How old, is old enough?

[jettyspagetti]

I lived a couple hours from Disney World while I was in 6th -12th grade. Starting in 7th grade - age 12- we'd go on school trips and band trips and roam the world on our own with check in with the chaperones every 3-4 hours.
At age 14 I went for spring break with a friend's family and was allowed to go from Resort to park on our own for the full day with specific by back for dinner instructions at whatever time. We even park hopped- of course back then there were only two parks Never had a problem.

At age 16 I took my baby sis on her first disney day trip for her 7th Birthday. It was the two of us for the drive and the full day- not a single problem other than her threatening to tell our mom that I went three miles over the speed limit on the way there.

My kids are still pretty young so they haven't been on their own at the world yet- but my sister's kids who have been a dozen times were allowed to go on their own for 1-2 hours around age 11. They are very familiar with the parks, outgoing and comfortable with being on their own. I think that is a huge factor. If the child is comfortable being in a large crowd without a parent and has demonstrated the level of maturity needed to be independant in the parks- give em a chance. Start with an hour, make them check in and increase the time from there. If you are both comfortable with it- let them have a little more time and see how it goes.

 

[spacemountainmom]

Opinions are like keisters - everyone has one..........

But, really.....Kids need to learn how to handle themselves in life. I was told on this board I was a bad mom for allowing my then 14 year old dd and 10 year old ds to roam alone in the MK while dh and I were in another part of the park. Three months later dd was on a band trip to Chicago without mommy and daddy holding her hand. She also went to NYC as a 15 year old with the band. I never would have let her go had I not given her the freedom to take the "baby steps" at the mall or WDW and learn how to get along by herself. I won't even try and claim that I wasn't nervous and worried, but who can control the entire world???

As another poster mentioned, 15 is just a year from being able to get a driver's license. How are kids going to learn the responsiblility of handling a car if they can't handle being on their own for any amount of time???

Being overprotective won't hurt a child? Really? I can share a number of stories of people I knew growing up who were overprotected and then went "wild" when given their first taste of freedom. I have one friend who often marvels at the fact that nothing bad ever happened to her with the extremely poor choices that she made her first couple years of college. It comes up more and more now that our kids are reaching that stage of life. Sadly, I have heard this same story from many others.

I am not saying that kids should be given unlimited freedom, but they also need to learn how to function in the real world before it is time for them to live in it. Our job as parents is to raise our kids to be successful adults. The goal is to work ourselves out of a job. I don't want to have to make every decision for my kids when they are 20, 30, 40.... If they want to consult me and ask for an opinion, I will be happy to share.

Ultimately, every parent has to make the decision that is right for their family, however, why not give your kids a small lesson in independence in a controlled environment?

 

[YodaGirl]

I cannot imagine not allowing teenagers to go off on their own. Entire school groups come down to WDW w/o parents and minimal chaperons. They are just fine.

Well, you do hear horror stories about kids at Grad Night, Pop Warner, and tour groups....

Opinions are like keisters - everyone has one..........

Agreed.

Being overprotective won't hurt a child? Really? I can share a number of stories of people I knew growing up who were overprotected and then went "wild" when given their first taste of freedom. I have one friend who often marvels at the fact that nothing bad ever happened to her with the extremely poor choices that she made her first couple years of college. It comes up more and more now that our kids are reaching that stage of life. Sadly, I have heard this same story from many others.

I think that there are different extremes of "over-protectiveness". As I mentioned earlier in this thread, a parent who never lets their 15 year old out of their sight may end up causing a child to lead a much more sheltered life, which in turn could cause them to not know how to handle life when they get older. That's not always the case, but I digress. I don't think that letting a 15 year old roam freely at WDW is being overprotective. If you want to let your child do that, fine. Speaking from someone who was in WDW at 15 and 16 - and didn't roam (I never thought to ask, but I doubt I'd have been allowed to, anyway.), I can attest to the fact that I turned out perfectly fine.

Not allowing your 15 year old to roam freely at WDW will not scar him/her for life. I promise.

Ultimately, every parent has to make the decision that is right for their family, however, why not give your kids a small lesson in independence in a controlled environment?

Once again, I agree with this. BUT...for many reasons, I wouldn't exactly call WDW a controlled environment.

 

[tarrbear]

I think at 15 and 13 they should be fine.

14 is the age where we started doing Busch Gardens alone, we have annual passes, our mother would drop us off in the morning and then pick us up in the evening. Granted we knew the park off the back of our hands, but we were fine.

