How old should they be before you let roam?

[redrosesix]

Just a day or two ago there was a woman telling us on this board about a man that would not leave her 11 year old daughter alone. He kept stroking the childs hair and finally had to be taken away by a CM.

Nine is to young to let run. About 25 years ago I let my 15 year old and her 13 year old brother have the run of magic kingdom. Today I would think long and hard about it and then probably I would say no.

Actually it was that post that convinced me to buy a cell phone for her -- should we ever get separated. And I wasn't thinking about the parks.

Under no circumstances would I let a 9 yo have free reign to go to go to the areas you mentioned. I like most others feel it is a safety issue. A suggestion I have would be to allow he to go the the arcade while you were nearby to keep a protective eye on her. This would give her the freedom she may desire and give you the peace of mind that she is safe.

No, I wasn't thinking about her having free reign. But I was considering letting her go into the arcade alone while I finish my coffee (there is only 1 door out, right?) or let her go ahead of me on the way to the food court -- she likes to run everywhere, I don't.

I was just curious at what age parents let their kids go to parts of the resort alone or unsupervised.

 

[3boymthr]

We let our oldest two ages 13 & 9 go all over at campgrounds by themselves and have done so since they were 7 - the only place they are not allowed alone is the pools. They ride their bikes and are gone for an hour at a time. Youngest DS who will be 7 this summer will get that opportunity this year, maybe, but he is very immature and a cling-on, so maybe not. But, that being said, to my mind comparing roaming a campground to WDW is like comparing a small neighborhood to a giant city.

I found this thread interesting because we are at the point of seriously debating the whole how much freedom does DS#1 at age 13 get at WDW. We live in a moderate size town (@8,000 ppl) with interstates, an outlet mall, etc. He is allowed to go up town (@3 miles) by himself to buy a soda or sometimes I'll send him up to buy a loaf of bread. He rides his bike to a friend's house. Will he be allowed this much freedom at WDW, probably not. We will probably allow him to go on rides by himself while we take the other kids on another ride nearby (he wants to ride ToT and DS#3 is a super chicken) and to the resort arcade or the resort shops/counter service place provided it is not too busy or too far from our room and he will have a two way radio (better than a cell phone - cost about $25/pr, no fees once bought and no concerns about network coverage).

As for the 9 yo I might allow him to go with the 13 yo to the arcade or maybe to the shops, but again, it would have to be not busy. Go on his own to these places - no way. I might let him roam to the arcade if I'm in the shops or getting a snack, again it depends upon how busy the arcade is and how close it is to the place I'm at. Will I let him roam the entire pool area or run ahead to the room by himself, definitely. HTH

 

[AustinTink]

My DS10 would get lost and freak out. Maybe when he's 13 or 14.

 

[CookingMama]

Its not only the childs age but their maturity. I would not allow my two youngest to be without supervision and they are 11 and 9 yrs. They are very good children and follow my instructions, but life happens.
IME Cellphones are not a tool for a child to protect themselves with & give a child a false sense of power and safety, they only help after the child has made a choice that maybe you won't agree with.

 

[redrosesix]

We let our oldest two ages 13 & 9 go all over at campgrounds by themselves and have done so since they were 7 - the only place they are not allowed alone is the pools. They ride their bikes and are gone for an hour at a time. Youngest DS who will be 7 this summer will get that opportunity this year, maybe, but he is very immature and a cling-on, so maybe not. But, that being said, to my mind comparing roaming a campground to WDW is like comparing a small neighborhood to a giant city.

I found this thread interesting because we are at the point of seriously debating the whole how much freedom does DS#1 at age 13 get at WDW. We live in a moderate size town (@8,000 ppl) with interstates, an outlet mall, etc. He is allowed to go up town (@3 miles) by himself to buy a soda or sometimes I'll send him up to buy a loaf of bread. He rides his bike to a friend's house. Will he be allowed this much freedom at WDW, probably not. We will probably allow him to go on rides by himself while we take the other kids on another ride nearby (he wants to ride ToT and DS#3 is a super chicken) and to the resort arcade or the resort shops/counter service place provided it is not too busy or too far from our room and he will have a two way radio (better than a cell phone - cost about $25/pr, no fees once bought and no concerns about network coverage).

As for the 9 yo I might allow him to go with the 13 yo to the arcade or maybe to the shops, but again, it would have to be not busy. Go on his own to these places - no way. I might let him roam to the arcade if I'm in the shops or getting a snack, again it depends upon how busy the arcade is and how close it is to the place I'm at. Will I let him roam the entire pool area or run ahead to the room by himself, definitely. HTH

We actually have walkie-talkies -- we use them at the campground (if she is at an activity until after dark she rings me to come and get her) and each person always has one when we go wilderness camping. We didn't have a lot of luck with them at WDW last year, at least in the parks. I literally could not hear my husband, no matter which channel we chose.

