my son can be obnoxious with characters...

[SpringSprite]

The Chic fil A cow came to my moms group at church and my 4 year old was poking him in the stomach, pulling at his costume, and being generally a nuisance. I pulled him away, but will be mortified if he does that at Disney...
(he is not mean-spirited, but is a general goofball / class clown type)

Can anyone relate, anything similar happened to you, and how did the characters handle it?

I'm kind of surprised I'm worried, because my most vivid Disney memory was of going at the age of 9 ish, having a horrible sun blister on my nose (I'm uber pale), and having Goofy jokingly smack down my Goofy ear hat, hitting my nose, popping my blister and making me cry. Poor Goofy. He just kept putting his hands over his mouth and doing the non-verbal apology dance. So obviously they can deal with stuff. But I still don't want my Jackster to be a nudge

 

[Schmeck]

The Chic fil A cow came to my moms group at church and my 4 year old was poking him in the stomach, pulling at his costume, and being generally a nuisance. I pulled him away, but will be mortified if he does that at Disney...
(he is not mean-spirited, but is a general goofball / class clown type)

Can anyone relate, anything similar happened to you, and how did the characters handle it?

I'm kind of surprised I'm worried, because my most vivid Disney memory was of going at the age of 9 ish, having a horrible sun blister on my nose (I'm uber pale), and having Goofy jokingly smack down my Goofy ear hat, hitting my nose, popping my blister and making me cry. Poor Goofy. He just kept putting his hands over his mouth and doing the non-verbal apology dance. So obviously they can deal with stuff. But I still don't want my Jackster to be a nudge

Keep your hands on your child and pull him away when he attempts to molest the characters. Tell him if he does it again, he will not be allowed to see the characters and that he could be made to leave the park.

So, the characters do not have to handle this behavior at all, because it is up to the parent to prevent it from happening.

 

[LilyWDW]

The characters shouldn't have to deal with it. You should do everything in your power to keep your child from doing that. They do it once, they get warned. They do it again, you remove them. Period. That should not be tolerated.

 

[aylarosie]

Kids can be funny ,but I would let him know its not acceptable.At 4 yrs hes old enough to understand.You could tell him other children will think hes hurting the characters. Also I would explain that the characters don't like to be hit or poked at.Just like he does not like to be hit.That being said I would not allow the behavior.Tell him ahead of time what you expect and follow through.If he can't be nice don't bother with seeing the characters.There is so much to do at Disney you will still have a good time.I have taken care of 60+ children(childcare provider) they know way more than we give them credit for.He is getting some reward for this behavior.(wether just a laugh or attention) i WOULD ONLY TALK ABOUT IT ONCE GIVE THE OPPERTUNITY TO BE NICE.iF HE STILL HITS REMOVE HIM AND HAVE FUN DOING SOMETHING ELSE.iF HE ASKS A SECOND TIME TO SEE CHARACTERS i WOULD JUST LOOK ON NOT GET CLOSE.Sorry for the caps not yelling just didn't look up.Nap time is over gotta go Good luck have fun .

 

[maxiesmom]

I have to agree. The characters should not be expected to handle bad behavior, the parent needs to put a stop to it should it rear it's ugly head. One poke or smack and the child should be removed from the area, and told what they did wrong. If they do it again, then you don't go meet any characters. Simple.

I'm not sure why any parent would allow that kind of bad behavior to continue. One poke to the stomach and the child is not allowed near the character. It is may not be the easy solution, but it is the right one. That sort of behavior is not cute and should not be ignored, nor should the character be expected to take it.

 

[JillyBean1899]

I'm not sure why any parent would allow that kind of bad behavior to continue. ..... It is may not be the easy solution, but it is the right one. That sort of behavior is not cute and should not be ignored, nor should the character be expected to take it.

You answered your own question ... it's not the easy solution. Some parents would rather let their kids be hellions than try to discipline them and then have to deal with the fallout.

I agree with the other posters, talk to your child ahead of time and tell them what you expect, and if they don't behave the correct way, remove them from the character's presence.

Wonder if there are any Disney-fied videos that show how to behave. If not, seems like this may be an idea for some of you creative types

 

[SpringSprite]

OK, I'm a little disturbed to be told my son shouldn't be allowed to "hit" the characters. If you re-read my post you'll not see the word "hit" anywhere, but rather "poke in stomach" and "pull on costume". Like poked a kid in the belly as a joke? Pulled on someone's shirt to get their attention?

I would never allow my son to hit anyone or thing

So should I not allow him to poke Mickey in the belly or pull on the hem on Donald's pants? I'm being serious about that. He's not RAMMING his hand into anyone, the reason I asked in the first place is because I'm hyper-sensitive to offending people, and to bad behavior. But I also don't want to ruin my son's Disney trip by not letting him interact the way he does. That's how he is. I guess I shouldn't have labeled it obnoxious...merely not my kind of silly.

 

[maxiesmom]

So should I not allow him to poke Mickey in the belly or pull on the hem on Donald's pants?

The way you described him poking and pulling on the cow? No. Characters are not to be poked or pulled on. Hugs are ok but anything else, nope. I honestly am confounded that you seem to think that it is ok. If that is just the way he is, then it is time to show him a new, gentler way of behaving.

 

[Spunky946]

To me poking them or pulling on a shirt/pants is just as bad as hitting them. You said he was being a nuisance and people told you not to let him do that.

Hugs and hi fives are acceptable, pokes are not.

You need to teach him what is accepted or he can't see them.

