your heads in the sand and saying it wont happen is not worth the risk.

AKK

Oh my word! You actually just keep compounding urban legand upon urban legand! No. That is not a factual tale. It's just not.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

That is your opinion and your free to have it. But don't use *please*. Today a kidnappers can in the blink of a eye , make off with a 10 year old, on problem. A shot in the child to dope them up, into a bathroom or corner to change clothes with something premade, cut the hair in a stall and out the gate they go!

Then the 14 year old spends the rest of their lives in emotional pain over not stopping the whole thing. Sorry no matter which way you look at it, a 10 or younger is still the parents or a adults job in a busy and confusing theme park or a mall or any number of other venues. Home of course i another story.

AKK

so you do not use a teen to babysit at your home? any of what you just said could happen just as easy from your own front yard. and yes both of my daughter babysat for 13 years of age

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

so you do not use a teen to babysit at your home? any of what you just said could happen just as easy from your own front yard. and yes both of my daughter babysat for 13 years of age

Ms. Rohrer, please read the posts around this and get the whole context. As it turned out the story and information I was given was 15 years old and its wrong as I was shown and I freely with drawn it.

I was referring to in a busy theme park and other venues, not at home, where yes we used babysitters.

I still stand by me feeling on a 14 year old with younger children in a busy strange venue. However that is my opinion.


AKK

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Oh my word! You actually just keep compounding urban legand upon urban legand! No. That is not a factual tale. It's just not.

Yes I know I was wrong and was later shown the proof. I withdrawed that part.

AKK

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Ms. Rohrer, please read the posts around this and get the whole context. As it turned out the story and information I was given was 15 years old and its wrong as I was shown and I freely with drawn it.

I was referring to in a busy theme park and other venues, not at home, where yes we used babysitters.

I still stand by me feeling on a 14 year old with younger children in a busy strange venue. However that is my opinion.


AKK

my daughters started going off going by themselves at 10 and 13 in theme parks. granted story I was thinking about from our area was a child taken my separated parent not a stranger but it does happen from own yard. this did happen to me as I was walking out of MK with one of my black grandsons. CMs at the gate were slowing us down I am guessing because I am white and he is black as you can get. in fact he was walking with me on ECV. we were not stopped as such but we were slowed down. in fact mom walked over from gate she use to gate we were using to se what was taking us so long. she looks like her son and she calls "Mom what taking you so long" CMs who were slowing down look at her and tone changed to "have a good night"

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

my daughters started going off going by themselves at 10 and 13 in theme parks. granted story I was thinking about from our area was a child taken my separated parent not a stranger but it does happen from own yard.

agreed!.........almost kidnappings are from family members or people the children know.


AKK

 

[DopeyDame]

my daughters started going off going by themselves at 10 and 13 in theme parks. granted story I was thinking about from our area was a child taken my separated parent not a stranger but it does happen from own yard.

Estranged parent abductions are among the most likely kidnappings. And if your family has a situation where there is a non-custodial parent or other estranged/enraged relative (or if you recently knocked off a drug lord, as someone mentioned upthread), then it makes total sense to me that you wouldn't leave your kids alone at a park. But I'm working on the assumption that the OP doesn't have any weird estranged relatives or other arch-enemies out to get her and her kids.

As for injuries/lost kids/ride breakdowns/etc. Absolutely they can happen. And dealing with them can certainly be stressful for a young teen. But my job isn't to remove all stress or fear from my kids' lives. A huge part of my job is giving them the skills and tools they need so that when stressful or scaring things happen they can deal with them well. And giving them small bits of freedom and responsibility is one of the best ways to help them develop those skills and tools.

 

[jcvalenti]

Sorry I totally disagree. It's the parents or a adults responsibly.

AKK

Well, I think that's a relatively recent phenomena. 25 years ago we didn't have adults following teenagers around everywhere. We also didn't have parents attending office hours with college professors, or kids with degrees living at home until they are in their 30s. I do agree by and large it seems American society places less emphasis on producing independent and responsible kids, but that doesn't mean it isn't promoted in individual circumstances.

While I understand your point, here's the flip. You don't know how they behaved while you were gone. You think you know and you know how they tell you they behaved, but you don't know. And, frankly, you've got no consequence if they did act badly. If they were jerks to other guests or whatever, you've got no way of knowing, and you're putting the responsibility for monitoring their behavior on the CMs.

I'm sure they behaved well. But if they didn't, what's the consequence? Who would know? It's not like school where someone could call you -- the only people who may have suffered from their bad actions are the other guests around them.

I think by the time your kid is 14, you have a pretty good feel for what kind of kid s/he is. When all the feedback from other adults in your family, older cousins, teachers, coaches, bosses, parents of kids they babysit / tutor and coach all say they are well mannered, mature, and kind, it seems unreasonable to assume they turn in to a raving jerk the second they get out of your personal eyesight.

As far as how they treat cast members and other guests, most of the bad behavior I've seen from kids in the parks happens with their parents standing right next to them, oblivious - so I think it probably has more to do with the manner in which kids are raised than how they behave our of your eyesight. When my son was 14, I never saw him let a door slam in a person's face behind him, fail to offer to help an elderly person with a grocery bag, or forget to say please and thank you when a waitress brought his meal. Since the original point was about how it differs with individual kids and some 14 year olds are more than ready to be on their own or watch younger relatives, I just think it's completely illogical to think there's any chance a kid you objectively have observed behaving in that fashion for years is suddenly going to turn into a crazed hooligan when they're at a theme park.