Kids alone in the room?

[Momof4girls]

I've seen a few comments lately about kids being alone in a stateroom. Now, I'm pretty sure that it's against DCL rules - but I'm wondering - how old would a child be before you felt comfortable with them staying alone in a stateroom?

I saw a thread a while back with the comment that they put each adult on a separate room "just to get the kids on the ship" but that "DCL doesn't care where you sleep." Is this true?

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

We've cruised twice with DCL and both times enjoyed the lovely suites. With the economy the way it is and college expenses soon after the cruise, we decided to downgrade cabins and not worry so much about the cost! We've booked 2 rooms directly across from each other-a category 6 for DH and son and a category 11 for other son and myself! Our sons will be 17 and 1 month shy of 16 when on the cruise. They've been on the ship 2 times before and are very familiar with our rules and the activities onboard. We feel comfortable at those ages to have the inside cabin for them. We'll still spend most of our time together, but for sleeping, they've always had an inside room in the suites, the only difference is that it is across the hall and not across the suite.

 

[sunshine1259]

I've seen a few comments lately about kids being alone in a stateroom. Now, I'm pretty sure that it's against DCL rules - but I'm wondering - how old would a child be before you felt comfortable with them staying alone in a stateroom?

I saw a thread a while back with the comment that they put each adult on a separate room "just to get the kids on the ship" but that "DCL doesn't care where you sleep." Is this true?

Yes, it is true that, although there must be at least one adult listed per room, DCL does not care where anyone sleeps.

As for how old would a child be before leaving them in the stateroom alone, it really depends of the child. I have left my nephew and a friend in the room alone while we adults explored the ship. They were 8 and 10, respectively, and there was no problem.

I have also left my 10 year neice alone as well. No problem. As long as the child understands that they are not to open the door for anyone, they should be okay. But I probably would not leave them any younger than 8.

I told my neice to dead bolt the door for extra security, not thinking that the child would fall asleep within minutes of my leaving. I could not wake that girl for anything. I finally had to have a ship's officer open the door for me .


Hope that helps.

 

[Momof4girls]

Thanks so much.



Brenda - would you leave them overnight in there by themselves?


And, does anyone know if baby monitors work in rooms side by side?

I mean, really - is it any different from being in connecting rooms - aside from having to go out and around to the door?

I'm so conflicted about this.

 

[sunshine1259]

Thanks so much.



Brenda - would you leave them overnight in there by themselves?


And, does anyone know if baby monitors work in rooms side by side?

I mean, really - is it any different from being in connecting rooms - aside from having to go out and around to the door?

I'm so conflicted about this.

I don't know that I would leave them overnight in a stateroom alone until they were about 12 or 13.

And side by side rooms are a bit different. Eventhough you have a KTTW card which should open their door, I would want them dead bolted in there for extra security. Then, if something were to happen and the room was dead bolted, you would have a harder time getting into their room, escpecially if they are heavy sleepers.

So, I guess I would say, for me anyway, yes, it is a bit different.

I don't know if a baby monitor would work in side by side rooms. I would probably guess that they would unless the walls are extremely thick. I mean the work in homes where the baby is upstairs and the parents are downstairs, don't they? I not sure.

Were you able to make sense of all that?

 

[Momof4girls]

Yes - sure was Thanks so much!

(IF we did it - we'd do the older two only - but that's a big IF at this point)

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

It is true that you have to book an adult in each room but it's also true that Disney doesn't care where anyone sleeps. They really don't (and this isn't just pertaining to children- adults also can switch the rooms around and sleep how they want and don't have to sleep how it is on "paper" reserved in those rooms)

They CAN'T care or have it against the rules because not only do the stateroom hosts know who is sleeping in the rooms and can easily tell when one is all children and the other is the couple (parents) but also both times we've cruised we've had to go get keys made so that we could get in our rooms! (ie: change one adult to the other room so we'd both have a key to the room we were actually sleeping in, have one chlid's room key changed to the "kids" room as well). So it's very clear they know what we're doing.

