Please don't be mad at me...

[npall]

For your different perspectives..after reading alot of the posts I now understand the couple a little better about the bumping in the booth..to be hoenst with you I never thought about it making someone physically ill which would make sense....Needless to say I will not be letting ds walking around in the booth in the future...

Again thanks to everyone for all the response...

Naomi

 

[chrisn]

I am a 33 year old mother of a 14 year old DD and a 4 year old DS. When I was 18 my husband and I lived in a little apartment and my neighbor always use to come over with her 18 month old daughter. I thought that kid was the most annoying brat on the face of the earth. Looking back now I see that she was a most delightful, well behaved and inquisitive child. I use to tell my husband "my kid will never act like that". I have since discovered that I was a neat freak and overly compulsive about dumb stuff that really does not matter. My daughter was a sweet little thing that would sit in a nice little spot and play quietly with dolls or barbies and if she did not get her way big aligator tears would roll silently down her fat little cheeks. Ten years later I got surprise #2. A handsome little man. A darling boy that loves his mommy. Big blue eyes and thick blonde hair. I potential girl magnet. A child I could not imagine living without. A wolf in sheeps clothing. Hell on Wheels. You get the picture. But I wouldn't have it any other way. My point is boy did I get paybacks for the comments I made and it really opened my eyes wide and made me all the wiser. Yes I do have children but I can completely relate to those who don't and get annoyed easily because even my own children annoy me. But you see I think it's easier to understand and deal with when you have been on both sides of the fence. Most of the time kids are just that kids, growing up and being curious and having fun and yes even irritating. Granted there are exceptions but it's not the children's fault. Mostly it's the parents and the guidance they give. I would definitely get defensive if I thought my children were being attacked unneccessarily but in minor instances I try to control this tigress protecting her cubs and remember what it was like before I had children of my own and just chalk it up to a little inexperience. Babysitting is not the same thing!

 

[goofysgirl]

Children are children Thank God! I don't care if they are bumping the booth, talking a little too loud, or making everyone in the restaurant laugh. Without these little bundles of joy, there would not be too many tomorrows. I have watched my children make their grandparents extremely proud just by smiling. I have lived thru the terrible twos three times, and I can count on my hand the number of times that my girls have embarassed me in public. But you know what? I can't thank them enough for making us a complete family, trials, tribulations, and all! They have lifted my heart so many times, without even trying. Having lost both of my parents, I know how precious life is. Please enjoy these little bumps in the road, control your kids as much as you can, but let them live too! Things always seem different from a little one's perspective. My girls are 7,11,and 14. They are good atheletes, students, but most of all good people. They were little once with all that went with it. Let's all try and remember what it was like to be that little in such a great big world.

 

[RIDISNEYLOVERS]

KUDOS TO GOOFYSGIRL!!

I can't agree with you more!!

Lisa

 

[TnRobin]

As Carol tried to point out, this discussion really belings on the Family Board, not the Cruise Board, so I am moving it there.

 

[PattyH804]

Hi all,
Just got to put my 2 cents in here.
I'm glad npall understands the bumping
of the booth. It is quite annoying.
I do have a 6 and 3 yr old. My Belle,
the 3 yr old is my funnygirl. My son will
sit quietly and always has, no matter
where we go.
My son's legs are a little short on
airplanes still and he uses the seat
in front of him to push himself up on.
I kept slapping his legs down (don't
jump on me, I did it gently) and even
apologized to the lady when we reached
our destination. She said she didn't feel
a thing and I didn't need to worry about
it.
A suggestion I have, is to take a
"goody" bag with you everywhere. I
keep them in the car and change the
items out every so often. This works
wonders with my kids. Even at 2 they
love stickers and they are relatively
inexpensive. I like the kind that can
be moved around on the pages. This
always makes eating in restaurants
a very pleasant experience for us.
Hope it helps for someone else.

 

[npall]

I couldn't have put it better...thank you....


Naomi

 

[Jordan's MOM]

What a great thread because every parent has been there. We started taking our Ds out to nice places very young. We always set up "resturant rules" Very simple at first: Stay in your chair and use an indoor voice. We later added rules about being polite and good manners. All good things. However, sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. Though it was rare, my DS like any child has misbehaved and disturbed someone in a resturant. I just apoligzed and reminded DS of the rule. In nine years we only had to leave a resturant once. Had to take him out for a few mintes and then bring him back a few times however. A child has to learn "adult" behavior and it takes time for them to learn. I rarely get upset with a child in a resturant but often do with a parents that brings a small tired child to a resturant at 8:00 at night or comes to a place that you know you will have to wait with out anything for them to do. I only complained once and that was at Cinderella's when three boys about 9 or 10 came running full speed ahead and ran directly into us and a waiter. The waiter went with them to their parent's table to take care of it. I do often make coments to parents on their children's good behavior is resturants.


