How old? Babysitting question

[disneystacy]

How old would your oldest have to be to leave them alone in the room while you go eat dinner? Or is there a Disney rule?
We are staying at the Polynesian and would like to dine at V&A for our anniversary. No biggie if its not allowed. My oldest will be 13 and she now babysits for her siblings and neighbors kids, very reaponsible. My younger 2 are 9 and 4. My oldest is to old for the kids club at any of the hotels it only goes up to age 12.

Should I just skip it or give it a try?
Any other options?

 

[happygirl]

hire a in room sitter

 

[marmalade]

If your DD already babysits and you know you can trust her then why not? Just give her some ground rules: Do not leave the room for any reason, do not answer the door for anyone, put the security lock on etc... You know what ground rules she will need.

You should be fine, go and enjoy your dinner, with 3 kids you deserve it.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Honestly, depends on the kid. Since you say your dd already babysits, I would say go for it.

Just give her ground rules and precautions in case of a knock at the door (do not open it period and if they are insisting to call you and the front desk pronto) or if the fire alarm goes off, where you should meet, stuff like that.

This should be common sense stuff that you tell your kids already, so I would just go over it again.

 

[marcyinPA]

If she babysits at home, I'd let her babysit at WDW. Set them up with food/snacks/and some sort of entertainment, and give her the ground rules (don't open the door for ANYONE.) I think they will be fine!!

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Honestly - I think it would be pretty miserable for 3 kids to be stuck in one room for a few hours....

 

[undertheradar]

For those of you who are stating not to open the door for anyone, what is she to do if there is a fire alarm? This is not the same as being at home and you need to plan for these things. It is not so simple as we are going to dinner and you need to stay in the room.

 

[happygirl]

For those of you who are stating not to open the door for anyone, what is she to do if there is a fire alarm? This is not the same as being at home and you need to plan for these things. It is not so simple as we are going to dinner and you need to stay in the room.

That why I said hire an in room babysitter from Fairy Godmother, I think they are still in business, she/he could take them to the park or the pool for a few hours

 

[marmalade]

For those of you who are stating not to open the door for anyone, what is she to do if there is a fire alarm? This is not the same as being at home and you need to plan for these things. It is not so simple as we are going to dinner and you need to stay in the room.

I didn't put that in my response because I assume as the parents the OP would cover all her bases. I would rather give the OP the benefit of the doubt that she will cover what to do in case of an emergency, then assume she is just going to leave them there to fend for themselves.


ETA: I also think in case of an emergency they are safer at disney alone than at home. There are CM's all over who will be ready willing and able to help. At home there is no CM, until the police, fire dept, get there.

 

[MichelleVW]

That why I said hire an in room babysitter from Fairy Godmother, I think they are still in business, she/he could take them to the park or the pool for a few hours

I would have been mortified if my parents got a babysitter for me at 13!!


We left our girls alone at the Animal Kingdom Lodge when they were 12 and 14. They had rules to stay together, but they had free rein of the hotel. They pretty much hung out by the animals and talked to the CM's about the animals and South Africa.

At 12 and 14 they were also riding the Disney buses by themselves (but together) if the didn't want to stay in the same park as us.

To the OP, if your DD babysits her siblings at home, I don't see a problem with it at Disney. Just make sure she has a cell phone and ground rules.

 

[disneystacy]

Thanks for the replies so far. Yes, my daughter would have ground rules, she already knows cpr and took a babysitting course, and she has her cell phone.
We would try to make a later reservation for V&A and after a long day at the park I'm sure they will be exhausted. They all enjoy Disney Movies so we should be covered for a activity.

BTW - my oldest would be mortified to have a babysitter at this point. In the past we used Fairy Godmothers service. My son was a infant. My oldest was almost 9 at the time and the "Fairy Godmother" fell asleep
She was sleeping when we came in the room, my daughter was watching that my son was ok. Never again.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I see 3 options that are fair to both you and the oldest DD.

1. You don't go to V&A.
2. You go to V&A and 13 yr old DD babysits her younger sibs. (For more money than she makes when she normally babysits.)
3. You go to V&A and 13 yr hangs out in the room for a few hours, surfing the internet and eating pizza while her younger sibs go to a kids program.

I'd first weight which of the options makes me most comfortable. If I were okay with 2 and 3, I'd then approach 13 yr old DD with options 2 and 3 and see which is more amenable to her. After all, it's her vacation too!

 

[happygirl]

I would have been mortified if my parents got a babysitter for me at 13!!


We left our girls alone at the Animal Kingdom Lodge when they were 12 and 14. They had rules to stay together, but they had free rein of the hotel. They pretty much hung out by the animals and talked to the CM's about the animals and South Africa.

At 12 and 14 they were also riding the Disney buses by themselves (but together) if the didn't want to stay in the same park as us.

To the OP, if your DD babysits her siblings at home, I don't see a problem with it at Disney. Just make sure she has a cell phone and ground rules.

I wouldn't care if my kids were mortified or not, there safety is my only concern.

 

[krcit]

I would have no problem leaving a responsible 13 year old in charge for a couple of hours.

