Male sitter at KNO

[been there done that]

I will let everyone know what we decide to do. I keep changing my mind. My friend and her husband think having Ken is fine. My DH is like me(TORN)! When I talk to KNO management and drill them about Ken I always hang up saying, "Ken is going to be fine, I'm not worried" because they REALLY talk him up but then I go on this thread and hear negative things I get really nervous. I know it's only 5 hours, but I don't want to worry te whole time I'm out. I feel bad turning Ken down because he's a male and if I do and request 2 females like I originally did, they'll probably send the worst ones for spite!
Who knows. The trip's getting closer and closer so we need to decide.
I never expected this thread to become so big either!

 

[justhat]

You said they were willing to send Ken and a woman, though they said it wouldn't be necessary, so I would go ahead and do that. Even if Ken is great, you've got 4 pretty young kids and having babysat a family of 4 kids when I was younger, it was hard. The family would always let me bring a friend and when I did the night was much easier. Granted I was a teenager, while Ken is older, but I think you said he's much older, like in his 50s. Well, my mom is too and she gets tired watching my 4 month old when I'm in the house, I can't even imagine her watching 4 young kids all night alone. We vacationed with my 6yo cousin and 2.5 yo niece in WDW in May and my mom could only watch them alone for so long. When they were together they just got so wild! Even if your kids don't normally do this, they always tend to act differently with a sitter.

The main reason I told my story at Flounder's Reef is that I think it shows the importance of having enough, qualified people to watch your kids. Are your kids used to strange men? If not, they may not feel too comfortable with Ken even if you are. Like I said, I have a male friend who works in a day care and babysits and I trust him completely, but lots of times families would call me instead of him because their child/children felt more comfortable around new women than men. (I'm sure partially the parents did too.) Or what if one of the kids just wants mommy and spends awhile crying, how will Ken entertain/watch the other 3, especially with 2 toddlers? When it's a new sitter, it's hard to know how well they'll actually manage with your kids so to be safe, I would request another sitter to come with Ken.

After all, as much as KNO talks up Ken, they're his employer, they're biased. They want you to keep him so that it's easier for them. I'm sure he is great, but consider the source who is telling you. An impartial reference would be better, but since you don't have that to work with, I would get the 2 sitters. You definitely won't be sorry having more people there to watch your kids, but you might be if you just stay with Ken since you're still undecided. I've found with me that when I can't decide on something, it's usually cause I really don't want one option but feel bad saying no. So do what you know will make you feel better, and I think that is to hire another sitter.

 

[The Duchess]

I'm glad I don't seem to be the only parent agonizing over this.

This is the tentative solution I have come to...
We're going to leave DS (6) at the Sandcastle Club for a couple of hours from around 430 to 630pm early in the vacation to see if he enjoys it.

If he wants to go back to SCC, we'll do an early sitting at V&A on our last night.

If he doesn't want to go back to SCC, we'll do Narcoose's or Citrico's with him.

 

[justhat]

The Duchess, that's exactly what we did with Flounder's Reef with our then 3 month old daughter. Our initial plan was to leave her for 3-60 minutes each night so that when we went to dinner without her hte last night she'd be okay, or if she hated it, we'd know and could cancel our dinner. Unfortunately with a 3 month old, what they like one night does not necessarily hold true the next night and as a result she cried the whole time we were gone the last night.

If your plan is to eat at the GF, why not try their kids club (mouseketeer club I think). That way you'll be right there if you need to get him for any reason. Good luck with your 4yo, I think he'll like the kids clubs as all the kids we met on the Disney cruise loved the club onboard.

 

[been there done that]

I think your right. I know that if I had Ken and a female sitter I would feel so much more comfortable. That way the kids would feel better too. My DS tends to go to females before males.

 

[been there done that]

We ended up having Ken and he was honestly the best sitter we've ever had. That's coming from us AND our friends that were next to us. He watched all four of our kids. When he first arrived he asked questions about each child and when was the last time they ate, what time they went to bed, what they liked to do. He asked us if we would'nt mind him taking them to the playground. We said it was ok with us but probably to much for him with two strollers and trying to keep them all together. He distracted the kids with two bags of toys while we left. I was so worried about my youngest one(my ds;19 months) because he only wants me. Even if my DH has him and I walk away he cries. I thought that when he realized I was gone he would freak out.
When we got back, we could'nt believe what we saw! EVERY one of the children were comfortably tucked in sound asleep. The rooms were both clean. And the biggest shocker was when Ken told me my DS only cried for a few seconds when he was tired so Ken gave him a bottle and he fell right to sleep. He did go to the playground with the kids(and both strollere), he read them nursey rhymes, told a story about tinkerbell being the toothfairy in Disney(he knew my DD had lost her first tooth that day!)He also played games with them. He told us that our kids were all so good and that he was sad when they all fell asleep because he could'nt play with them anymore. We asked the oldest girls the next morning how Ken was and they raved about him. They wanted him to come back that night! We're so glad we had Ken and would love to have him again!!

 

[gigi1313]

glad to hear all's well that ends well... hope you have a wonderful trip & welcome home

 

[lucy_love_]

leaving your kids with a 50yr old man? you might as well be leaving them with tigger (if you know what i mean)

 

[disneymom3]

I am really glad it worked out for you and thanks for letting us know what you decided.

My kids had the same reaction to Vera--our Fairy godmother sitter. they were convinced she was their FL grandma and wanted to know where she was the next day! And my DS who was two at the time does NOT warm up to new people easily.

 

[jodifla]

Excellent news!

And the next time you go to Disney, you already know a sitter you can ask for. And you'll feel more comfortable with the agency.


I'm so glad it worked out.

 

[been there done that]

We are to! We'll definately request him again next time. He was great! Thanks for the support!

 

[SuzieQMomof3]

I'm so glad everything worked out for you. I hope you had a magical time!