Kids Roaming Freely

[ElaineMc]

I've read a few posts where people are getting walkie talkies for their children to have while they explore the ship. Is it safe to let your child roam around without supervision? We'l l be cruising with my nieces, 11 and 12 and my daughter who is 7. I've never been on a ship before so I'm not sure how well the railings are guarded in case they decide to take and look and fall overboard. You know how kids are. I'm not letting my daughter out of my sight unless she's in her club, but I didn't know how my brother would feel if his girls wanted to have a look around without an adult.

 

[ducklite]

Personally I wouldn't allow the seven year old out of my sight if she wasn't in the clubs.

Most people will tell you the walkie talkies do'nt work that well on the ship.

As far as your son, walking around a little during the day, sure--with definite "boiundries" and time limits. But at night? I wouldn't, just my opinion, but kids that age have no business roaming around anywhere alone at night.

Anne

 

[disney6]

I agree with you about your 7 year old daughter, I wouldn't let her out of your sight either. Our girls, 6,4,3 were not out of our sight either. Our son was 10 and we took along his best friend, also 10, and they did have sign in/out at the lab. They had to let us know where they were at all times, no aimless roaming! They spent alot of time in ESPN and playing ping pong. They also enjoyed most of the lab activities. They HAD to be in the lab (or with us) once dinner was over and straight to the cabin when the lab closed. We had NO problems at all. (they also were together all the time!) They were also not allowed at the pools without one of us, but in two cruises we have never gone to the goofy (family) pool, my kids were not interested in it - too busy! Your brother would have to decide how he feels, but if they are together and have rules, it shouldn't be a problem to let them explore on their own a bit.

 

[justcruisin]

We felt safe allowing DS12 on his own. He was to call us frequently and stay in the public areas (no wandering in the halls were there were only cabins). As the week went by, he was allowed to stay out later. He's not too "street smart" as we live in a rural area, but we feel it's an opportunity for him.

You can start out slowly .... ie.. be back here in 1 hour or let them get their own table at the lunch buffet. We're VERY firm about when he needs to check in ... if we say 1:00, if it's 1:05, then he would not be on his own that evening ---

Good luck, I think you'll find somethat works for you.

 

[tksbaskets]

I agree about your 7yo...On our cruise last December our sons were 11 and we set definite boundaries. (I think my spell checker is off today!) The lab was great about paging us to say "your 10-12 yo has left the lab and will meet you in your cabin". Our deal with the boys was that they were able to go together if we knew where they were and they were great about checking in. Some things they did without us were:

Go to the goofy pool while DH and I were at the adult pool (it was fun to see them peak over the railing to tell us they went for a hamburger or ice cream

Went to the movies a few times

Other than that they enjoyed the kid's program in the lab.

We always knew where they were and they felt very grown up having a little freedom.

Don't worry about "man overboard" The plexiglass railings are above my head!!

Hope this helps. Ask any questions you may have.
T

 

[fred ferdlap]

Under certain restrictions the 12yrold should be able to watch the others and this should not be a big issue. I would be within close range and keep tabs. I feel The ship is safer than any hotel.
It's like a big LOCK-IN!

We let our DD11 check in/out and roam a little. She's very responsible and we feel the boat is a safe environment. Again the rule was to call us on the two way radio when leaving the club. Only to return to the room. A couple of times with her sister 10 they would explore the ship. But on close leash (walkie talkie) and we checked on them. Overall we never saw a need to be concerned.

You will find many kids are left to roam freely (usualy in groups). Most are well behaved others.......

 

[professorandmom]

My nine year old twins were allowed to select where they wanted to be (together) and, as long as I knew (the post it on the mirror technique, along with the text pager), I think it worked great. The key is a parent's ability to end this by simply removing sign out abilities at the lab - they DID NOT want this to happen and worked hard to follow the rules to keep the right to sign themselves in and out. NO problems here.

I admit however, I didn't think I would feel OK with this before the cruise - strange on the boat, when you get used to the environment, it changes things.

