Parents that let their children run down the hallways like animals are awful!

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

I respect their right to their opinion also...but jeez. One thing I teach my kids is not to complain about other people just worry about your own actions.

I was also the perfect parent until I had kids.

Yep. With each kid I got more and more stupid. The twins were a killer.

I agree that, on the whole, the kids on the cruise are pretty well behaved. There are isolated incidents that make me SMH and wonder if their parents are even remotely self aware, but, as you've commented, on the whole, the kids are pretty good.

 

[sanglee23]

I tend to agree with you. Sure, I've seen kids run on the ships, but I can't recall ever being kept awake by noise in the hallway. Many people are sanctimonious when it comes to parenting skills. They wax fondly on how great a parent they are/were and are quick to complain, exaggerate, and blame other parents when they see children behaving in a manner they don't approve of. But, this is a discussion board and I respect their rights to their opinions, and perhaps some of them are 5-star, award winning, John Rosemond approved parents.

Yeah, I generally feel the same way about parenting. I mean, I completely agree that running around causing a ruckus in the hallways in the middle of the night is wrong. But except in the most egregious instances, I don't we need to be judgmental about parents. Kids are different. The same parents may have one kid who's well behaved and another who has behavioral issues. It's not like they're a "good" parent with one kid and a "bad" parent with the other. Maybe your kid just happens to be an easier kid to discipline while another person's kid is not. I know several parents who thought they had everything figured out with their first and then realized that they didn't when they had their second or third. Or maybe they really are bad parents who just don't care. The point is, we usually don't know.

I'm not saying we don't have the right to call guest services or ask people to quiet down. I might do that too. But sometimes good parents and good kids behave poorly--especially when they're on vacation and out of their normal routine.

 

[cruiser21]

Yep. With each kid I got more and more stupid. The twins were a killer.

I agree that, on the whole, the kids on the cruise are pretty well behaved. There are isolated incidents that make me SMH and wonder if their parents are even remotely self aware, but, as you've commented, on the whole, the kids are pretty good.

Yes and when they hit puberty it's like starting all over. It's like wait that's not the same kid I was taking care of before the armpit hair. No matter how good a job you do God gave kids this thing called "free will".
My son has a friend with the worst mouth I've ever heard. Every other word out of his mouth is the F word. His mom died of cancer a year ago. He's mostly being raised by his older brother because his dad works 60 hours a week. I cut him some slack. He's basically a good kid that was dealt a bad hand.
Running up and down the halls will never be acceptable, but as far judging parents by their kids behavior I really try to refrain from that. Like you said I don't know the kids, I don't know the parents.
I find parenting teens in this age of social media to be extremely challenging. It's aging me in dog years.

 

[Sytrace]

I mean to tell you, I am a very chill individual but I came *THISCLOSE* to having a "get off my lawn" moment.

We had a very lovely stateroom (9th deck/Fantasy) and it was very quiet. Lucked out with great neighbors, etc. But the kids running up and down the halls was ridiculous. We weren't even that close to the stairs but they were tearing up and down stairs too. I don't understand parents that don't tell their kids not to do that. How can they now know how much racket and noise that produces?

Kids are kids. They are just having fun. If they don't know any better, they just keep doing it.
I did not expect peace and quiet on a Disney cruise for heaven sake, but the racket in the halls was ridiculous.

This is exactly why we choose Deck 10 all the way forward next to the Bridge and under the Rainforest. It is at the very end of the hall and the only people that come down there are people actually staying in the cabins next to us. No running above us either. That being said, on one of our shorter cruises on the Dream we had 4 families who had connecting rooms in a row next to ours. There were an assortment of age levels but the young ones were right next to us and would cry and yell (they were tired , poor babies) And I had to hand it to the parents and Grandma, they tried so hard to keep those babies quiet. But hallway running was non existent.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

this is why I like to book far forward or far aft.

 

[Sytrace]

For kids? I wasn't aware that any kids paid for "their" cruises on DCL.

But seriously, I've taught kids from ages 4 - 12 for many years. Some of those kids even had serious emotional, social and/or behavioral problems. My own son is on the autism spectrum. But my son and all of the children I've taught at school have proven to be capable of walking quietly through hallways.

Kids will behave when they are taught to behave and held to high expectations. The out-of-control behavior described on this thread is due to irresponsible parenting, and not due to the intrinsic nature of children.

100% correct. I have two teens who have been on all 13 cruises with us ( I think they might be upset if we left them home)
They were taught at a very early age to be respectful, courteous and to not disrupt others in their pursuit of fun. By all means have fun and enjoy themselves, but not to the detriment of others. They became familiar at an early age of the phrase, "Lets go have a chat" and the raised right eyebrow and non smiling face that I honed to perfection. So much more effective than a swat on the butt...but I was prepared to do that too if need be.