If you trust your kids, than go for it.

 

[Alesia]

the big question for me is "What is WDW rules on this subject?"

8 years old.

 

[duffy]

Geez, we let our daughter go to Europe alone when she was 16. She lived there for 9 months as an exchange student.

My youngest is 15 now. She went with her school last month, and went around with other 15-year olds. Everything was fine.

 

[Mama Who]

We will be allowing our 13 year old DS to separate from the adults and take his 1 year old sister for a short period at Disneyland this Spring.

-He has a cell phone
-We know exactly where they are going
-He knows where we will be
-A meeting place will be set
-He's responsible and level headed

He will not be leaving the park. Heck, he won't be leaving the *land* we're in.

 

[Bnearing]

I say go for it. My sister and I were 15 and 12 the year my parents first let us venture out on our own at Disney. We were staying at the Grand Floridian and had park hopper passes. I remember taking the monorail to the Contemporary, to the Polynesian, and over to Epcot by ourselves. We had a blast and never felt we were in danger. This was before the time of cell phones too.

 

[spacemountainmom]

Once again, I agree with this. BUT...for many reasons, I wouldn't exactly call WDW a controlled environment.

I would still contend that WDW is a far more controlled environment than running around your town (unless you live in a really small town) or the local mall.

My sister and I were allowed to roam WDW when we were 15 and 13 and this was in the 80's.....long before cell phones.

My kids have done limited time on their own since they were 12 and 8. The 12 year old had a cell phone and they were given very specific rules. They responded very well and each year they have been given a bit more freedom on our trips. I am far more comfortable with my dd15 roaming WDW than I was when she was in NYC last month. However, she did fine and it was a fantastic opportunity for her. It was another step in her journey to adulthood, which I cannot stop no matter how hard I try. Making her stick to my side every moment of her life will not prevent her from growing up, however it might prevent her from becoming a capable adult.

 

[Planogirl]

Mine has gone off to do his own thing here and there since he became a teen. It was usually just me and him so it was rare but not because I didn't allow it. He would usually go off to the arcade while I shopped or something like that.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

when our girls were 13 and 10 we started letting them go off by selves in the parks we were at. they had 3 meet times and places at day. they learned to follow rules without mom or dad to help them out. did at a number of parks and never had a problem. granted we were in same park but we never heard this is boring. granted at some parks we knew enough cm's that i could basicly find out what they were doing by just asking some of cm's. in fact, youngest went with her school choir to Disney. she was in special ed at the time. talked with her leader before they left. her group was one of 3 out of 20 that were allowed to parkhop on last day because they were at every check in on time. leader said they would be waiting for her when she arrived. they were her only group out of 5 to be on time. this was before cell phones and she was only one who knew how to use a calling card for long distance calls. i would start them by walking into park together, plan to meet at a ride or show all want to see mid morning, meet where ever you plan for lunch, another ride or show mid afternoon, meet for dinner, meet for parade or fireworks. if not on time, have to spend next part of day doing what you, not them want. bet they are on time, ours knew that being in line did not excuse you for being late. as they get better at being on time incress time between meetings. school trips are going to start soon for older one, so now is time to start teach what you expect of them.

 

[Hannathy]

Once again, I agree with this. BUT...for many reasons, I wouldn't exactly call WDW a controlled environment.

Then what pray tell is a controlled environment? Disney is about as controlled environment as you are going to get. It is limited access, limited space and tons of security and staff, and also the clientele it attracts.


Please name me one other public environment that would be more controlled.

 

[yarlenna]

Just know that there are all kinds of people everywhere including Disney. Disney is NOT a baby-sitter. Disney is full of wonderful things, and the kids WILL be enjoying themselves. Just be sure that no pervert tries to themselves at you child's expense. There is NOTHIKNG that is more important to my than the children and their innocence . No nothing happend to me and my family, at Disney.

 

[Suellen]

Um.... 30? No, seriously. My kids will probably not be allowed to wander mainly because we go on vacation to spend time as a family not all go our separate ways. We still travel with my mom and mostly all stay together....it's just how we roll.

Hard to say definitely though as my kids are only 3 & 5.

 

[duffy]

My thoughts are, at age 15, kids should have already been used to being on their own for a few hours. They need to learn how to do things on their own.

Barring any emotional or physical barriers, at this age, and even earlier, they should be getting used to being able to cope without parents continually breathing down their necks.

