My dh is afraid one of our children will fall overboard.

[Familyof6]

I need help from all of you to calm my dh's fears that one of our active children will climb, fall or be pushed overboard. We have a veranda room. I have explained to him that there is plexiglass over the rails so they couldn't climb, but what about the furniture? He's afraid they'll climb up and go overboard before we can get to them. I've told them that they won't be on the veranda without one of us, but he's sure someone will get out there without us.
Also, other places on the ship...where might a child be in danger of going overboard?
I really need your help to settle my dh's nerves!

Thanks,
Lisa

 

[akid@hart]

The sliding glass doors are quite heavy, all I could do to get them open on the Voyager. Keep the furniture away from the railing

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

I have to admit that even though we have been on 2 cruises I get freaked out every time my kids get near the railings. DH was holding one of our kids so they could look out the back of the boat on Topsiders when someone bummped into him and he jerked forward a little. I nearly fainted, then turned around and had the dry heaves, then burst out into tears. I screamed at DH to never hold the kids near the railings. Even though there is plexiglass just about everywhere, there are a few spots I noticed were the kids could put their feet and climb up-example where the life boats are the railings have swinging gates in order to get into the boat-there are gaps between the plexiglass to allow the gate to swing. We have never taken a verandah room specifically because I didn't want to have that underlying fear of my kids falling overboard overshadow the relaxation and enjoyment of our vacation.

I'm sure I'll be the exception to everyone else, but even though you can't understand your DH fears and they are 99% unfounded, it's how he feels.

 

[wdwobsessed]

The verandah doors are very hard to open. I could not do it .. had to have hubbys help.

I did get a little nervous about the railings .. but you would have to be pretty unnattentive for this to happen.

As long as you don't let your kids run wild .. and pay attention to them .... don't worry ... Is it possible that they could climb over a railing? Yes .. but they would have to try pretty hard and I don't see anyone just "falling" over without big effort.

wdwo

 

[Familyof6]

I've tried all these angles with dh with no calming effect! We are very attentive parents...and of course there isn't fear about the 9yr old or the 11 yr old...it's the daredevil 6 yr old and the 2 yr old. that he's worried about. I've told him that the doors can't just be opened...you have to unlock them...and it's not like we ever leave the kids unattended! I understand his fears, but I want to make him feel less anxious about just boarding the ship.
TaynEvie, I certainly feel as you do about being nervous about the incident that happened with your dh and child. That must have been so scary for you! I can't even watch my kids in a pool with my dh because I'm so fearful of kids around water. I'm just looking for a way to relax my dh enough so he'll get onboard.
He told me his concern last night and I told him I would consult the "experts" on this topic...so that's what I'm doing!
Thanks for your help!
I'll welcome anyone else's help too!

Lisa

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

Maybe it would help to book a cabin without a verandah? While there may not be much you can do about the rest of the ship, it would at least provide him with a few less fears as regards the room.

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

I should have mentioned one very important thing-even though I do have a fear of my kids falling overboard I haven't let it stop our desire to go on DCL. We've been twice with our 3rd coming up May 11th. We had two vacations of a lifetime. Our twins were 3 for the 1st two cruises and are now 4. We have always taken cat 9 cabins that have the big portholes-no verandah. When we go on deck by the railings I just make sure the kids stand 2 feet away from the railings-but I'm sure when DH takes them out there by himself he lets them go right up there. The only time I feel fearful is when we're on deck by the railings that go overboard. Otherwise, when you're in the interior of the boat or by the pools, you really wouldn't realize you're on a boat-more like an upscale hotel. I read a quote once about how child proof DCL is it said "A predictable but nonetheless irritating design characteristic is the extent to which the ship is childproofed. There's enough Plexiglass on Magic and Wonder to build a subdivision of transparent houses. On the pool decks especially, it feels as if the ships are heremetically sealed." That quote was taken from the Unofficial Guide to WDW.

 

[Familyof6]

Thanks for the suggestion, but we've made our final payment and more importantly...we're in the Walt Disney Suite! I'll just have to keep the veranda doors closed whenever I'm not out on it!

Lisa

 

[*Huey*]

Gee... I'm glad I'm not the only paranoid one!

 

[wdwobsessed]

Hi again.

Unless there was something wrong with our latch on our door to the verandah ... there is no way a six or two year old could open it.

On our door ... you had to hold the handle a certain way to get the door to open ... and this certain way was not easy .. I could not do it. When you pulled to open the door .. the latch swiveled... this locking it. You had to hold the latch down and open it at the same time (hard to do).

This was the only complaint DH had ... that the door was too hard to open.

So ... again... unless ours was broken .. no worries.

wdwo

 

[Thumper1]

Sometimes it helps to talk to the children and let them know how very dangerous it could be.

 

[Familyof6]

Our kids take us very seriously when we speak to them in a serious tone. Even the two yr old listens with that tone. That's a good idea to explain it to them...which I'm sure we would have done anyway, but it's nice to be reminded of how easily this could be handled.
Now if only that serious tone would work on my dh!

Lisa

 

[Señor Ferrari]

Concerning the verandah doors, in addition to the tricky handle which opens them, there is a lock on the doors which is pretty high up. I'd say its easily 5 feet off the ground. I don't believe a 6 year-old could reach it.

As for the rest of the ship, sure there are places which would allow someone to climb over, but they could not do it very easily at all. There are plenty of crew members in the public spaces, and I'm sure that they are trained to keep an eye on kids and potential trouble. I've never heard of a kid falling off of one of the Disney ships. I think that's significant considering how many kids they have sailing with them.