 

[Gracie09]

I have two four year olds. And in our house hands only go on the other person for a hug, to hold hands, or high five. If our hands do not behave ie hit, poke, pull the child gets time out. The same rules for characters. You can hug high five or hold hands. Anything else gets the meeting cut short and a time out happens.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

It's pretty simple. Tell him hugs or high fives are ok. Pokes and tugs aren't. Give him a chance to follow your guidance. If he doesn't, the character and handlers will deal with the situation, but you shouldn't let it happen again. My daughter would be done with characters for the day and would get a chance to try again the next day. Do it again, and no characters for the rest of the trip.

 

[SpringSprite]

oh my. It's been a long time since I've been to Disney. The part of my story where Goofy smacked my hat down on my head led me to believe that more physical interaction was allowed than apparently is, in every way that I remember, but I haven't interacted with characters since I was 9, I'm 38. I TOTALLY misrepresented my son in my haste to be politically correct to characters, unfortunately...I thought "not mean spirited" and "class clown type" was sufficient - he's a 5 year old boy. Thank you for letting me know what is acceptable. I'll tell him hugs and nothing else.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

oh my. It's been a long time since I've been to Disney. The part of my story where Goofy smacked my hat down on my head led me to believe that more physical interaction was allowed than apparently is, in every way that I remember, but I haven't interacted with characters since I was 9, I'm 38. I TOTALLY misrepresented my son in my haste to be politically correct to characters, unfortunately...I thought "not mean spirited" and "class clown type" was sufficient - he's a 5 year old boy. Thank you for letting me know what is acceptable. I'll tell him hugs and nothing else.

The characters might pat him on the head or something generic like that. But in today's litigious society they have to be very careful not to do anything that could possibly offend anyone.

 

[SpringSprite]

To me poking them or pulling on a shirt/pants is just as bad as hitting them. You said he was being a nuisance and people told you not to let him do that.

Hugs and hi fives are acceptable, pokes are not.

You need to teach him what is accepted or he can't see them.

No, I said I pulled him away (nothing about people telling me not to let him do that) , and will be mortified if he does it at Disney. That's why I ASKED what was accepted, seriously.

 

[SpringSprite]

The characters might pat him on the head or something generic like that. But in today's litigious society they have to be very careful not to do anything that could possibly offend anyone.

Good point, thank you. It seems WAY different in all sorts of ways from what I remember. The characters would just wander around and would be ALL OVER the kids.

 

[maxiesmom]

No, I said I pulled him away (nothing about people telling me not to let him do that) , and will be mortified if he does it at Disney. That's why I ASKED what was accepted, seriously.

It is never acceptable behavior to walk up to anyone, character or not, and poke or pull on them. Now the characters all have handlers, CMs who watch out for them. Any kind of behavior that can be construed as negative won't be allowed. Now is the time to maybe teach your son to high 5 and hug the characters.

 

[SpringSprite]

It is never acceptable behavior to walk up to anyone, character or not, and poke or pull on them. Now the characters all have handlers, CMs who watch out for them. Any kind of behavior that can be construed as negative won't be allowed. Now is the time to maybe teach your son to high 5 and hug the characters.

Thanks, I'll do that!

 

[SEA333]

OK, I'm a little disturbed to be told my son shouldn't be allowed to "hit" the characters. If you re-read my post you'll not see the word "hit" anywhere, but rather "poke in stomach" and "pull on costume". Like poked a kid in the belly as a joke? Pulled on someone's shirt to get their attention?

I would never allow my son to hit anyone or thing

So should I not allow him to poke Mickey in the belly or pull on the hem on Donald's pants? I'm being serious about that. He's not RAMMING his hand into anyone, the reason I asked in the first place is because I'm hyper-sensitive to offending people, and to bad behavior. But I also don't want to ruin my son's Disney trip by not letting him interact the way he does. That's how he is. I guess I shouldn't have labeled it obnoxious...merely not my kind of silly.

I've had two 5 year old boys (now 13 and almost 8), and they have never been allowed to poke anyone or pull on anyone...not even people in costumes. Silly in our world means something else, I guess. So does respect.

Teach your son about personal space and how his actions affect other people. Practice at home - role-paying is great with kids that age. Do not allow him to do that even once, even for fun, even to be silly, even if the other person says it is OK. There is too fine a line between cute 5 year old behavior and being obnoxious (and, to me, no matter how non-ramming a finger pokes me, I still consider it crossing the line into super-obnoxious territory). My advice is to play it safe and stay on the far, far side of the "appropriate behavior" part of the line...after all, it is our job as parents to raise our children to become productive, honorable, respectable members of society - even when we are in Disney World. As a matter of fact, what better time to start??!!

 

[davedmaine]

The Chic fil A cow came to my moms group at church and my 4 year old was poking him in the stomach, pulling at his costume, and being generally a nuisance. I pulled him away, but will be mortified if he does that at Disney... (he is not mean-spirited, but is a general goofball / class clown type) Can anyone relate, anything similar happened to you, and how did the characters handle it? I'm kind of surprised I'm worried, because my most vivid Disney memory was of going at the age of 9 ish, having a horrible sun blister on my nose (I'm uber pale), and having Goofy jokingly smack down my Goofy ear hat, hitting my nose, popping my blister and making me cry. Poor Goofy. He just kept putting his hands over his mouth and doing the non-verbal apology dance. So obviously they can deal with stuff. But I still don't want my Jackster to be a nudge

Umm.. Do some parenting?

 

[livndisney]

Umm.. Do some parenting?

Where is the "like" button?