In Room Childcare, Is It Safe???

[Reflection]

Well said Detroit Dad!!!

 

[pajamommy]

I think just because some of us choose not to use in-room babysitters does NOT mean we are lecturing anyone else who does choose to use them. No one said that those who go out for the night are bad parents or don't take child-rearing seriously, and I don't believe anyone is trying to make anyone else feel guilty. As was said, you do what you feel comfortable with, and so will everyone else. I don't think this was turned into a debate until someone on this thread said it was. JMHO

 

[BethR]

Like the question of taking one's children out of school for a WDW (or ANY) Vacation, this is a very "hot" topic. Everyone has a strong opinion on it and, for many, there are NO grey areas...

Sharing ones thoughts WITHOUT being judgemental is what we ask.

Thanks...

 

[detroitdad]

Pajamommy--

Gee I guess that "someone" was me ...(it's okay to say so). Unfortunately, this thread was bound to become a debate as soon as comments such as "I take motherhood and child rearing very seriously" are made. Okay so which of us does not??? It implied that those of us who would use a sitter at WDW, do not take their role seriously. It is how I interpreted your comment. If this was not your intention, then I apologize for misunderstanding your statement.

Have a nice day

 

[Disneymomma]

I could NEVER, EVER leave my daughter with a complete stranger! I am sick to my stomach thinking about this. Beside that, she is attatched to my hip and can never be removed.

 

[The Hunt]

I could NEVER, EVER leave my daughter with a complete stranger! I am sick to my stomach thinking about this.

Is it because you believe there really would be a significant risk to your child's health or safety, or because you would be too nervous about it?

We have a friend who refuses to let his children ride the school bus to school--ever--because of some bad experience he had as a child. I understand his feelings, but my evaluation of the real risks in putting my kids on the bus make me feel OK about it.

I think many people have made the reasonable evaluation that it is safe to use a baby-sitting service approved by Disney, especially if the babysitter has experience and references. Of course, "something could happen," but that's true no matter what you do. Somewhere else on the boards is a discussion about going to the beach after hearing about the recent shark bite case. Some people won't go in the ocean for fear of shark bites, even though the risk is really minute.

Some people are afraid to fly (they might say: "I could NEVER, EVER put my family on an airplane for something so trivial as a Disney vacation. If the plane crashed, and my kids were hurt or killed, I would never forgive myself!"), even though statistically it's safer to fly than to drive.

 

[lookingforward]

Good point The Hunt. Life is full of chances and risks. I worked with abusive parents and ran a Nurturing Group so that the parents and the children they abused could learn appropriate ways to discipline, teach and respond to each other. This program was court sanctioned. It worked well. I have sat in court with children who were abused by caregivers, teachers, parents and family members. It is true that you never know when it comes to other people. It is very difficult to trust others. I do it very carefully and I evaluate everything! That said, I also want to enjoy the time I have with my children and without. I take everything into account and make an informed decision. Just as The Hunt said, most planes don't crash and school busses are usually okay. Yet some planes do crash and problems do occur on school busses. Whether we choose to avoid them is a personal decision. My children are almost too friendly with people they don't know. My oldest son will talk to ANYONE. We have discussed this at length with him and explained that it is great to be polite but to a limit. He knows about good touch, bad touch, do not give out personal information, never ever get in anyones car, etc. etc. He knows some people are not good. We talk about this openly. But I am glad that he feels comfortable talking with strangers and feels strong about himself. These, quite frankly, are the kids that are usually left alone by abusers. Those who prey on children, statistically, prey on the ones who are not sure of themselves and are not used to dealing with people. The kind of kid who is not likely to be noticed and is too afraid to speak out. My children are not perfect but they will speak out, all the time and loudly, lol!
I can understand anyone who says "no thanks" to in-room sitters. I will give it a try at WDW .

Children must be made aware of the good and the bad in the world. They really do need to have a strong sense of self. We all love our children and want to do whats right to protect them. A good sense of themselves and a strong ego is the first step because eventually they
will leave us and go into the world on their own.

 

[PrincessPoppy]

I'm assuming that the caregivers have been checked out, everything's kosher, it's a very nice babysitter. I still couldn't do it, because I couldn't leave my kids with a stranger because of how they would feel.

 

[MBW]

I've never used the in-room childcare on our three past trips, but this time I'm strongly considering it. While I agree that WDW is a vacation for kids, for our family, its also respite for adults. Our 3 yr old is autistic, and our 18 mos old is recovering from severe lead poisoning (and an associated life-threatening infection), so its been a tough year, particularly on our almost 5 year old (whose birthday falls within our trip.) There will be 3 adults (we're taking our best friend), so will probably rotate evenings with the kids, but we'd like to take our friend out to dinner one night (without his help, we wouldn't have made it through this year, and he hasn't had a vacation in 5 years) as well as taking our 5yr old out to see the fireworks w/o the boys. I've heard wonderful things about the Fairy Godmothers, particularly from other parents of autistic kids (many of the caretakers have long-term experience with special needs kids) and since my kids, including my son with ASD, are pretty mellow with new people, I don't see them being too much for anyone with childcare experience to handle. But with all we go through taking care of two special needs kids, we as parents need a little time to recharge. I think in our case, it makes us better able to handle the challenges we'll face everyday, until we have a little more respite time.

I'm also a former early education teacher and child care program director, so I understand background checks, bonding, etc., but I don't think that gives me any more experience than any other parent when it comes to understanding the needs of my kids or my family, or anyone's else's family, for that matterjavascript:smilie(''). Besides, call me an ostrich, but I'm from Maine, and like to think that the world is still a generally good, safe place...Well, maybe not the whole world, but at least Maine and Disney World javascript:smilie('').

We all need to do what's best for ourselves, without worrying too much about what's best for others, particularly since we've probably never walked a mile in their shoes.

MB

 

[BethR]

Thanks to all of you for keeping this discussion respectful and thoughtful!
Keep up the good work!

 

[pajamommy]

Detroit Dad, if you'd read back through the threads, you'd see that I was not the person who originally said that about taking child rearing and parenthood seroiusly, it was the person before me that made that statement, a person who said she uses the in-room babysitting, and I was just pointing out that I personally feel the same way about myself. It was no reference to or about anyone else, and I certainly didn't want anyone to feel like I was saying only I was like that, and I regret that you read it incorrectly and made that inference. I always like to play nice on these boards, and I am saddened that I feel like I was put into the middle of a debate, which was not what my comment were about. I was just giving my own opinion, and like I said, everyone should do what they feel comfortable with, and perhaps not worry about what others may think.

 

[BethR]

An Important Note to ALL Posting on This Thread, and Any Others on the DIS :

All personal messages should be be made through e-mail and Private Messages. Please do not turn informative threads into personal discussions.
Thank You!

 

[lovelyk68]

Has anyone left an older child with an in-room sitter? My oldest will be a week shy of his 14th birthday when we come to Disney and I am considering using a babysitter for his two younger siblings (5, and 1 1/2), leaving him in the room to help out. I do not think he is old enough to watch the little ones, but I am sure he will be insulted by a babysitter. Any opinions?

 

[detroitdad]

Pajamommy-

If you read this thread again, I sent you a personal message. If i did it correctly, you should just need to click on the personal message icon at the bottom of your post.