 

[MnMomtoboys]

I wouldn't have a problem leaving them either. Give her ground rules, call and check on them, and be willing to leave if you need to.

 

[LadyZolt]

The idea of getting an in-room sitter, like via Fairy Godmother, is not for the 13-year-old. It is for the 4-year-old and the 2-year-old mostly. This is the route I would take.

The OP is planning on dinner at V&A, which is a time-consuming, very pricey dinner. She and her DH shouldn't have to feel rushed or worried about how their four kids are doing alone in a room in a resort that isn't "home." It is their anniversary. I think the peace of mind they'd get by hiring an in-room sitter for the young ones would be well worth it.

I would tell the 13-year-old that she can help, perhaps pay her or give her a special outing of her choice (like a few hours at a park with just Mom or just Dad, or something else you know she'd like), and I would assure her that the in-room sitter isn't for her, but for the toddlers. She can play with the nine-year-old, perhaps watch a movie or play games, etc. I'd explain that the in-room sitter is there to give the 13-year-old a vacation from babysitting her toddler siblings, too.

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

The idea of getting an in-room sitter, like via Fairy Godmother, is not for the 13-year-old. It is for the 4-year-old and the 2-year-old mostly. This is the route I would take.

You misread the initial post. There isn't a 2 year old...just a 4 year old, a 9 year old and a 13 year old (3 kids).

I would have no qualms at all leaving them in the room. In my mind, I think they'd be safer there than at home, since there are lots of CMs around in case of emergency.

OP - Enjoy your dinner at V&As. We went there on our honeymoon and also on our 11th anniversary. It was fantastic both times

 

[undertheradar]

If nothing goes wrong, then everything is fine? If there is a problem, the OP left 3 minors in a hotel room without adult supervision. If a parent does this at home and something happens, people want childrens services to investigate. Why exactly would the children be safer at a Disney resort instead of at home? What mystery CMs are going to take charge of these unsupervised children in the event of an emergency? Sorry, leaving your children alone in a hotel room while you go out to dinner is a risk. Another scenario: the OP goes to dinner, leaves the children in the room unsupervised and the OP gets stuck on a broken down monorail. The simple plan of being gone for several hours is now way off. There is always the possibility of something going wrong. The room above yours could have a pipe burst and the hotel needs to enter the room to avoid excess damage. Wait until you get home and your children are at least in familiar surroundings.

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

If nothing goes wrong, then everything is fine? If there is a problem, the OP left 3 minors in a hotel room without adult supervision. If a parent does this at home and something happens, people want childrens services to investigate. Why exactly would the children be safer at a Disney resort instead of at home? What mystery CMs are going to take charge of these unsupervised children in the event of an emergency? Sorry, leaving your children alone in a hotel room while you go out to dinner is a risk. Another scenario: the OP goes to dinner, leaves the children in the room unsupervised and the OP gets stuck on a broken down monorail. The simple plan of being gone for several hours is now way off. There is always the possibility of something going wrong. The room above yours could have a pipe burst and the hotel needs to enter the room to avoid excess damage. Wait until you get home and your children are at least in familiar surroundings.

I don't consider a 4-year old and a 9-year-old unsupervised if they are in the care of a teenager. Since it is perfectly legal, then I can't see why children's services would be investigating unless my older child showed gross negligence in the care she was providing (which, knowing my child well, would not be the case).

If a pipe burst and a hotel employee was asking to be let into the room, then my child would call me on my cell and ask what she should do. I would then check with the front desk, make sure everything was on the up-and-up, and then have her wait with her sibling in the lobby until I came back.

Yes, I know emergencies can happen, but I have to say in all the hotel rooms that I've stayed in over the last 40 years (and there have been a lot), I don't think I've ever had a hotel employee insist that they had to enter my room at right that moment to check something out. I don't live in fear of the minute chance something catastrophic would happen, and even if it did, I trust my children's ability to cope with the situation until I could make it back to them.

 

[SaraJayne]

If nothing goes wrong, then everything is fine? If there is a problem, the OP left 3 minors in a hotel room without adult supervision. If a parent does this at home and something happens, people want childrens services to investigate. Why exactly would the children be safer at a Disney resort instead of at home? What mystery CMs are going to take charge of these unsupervised children in the event of an emergency? Sorry, leaving your children alone in a hotel room while you go out to dinner is a risk. Another scenario: the OP goes to dinner, leaves the children in the room unsupervised and the OP gets stuck on a broken down monorail. The simple plan of being gone for several hours is now way off. There is always the possibility of something going wrong. The room above yours could have a pipe burst and the hotel needs to enter the room to avoid excess damage. Wait until you get home and your children are at least in familiar surroundings.

If I let "what ifs" control my life, I'd never leave my house. Since V&A's is Disney specific, it isn't like the OP can "wait until she gets home" to go there.

OP, I think you're fine leaving the 13 year old in the room. Whether she wants to supervise younger siblings or not should be left up to her. If she doesn't, take the younger two to a kid's club and leave 13 year old in the room.