Our first cruise our kids were 6, 8, and 12.5- we had connected SPH rooms. Our 2nd cruise we had a cat 6 across the hall from cat 11 and they were ages 14.5, almost 11, 8. It worked the same (IMO) as the connected room. The only difference was a few steps from door to door instead of a connecting door in the middle (which was actually kinda bothersome with both those doors in the middle and at the time we didn't know we could ask for a door stop to keep them open! LOL)

Our next cruise we have booked 2 cat 12 gty's and we haven't got our room assignments yet. I do hope we're close together or atleast on the same deck, but it's possible we may be far apart. However this time our kids would be 15, 11.5 and just barely 2wks from being 9yrs old. I'd allow my 15yr old to babysit at home if we went out- so I can trust her to be there while they sleep. They basically only use their rooms for (barely getting enough) sleep and when forced to clean/change clothes LOL
I probably would not do 2 seperate rooms with the younger two, but for the eldest always being there. Definitely not at age 8/6 and probably not at age 10/8 either. But with the oldest child also in the room it's not a problem. I think it really depends on the ages of the children and the children themselves too ofcourse- which you'd know them best to know if that's going to work for you or not.

Personally in our family situation it works MUCH better than us paying a fortune extra to have a cat 4 and having our family all crowded in one room. Sure we'd probably do that if we had babies and toddlers and/or all young children- but with older children that would be so crowded for us and just not necessary.

I have no idea if baby monitors would work or how far. I do know I've read that walkie talkies are hit and miss whether they work well or not on the ship- so I'm not sure if that would also be a problem with baby monitors?

I guess for us the age WE'D feel comfortable with OUR children staying in a room alone would be about the age we'd be comfortable with leaving them at home alone (and legally). Which for us is about age 12. No problem with leaving slightly younger children with said child that age though.

 

[Ourtwoprincesses]

On our second cruise, a 4 day cruise, we took, we booked 2 inside rooms next door to eachother. DH and younger DD (age 5) was in one room and myself and older DD (age 9) was in the other. We slept as that, didn't leave the kids in a seperate room together. But during the day older DD would go to the room by herself, she had to tell us. One day she was seasick so she slep in the room by herself all morning from 9-12. We told the person that was in charge of taking care of our rooms, that she was seasick and will be sleeping, and they were fine with that. I checked on her every hour, and then at 12 I bought her a plate of food, it was seafood buffet for lunch, her favorite. She woke up to eat that and felt much better.

 

[samily]

There were times during the day on our last cruise when my DD11 wanted to rest alone in the room. I gave her the lecture about not opening the door to anyone, etc. & I also put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door to prevent the stateroom host from knocking or coming in.

 

[stitchlovestink]

I guess for us the age WE'D feel comfortable with OUR children staying in a room alone would be about the age we'd be comfortable with leaving them at home alone (and legally). Which for us is about age 12. No problem with leaving slightly younger children with said child that age though.

Well, scary as it is... here in MD, a child can come home alone from school or stay home alone legally at the age of 8. Yup, 8!!!! Now a 'child' cannot be responsible for the care of a younger sibling (or other child for that matter) under the age of 8 until they are 13. So you couldn't leave a 12 y.o. and 7 y.o. home alone legally. But once the child turns 8 anything goes. And there isn't a time limit on how long you can leave them unattended either.
Scary, isn't it?

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Well, scary as it is... here in MD, a child can come home alone from school or stay home alone legally at the age of 8. Yup, 8!!!! Now a 'child' cannot be responsible for the care of a younger sibling (or other child for that matter) under the age of 8 until they are 13. So you couldn't leave a 12 y.o. and 7 y.o. home alone legally. But once the child turns 8 anything goes. And there isn't a time limit on how long you can leave them unattended either.
Scary, isn't it?

You think that is scary? The laws in Texas don't even specify an age! I can't remember the exact wording but the laws here basically only specify they are old enough to be responsible. Which basically means any age goes UNLESS something bad happens in which case no matter WHAT age they are as minors you're gonna be in trouble for leaving them alone (which basically means you can leave them at any age- but let's say even if they are 15 and they get hurt while you're gone... you're in trouble because apparently they weren't "responsible" enough to be left alone).

