How old is old enough?

[MarkBarbieri]

About how old should a child be before you let him go off on his own for a while at one of the parks?

About how old should a child be before he starts getting an allowance?

About how old should a child be before he can set his own bedtime?

About how old should a child be before he has a cell phone?

I know that the answers vary based on the maturity of the child. I'm just curious as to what people think a typical age is.

 

[NY Disney fan]

21 (for all questions)

 

[jenseib]

I think around 7th or 8th grade age is OK to let them go off on their own. Some I guess can do it younger, if they are mature enough. And I guess it depends on how many are in the group and who is in the group!

My DD got a cell phone in 8th grade. (she got it as a gift, and i thought that was too young. She doesn't use it just for calling hime, she uses it like a regualr phone and talks all the time on it. She is on her dads plan ,so I'm not worrying about it, but if she was on mine, we would be over the minutes for sure!

My son was a sophmore, I beleive when he got his. it is prepaid, so when he runs out of minutes, he has to buy more.

I think as soon as a kid can do a chore, they can get an allowance. Even at two, they could. I don't do allowances though. It never did anything to get my kids moving along t odo there jobs. And i give them money when needed.

Bedtime...I think about 7th or 8th grade as well, sicne the homework is then piling up. But I think younger kids can stay up later thatn 8 pm. It deoends on the kid again. My 1 year old as set her own bedtime since day one! LOL!! My 14 year old goes to bed at 8 or 9 most nights, as she requires alot of sleep and knows it. My DS, is 17 and would stay up all night at times. Sometimes we have to tell him get to bed!

 

[MSSANDRA]

I have a 14 year old.

I would trust him to go off in the same park we are in WITH a same age friend. We have however decided not to take his friend on our January trip and he really has no desire to go off alone and I would not be comfortable with that. We hadtold him for several trip that he and his same age friend off at 13 but we did not get to go to WDW last year. So ...about 13 0r 14 in same park with cells phones for short periods of time.

DS got his first allowance at 5 or 6 but we just have not been great at allowances. Now we just tend to give him 40.00 or 50.00 ever month or so to suppliment other money he gets though small jobs, gifts etc. He is really pretty good at budgeting and making wise choices but he was not that way till the last year or too. WE really blew this one.

This is the first year we have let DS have bedtime freedom. He almost always gets in bed by 10:00 on school nights. That was one of the hardest freedoms for me to give and I was ready to pull back if he did not make good choices. Week-ends, I think elementy age kids should have some control .

DS got a track phone in 6th grade. He did well and we added him on to our plan at 13. I have no problem with a child as young as 10 having a cell phone as long as parents do not develop a false since of security with them.Younger children need adult supervision at all times and sometimes parents tend to think that if there child can call them that that supervision is not necessary.

MSSANDRA

 

[anbouk]

cool question

 

[anbouk]

-on my mom's sn, getting mine next week -

im in the 7th grade and my parents still won't let me go anywhere by myself. it gets crazy in the parks and you can easily lose eachother. ive had a phone for about a year. that sometimes doesnt help because once i went to the emporium while everyone else was sitting on a bench outside. when i came out and called my mom she tried to say where she was but i still couldn't see them behind all the crowds of ppl watching wishes (yeah, i left during the most crowded time of the day...stupid me )

as for allowance....i dont take it. i dont want my parents paying me to clean my room cuz its my room.
stupid me? not really. my grandparents "support" me enough
how i <3 them!

and ill sleep whenever i want....
ok, when they call me up ill go....But i wont like it!

 

[pweyl36]

Allowance! they get room and board.As for doing the parks alone only with a sibling or friend.Cell phone 15yrs.And bed time, it depends how they are about getting up on time by them selfs.

 

[thesmittys7]

Last time we were at mk we saw a girl who was maybe 16 and she was on her own. She sat with us on the boat going back to fort wilderness. You could tell she was a litttle overwhelmed. Her parents had gone to Epcot and she wanted to stay at MK. I think she chose to sit with us because of all our kids (5) and she befriended my ds who was 13. I did also see young girls together at Down Town Disney and they just looked way to young to be off on their own .( Maybe 15 and 17)

I have let my ds go off on his own and meet up in like 2 hours. he is 13 and had his cell with him. He did it once and decided to stay with us . I think it is just very overwhelming. I have never left him atr a park alone. I am to scared. I have let him roam the campground though.

