Formal Apology to All

[DVCLiz]

OP, sorry your kid screamed. Columbia Harbor House is hardly Victoria & Albert's, though, so I wouldn't beat yourself up over it.

BTW, the apple pie at HH makes a wonderful snack for the 3:00 parade through Liberty Square. Just my opinion...

 

[properlywarnedyebe]

DVCLiz-Just to let you know CHH no longer has Apple pie, just very portable and delicious small chocolate fudge cakes. Sorry.

mking624- Thanks for the warning-but apparently you want to keep beating a dead horse as well. I was hoping that people would get turned off or at least turn their computer off. It's the only way to stop the madness. 142 posts later..who knew? Please start the day fresh and meltdown free!

 

[tinker&belle]

I agree, but it's easier said than done. DH and I were stuck, just having ordered our food. DD was getting to the point that anytime we walked into any restaurant, or any line for that matter she started screaming. We would leave ASAP. She would quiet down when she got her way. It wasn't fair to us. We sat down and finally ate after two days of her manipulating us. We swallowed our food in five minutes, but those five minutes were terrible. I will never see any of those people again, they are probably no worse for the wear, but I still felt bad. For all of us.

OP, you had me until here. I have read the whole thread, and you don't really seem to be sorry that you disrupted the people 'you will never see again'. I know stuff happens with little kids, but I'm sure the people at CHH would have appreciated you taking the child to the bathroom to calm down more than you posting in a chatroom and then taking back your apology.

That being said, stuff does happen with kids. There has been lots of discussion about this at TS restaurants. It seems like there is more wiggle room at a CS location as long as the children are not disturbing other diners.

 

[Teacher03]

Nope, not all parents. My kids weren't prone to tantrums at all, and certainly not in public. My son, who has behavioral disorders, had rages at home (much, much more intense than tantrums) but never in public. My DD is just good natured.

At any rate, that's not to say they weren't ever disruptive in public. If they got a little loud or fussy, I whisked them out of the situation as soon as possible. I can't tell you how many meals where DH and I had to take turns with a kid away from the table, or where one of us had to wait in the car with the kid while the other finished shopping. Because of the way I responded to my own kids' disruptive behavior, I can't even begin to fathom the mindset of parents who don't remove kids who are having full blown tantrums! (with the exception of being stuck somewhere, such as the safari ride)

I also don't like the argument that you're just reinforcing the bad behavior by removing them from the situation. First of all, don't make the removal pleasant!!! Secondly, it is not everybody else's problem, so why should they have to put up with that?

To the OP, I'm glad you were able to salvage your trip.

I'm not saying that every parent has to deal with meltdowns; I was lucky, my kids never had a temper tantrum in public, but they did misbehave, which is what I was stating. I don't know what I would have done if my child screamed on a ride, or in a restaurant, etc. I think when parents are criticized on their parenting skills, they take it to heart... maybe that is why the OP seems defensive. I think her first post was an sincere apology.

 

[properlywarnedyebe]

OP, you had me until here. I have read the whole thread, and you don't really seem to be sorry that you disrupted the people 'you will never see again'. I know stuff happens with little kids, but I'm sure the people at CHH would have appreciated you taking the child to the bathroom to calm down more than you posting in a chatroom and then taking back your apology.

That being said, stuff does happen with kids. There has been lots of discussion about this at TS restaurants. It seems like there is more wiggle room at a CS location as long as the children are not disturbing other diners.

Please stop addressing me. No matter how good or bad or guilty I feel, or what answers I give, it will make NO ONE on this board happy. Unless you can describe the situation in detail because you were there, I have no more answers, explanations, to give. This was a five minute ordeal at a Disney World fast food place that was over quicker than this thread. How many times can one person say they made a mistake? I disrupted meals, and I regret it. I have officially stopped caring whether anyone wants to support or judge me. You all have forced me into "name calling" to defend myself against strangers.

FYI- I have good food reviews and trip reports to post. If no one wants to read them fine. They will not be including toddler meltdowns or sarcasm, Or Name calling unless you are offended by Dopey, Sleepy, Doc, Bashful, Grumpy, Sneezy, and that evil Happy.

 

[MushyMushy]

The other posters have "forced" you into name calling??? How on earth did they do that? Are you a puppet?

Anyway, if you're sick of the thread, you can unsubscribe from it and that way you won't know if there are any more posts to it.

 

[properlywarnedyebe]

The other posters have "forced" you into name calling??? How on earth did they do that? Are you a puppet?