Since I was buying a cell phone for him (we're paying roaming charges on my blackberry) from Virgin (9.99 with 9.99 included airtime) I bought one for her too, just in case. She uses mine all the time, so it's not a big deal to her. Truthfully, she'll probably only use it to call her dad when he's lost, so she can give him directions to find us.

Your post was really helpful, especially the part about the 13 y.o. My daugher already knows she can't go anywhere on her own at WDW this year. Next year will be different since her cousins will be coming with us (the youngest will be 18) -- don't know about the following years.

 

[MPHARJ]

No from me too, I just started to let my 13 year old walk from our room to fill up mugs this past year, but that is all she does and she has 10 minutes tops to go and come back, I usually don't leave because the youngest is sleeping. She takes her cell phone with her but I don't even like her do that. I just started to let my oldest who is now 19 wonder around the parks on his own, this past year when he went along. I am a paranoid parent and my children our my life. When you do the work I do you protect what is near and dear to you.

 

[aubriee]

Just a day or two ago there was a woman telling us on this board about a man that would not leave her 11 year old daughter alone. He kept stroking the childs hair and finally had to be taken away by a CM.

Nine is to young to let run. About 25 years ago I let my 15 year old and her 13 year old brother have the run of magic kingdom. Today I would think long and hard about it and then probably I would say no.

That's not the only post that has been here on the DIS about child predators at WDW. Do you guys remember a few months ago the little girl that got lured into the bushes at the Swan. I think she was about 8-9 y/o. The only thing that saved her was a little boy that saw the incident and reported it. There was also a thread on here a few months ago about the little girl that got groped in a back corner in one of the resort gift shops. There was the thread last year about the little girl that got groped on an elevator (I believe at either POFQ or PORS). There was also a thread about a little girl getting groped on the BC elevator. There was also a thread about something happening at DTD a few months ago. WDW is not a safe place for little kids to be wandering around on their own.

 

[redrosesix]

That's not the only post that has been here on the DIS about child predators at WDW. Do you guys remember a few months ago the little girl that got lured into the bushes at the Swan. I think she was about 8-9 y/o. The only thing that saved her was a little boy that saw the incident and reported it. There was also a thread on here a few months ago about the little girl that got groped in a back corner in one of the resort gift shops. There was the thread last year about the little girl that got groped on an elevator (I believe at either POFQ or PORS). There was also a thread about a little girl getting groped on the BC elevator. There was also a thread about something happening at DTD a few months ago. WDW is not a safe place for little kids to be wandering around on their own.

Unfortunately, I think that places like WDW are like shopping malls for perverts. Which is why, until now, I haven't let my DD out of my sight there (as opposed to how some people understood the question) and why I bought her a cell phone in case we should ever get separated (which has never happened...yet)

 

[jmetz1028]

For my upcoming trip in October, I was intending to allow my DD 14 1/2 and female cousin 16 1/2 roam the resort and same park we are in by themselves. I just asked my husband his opinion on this and he disagrees with me. I guess we have to discuss this some more before our trip. I definitely wouldn't allow a 9-year-old to roam alone.

 

[hematite153]

Since I was buying a cell phone for him (we're paying roaming charges on my blackberry) from Virgin (9.99 with 9.99 included airtime) I bought one for her too, just in case.

Check into this carefully. About a year and a half ago I almost got a Virgin phone and then I discovered that they didn't have ANY service in the US. Has this problem been fixed?

 

[redrosesix]

Check into this carefully. About a year and a half ago I almost got a Virgin phone and then I discovered that they didn't have ANY service in the US. Has this problem been fixed?

Not really...if you have a prepaid phone in Canada from Virgin (as my husband does) you can't roam in the US. If you are on a contract, you can add a roaming package. The 9.99 deal is from Virgin Mobile US (it includes free shipping by Fedex and I had them sent to the resort ahead of us). This solution was actually recommended to me by Virgin Canada.

I checked this pretty thoroughly before I went ahead and did it -- the phone cards are pretty cheap to top up the phone, plus there are no activation fees. (as in Canada) It is not a disposable phone per se, since once it is activated it only needs to be topped up again to use in the US.

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

Wow, Just came back on this morning to see almost 5 pages full. OP glad that you came back and posted more. At first I misunderstood your original post but it is all clear now. It's very hard in this day and age to let our kids roam free even if it is to the arcade or down the hall to get some ice. Unfortunately, you just can't trust people not even in the happiest place on earth. For me it is especially hard with two incidents that happened in my life but I try really hard not to let that influence me when it comes to my DS13. Unfortunately, the news does that for me. Just think when they are young they want to fly and when they get older they want to come back. I hope that you and your family have a wonderful time.

