Leaving the kids...

[marylouwho]

How old were your kids, the first time you let them be in the parks on their own, with a cell phone, with parents in the same park?

Also, how old were they when you felt Ok to leave them in a hotel room by themselves? ....say while the parents went to breakfast or dinner.

I'm a very nervous mother when it comes to these types of issues.
yet it would be nice. Sometimes we parents have more 'get up and go' than our kids!!!

Just wondering what the general feeling are?

 

[DawnM]

We have never done it, nor do we feel comfortable doing it until they are around 12 years old. And even then, the 12 year old will not be in charge of the younger ones.....each needs to be 12 or they are with us.

At 12 they can stay in the room with the door locked and not leave the room.

Dawn

 

[powellrj]

Let me start by saying that in DIS board standards, I am one of THOSE parents. I have always had latch-key kids, let my kids stay alone at around 10 and they go to the movies alone with their friends when they are in middle school. I am very liberal and lenient by DIS standards.

There is no way I would let a young teen stay alone in a hotel room until they were in the later years of high school. I use to travel for business and spent many nights alone in hotel rooms and they aren't the same as being alone at home. There are so many things that can and do happen in hotel rooms that don't happen at home.

I have been in rooms where the ceiling collapsed because the room above me had water issues, had to evacuate more than once because of the fire alarm, had people enter my room because they were given the wrong key (I have also been the person to enter another persons room because I was given the wrong key), had drunks fight in front of the room, had housekeeping enter without warning, random knocking. These are just the things I can think of off the top of my head.

The scariest was when we were staying in a nice hotel and my DS who was 14 or 15 at the time and he was given a card with the room number of another man who told him to "visit" him later. He didn't tell me until after we checked out because he knew I would freak and he didn't want me to. DUH..... This was when he was right outside our door, so he had been watching and knew we had a teen boy in our room.

As for alone in the parks, as long as they have a cell phone and a buddy that they will be staying with, I think around middle school age they should be fine.

 

[dogodisney]

We have never let our girls go off on their own in the parks or leave them alone in the room to go off on our on and they were 14 and 15 lduring our last trip. They will be 15 and 16 1/2 when we go in Dec. and I'm still not sure we would let them go off on their own. I guess we'll see how things go when we get there.
When we go we are going on a "familiy" trip so we basically just do everything together. They are off doing their own thing all the time when we are here at home that vacations are the only time we really spend quality time together.

 

[saratogadreamin09]

How old were your kids, the first time you let them be in the parks on their own, with a cell phone, with parents in the same park?

Also, how old were they when you felt Ok to leave them in a hotel room by themselves? ....say while the parents went to breakfast or dinner.

I'm a very nervous mother when it comes to these types of issues.
yet it would be nice. Sometimes we parents have more 'get up and go' than our kids!!!

Just wondering what the general feeling are?

I'm 14 and Im allowed to wonder in a park if my parents are in the same park. Im also allowed to woner around the resort, DTD, and stay in the hotel room by myself. But, my parents have never left my alone on a vaction, its our time to go to disney and be together so we always do things together as a family

 

[marylouwho]

This came up because on the restaurtant board, some people were suggesting that a 12 year old could be left in the park alone, while his parents went off to dinner.

My daughter is 13 and very responsible, but I don't think I'd be ready for that for years. But then again, I think I'm a bit extreme and have trouble letting go. I just tend to think the worst.

Maybe I would do it for a quick 5 minute run to pick something up at the CS restaurant and bring it back to the room, with cell phones.

But was wondering what the general consesus was. Thanks for you opinions!

 

[MSSANDRA]

Our rule for DS and his same age cousin that both knew the parks well was 13 (they were almost 14) for a few hours alone in the park we were in. I would leave, at that age, him in the resort room while we had dinner somewhere in the same resort (think artist point when we stayed at WL). Also would have let him wander a little bit at the resort but not DD. He had to be with someone else at least that age that I trusted as much as him. At 16 he is VERY mature and could handle just about anything I could. However we all just stick together most all the time. He is happy and fine with the family.

 

[WantToGoNow]

The first time my dd25 ventured off from me during a trip she was 16 and had a friend (another female) along with her. They stayed at the hotel (CSR) and later went to AK while we were at the MK. On another day they went to BB and met up with us later.

My ds7 and dd5 have not separated yet from me in the parks (they were 5 and 2 last trip) on purpose nor will they be anytime soon.