I had a friend who permitted her children to run wild in restaraunts (waiters and waitresses dodging kids while balancing platters of food is NOT funny) and after I spoke up to her one day at lunch about her allowing her children (ages 3 and 4 at the time)to run around around and not actually EAT lunch, while my children (same ages) sat at the table, we no longer had lunch together in public places. She told me that since she was paying for her meal and her kids that they could act any way they chose. (Entitled much?) After I disagreed and asked her if she would be paying for my lunch and the lunch of all the other patrons in the place since we were all paying to be there, she called her boys back to the table and we paid our respective bills and left. I think the mindset of what a parent would do at home goes out the window when on vacation. The entitlement kicks in high gear and the supervision and rules go out the verandah door.

 

[anonymousegirl]

Not on DCL, so a little off topic, but Bad Parent of the Year goes to a guy that left his 30 month old daughter alone in their cabin for hours, while he went ashore in Macau to gamble. Of course he was kicked off the ship, mid cruise, and then argued that he deserved compensation for the loss of his cruise and the subsequent additional costs to get them home again.

 

[serenitynow]

100% correct. I have two teens who have been on all 13 cruises with us ( I think they might be upset if we left them home)
They were taught at a very early age to be respectful, courteous and to not disrupt others in their pursuit of fun. By all means have fun and enjoy themselves, but not to the detriment of others. They became familiar at an early age of the phrase, "Lets go have a chat" and the raised right eyebrow and non smiling face that I honed to perfection. So much more effective than a swat on the butt...but I was prepared to do that too if need be.

I had a friend who permitted her children to run wild in restaraunts (waiters and waitresses dodging kids while balancing platters of food is NOT funny) and after I spoke up to her one day at lunch about her allowing her children (ages 3 and 4 at the time)to run around around and not actually EAT lunch, while my children (same ages) sat at the table, we no longer had lunch together in public places. She told me that since she was paying for her meal and her kids that they could act any way they chose. (Entitled much?) After I disagreed and asked her if she would be paying for my lunch and the lunch of all the other patrons in the place since we were all paying to be there, she called her boys back to the table and we paid our respective bills and left. I think the mindset of what a parent would do at home goes out the window when on vacation. The entitlement kicks in high gear and the supervision and rules go out the verandah door.

I used to have a friend like that. We were friends in college, but I had kids first. She had taken classes in early childhood education and was certain her way was the correct way to raise children. But her idea of child rearing was to let her two little darling "explore their world", never say "no" and allow them to make their own choices. My kids would watch her kids misbehave with wide eyed wonder but eventually begin to act out too and then would get in trouble. My parenting style was much more "because I said so" and children need rules and boundaries. It was a bad mix.

It got to the point where I couldn't stand to be around her wild kids and so it meant the end of our long friendship. She was convinced that her way of encouraging their creativity and never breaking their spirit was the only way to raise children. Not surprisingly, she did not appreciate my comments that she was raising poorly behaving brats who thought the whole world revolved around them.

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

Unfortunately, the parents who would most need to read this thread never will. Very unfortunate. Being on a cruise vacation with children is a great time to teach them about table manner skills(think of all of the different silverware and what everything is used for), as well as a chance to promote social skills while being on a cruise with all different age groups of people. We had a table near us on our last cruise with 8 children all seated together at one table, while all of the adults sat at another table. None of the adults paid any attention to the children or to what they were doing. The poor servers had their hands full! Of course, the girls all had been to the BBB and they all got the smoothies in the special (meaning "added cost") Frozen drink glasses. It is such a privilege to be able to go on a cruise. I know because my husband and I were married for 25 years before embarking on our first one. With such privilege should come a little responsibility. It is totally up to the parents. The preteen boy at the table with his family of 5 had the server cutting up his food, something that he should have been doing for himself. Learning lesson missed. And then one evening, he rudely said to the server, "are you going to go and get my lava cake now????". The parents sat there and said nothing. I'm hoping that these parents are the exception, rather than the rule. And, just to add, it clearly states in the navigator that quiet corridor hours start at 10 PM. And yes, by the time you would call Guest Services, the children would be long gone. This is a parental issue that may never get resolved. Overall, I do find the children to be well-behaved on Disney cruises. It is always the few that spoil it for the rest.

 

[Dug720]

Unfortunately, the parents who would most need to read this thread never will. Very unfortunate. Being on a cruise vacation with children is a great time to teach them about table manner skills(think of all of the different silverware and what everything is used for), as well as a chance to promote social skills while being on a cruise with all different age groups of people. We had a table near us on our last cruise with 8 children all seated together at one table, while all of the adults sat at another table. None of the adults paid any attention to the children or to what they were doing. The poor servers had their hands full! Of course, the girls all had been to the BBB and they all got the smoothies in the special (meaning "added cost") Frozen drink glasses. It is such a privilege to be able to go on a cruise. I know because my husband and I were married for 25 years before embarking on our first one. With such privilege should come a little responsibility. It is totally up to the parents. The preteen boy at the table with his family of 5 had the server cutting up his food, something that he should have been doing for himself. Learning lesson missed. And then one evening, he rudely said to the server, "are you going to go and get my lava cake now????". The parents sat there and said nothing. I'm hoping that these parents are the exception, rather than the rule. And, just to add, it clearly states in the navigator that quiet corridor hours start at 10 PM. And yes, by the time you would call Guest Services, the children would be long gone. This is a parental issue that may never get resolved. Overall, I do find the children to be well-behaved on Disney cruises. It is always the few that spoil it for the rest.