Now that's scary isn't it?
even if the law here was 8 I wouldn't do it. The first time we left our eldest alone was almost 13yrs and that was only just that she didn't have to run back and forth with us when we were moving from a few streets away (maybe half a mile or a bit more). It wasn't until she was almost 14 that we'd leave her at home at other times for short periods of time because she didn't really want to go with me for EVERY little errand I ran/etc. She's 15 now and has only stayed home with the kids a handful of times for very short periods of time. I'm very leary of leaving the kids home alone- although she has babysit other children. That sounds weird but hey I guess I'm more of a worrier than other parents might be. LOL Well that and plus I know MY kids (her siblings) won't listen to her at all when I'm gone vs. other kids she babysits always would listen to her. Yanno? They tune their big bossy sister out now after all these years of her trying to be their boss. LOL

However- I was totally fine with her being in the room with the kids overnight (on the ship) across the hall from us. Wasn't worried a bit. We were actually technically sleeping closer on the ship in rooms across the hall than we are in our home across the house from one another. LOL Although yes I realize the ship is different than our home but hey not necessarily by much! Things can happen here just as they can there...

Samily we also used the do not disturb sign on our kids rooms everytime. they knew not to answer the door and if we knocked (because we had a key to the room BUT they had the deadbolt done) they had to wait to hear our voices and sure it was us before opening the door even for us. (we also had a secret door knock but they still had to make sure it was us by voice before unlocking the deadbolt).

We had precautions -but I didn't lose any sleep over them being in the room across the hall. yanno? If I had a child young enough to perhaps not be completely trusted to not wake up in the night and/or not be 100% trusted to not open the door for anyone (our eldest was the one that had to check if it was us before unlocking the door for us)- then I'd probably have a problem sleeping in seperate rooms. For instance if we had cruised when our youngest was younger and/or say she was a light sleeper or occasionally woke up in the night wanting us/etc- she'd have slept with us in our room instead.

 

[wilma-bride]

For our cruise in October, we have 2 SRs booked but they are cat 12 gty so we have no idea where we will end up or whether we will be near each other. Currently, myself, DD (16) and DS (6) are booked in one SR and DH and DD (15) are booked in the other. There is no way that DH can share a room with DD as he is her step-father and neither of them would be comfortable with that situation. Our plan is that the two DDs will share a room and DS will sleep with us. However, given that the girls haven't cruised before, if the SRs are very far apart, I will sleep with the girls and DH will sleep with DS. I wouldn't have a problem with them being in the SR during the day alone but wouldn't want them alone at night if they were far from us just in case of any emergency.

That is just my personal feelings and how I will work it out for my family, though. I have no problem with what others want to do and only you know how your children would cope in an emergency if you weren't near them.

 

[kcashner]

For booking purposes, DCL requires that there be one adult (18 or over) booked in each cabin. Guests 18-20 can be in a cabin with other 18-20s, but if there will be a minor in the room, there must be a guest age 21+ booked in the room.

So, under 18 needs a 21, 18 or over OK to book by themselves. This applies whether the staterooms are adjoining, connecting, or on opposite ends of the ship.

They do not care who sleeps where, and there are no rules about leaving a kid in the cabin (sleeping, watching TV, or whatever) without a parent present. Those issues are up to the parent. Many parents book 2 cabins with one parent and a teen in each. For sleeping purposes, they put the kids in one and the parents in the other. Unless the teens are creating a problem, DCL doesn't get involved.

 

[Momof4girls]

Whoah! That law in texas (and MD) is nuts!

My step-daughter regularly babysits her 8 year old sister at home while mom is at work. I'm sure she's responsible enough to keep my 11 year old in check, but the 9 year old will get scared easily so she's in my room regardless.

I'm still wondering if baby monitors work on the ship. I'll have to post anothe thread.

Thanks for the stories! It always helps to hear.

