Enforcing rules at Disney?

[CrazyaboutCinderella]

When it comes to eating on the DDP there is so much food, there is no way we can eat it all, so we don't make our kids eat all of the main dish before the dessert. When they misbehave while we are at WDW we make them do 50squats for everytime they act up. Our older boys hate that, but it makes them think twice before acting up.

 

[starsweeper]

My parents took me to WDW several times. Vacation was the one time of year my dad was willing to let us do almost anything and not care about what we spent while doing it. I plan to do the same with my kids. BTW, my parents are very conservative, loving parents that simply believed rules are sometimes meant to be broken.

However, that doesn't mean it was a free for all on our last trip. For example, we still returned for naps mid-day for our toddlers--otherwise noone has a good afternoon. We allowed some extra sweets, let the kids set the agenda for portions of the day, and followed what interested them.

 

[design_mom]

My DD is the same way. If she knew she'd get dessert without eating her dinner, she would not eat any dinner. (And then the "sugar crash" would come.)

What we do for her (and I do this at restaurants at home, too) is divide the meal at the beginning into "must eat to get dessert" and the rest. (Sometimes the portions are big.) I usually include the veggies and about half the entree in the "must eat" portion. She's welcome to eat anything else (or not), but she doesn't have to eat the rest to earn dessert. And she knows at the beginning of the meal what's required, so I don't have to hear "how many more bites?" or "is this enough?" throughout the meal.

We usually go through a few days of "how much of this do I have to eat?" when we get home. At home, it's "all of it" because i start with reasonable portions on the plate.

But we are usually more lax on vacation than at home. (At home, if you didn't eat your meal, you wouldn't get dessert *or* a snack later -- unless it was a very healthy snack. On vacation, you wouldn't get dessert, but if we all decide to get Mickey bars later in the day, you'd probably still get one.) I think kids can learn that there are different rules for different situations.

 

[Lidian]

We pick our battles when it comes to enforcing rules. Granted, we're consistent - so if we enforce it once, it stays enforced ... obviously, manners and safety are always enforced.

Once we arrive in the World, we live by the moment. We're there to have fun and all be kids again. So yeah, some of our "home rules" slide ... but we're at our other home anyway. It has a whole new set or rules ... all revolved around having fun!

 

[MyFriendEeyoreUK]

What we do for her (and I do this at restaurants at home, too) is divide the meal at the beginning into "must eat to get dessert" and the rest. (Sometimes the portions are big.) I usually include the veggies and about half the entree in the "must eat" portion. She's welcome to eat anything else (or not), but she doesn't have to eat the rest to earn dessert. And she knows at the beginning of the meal what's required, so I don't have to hear "how many more bites?" or "is this enough?" throughout the meal.

Thanks - this actually sounds what I was thinking of! It removes the need for discussion DD will be more amenable if we all know what is expected of her! Unfortunately, she has inherited my sweet tooth and would head straight for the good stuff if let her

I agree that there are some rules that are unbreakable no matter where you are and some that are made to be bent at Disneyworld - after all, at home we wouldn't encourage her to hug a 6ft mouse

Thanks all, it's been good to know other peoples' thoughts too, this is out first holiday with two little ones so are entering the unknown a little bit . They are both really good children but want to avoid any unnecessary battles

Laura