Anyway, if you're sick of the thread, you can unsubscribe from it and that way you won't know if there are any more posts to it.

Ahhh yes, but the question remains unanswered... why are people still posting? Someone must be pulling their strings as well....

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

Please stop addressing me. No matter how good or bad or guilty I feel, or what answers I give, it will make NO ONE on this board happy. Unless you can describe the situation in detail because you were there, I have no more answers, explanations, to give. This was a five minute ordeal at a Disney World fast food place that was over quicker than this thread. How many times can one person say they made a mistake? I disrupted meals, and I regret it. I have officially stopped caring whether anyone wants to support or judge me. You all have forced me into "name calling" to defend myself against strangers.

FYI- I have good food reviews and trip reports to post. If no one wants to read them fine. They will not be including toddler meltdowns or sarcasm, Or Name calling unless you are offended by Dopey, Sleepy, Doc, Bashful, Grumpy, Sneezy, and that evil Happy.

Whether you are pleased about it or not, you started an interesting debate on how to handle this type of situation. Please try not to take what people are saying so personally. It is not your job to justify anything you did or didn't do. Many, many more people have posted support than negavitity (myself included). Try to focus on the positive.

You may feel that people are beating a dead horse or expecting an explanation from you. I don't read it that way. I think the thread has moved on from your particular situation to the idea of how all parents should handle such situations. Obviously, people have greatly differing views on the subject and I for one, am open to hearing them.

 

[tinker&belle]

Ahhh yes, but the question remains unanswered... why are people still posting? Someone must be pulling their strings as well....

This IS a public forum...

 

[jann1033]

Perfect age to visit WDW for children: when they are old enough to handle all it has to offer. The heat, the crowds, the visual stimulation, the plane ride, the car ride, the eating out, sleeping in a different bed etc.

Some children can handle that at 2, some need to be older. Not all children have melt downs, ever. And please do not patronize me and say, oh aren't they perfect. As a child my brothers and sisters and I were not perfect, but we were perfectly behaved in public. Same with their children.

i was thinking the "perfect" age was when they can PAY for it themselves
however we took our imperfectly aged imperfect kids anyway and have fun memories to look back on. imo like anything else ,you can be affected by a little meltdown like it's a speed bump or it's a brick wall, whether the meltee belongs to you or someone else.

 

[DisneyJade]

My dd4 was asking what the lights above us meant, and I was answering this one for keep seatbelt on, the other one for not smoking. To this, my dd2 (who was in one of those moods), started screaming repeatedly at the top of her lungs: BUT I WANT TO SMOKE!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LITERALLY FALLING OUT OF MY CHAIR LAUGHING AT THIS ONE! :

 

[DisneyJade]

It happens to the best of us, my friend.

My son had a min melt-down leaving MK for the day when he was 2 1/2. The little bugger grabbed the post inside the ship on Peter Pan as we were getting out and hung on for dear life screaming, "We have to fly to Neverland! We have to fly to Neverland!" at the top of his lungs.

There is no doubt it was loud, but I'll bet it didn't sound as hideous to anyone else as it did to us.

Don't fret about it. You're in good company.

LOVED THIS TOO!! Can't wait to have my own kids to take to WDW

 

[properlywarnedyebe]

Whether you are pleased about it or not, you started an interesting debate on how to handle this type of situation. Please try not to take what people are saying so personally. It is not your job to justify anything you did or didn't do. Many, many more people have posted support than negavitity (myself included). Try to focus on the positive.

You may feel that people are beating a dead horse or expecting an explanation from you. I don't read it that way. I think the thread has moved on from your particular situation to the idea of how all parents should handle such situations. Obviously, people have greatly differing views on the subject and I for one, am open to hearing them.

Thank you for shedding light on the situation. I did not mean to start debates or arguments on this board. And I understand both sides to the situation. Mostly the other side. Obviously, I had no desire to upset anyone at Disneyworld or on the Dis boards. I agree, there is some good meltdown prevention advice and I am grateful and thankful for those who shared their great ideas. And I will not forget those ideas either. However, I don't understand bickering, (even if I am not involved) over what seems a petty matter at this point. Please go on with lighthearted discussion. Share, discuss, But I feel I can no longer contribute anything helpful to this topic. Thanks for giving me your time.

 

[NotUrsula]

Along "constructive tips" lines: how to restrain a seat-kicker:

This is pretty effective, but requires advance preparation. I've used it for years, with and without a carseat, though it is easier WITH a carseat.

