Parents of 15 yr. olds, what do you do about this?

[LvsTnk]

We have an AT&T Family plan and the phones work fine. We have worked up DS's (16) alone time gradually and DD (14) has to be with him or us sorry she's a girl .

We did let the 2 of them go to E-Ticket night last summer alone,we were staying at the Polynesian. When they got back I asked them how many rides they got in and they said NONE they ended up meeting another group of teens and they sat around and had ice cream. My kids always meet other kids at WDW and with e-mail they still keep in touch. So, if that's a problem set that as one of your ground rules.

DS met up with a girl at Christmas he met the year before at Christmas that he was introduced to by a CM at the BWI concierge lounge. TOO Funny.

 

[kevind65]

so, I was wondering, is the concensus age about 13 for letting the kids start spreading their wings a little? Is it older for girls? My dd is 11 and is bringing along best friend who is almost 12. I'm just wondering what you guys think? I'm not even considering anything yet for this year, but was wondering when because I know the time is coming soon.

 

[phamton]

We let our 14 year old and 15 year old sons go to DisneyQuest several times alone. We were staying at POR so they rode the boat over to DTD. We also let them take the bus to Blizzard Beach while we stayed at the hotel. We were too tired to go swimming so we took a day off while they went swimming. They had a room key for charging privileges. They took a cellphone whenever they went to DQ but not at Blizzard Beach. (FYI, my 15 year old was one month shy of his 16th birthday.)

Bev

 

[Disneymaddness]

I have a 15 year old son, I would give him a cell phone and let him go. Most of the time he doesn't want to be with us anyway!!

 

[apagano]

When I was 14 I started taking the subway to high school by myself. This was in New York City during the 1980s, before Giuliani cleaned things up. Nothing bad ever happened because it was rush hour, I knew what I was doing and I never strayed into places I shouldn't have gone. If he's a responsible kid, let him go. If you can't trust him any farther than you can throw him, then don't.

 

[dgaston]

We began in shorter amounts of free time in the same park, with walkie-talkies, and at 14 I was comfortable with my DS going to DD and DQ on a bus from the Poly. We quiz him on transpo options, and he generally can come up with at least two strategies. He thrives on our trust, and has been very responsible. I agree with earlier posters, it depends on your trust level with your own child.

 

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

I've got two teenagers and we have been to WDW many times. My initial reaction is that, yes, he'd probably be "safe."

I tend to think, though, given that he doesn't have a sibling near his own age (mine are 15 mo apart and hang pretty good together on vacations), I'd say NO to his going off on his own ... that this is a "family" vacation. I would, however, try to be responsive to his need to spend more time somewhere other than MK and build that into the family's touring plan.

He needs to know that

1) This is a FAMILY vacation and you are all going into the parks together,
and
2) His preferences are important too and so you will adjust the plan so that you'll spend a little less time in the MK and more in the park that he is interested in

This shouldn't be a hardship as you have been there many times - additionally, yours other children aren't all that much younger than the 15 year old.

Personally, I'd keep them all together.

 

[grinningghost]

If he's a well behaved, responsible kid, I think letting him go to Epcot solo for a few hours is fine. Why make him go along with you and be miserable? He'll only make the rest of you miserable too. Let him do his thing and then you can all meet up for dinner later - probably all in good spirits because you avoided any conflicts by separating. Give him a chance - he might just surprise you.

 

[eeyore0062]

My parents let me and a friend go off on our own at Busch Garden's Williamsburg when I was 13. We all set our watches and set up meeting places. If we were late, we lost the priveledge. This was well before cell phones and high powered walkie talkies.

As for cell phone signals in the parks. We have had no problems whatsoever with either SunCom or Verizon.

Part of growing up is earning trust... and the more the parents show trust in the child, the less likely the child is to misuse that trust.

Family vacation or not... it wouldn't hurt for him to go it alone for a bit, as long as you can reach him and he can reach you. Just think in less than 3 years you may be sending him to another state to college! This is just for a few hours, less than a mile away!

 

[cindala]

I have ttwo teen DD's, so most of the time they are together, and not alone if we let them do something without us.

Since you are staying at the BCV, why not let your son go to Epcot when the rest of you are at SAB? He gets a little freedom, you can see how he does, and yet you are still closer to him than say if you were at MK.

If that works out well, then you can go from there, and add either walkie talkies or cell phones.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

Originally posted by grinningghost
Why make him go along with you and be miserable? He'll only make the rest of you miserable too.

