kids checking themself out of kids club

[kelljacques@aol.com]

How old do the little ones have to be when they can check themself in and out of the club??

 

[sherr]

The kids have to be in the 10-up age bracket.

 

[cindy21494]

Has this changed? My DD was 9 on our last cruise and was able to check herself out.

 

[praisehisname]

We were on the 2/1 Wonder and the kids had to be 8 to check in and out by themselves.

Denise C. in MD

 

[tkd lisa]

They "can" check themselves out at 8, the default assumption is that they "will" be able to do this at 10. But if you don't want them to be able to check themselves out, you can "deselect" that option. You can also say "Johnny can check himself out, but I want to be paged when he does with the location he's going." Now that doesn't guarantee that Johnny won't say "I'm going to the pool" and end up playing with the elevator buttons

For what it's worth, my kids have cruised at ages 8 through nearly 11, and they've never been allowed to check themselves out. I'm considering it for next cruise, when DD will almost be 13, but I'd require the page saying where she's going. And if she's not where she said she was going, that privilege would be revoked.

 

[kelljacques@aol.com]

MY son will be 8 and I was thinking about having him get out by himself and page us and meet at our room.. Don't know what do you guys think??

 

[allforpooh]

My DD will be 11, and she will be able to check herself out. We bought some walkie talkies so the rule will be that she notifies us when and where she will be if she leaves the club.

She is very excited about being able to have some independence.

Denise

 

[TMTIP]

My dd's will be 8 & 10 when we cruise this May and there is no way I would let them check themselvs out of the clubs. The ship is just too big and confusing even for adults at times to find their way around. The last thing I need on my vacation is to loose one of my kids-- talk about stress and panic!

 

[dzneprincess]

My DS was 8 on our cruise this past October. I thought long and hard about this one, and in the end, decided to let him have the priviledge. I explained that at all times, while not with us he needed to be at one of 3 places 1) The Lab 2) the mickey pool or 3) the room. I told him the first time that he was not at one of these 3 places he would not be able to leave the lab at will. Let me me also state that I know my children best, and I knew my DS would not take advantage of this. I even gave him charging priviledges on his key. I was so proud of this boy after our cruise. I think he bought a $20 game card, which I said he could, and a soda! He also only checked himself out about 3 times, and the lab paged us everytime to let us know where he was going. It was really wonderful option to have, for him to be able to check himself in. We were midship deck 2, so as far as getting lost, it didn't happen. Let me also state that I have a DD 7 who will be 8 on our next cruise, and I highly doubt I will give her this priviledge, as I don't think she could "handle" it. But we will see between now and November.

 

[KelNottAt]

My kids were 8 and 10 when we cruised last year. IMO, the ship was one of the safest places for them to be, or for that matter, one of the safest places for them to be lost. Which never happened, btw.

We allowed the 8yo to sign-out, but only if her brother went with her. We had no problems whatsoever. They never lost their way and always met us at a pre-arranged place or time. The best part was they loved loved loved having the big-kid responsibility and our trust. The self-esteem smile on their faces was (dare I be so corny) wonder-ful and magic-al.

Our experience with the charge privledges was the same, too. No abuse at all. Just a couple arcade cards.

Good luck with your decision.
Kelley

 

[newholiday]

Do realize tho that kids who have permission to sign themselves in/out of the kids club onboard ship CAN also sign themselves out of the kids club on Castaway Cay. Yup, DS did and then he walked back to the ship by himself.
I alerted a CM who then contacted the ship and paged him for me

 

[pooh luver]

The last time we sailed my DS was 8 and he had check-out priviledges. When we went to Palo's we told him he had to stay until we got him because it was along time for him to be alone. As for getting lost, my son know the ship better than we did. When he did go, which I think was only twice because he didn't like the kids club, we told him where to find us and if he couldn't he was to go to the room or the pool. Never had a problem.

 

[MommyTo5]

When we cruise, my kiddos will be 13, 8, 7, 7, and 4. There is NO way that I'd allow my 8-yr-old to sign himself out and be unsupervised... my 13-yr-old - yes... but not my 8-yr-old. I am really shocked that they allow this at such a young age! Thanks for the heads up... I will definitely be requesting that he not have this privilege.

~ Angie
MommyTo5

 

[Tera]

When we sail next year, my girls will be 10 and 12 years old. I'm not so sure about letting them sign themselves in and out yet, but will consider it only if they come and go together. From what I read, when the girls sign themselves out, the kids club will page you that they are leaving and where they are going? If that's the case, I might be more inclined to let them leave as long as we have a meeting place (pool, room, etc.)

 

[disneysailor]

Can you request to be paged when your child leaves Common Grounds, too? (O.K., I admit it, I'm, in the words of my 13 year old son, WAY TOO OVERPROTECTIVE!)

 

[Tera]

There's no shame in that

 

[NYGiantsRule!]

I do not remember any signing out at Common Grounds or paging. The only time my son wanted to be there was to sign a permission slip for the catamaran cruise.

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

Our kids will be 7 and 9 at cruise time. Actually, the 9yo will be just shy of 10yo. Can I give the 9yo permission to sign himself AND his brother out, as long as they page me first? I would only do this to have them meet up with us somewhere. Then I think, what's the big deal? Just go to the club/lab and get them! Any thoughts?

 

[kelljacques@aol.com]

After talking to my son he didn't want to sign himself out anyway! Then I thought I have to walk him in to school everyday so what was I thinking??


Thanks again

 

[cindy21494]

I think it depends on each child/family. My DD 10 is IMO pretty mature for her age. She knows to have us paged when she is checking out, and we have a meeting area (usually the room). She was told that if she doesn't follow these rules, then she will no longer be able to check herself out. We did this on our last cruise when she was 9 and had no problems.

DH was very unsure about whether or not to allow her to check herself out, so we tried it the first day and it worked out well. As long as she didn't roam around the ship (too young IMO) we all felt comfortable.

Do what makes you comfortable. Only you know if your child can handle this responsiblity.