 

[YodaGirl]

Making her stick to my side every moment of her life will not prevent her from growing up, however it might prevent her from becoming a capable adult.

I agree.

I still don't see how not letting a 15 year old roam freely at WDW is "making her stick to [her mom's] side every moment of her life". I've also agreed in more than one previous post that such restrictions could be detrimental to said child/teen's development.

Then what pray tell is a controlled environment? Disney is about as controlled environment as you are going to get. It is limited access, limited space and tons of security and staff, and also the clientele it attracts.

Please name me one other public environment that would be more controlled.

Limited space...well, I guess compared to NYC's 195,000 acres, it is limited space. At 3500 acres, I'd hardly say that Disney property is "limited space".

As for the clientele it attracts, do you not realize that child predators (who have been arrested at WDW, BTW) tend to go where children are? How many children/teens do you think are on WDW property at any given time? Even at that, child predators aren't my main concern, although any parent would be wise to keep that in mind. What makes you think that just because Disney is marketed as "family friendly" that everyone is there with purely good intentions of enjoying a family (or solo) vacation?

Unless you are a local, chances are you are hundreds of miles away from home. It would be prudent to begin giving your child/teen freedom in a controlled environment in your hometown.

At the end of the day, I don't have to explain why I think it's a good parenting decision to be diligent in the places that you allow your child to use to expand their sense of freedom. By the same token, you don't have to explain to me why you think that not allowing a teen to roam freely at WDW is damaging psychologically (I've been in that position as a teen, and, once again, I turned out just fine.) and/or squashing their freedom.

We disagree, and that's fine. It doesn't make either one of us a bad parent.

I understand that at the root of everything, everyone wants to have their opinion validated. That validation comes through people agreeing with said opinion. All of that is why people take is so personally when people disagree/hold a different opinion. This is a message board with lots of people. With lots of people, come lots of opinions. Not all of them are going to match.

 

[delmar411]

Just know that there are all kinds of people everywhere including Disney. Disney is NOT a baby-sitter. Disney is full of wonderful things, and the kids WILL be enjoying themselves. Just be sure that no pervert tries to themselves at you child's expense. There is NOTHIKNG that is more important to my than the children and their innocence . No nothing happend to me and my family, at Disney.

Seriously? You're afraid of pervs at Disney? How exactly is this perv going to get away after doing something 'at my child's expense'? And how exactly are they going to get your child alone? Alone is a state of mind there. There is no alone at WDW. And there are security cameras everywhere as well.

My goodness, of all the reasons to not allow a teenager to spend some time doing their thing, this is not one of them. And really by the time a child is a teen they'd better be well versed in stranger danger and have some sense of self-preservation and instinct about them.

 

[YodaGirl]

Seriously? You're afraid of pervs at Disney? How exactly is this perv going to get away after doing something 'at my child's expense'? And how exactly are they going to get your child alone? Alone is a state of mind there. There is no alone at WDW. And there are security cameras everywhere as well.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but your statement leads me to believe that you don't think anything along that line can happen in Disney World.

A quick search turned up these two articles, all pertaining to Disney employees:
Disney Worker Charged with Sexual Assault on Guest

Disney Employee Arrested for Trying to Meet 14-Year-Old Girl for Sex

Also, while I understand that Wikipedia isn't the most reliable source, they do have three incidents listed of sexual incidences involving guests:
Incidents at Walt Disney World Resort

It can, and does, happen at Disney.

 

[Hannathy]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but your statement leads me to believe that you don't think anything along that line can happen in Disney World.


Also, while I understand that Wikipedia isn't the most reliable source, they do have three incidents listed of sexual incidences involving guests:
Incidents at Walt Disney World Resort

It can, and does, happen at Disney.

Ok I'll give you 3, Now for one minute tell me you are seriously going to say it is a threatening dangerous place when you can find 3 in 40 years and hundreds of thousands of teens walking around Disney alone!!! My extremely safe city has more than that in 1 year.

Wow if I could get those odds on the lottery I'd take all my savings and buy tickets.

And by limited space i mean it is a restricted area that you have to pay admission to get into with closed in boundaries. There is not free going and coming to Disney there are only certain guarded entrances and exits.

 

[hannah_03]

My son was 13, I think (?) when we allowed him to go to/from the on-site hotel on his own. I still worried the entire time though. I don't for-see allowing my daughter to do it, ever though. I think it depends on the maturity of the child.