 

[sunshine1259]

Well, scary as it is... here in MD, a child can come home alone from school or stay home alone legally at the age of 8. Yup, 8!!!! Now a 'child' cannot be responsible for the care of a younger sibling (or other child for that matter) under the age of 8 until they are 13. So you couldn't leave a 12 y.o. and 7 y.o. home alone legally. But once the child turns 8 anything goes. And there isn't a time limit on how long you can leave them unattended either.
Scary, isn't it?

You think that is scary? The laws in Texas don't even specify an age! I can't remember the exact wording but the laws here basically only specify they are old enough to be responsible. Which basically means any age goes UNLESS something bad happens in which case no matter WHAT age they are as minors you're gonna be in trouble for leaving them alone (which basically means you can leave them at any age- but let's say even if they are 15 and they get hurt while you're gone... you're in trouble because apparently they weren't "responsible" enough to be left alone).

Now that's scary isn't it?
even if the law here was 8 I wouldn't do it. The first time we left our eldest alone was almost 13yrs and that was only just that she didn't have to run back and forth with us when we were moving from a few streets away (maybe half a mile or a bit more). It wasn't until she was almost 14 that we'd leave her at home at other times for short periods of time because she didn't really want to go with me for EVERY little errand I ran/etc. She's 15 now and has only stayed home with the kids a handful of times for very short periods of time. I'm very leary of leaving the kids home alone- although she has babysit other children. That sounds weird but hey I guess I'm more of a worrier than other parents might be. LOL Well that and plus I know MY kids (her siblings) won't listen to her at all when I'm gone vs. other kids she babysits always would listen to her. Yanno? They tune their big bossy sister out now after all these years of her trying to be their boss. LOL

However- I was totally fine with her being in the room with the kids overnight (on the ship) across the hall from us. Wasn't worried a bit. We were actually technically sleeping closer on the ship in rooms across the hall than we are in our home across the house from one another. LOL Although yes I realize the ship is different than our home but hey not necessarily by much! Things can happen here just as they can there...

Samily we also used the do not disturb sign on our kids rooms everytime. they knew not to answer the door and if we knocked (because we had a key to the room BUT they had the deadbolt done) they had to wait to hear our voices and sure it was us before opening the door even for us. (we also had a secret door knock but they still had to make sure it was us by voice before unlocking the deadbolt).

We had precautions -but I didn't lose any sleep over them being in the room across the hall. yanno? If I had a child young enough to perhaps not be completely trusted to not wake up in the night and/or not be 100% trusted to not open the door for anyone (our eldest was the one that had to check if it was us before unlocking the door for us)- then I'd probably have a problem sleeping in seperate rooms. For instance if we had cruised when our youngest was younger and/or say she was a light sleeper or occasionally woke up in the night wanting us/etc- she'd have slept with us in our room instead.

I have no idea what the rules or laws are here in CA or what they were when I was a child, but at 8 years old, I was babysitting, at other people's home for their children. Yep, 8 years old and babysitting 4 other youngsters. Granted, they were just a few houses away from my house, but still, I was the one in charge.

Evidently, I was one very responsible kid. Nothing bad every happened and noone every was hurt. But get this: My mom would get a babysitter for US, when I was that age and had 3 younger siblings. That was probably a wise thing to do given the fact that we were very close in age and probably would not have listened to me as well as the other children did.

I babysat from that point on until I was about 18 years old.

 

[MN_Cruz'n]

I really think it comes down to parental responsibility, knowing your children, and what you personally are comfortable with.

I have no issue with leaving my kids alone in the state room, but I would never leave them alone overnight. My DD10 has been coming home from school and being by herself for a couple of hours this past year and we have had no issues. DD7, I would not leave alone.

I have friends who's children I would hesitate to leave out of an adult's sight for more than 5 minutes!

Not that I want to debate this here, but my State government shouldn't be telling me when my child is responsible enough to be left home alone. The only person who knows that is me and my wife. Our state does not dictate any age at all, and that is fine with me. Our county does have guidelines they follow, and can/will report families to Social Services if the see instances out of guidelines.