On one of my RCCL cruises, I overheard a little girl say "Thank you so much!" to the server who brought her something off-menu that she had requested and I was just thinking how polite she was and how proud her parents must be when I heard her mother say "You don't have to think him. Bringing you whatever you want is his job."

 

[jiminyC_fan]

On one of my RCCL cruises, I overheard a little girl say "Thank you so much!" to the server who brought her something off-menu that she had requested and I was just thinking how polite she was and how proud her parents must be when I heard her mother say "You don't have to think him. Bringing you whatever you want is his job."

Oh my gosh. That little girl had more manners than her parents. That is so sad.

 

[Dug720]

So much this!!

I think some parents are so afraid of "crushing their child's spirit" they don't want to ever say no or steer them in a different direction (beyond behavior even; things like if the kid is tone deaf, try dance or a non-vocal music rather than praising their "beautiful" voice. There are gentle ways to say "honey, this really isn't the thing for you but this might be".)

I am on my phone now, but when I get home I will try to find the picture of the pea that landed smack in the middle of my sister and my table on the Dream one night courtesy of two little darlings being ignored by their parents and throwing bread and other things all over while running around and around their table. Our table was perfectly clear other than drink glasses, and just as our assistant was coming to check on refilling those, PLOP goes a green pea in the middle of the table.

I've decided I'm very glad I like to be as far forward as possible because that is usually near the end of the hall which minimizes the number of people who have to pass the door.

The aforementioned picture of the pea.

We knew 100% it was not ours as a) peas were not a side item for anything we had ordered and b) our assistant server had just scraped the crumbs before getting us drink refills.

 

[Dug720]

Oh my gosh. That little girl had more manners than her parents. That is so sad.

Exactly! My jaw literally dropped when I heard the mother's comment.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Love the picture of the pea. Too bad the parents didn't see it.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Exactly! My jaw literally dropped when I heard the mother's comment.

I am at a loss of words over this. We seem to make friends with staff members wherever we go because we treat them as equals not as personal servants. I can't even imagine......

 

[mmouse37]

Exactly! My jaw literally dropped when I heard the mother's comment.

I once worked as a receptionist for a well known travel company. I would say hello and goodbye and thank people for coming in, tell them to have a nice day, banter a little back and forth and generally just be a pleasant person. It was not an act or forced but just came naturally. Well after about a week different agents came up to me separately and said "you know, you don't have to be so nice to them". I literally was floored...what company doesn't want their employees to be friendly and make a good impression with their clients. Blew my mind. I left soon after that.

I do want to say in regards to the post about the server cutting up the son's food....the servers on DCL OFTEN do this as a service (even with adults) and even if you say no they will still want to do it. So I do give the kid a pass on that one.

MJ

 

[Sytrace]

On one of my RCCL cruises, I overheard a little girl say "Thank you so much!" to the server who brought her something off-menu that she had requested and I was just thinking how polite she was and how proud her parents must be when I heard her mother say "You don't have to think him. Bringing you whatever you want is his job."

Wow. That is just really sad and scary.

 

[Sytrace]

The aforementioned picture of the pea.

We knew 100% it was not ours as a) peas were not a side item for anything we had ordered and b) our assistant server had just scraped the crumbs before getting us drink refills.

We had a similar situation on one of our cruises last year on the third night of the cruise. Big family of 8 adults and probably 12 kids that were seated across from us and 3 other tables. The "adults" were at one end having many drinks and lively conversation while the kids ranging in age from 5 to 15ish were seated all the way at the end of the table. All of a sudden a gentleman at the table to our right (party of 4) gets beamed in the head by something that flew across the kids table to theirs. One of the men stood up and yelled down to the kids that there would be no more food throwing and that the kids should know that after the first two nights it had been done. The adults did not apologize to the gentleman or to anyone who might have been hit the prior nights and they immediately went back to their conversation. I don't recall seeing the table of 4 anymore at dinner the rest of the cruise, I think they got switched to another seating or table. I am sure the dining team wanted to switch too.

 

[GeneralTso]

This thread was supposed to be about kids running up and down the hallways. That is atrocious behavior on a cruise ship. It's just bad and I said I blamed the parents.
I am very sorry this has devolved into people posting random complaints about assorted bad children's behavior on cruise ships. That was not my intent.
Yes, kids can be terrible. People can have PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE of how awful these kids are. That wasn't the intention of this thread. Most of us love kids. We have them, we teach them, we protect them.

 

[Sytrace]

I see this thread getting locked/deleted in 3.... 2.... 1....

Looks like DitkaFan called it in the third post.