 

[SaraMc]

I asked my sister because well she has a 15 year old, I have a 4 month old. Allowance started for Dnephew 5 he has several chores he had to do and if he did them all and got stars on his chore board he would get some money that half had to go into his bank account. Cell phone he got one this year, but his grades slipped and he lost it. Bed time used to be 8pm now its 11 ( but he is now 15) Unless he has hockey in the am then its earlier. He is a big tall guy and looks a lot older than he actually is but prefers to hang with the people he came with then going off by himself. While he has his own money he looses things easily and his wallet will either be with me or my sister while we are in the world. Kid lost his sunglasses and his wallet last time.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

21 (for all questions)

I think we are on the same page! I was thinking more like 25 though!

 

[earthyfamily]

About how old should a child be before you let him go off on his own for a while at one of the parks? I wouldn't let any of my children go off alone in the parks at any age. To begin with it's a "family" vacation and to end off with...too many weirdos out there looking for just that sort of situation. I guess perhaps we're a strange family though in that we never spend any time away from one another. About the closest we get is our dd's ballet class once a week for an hour and we sit right outside the door there. Dh and I have never even used a babysitter and we have a 6 (almost 7), 5 and 2 (almost 3) year old. So there's not a moment in any day besides that, that we're apart and I don't see why that should start with vacations.

About how old should a child be before he starts getting an allowance? All of my children get an allowance. I have a strange philosophy on this one. I'm very against materialism, however I do approve of them buying books and other various approved items as well as donating to approved and studied (in that they really know what they are donating to and why) charities.

About how old should a child be before he can set his own bedtime? I would have to say that it would all depend on their physical needs as they grow. As of right now our children go to bed at 8 and wake at 7 and we go to bed by 10 and wake at 7.

About how old should a child be before he has a cell phone? I'm not going to answer this one, because I'm sure I'd get too many people not too happy with me.

 

[1of6]

Good ?
Alone at the parks? 14 or 15
Allowance- When they realize the whole money thing. We started the oldest at 5 & 3 and the others started at 2.
Bedtime- high school
Cell phone-when the need is there.


It was hard to answer because we are not to this stage yet. I know it is around the corner but I wish it wasn't.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

About how old should a child be before you let him go off on his own for a while at one of the parks? I would let any of my children go off alone in the parks at any age.

Are you saying that if you went to the parks when your kids were 19, 18, and 15, you would insist that the family stay together the entire trip? No splits so that they could do Everest one more time while you take in the Lion King show one more time? Surely there is some age you think it's appropriate.

As for me, it'll be when they have enough sense, independence, and desire to handle it. I'm really not sure what that age will be, so I asked to hear others opinions. I'm guessing sometime around 12-15, but we'll see.

 

[starbox]

About how old should a child be before you let him go off on his own for a while at one of the parks?

About how old should a child be before he starts getting an allowance?

About how old should a child be before he can set his own bedtime?

About how old should a child be before he has a cell phone?

I know that the answers vary based on the maturity of the child. I'm just curious as to what people think a typical age is.

1. 12 with friends/siblings and a walkie-talkie thing.

2. Around age 4, one dollar per year of life - Money Doesn't Grow On Trees is a great book about kids and allowance and using it to teach them how to be financially resposible.

3. Around age 7 with limits. I think allowing children to listen to their own body's rhythm is a good idea as long as wake-up time is not an issue. On weekends and during vacation, we let the kids go to bed when they are tired as long as they do something quietly past 9pm.

4. As a high school teacher - NEVER give your child a cell phone.
As a parent - at whatever age the child will be spending time away from you in addition to schooltime and you will need a way to be in contact with them.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

2. Around age 4, one dollar per year of life - Money Doesn't Grow On Trees is a great book about kids and allowance and using it to teach them how to be financially resposible.

Looks interesting. I just ordered a copy of the book. I've been thinking about taking my 4 and 7 year olds to the bank to open savings accounts.

When you say one dollar per year of life, is that a weekly or monthly allowance?

So far, we haven't focused on saving lessons as much as we have relative value judgments. We ask them questions like "would you really like that $10 item when you could have 10 of these $1 items?"

 

[starbox]

Looks interesting. I just ordered a copy of the book. I've been thinking about taking my 4 and 7 year olds to the bank to open savings accounts.

When you say one dollar per year of life, is that a weekly or monthly allowance?

Money doesn't Grow On Trees suggests one dollar per. year of life per week. Then kids use percentages of that weekly amount for immediate spending, short-term savings, long-term savings, giving, and taxes (taxes get paid to the "government" of mom and dad). It ends up being a little less than a dollar per year of life of "disposable income" each month. It's a great book and teaches kids a very healthy relationship with money. I think you'll be pleased.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

About how old should a child be before you let him go off on his own for a while at one of the parks?

