If you smack your kid at Disney...

[Magpie]

Maybe it was the extra heavy crowds last week, but I never saw so many parents smacking their kids while standing in line with us before! And almost every time it looked like this...

Child is whining, rolling on the floor, using the railings as monkey bars, tormenting siblings, or otherwise misbehaving.

Parent smacks child, while telling them to quit it.

Child turns right around and smacks the parent.

Parent ignores child.

Child continues the behaviour that got them smacked in the first place.

My personal favourite was the dad, who in response to being smacked by his offspring, hugs the kid and says, "I still love you, though." And THEN puts him down and ignores him.

Ignoring misbehaviour is a time-honored tradition, as is smacking your child for misbehaving. But I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to be combining the two approaches!

Also, if your adorable little Boutique'd princess decides to throw a shrieking, howling tantrum in the Carousel of Progress, please don't wait through two entire stage sets before deciding to take her out the door in the back. This is not a good time for the "ignore" approach. The room isn't that large, it echoes, and we're on that ride because we want to either sleep or groove along to "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow".

Besides, by the time you left, there was only the 90's remaining. You might as well have stayed and spared us all the lamest decade on the ride.

 

[TDC Nala]

Also, if your adorable little Boutique'd princess decides to throw a shrieking, howling tantrum in the Carousel of Progress, please don't wait through two entire stage sets before deciding to take her out the door in the back.

I don't think guests are supposed to leave Carousel of Progress once the show starts. I could be wrong. Something to do with the rotating theater.

 

[Magpie]

I don't think you can leave Carousel of Progress once the show starts. I could be wrong.

You're not supposed to, but there's actually nothing stopping you. Just stand up, push the door open, and walk out. Which is what they eventually did.

It's best to leave when it's not moving, of course! And if a whole bunch of guests start wandering out in the middle of the show, a voice will come over the intercom and chastise us all. But they didn't do that this time, presumably because it was just a couple parents and a screaming child.

 

[tsme]

Sometimes it can be a catch twenty-two though. If your child is acting horribly & you've tried multiple times to get them to listen to you; which isn't working, so you pass them that got your attention smack. Then you have people saying horrible things about you, accusing you of abuse, etc. On the other if all you do is tell "little Johnny or Jan" to stop, then you're going to be talked about as that bad parent who can't or won't control their child. Bottom line, it can be very difficult in the world we live in the discipline you child in public (you can't fuss, you can't spank, you can't put them on their knees, all you can do is threaten) & children know it & take advantage of it.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Parenting is not a science, and there are as many approaches as there are parents, but one thing seems to hold true for most children - if you give them your undivided attention, they will reward you with good behavior. That is, of course, assuming that the child is well fed and rested. At WDW, the first might be taken for granted, but the second?

 

[Kay1]

Sometimes it can be a catch twenty-two though. If your child is acting horribly & you've tried multiple times to get them to listen to you; which isn't working, so you pass them that got your attention smack. Then you have people saying horrible things about you, accusing you of abuse, etc. On the other if all you do is tell "little Johnny or Jan" to stop, then you're going to be talked about as that bad parent who can't or won't control their child. Bottom line, it can be very difficult in the world we live in the discipline you child in public (you can't fuss, you can't spank, you can't put them on their knees, all you can do is threaten) & children know it & take advantage of it.

The only thing that ever worked for me was just leaving, followed up by a consequence at home. Hard to do at Disney, I know.

 

[Magpie]

Sometimes it can be a catch twenty-two though. If your child is acting horribly & you've tried multiple times to get them to listen to you; which isn't working, so you pass them that got your attention smack. Then you have people saying horrible things about you, accusing you of abuse, etc. On the other if all you do is tell "little Johnny or Jan" to stop, then you're going to be talked about as that bad parent who can't or won't control their child. Bottom line, it can be very difficult in the world we live in the discipline you child in public (you can't fuss, you can't spank, you can't put them on their knees, all you can do is threaten) & children know it & take advantage of it.

I actually saw some parents whose parenting impressed me. One mum had three tired kids sitting on the ground waiting for the bus. The older boy began picking on the younger, who was already looking a bit ragged. She noticed fairly quickly and warned the older boy. The older boy waited a moment, then started in on the younger again. So his mother made him stand up beside her, and told the younger boy to keep sitting right where he was, separating them. One warning, and then she acted decisively to prevent her child from misbehaving again, while calmly letting him know how very unhappy she was with his behaviour.

When the kids weren't listening, I told her I thought she was doing an awesome job. She looked really pleased and touched to hear it.

Parenting is not a science, and there are as many approaches as their are parents, but one thing seems to hold true for most children - if you give them your undivided attention, they will reward you with good behavior. That is, of course, assuming that the child is well fed and rested. At WDW, the first might be taken for granted, but the second?

Very true!

 

[mousefan73]

OP.. your post cracked me up, It's so true!! I will be honest and admit I have on the rare occassion smacked my kids. ( here come the comments now I am an abusive parent). My kids are generally well behaved. But each kid has their moments. Siblings fighting is the worst though.


Simple solution, which infortunately everyone suffers, is to say you stop or we go. Though standing in 90 heat for a while and giving that ride up is hard.. We all know smacking doesnt work ( though we do it ).

Leaving IMO is the only thing that would work.. and to be honest I think at that point the kids and parents need a break.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Leaving IMO is the only thing that would work.. and to be honest I think at that point the kids and parents need a break.

When this happened with our kids, we didn't generally leave the park. We tended to look for someplace cool to sit down and recharge - generally with something cool to eat or drink - and take their minds off of whatever was happening when the misbehavior was taking place.

 

[mm1971]

Maybe it was the extra heavy crowds last week, but I never saw so many parents smacking their kids while standing in line with us before! And almost every time it looked like this...

Child is whining, rolling on the floor, using the railings as monkey bars, tormenting siblings, or otherwise misbehaving.

Parent smacks child, while telling them to quit it.

Child turns right around and smacks the parent.

Parent ignores child.

Child continues the behaviour that got them smacked in the first place.

My personal favourite was the dad, who in response to being smacked by his offspring, hugs the kid and says, "I still love you, though." And THEN puts him down and ignores him.

Ignoring misbehaviour is a time-honored tradition, as is smacking your child for misbehaving. But I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to be combining the two approaches!

Also, if your adorable little Boutique'd princess decides to throw a shrieking, howling tantrum in the Carousel of Progress, please don't wait through two entire stage sets before deciding to take her out the door in the back. This is not a good time for the "ignore" approach. The room isn't that large, it echoes, and we're on that ride because we want to either sleep or groove along to "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow".

Besides, by the time you left, there was only the 90's remaining. You might as well have stayed and spared us all the lamest decade on the ride.

Eventually I may have peed my pants laughing if it was that prevalent.

Mine are old enough now where it is not an issue. When they were young, on two separate trips when they were not behaving we left the park and went back to the room and made them watch Samantha Brown for 2 hours. Now we still laugh about threatening to take them back and watch it again (even though she is no longer an option). It made them relax in the A/C, sometimes even a quick nap. Nothing worse than being bored int he hotel room at Disney.

 

[LSUfan4444]

DisBoards.com....raising your kids since 1997!

 

[Cyrano]

As this is a hot button topic I'll close it know and leave the discussion to be held on parenting forums elsewhere