One quick comment about the railings. Truly my deepest fear (look mom no hands)- but I read in one of the guidebooks that it is so safe you almost feel sealed in (as if that would be negative - have they met my wild twins?). Yup, the railings are large and high and NOT easy to climb - you won;t really feel confident until you see them though.
Barb

 

[Dreamer04]

Good subject! Setting guidelines for the 12 yr old, and allowing him/her freedom should work well. As far as the seven yr old, I would not allow that child to roam freely, even in the company of his/her older sibling. It's one thing to run to the store, leaving the 12 yr old in charge at home. But I would not do that on the cruise. Too many distractions, IMHO.

One more comment. The counselors will page you only if the 12 yr old asks them to. It is not automatic. That would be one of the guidelines I would set. If they sign out, have me paged to let me know.

Anyway, your children will have the time of their lives!

Ursula

 

[disney3144]

We just got back from the 8/16 western, and I let my DS 11 & DS 8 roam freely. We got them both watches that had alarms on them, so when the alarm went off, they had to come back to the cabin. They both did GREAT! The ship is VERY safe, and my boys are WILD!!! Of course, with my boys, if they weren't in thier club, I usually found them in the arcade.

They both had signing in and out privileges for the lab. Made things easier for me. I feel that this is thier vacation too, let them have fun (without mom & dad).

Jennifer

 

[Karel]

My 10 year old had limited freedom on the ship. He was pretty good about telling me when he left the kids club and where he was going. OTH, there are probably times I didn't know where he was but I tried to make sure he was with a group of kids, not on his own. I was not thrilled with sign out priveledges and would have pulled them if I could. My 9 year old was not suppose to be able to sign himself out but he was allowed on occasion. My 7 year old was with either my husband, with me or her club at all times. I don't let her roam around town by herself.

I totally disagree that the ship is that safe. You are surronded by strangers who could do anything. Also, you might have the best kids in the world but peer pressure can be a strong powerful force. I'm on vacation too and don't want to be victim of childish behavior.

 

[Rikersmom]

On the July 12th Magic cruise, there were many kids "roaming freely" and some chose to attend the same movies that we did. After about 10 minutes of loud goofing around, an adult asked the kids to either pipe down or leave. (I was about ready to leave the theater myself, so I was relieved when someone took action.) Next time I won't be so shy--I really appreciated it when this person spoke up. I was hesitant to say anything, in case the kids' parents were in the theater. Next time I don't care if I embarrass the kids or parents.

In all fairness, there were many well behaved kids in the theaters. Unfortunately, it only takes a few to ruin the experience.

 

[Dreamer04]

Karel, I'm glad you made that point. In this day and age, even something as magical as a Disney Cruise, can be unsafe. I would not let my 6 yr old roam freely on the ship. I can be overprotective at times, I'm sure. But there are pedophiles in all walks of life. My son will be 14 when we cruise in April. He will havce a great deal more freedom than my daughter. However, he will be checking in with us on a regular basis. If he doesnt, then he'll lose some freedom. Now, some may flame me for this. He is after all, 14. But my son enjoys his freedom. So he is careful about it. It may sound strict and all, but I found that freedom without responsibility only teaches disrespect and a inacurate sense that the world owes him a living, instead of the other way around.

Gosh I am sooooo long winded!!

Ursula

PS I may sound like a boring Mom, but honestly, I'm not. My kids and I always have a great time together and their friends love to be here at my home.

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by Karel
I totally disagree that the ship is that safe. You are surronded by strangers who could do anything. Also, you might have the best kids in the world but peer pressure can be a strong powerful force. I'm on vacation too and don't want to be victim of childish behavior.

I agree...just because it is a Disney cruise does NOT mean that there could not be child molestors and others on there also.....just because its mom, dad and the kids does NOT mean that one of them is not a sicko!! I would never ever let my 10 year old wander the ship freely, I see no reason to put them in a situation that I and they may later regret for life.