You got that right!!! Our last "family" vacation was back in 1999. My son was 16 & my daughter was 18. My son didn't want to be there, with us, but we insisted we were on a "family" vacation and were going to do everything together. He made that whole week miserable for everyone! I vowed after that vacation, I would never go anywhere again with him, and we haven't! I think everyone needs time away from each other...it's better for them and you!

 

[disney1990]

We are been going to Disney every year since my daughter (now 18) was only 5. Starting at about 14-15, we let her go off on her own for set periods of time, in the same park we were in. We'd say, meet us at here at 1:00 and we'll have lunch. Or meet us at 2:00 so we can go to another park. After a year or two of this, we let her go to other parks without us. The one place that she was never allowed to go alone was Downtown Disney -- because people didn't even need to buy a park ticket to be there. It just didn't feel as safe as the parks. However, when she brought a friend along, she was even able to go there 17.

 

[Jillpie]

Well, I am the OP to this thread and I haven't been on the Dis since I posted it. Oh my!! 31 responses! Thanks to everyone that took the time to share your teen insight, it is much appreciated. I have read each one and I will take every opinion into consideration when we make the choice to let him go or not. We usually let him go within the same park, but the funny thing is...he doesn't want to stray that much without us alone. But I have a feeling with Epcot in walking distance to the villa that this might change. He is a wonderful kid and we do trust him, its other people that I don't trust. We always use the radios. I think we'll have to just play it day by day when we get there. Can't thank you guys enough!

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

I would think that would be great fun for a 15 year old to explore Epcot by himself. My DS will be 12 when we stay at the CR this year. We told him he can have the 2 way radios and take a spin around the resort monorail by himself. He can hardly wait to do that. When we go on cruises or to resorts in the last year we have given him 30 minutes and the 2 way radios and let him explore the ship or resort by himself. He feels proud we trust him and is always back before the time is up. I would think by 15 I would allow him to do this. Not sure about DD though, she is more spooked than he is!
Oh, the 8th graders at DS's school go to Animal Kingdom at the beginning of the year. So they are just 13. They can go around by themselves(with friends I guess?) and just have to check in with chaperones at set times. Sounds like what your DS is already doing within a park. You could have him take the monorail from Epcot over to MK and meet you at a set time and place.

 

[Aubrey]

Every family must make their own decision based upon their knowledge of what their teen is ready for. But it does make me think about how at 18 they are legally adults and expected to navigate a complex real world. I think some time in the relatively sheltered environment of a theme park couldn't be a bad place to practice. When my oldest reaches his teens my goal for him wouldn't be a day without incident but rather a day with incidents well-handled. It's a short jump from 15 to 18.

 

[Eeyore2U]

I'll preface this by saying I didn't read all the reponses. I'll relay our experience with my DS/16.

At 11 he was allowed to go to DQ on his own and take the bus back to the hotel. Going forward he has been allowed to go off on his own or with a friend. Two weeks ago, we used Tiffany Town Car to take he and a friend to US/IOA. We faith in him and his judgement.

Moral to this story is: If you trust your child at home, trust him at WDW. If there is no trust then keep at arms length.

 

[Jillpie]

Mitch, its really not a matter of trust that I am questioning. We do trust him. I think its a matter of things that could happen or his safety. He's still not an adult, nor is he expected to quite act like one yet. He is still a teenager. That is why I was asking everyone's opinions, especially the ones that have had teens at DW. Thanks.

 

[Eeyore2U]

Jill,

Anything that could happen at WDW could happen in your town. I actually think WDW is safer then most places. We have always judged things by our DS and what we think he can handle not on where he is.

 

[Micca]

I'm trying to think of the worst case scenario that a 15 year old male could get into at WDW. All I've come up with so far would be running into those cheerleaders another person posted about At which point Epcot would become Fantasyland.

 

[susy]

I think it would be fair to let him to go Epcot on his own one day, if he will baby sit the kids in the room one evening, so the adults can go out. Give and take.

I would never reward someone who has designs to make others miserable so that they can get their own way. Anyone who plans to cause me any grief at WDW, isn't going. Period.

We took my niece and nephew (13 and 16) along with us in Nov . Our Ds is 5. We did pretty much stay together and everyone got to do and see what they wanted. We went with the understanding (as we do every trip) that it is everyone's vacation and that we will have to compromise at some points -even my 5yo understands this.


Teenagers (I was one once) tend to want to do their own thing.

GUESS WHAT??? so do moms, dads, little ones, and old ones!

I think if your child is responsbile he should be okay on his own, but I would demand some equal free time. After all, while he is off having his own fun, you will most likely be catering to the younger ones.