 

[redrosesix]

Wow, Just came back on this morning to see almost 5 pages full. OP glad that you came back and posted more. At first I misunderstood your original post but it is all clear now. It's very hard in this day and age to let our kids roam free even if it is to the arcade or down the hall to get some ice. Unfortunately, you just can't trust people not even in the happiest place on earth. For me it is especially hard with two incidents that happened in my life but I try really hard not to let that influence me when it comes to my DS13. Unfortunately, the news does that for me. Just think when they are young they want to fly and when they get older they want to come back. I hope that you and your family have a wonderful time.

Ahhaha. Yes, I certainly attracted the flames with the use of one word -- which here would mean something totally different, I guess.

Still, the answers gave some very interesting insights on the whole. Certainly, there are differences in the way that people think based on where they live ie big town, small town, or which country they come from.

I also had an incident happen to me when I was 15. I try not to let that influence my daughter since there are many studies that show that children who are more intimidated are actually more vulnerable. I want her to be defiant, not scared, if she is ever approached by a stranger. So...she doesn't necessarily know why she has so many rules, she just knows that she has to do as told or she'll be "gated" (which is a very British punishment that I learned about in boarding school, ugh!)

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

Sometimes all it takes is one little word.

You are my kind of girl. I like your thinking. I was raised by a Marine and was taught to take nothing from no one. Trying to pass that on to my son is proving to be a bit difficult as he is shy and very reserved. But then again if faced with a situation one never knows how he will handle it. Hopefully he won't have to.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

The person that says there has never been an assault at WDW is out of the loop. Some 2 years ago an 8 year old was molested at the Dolphin. She was unsupervised and another parent called security. There was that incident at the Tea Cups last year with the line cutting.
There was the woman attacked at Pop Century not long ago and she was able to get away.
Things have happened more than we would like to know.
Disney for the most part is safe but use the same caution you would in the real world and have peace of mind on your vacation.

 

[hematite153]

Not really...if you have a prepaid phone in Canada from Virgin (as my husband does) you can't roam in the US. If you are on a contract, you can add a roaming package. The 9.99 deal is from Virgin Mobile US (it includes free shipping by Fedex and I had them sent to the resort ahead of us). This solution was actually recommended to me by Virgin Canada.

I'm glad to hear that they've fixed their problems. (I was looking at a contract package, but, they said they had no permission for US networks.)

 

[Good Disney Fairy]

Nope, 9 is too young for me to let my precious go off on here own at WDW. Don't get me wrong I love the place but.... there is always the chance and I have read too many dark and scary sides of WDW. Not in my lifetime did I let my 9yo out to go to foodcourt, etc... alone. Be cautious and safe, spend the time together, she has many years when she can roam without you. My 15yo daughter, her 15yo cousin and my 16yo son are allowed to go off together now but only as long as they are a group of 3 and stick together, and call and text often.

Good Disney Fairy

 

[jmetz1028]

Last year my family stayed at Pop. My husband left to go to the food court for a drink and was gone for a long time. I called to find out where he was and it turned out that he had gotten into a fight with a very intoxicated man who was calling young girls "B*****'s" exposing himself and urinating all over the resort. My husband asked him to stop it and go to his room. The man swung at my husband who then wrestled the man to the ground so he would stop trying to hit him and held him while other guests called the police. The manager of the resort was just standing there watching and didn't help or call the police. When the police arrived they almost arrested my husband too because apparently it is illegal to hold someone down. Thank goodness for other guests who backed up my husband and told the police he was only trying to protect himself and other guests. The man got charged with public drunkenness. He was removed from the resort. He wasn't even a registered guest there. Apparently other guests complained about the man earlier because he was acting inappropriate around kids in the arcade and around the pool but none of the CM's at the resort did a thing about him. The CM's just stood around while everything happened and didn't even attempt to help or call the police. I thought it was very unfortunate how they handled the situation. The point is, you also have to consider the fact the alcohol is served at resorts and parks and that can also cause problems.

 

[Sillyminny40]

Oh a poll on this would be a nice addition! Good topic. We will let our 16 yr olds roam the parks with cell phones and only together. Our 12 year old will be by our sides. Probably let him go with one of the 16 yr olds but we are "overprotective" people based on our experience with law enforcement (probation officer who deals with peds).

 

[Argent]

I have four daughters and in my opinion nine is way too young to roam free. There are too many lunatics in this world and I'm sure some of them visit WDW. I too am very overprotective but I would rather be safe than sorry. A child can never be replaced.