About how old should a child be before he starts getting an allowance?

About how old should a child be before he can set his own bedtime?

About how old should a child be before he has a cell phone?

I know that the answers vary based on the maturity of the child. I'm just curious as to what people think a typical age is.

1. I'm guessing around 12 or so as long as they are with a "buddy" of at least the same age and have some means of contact (ie. my cell phone to call DH's phone or a walkie-talkie)

2.Allowance, hmmmm. Let me start by saying, I truly respect a parents decision to give their kids an allowance. I understand the real value in learning early the value of money and savinngs. My DH and I choose to view this idea a little differently. We are a family. We work together for the benefit of entire family. All of us have chores, and our family only works if everyone does their part. So, my poor children are expected to do their chores but they aren't paid an allowance. aside, I never recieved an allowance as a child. However, I remember when I was 14 or so, my parents decided to take an evening class together, I babysat for my two younger siblings twice a week for 4 months and was paid. I'm hoping for an oppurtunity like this for my own children to give them some additional experience with money management before their first job. We also try to use money given at holidays and birthdays as a chance to share some of those "value" judgements.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

1. I'm guessing around 12 or so as long as they are with a "buddy" of at least the same age and have some means of contact (ie. my cell phone to call DH's phone or a walkie-talkie)

2.Allowance, hmmmm. Let me start by saying, I truly respect a parents decision to give their kids an allowance. I understand the real value in learning early the value of money and savinngs. My DH and I choose to view this idea a little differently. We are a family. We work together for the benefit of entire family. All of us have chores, and our family only works if everyone does their part. So, my poor children are expected to do their chores but they aren't paid an allowance. aside, I never recieved an allowance as a child. However, I remember when I was 14 or so, my parents decided to take an evening class together, I babysat for my two younger siblings twice a week for 4 months and was paid. I'm hoping for an oppurtunity like this for my own children to give them some additional experience with money management before their first job. We also try to use money given at holidays and birthdays as a chance to share some of those "value" judgements.

sorry, I hit "submit" before I meant to...

3. cellphones and the age when they will be allowed to have them is still up in the air. I am only certain that they will have one when they are behind the wheel alone. We have talked about a "kids" phone. One phone added to our plan that the kids share. ie, DS takes it to practice to call for a ride home, DD takes it to the game for the same reason etc.....

4. Bedtime. While they are little, I set bedtime and it is strictly observed. As they get older, I'll only send them to bed when I think they are pushing it. ie. it's 10:30 on a school night "don't you think you should be getting to bed?" I guess around age twelve-ish.

 

[shellytc]

You sound like my DS, when will be old enough to?... Gee, I don't know I'll feel it and then you can

Alone to the parks: truly can't say as I think this is family time, however I expect that at some time in the future DS will want a friend to come and we will let them have some freedom IN THE SAME PARK AS US. I truly can't see, "ok you go to MGM and we'll be at Epcot". Not till he leaves home for college.


Allowance: We do a mixture of the 2 schools of thought. 1, he is a member of this house and as such, has duties and repsonsibilities as a family member; 2, there are "extra jobs" he can do to earn money (not really an allowance, but close); 3, we have a points chart for his regular expectations. Some are easy, like brush your teeth, some are harder... he earns a "chip" for everything finished at the end of the day. He keeps his chips and then can cash them in. We have points value chart, some can be turned in for sleepovers (ALOT of chips) or money or toys... etc.

Set his own bedtime: As long as it's the same bedtime I want for him, he can set it all he wants Seriously, during the school year I will monitor for a long time, on weekends we pretty much work off the biological clock (now).

Cell Phone: He is currently 9 and we have considered one of those Disney Go phones, but then realized he didn't really need one since he is with us all the time. Also, he has an auditory processing disorder and doesn't really like to talk on phones so it hasn't been an issue. DH and I are glued to ours (business), so we let him play with ours sometimes. He likes the video and camera's...

Shelly

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

About how old should a child be before you let him go off on his own for a while at one of the parks? I say 16

About how old should a child be before he starts getting an allowance? whenever they can do chores above cleaning their own rooms and messes

About how old should a child be before he can set his own bedtime?14 years old...seems fair

About how old should a child be before he has a cell phone?i love the migo's just for safety. So i say young for those. But I don't think a kid should have a cell for any other reason