Kids sleeping in the room....

[westjones]

I don't want to hit on a touchy subject, but I was wondering.....

.....at what age do parents usually feel comfortable leaving children sleeping alone in the room while they go to an evening activity for adults? Next year my twins will be turning 10 on the ship and I was thinking that maybe DH and I could go to one of the adult programs one evening while the kids slept in the room. We have never left them alone before, and was wondering if they 'needed' us could they contact Guest Services to have us beeped on the pager? I realize it is a year away, and children change so much over a year, so it is hard for me to tell if they will be ready then or not.
DJ

 

[Michelle]

Every child is different and only the parents know if a child is mature enough to handle any potential emergencies.

My DD is 9 and definitely not ready to be alone in the room at night, nor would she want to be. She'd much rather be playing in the kid's club.

The only way they could have you beeped is if they went to the kid's clubs and asked them to page you.

Good luck deciding!

 

[westjones]

Thanks Michelle!
If they can't 'beep' us, I don't think I would be comfortable. My kids just get tired and want to go to bed, but maybe we can get them to take a nap one day so we can go out with the 'grown ups' while they are in the kids clubs. How do those kids stay up so late? My girls get so tired from all that goes on during the day! But a nap might be the answer to allowing us to stay up later.

Thanks,
DJ

 

[imgoingtodisney]

We started leaving DS10 alone for a little while at home. On the ship we are planning on him either going to the Lab, movies or staying in the room. Our room is one of the secret portholes on deck 5 same as the lab and movie theatre so DS will have roam of the 5th deck. He most likely wont be sleeping when we're out of the room. Im not sure yet how he will contact us if there is a problem.
We are packing our 2way radios. And leaving each other notes to our whereabouts.

 

[markey]

My granddaughter is 7 and I left her for 10 minutes, awake watching tv in the room while I ran up to get punch at the drink station. And believe me I ran and had doubts and that was in the afternoon. They are 7 and 8 and I know I would never leave them alone, 10 is older and I think it depends on the child. I would want to be sure that the child is comfortable with it and would know what to do in an emergency. Maybe 2 way radios would work for you.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Not to push anyone to do this before they think their child is ready, but...

...although they wouldn't be able to "beep" you from the stateroom, many families use the 2-way radios that use the Family Radio Service band (FRS). Perhaps that might be an option for you?

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

Obviously it depends on the child and your comfort level with them but we've found it to work fine. Our DD is one of those kids that after awhile just wants to be by herself or go to bed. Well she used to go to bed now she just goes off by herself! Teenagers

Anyway, on our first cruise she was 8 and a couple of times she had us walk her back to the stateroom where she climbed into her bunk and watched tv. We might have been gone another hour and by the time we would get back she was sound asleep. On our second cruise she was 10, nearly 11 and we didn't mind letting her go straight from some activity we were doing back to the room.

But we also knew she was pretty responsible and resourceful - wouldn't panic in the event of an emergency.

This next trip we plan to take the radios mainly because both kids will be teens and so there are no pagers to help with communication!

Deb

 

[westjones]

Do we, as parents, have the option to let 10-12 year olds check themselves out? I thought I had heard that for the 10-12 year old group you could not have a beeper and they didn't offer the option to 'beep' you (just let them check themselves out). I don't like the idea of my children just leaving and going off on the ship by themselves.

So my question to those of you who have had kids in the 10-12 year old group: Can we still ask for a beeper and have them beep us when the kids want to leave?

Thanks.
DJ

 

[westjones]

Do we, as parents, have the option to let 10-12 year olds check themselves out? I thought I had heard that for the 10-12 year old group you could not have a beeper and they didn't offer the option to 'beep' you (just let them check themselves out). I don't like the idea of my children just leaving and going off on the ship by themselves.

So my question to those of you who have had kids in the 10-12 year old group: Can we still ask for a beeper and have them beep us when the kids want to leave?

Thanks.
DJ

 

[4crusinransiers]

My boys are very...self sufficant and know what to do in an Emergancy. They were free to roam the ship and if they got tierd they would go back to the cabin and put themselfs to bed ( same with us, some nights we beat them to bed) We had 2 way radios if they needed us. They are 9 and 11.

 

[KLDESQ]

Sorry to weigh in as the resident attorney...but..I am a divorce/custody attorney and I'd sincerely recommend that you do not leave your children alone in your room if you are a single (particularly custodial) parent. I've been involved in several custody cases where it was a real concern to the court that a parent would leave his/her 'young' child alone while they went to the bar, etc. This is probably not a real big issue in this venue as I suspect most people are of a more "traditional family", i.e. Mom, Dad and kids, but if I were advising a client in a similar situation, I'd recommend that they leave the kids at the kids club.

BTW, our kids, 4 & 7 at the time (last year) literlly went to sleep at the kids club (as did most of the other little ones) while my wife and I went to shows, movies, etc. That's probably your best best until the 'child' is about 14-15 years old (probably varies by state).

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

Kids in the lab 10-12 group can be given sign in & out privileges if you wish and you will receive a pager. As I recall we were paged whenever he signed out - but my memory on that detail has faded.

Deb

 

[Tooth Fairy]

Remember that just because it's says "Disney" doesn't mean you can let your guard down concerning your child's safety. Also, each child is different!! Have a great trip!!!

 

[aprilgail2]

I don't think I woud leave a 10 year old in the room by themslves, and certainly never would give a 9 year old free run of the ship but that is just me, to mch could happen to them. I am taking a 14 year old next cruise and though she will have freedom she will still be checking in frequently, kids do stupid things when given to much freedom, even smart kids...