Step one: before your trip, go out and buy your child a pr. of drawstring pajama bottoms that are several sizes too long. The ideal fit is legs that dangle at least 18" too long. These are your special "airplane" pajamas that he/she gets to wear on flights. Put them on the child, then double the ends back up under the child's tush and have jr. sit on the ends; you can even safety-pin them in place if you have an escape artist. There will be enough play for moving the legs side-to-side, but not forward, so kicking the seat is nearly impossible. This method does not attach the child to the seat, so you can still get the child out of the seat in a hurry if you have to.

To those who point out that the child won't like being restrained this way... True enough, but that is the price one pays for failing to follow Mom's no-seat-kicking rule. Wanting to avoid the hobble-pants is a really good incentive for keeping one's feet to oneself. Kids who travel with me learn REALLY quickly that you only get one chance, and if you blow it you wear the hobble-pants for the rest of the flight.

 

[Fainfamily5]

Please stop addressing me. No matter how good or bad or guilty I feel, or what answers I give, it will make NO ONE on this board happy. Unless you can describe the situation in detail because you were there, I have no more answers, explanations, to give. This was a five minute ordeal at a Disney World fast food place that was over quicker than this thread. How many times can one person say they made a mistake? I disrupted meals, and I regret it. I have officially stopped caring whether anyone wants to support or judge me. You all have forced me into "name calling" to defend myself against strangers.

FYI- I have good food reviews and trip reports to post. If no one wants to read them fine. They will not be including toddler meltdowns or sarcasm, Or Name calling unless you are offended by Dopey, Sleepy, Doc, Bashful, Grumpy, Sneezy, and that evil Happy.

I was in agreement with you until now. Chill out!!!! IF you really do not care then stop responding. You are the one keeping the thread alive b/c I know I keep reading just to see what awful thing you are going to say next. You just need to let it die. Don't respond or unsubscribe to the thread. I really think you need to rethink the "other people forced you into name calling" Does that really make sense? No one should be able to force you into anything. At the start of the thread you wanted to accept responsibility for your actions, now you are blaming others. Go ahead and respond, I know you will!!!!

 

[mking624]

mking624- Thanks for the warning-but apparently you want to keep beating a dead horse as well.

Aren't you also the one who keeps egging people on to respond by continuing to post to the thread and adding names on here (which I'm not buying "but they made me" mentality...you make your own choices)? It's ironic that you tell people to stop posting, but then you tell someone that your question about why people continue to post is going unanswered.

This is a public forum and people are going to post to what they want. Just like no one forced you into calling them names, you can't force people to stop responding (especially when YOU continue to respond). Trust me, if there's a long and "heated" thread, people at the Dis are gonna see what it's about and add their thoughts. That's what happens when there's over 100,000 members on this site. But that's life on a message board. Your best bet if you want to stop beating a dead horse is to stop giving them the horse to beat. In other words, don't add fuel to the fire by continuing to add to the thread that you tell us not to add to.

Eventually the thread will die off just like every other thread and debate on this board does.

 

[Fainfamily5]

mking 624---WELL SAID!!!!!

 

[DVCLiz]

Well, I'm crushed to hear about no more apple pie. That was my favorite snack for the parade - I even induced a man to give up his funnel cake once and go buy apple pies for his whole family. Rats...

Is it just me or is the seat-kicking problem not solved by taking a child's shoes off? Do they still kick if it starts to hurt???

 

[HollisterSweetie]

Hey Mr. Too-Much Time-On-His-Hands, Yet-don't-have-enough-time-to-read-all-the-posts,

Let it go! Get over it! I never asked for opinions good or bad. When someone flat out calls you selfish, and they don't know you, that isn't an opinion, it is an attack. There is no pro/ con there. Why you guys still feel the need to post on this thread is beyond me. Stop arguing and repeating things over and over. How many times can you tell a person they are rude and selfish and sarcastic! What good will it do? The event is over! Done! Finished! Kaput! Puh-Lease! Let it die a peaceful death! Let this be the worst thing I ever do in my life. Move on! And pick on someone else's minor public embarrassment. This skeleton as been picked dry, Move on Sharks!
Final Apology- I am sorry I ever started this thread!

If you think the people on this thread are bad, i would definately avoid the CB.

 

[dtuleya]

If you think the people on this thread are bad, i would definately avoid the CB.

Thinking the same thing - that's why I don't post over there much.