Overprotective, Cautious, or Ridiculous???

[iluvtink]

Hi,

I have a quick teen question... we are going to be at WDW in late July at the Beach Club. My DD will be 15, and has been to the World 4 times so far, staying at the Beach Club once. Her cousin will be 14 1/2, and has been once, staying at the Beach Club with us.

At what age do you think it's okay to let girls leave the family unit and ride rides, etc. without a parent watching?

I am a very protective mom, but I want to be reasonable. After all, it is Disney World, the best place on earth! I think IF we let them go off, they have to stay in whatever park we are, and be in touch by cellphone every so often, and meet up once in a while during the day.

What do the rest of you teen parents do?

Thanks!

 

[jody]

This trip my DDs will be 13 1/2 and 16. They haven't asked to go off by themselves yet but if they wanted to I would be comfortable with it if they stayed together, stayed in the same park we were in and checked in with us every once in a while.

 

[iluvtink]

Jody, thanks. That's what I was hoping to hear! I've been lurking since 2000, but I am still amazed at how quickly helpful responses show up on these boards!

 

[kiddisney]

it would depend - there's more than just letting them go - i'm also very nervous about letting them go - hearing all the stories about bad things - but there's also the fact that you're going on a family vacation as a family and you want to spend time together -

as an example - my brother went down w/his kids & let them separate from the group - but when they came back it didn't seem like a family vacation - so when my kids were their ages - they wanted a little independance -

we discussed this ahead of time - and told them that though we felt that they were mature enough to go it alone a little - the trip was still a family vacation and we wanted to spend time with them - so we decided on a couple of rides or activities that they could do by themselves and then the rest of the time they spent with us - so this calmed my nerves about letting them go - it was only a couple of times - and no one was mad about not being together - they understood the importance of the family vacation - and they understood that us not letting them go off by themselves was not a matter of trust - but a matter of family - a more logical out until they are off on their own

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I think kiddisney makes a good point. I would allow a couple hours with in the same park but meet up often for meals, snacks or attractions that everyone can do together. Hanging out at the pool while you rest in the room should be fine and a little time alone on the boardwalk might be fun too. Have a great trip.


Jordan's mom

 

[jodifla]

As someone who grew up in Florida and went to WDW a lot with her folks (her very overprotective folks), I will say they did let me go off with friends when I was a young teen. But we had agreed meeting places and met up often during the day.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Our 3 ds have been going to the world every year since they were at least 6, ok little ds was 18 mos. We let big ds be in charge, he is 16 and 6 foot. THey know our family rules, not to be seperated, to take the same routes, buses, etc. and to use the room key for food only etc. We were at the poly and they went into the mk, dh and I were in epcot and they went to dq. They had a curfew etc. We had time limits etc. They know this is a privilege they get to earn and show their responsibility, work as a team etc. We have never had a problem. Didnt even have a cell or walkie talkie. Know they can only talk to cm etc. Only you know your kids and can set the limits you can live with. Start small, like maybe 2 -3 hours etc. Last time big ds piped up, wow I feel so Indpendent!!

 

[edie w]

We're building up to it.

Last year DS (12) niece (12) and her cousin (15) were allowed a bit of freedom e.g.

- going to a neighbouring attraction alone
- going to an identified set of shops (say) along MK Main Street
- sitting outside in the sun with nephew (4) if he was too small to ride (their suggestion)

always with walkie talkies and agreed rendezvous times.

Next time (maybe this year? ) they will be allowed a little more, and a little more responsibility for other nephew (8).

Having said that they are all very sensible, intelligent, trustworthy kids.

 

[got2lovedisney]

We I was about 15(20 years ago), my parents let me and my friend separate in the MK but this was probably after lunch time. That way there was family time and independence time. I would probably feel better now about doing the same with my daughter especially in this world of cell phones since I know I can check in with her whenever I get nervous. I've had no trouble leaving my DD 15 and nephew 10, in the arcade, food court, store or attraction when my poor feet where too tired to walk anymore.

Just set the rules...when to meet, where, etc. and they should be fine.

 

[Kate-n-sam]

but when I was a freshman in HS, (about 14 I guess) I went to WDW for a week with my cross country team. Coach, his family and a bunch of girls, we were in groups of 4 girls and had to stay together with our group. We only had to check in with the coach once a day, and that was in our rooms by 9 pm. Crazy huh? If my daughter asked to go on such a trip I would just laugh. Basically we had zero supervision, other than us freshman were paired with seniors who were 17 or 18, (but really no more responsible than us in that kind of situation, LOL).

So I would have to say I would probably let a 14 year old separate from me in the same park for a couple of hours. Have a great time!

 

[iluvtink]

Ha ha! When I was 16, my mom let me ride bikes with friends from Glenview, IL to Wilmette Beach. My hubby and I drove the route when we went back for my 20th reunion, and I could not believe how far it was. I won't even let my daughter ride her bike a mile away from home!!! Boy, have times changed.

Thanks to everyone for the good advice... it was what was hoping to hear. We'll take small steps this year and if we have success, bigger steps next!

I love these boards!

 

[sha_lyn]

DS was 13 on our last trip. He is really into thrill rides, and his then 9 (almost 10) yur cousin was not. We also had 4 1/2 DD with us. It really didn't make sense to drag the girls to everything DS wanted to do, or to drag DS to everything the girls wanted to do. We did not split up for long, and did all meals together. The longest we were apart was in MGM for about 3 hours. DSis and I ended up running into DS when we went to do RnR and ToT (left the girls with DH and DM). In epcot and AK I don't think we separated at all. In MK we did separate a couple of times on our second day so the girls could do FL again while DS hit the mountains and AE again.

 

[peanutzmom]

I don't know how comfortable I'll feel about it when I finally have to make this kind of decision (my kids are still waaayy too little for me to even start to consider it), but growing up in Florida I used to go on all sorts of field trips to WDW, Busch Gardens, and Sea World when I was in high school (14 and older), and we always ran around without a chaperone. We were supposed to use a buddy system and had regular "check-in's", but other than that we were on our own. I think during the day, in the same park you're in, would be fine for the 14 and up crowd, but I don't know if I'd want my kids going to different parks or being out at night alone.

 

[Gadget Girl]

My husband works in law enforcement and he would tell you that there is no such thing as being too careful (remember little Carlie from Florida). My poor girls will be watched over until they probably hate us as they grow up, but, hopefully, they will be safe.