 

[disney6]

I would never ever let my 10 year old wander the ship freely

This is the reason we took my DS best friend with us. It worked great! Best decision we made!

 

[MBFergie]

A quick list of rules I gave my DD 12.

1) We will meet alot of Disboard friends...if they see you misbehave and I find out you are stuck in clubs!

2) You are not allowed in any cabins or allowed to bring anyone to ours. This changed though once I met a fellow dis with a DD 12 and was comfortable.

3) If you are in an elevator by yourself and a boy or man gets on get off. (May seem harsh but one never knows these days, sad to say.) DO NOT PLAY ON ELEVATOR!!

4) You must page me when you leave the club and tell me where you are going. We did use the radios too and they worked pretty good.

I am happy to report that as far as I know she was well behaved and had a wonderful time!!

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by Dreamer04
My son will be 14 when we cruise in April. He will havce a great deal more freedom than my daughter. However, he will be checking in with us on a regular basis. If he doesnt, then he'll lose some freedom. Now, some may flame me for this. He is after all, 14.

Ursula, no flames from me. My son was 16 when we cruised and he still had a curfew and had to cehck in with us regularly through the day. It's part of being a PARENT!

Anne

 

[Dreamer04]

Thanks, Anne. Some of his friends'parents are much more liberal than I am. For example, this past year my son's attitude toward his schoolwork took a downward spiral. Up til then, he had always be very responsible when it came to his homework, projects, etc..

Well, I dug in. Priveldges, freedoms and such were cut until he toed the line again. I found out that he was nervous about high school. He is in advanced classes-has been since 6th grade-and he was thinking about his workload come freshman year.

In any case, he got back on track. My long-winded point is some of the other parents criticized (sic) me for being what they called "harsh".

It made me laugh. I know more about their kids lives than they do. I do have rules and boundaries inmy home, but my kids are better for it. They know exactly what is expected of them. They are secure to live their lives, knowing that they are not calling all the shots.

Ok...take my soapbox away. I've been out sick from work since June and I tend to treat these boards as my social life...sorry about the speech

Ursula

 

[cruisnfamily]

ElaineMc: Here is an expert from my trip report regarding how we handled our DD10 on the ship:

I think this little taste of independence was really the highlight of Amanda's trip. We are relatively cautious parents and don't often allow her this kind of freedom. Yes, we were very comfortable giving her this freedom on the ship and it worked out fabulously for all concerned. She has moved up another notch in showing us her maturity and responsibility.

The way it worked is that we got one pager for our two children. DS6 and DD10. When DS6 wanted out of the club, they would page us and we would go and get him. Pretty simple. We worked out our own rules with Amanda. They were as follows:
1)She could sign out with a friend only...never by herself.
2)She must have a destination in mind...no signing out to wander the ship
3)She would have the lab page us with her destination.."Amanda signed out to go to the movies with friend", "Amanda is back at the lab", etc.

That was it. The lab made it clear to us that it was Amanda's responsibility to have them page us. Once we gave the OK for her to have sign in/out ability, it was not their job to notify us, it was hers. It worked out great! We always knew where she was.

 

[Dreamer04]

That sounds good, Sonya.

Ursula

 

[ElaineMc]

Thanks for all the great input. It's nice to know there are so many responsible parents out there. From the way it sounds, it would be okay to let the two older girls (11 and 12) have a little bit more freedom than the 7 year old. Her freedom is me not peeking into her club every 20 minutes to check up on her. I'm actually getting ready to go on a field trip with her right now (Boomers) with her YMCA class because there are just too many people out and about. You don't only have to worry about adults, but kids can also be cruel. It's not unheard of of kids as young as 9 or 10 commiting crimes. I always worry about the bathrooms of places she goes, anything can happen in there if you don't have a buddy to go in with you. I've gotten better, my daughter doesn't have to be right by my side as long as I can see her and she can see me. These discussion boards are great. I'm going to feel like I've already cruised before I even get there. I love getting all the inside scoop so I don't miss out on anything. HAPPY CRUISING TO ALL.

ElaineMc