Jordans mom

 

[5GEORGE]

I'M SORRY, BUT WDW IS A FAMILY RESORT ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN OF
ALL AGES. WDW CM OUR PREPARED FOR CHILDREN, THERE IS NOT A RESTURANT THAT CHILDREN ARE NOT WELCOMED EXCEPT PLEASURE ISLAND. IF SOMEONE WOULD COMPLAIN OR BECOME ANNOYED BECAUSE OF OUR CHIDRENS PRESENCE I WOULDN'T BE A HAPPY CAMPER.
OUR FAMILY HAS RESSIE FOR WDW 5-28 THRU 6-3-02, I HAVE SPENT MANY LONG HOURS PLANNING AND SAVING $$$$ FOR A MAGICAL TRIP TO BE ABLE TO SPEND WITH MY FAMILY.
WHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD CAN A FAMILY GO TO HAVE FUN AND RELAXATION? CHILDREN ARE VERY UNPREDICTABLE ESPECIALLY AT PLACES LIKE WDW, HOW COULD ANYONE BECOME AGGITATED AT A SMALL TODDLER ESPECIALLY IF THERE NOT EVEN YOURS . IF YOU DON'T
LIKE CHILDREN, THEN PLEASE DO NOT COME TO WDW.

 

[padams]

This thread reminds me of my BIL. BIL and SIL live on the west coast. We last visited tem when DSs were 2 and 4. We dined out several times, and it was obvious that BIL was "appalled" at our children's behavior. Of course, they were just being 2 and 4 yos. We don't allow them out of their seats at restaurants, must not be loud ,etc. At the time, BIL and SIL had a newborn. I actually heard BIL "whisper" to his kid, "I know you will never act that way." Well, guess what, their kid is now 2 and doesn't sit still for a minute, especialy at a restaurant. I want to say "I told you so" but BIL and SIL think that their firstborn is the most brilliant, well behaved 2yo in history.

 

[sha_lyn]

I love this thread. I have 2 "heck on wheels" kids. DS was a wonderful kid until he reached 11 (LOL he is still a wonderful kid, he is just a typical teenager now). DD is 4 and is our hard to settle down/hard to please kid. We went ot see Lord of the Rings when it first came out. We saw an earl yshow as usual. The theatre was pretty crowded because it was a rain day. After the show a man came up to up and commented on how well DD behaved during the movie. I was beaming with pride. She can certainly be a handful at times but all our work is finally paying off. My theory is if you don't take them out and expose them to how to behave in public they never will. After all I've seen many adults that behave worse than a tired hungry 2 yr old. Of couse she has her days like today when she comepletely forgets how to behave in public and there wasn't an option to leave (we were at the chiropractor's office). She didn't know how to behave in the car either. Poor DS had shoes and chewed gum thrown at him.

 

[Eileen226]

To all of you who are going on future Disney Cruises...HAVE A GRRRRRRRREAT TIME! TO all of you who are going to WDW the first week of July (1-5 to be exact!) let's have some fun! I am bringing my two "babies" (12,16 to be exact) they still fight in line, they still get on each other's nerves, I still yell at least one of them for holding on to the railing in the lines to propel themselves! But after almost fifteen trips together (my husband USED to work for American Airlines) they still vote to go to WDW everytime. We are bringing our in-laws for their forty fifth anniversary with their grand children ( 1st trip for the in-laws) upgraded to WL and can't wait. My point is, after all this, we have done trips with the kids, several with just the two of us, and have ALWAYS encountered, excited, NORMAL small children at WDW! They are supposed to be excited, they are supposed to squirm thru dinner and not eat their usually very expensive chicken fingers or mac and cheese, but their faces are the heart and soul of what WDW is all about. Can't wait to see all of them!

 

[MeMeMouse]

I understand your being upset! This happened to me for the first time the other day! I took my three month old for a walk in the mall. We sat done to have a soda at the food court and my DD got fussy (nothing major). Well, you would have thought we were in a fancy rest. Afew people got up and moved (fine by us!) The kicker was I am a Teacher of the Deaf and can read lips pretty well. The people went on and on about the crying baby!!! I was pretty angry to say the least. We are going to Disney in afew months and I'm sure my DD wish me luck:0)

 

[wdisneyaholic]

Here is my 2 cents....

First let me say that I have 3 small kids, a 21/2 year old and twin 18month olds. ALL BOYS!!!!! In today's society I think that most people have kids or have been around kids. Having said that, I enjoy going olut to dinner with my kids and try to keep them under control, as much as we can. I have every right to go to a resutaurant with my kids, I feel that if you d o not want to see kids or hear kids when you go out to eat then maybe you should go to a very fancy restuarant. Places like Chili's, Friday's Applebee's etc are considered "family" type restaurants. They have children's menus. I would never take my kids to a fancy restaurant at this age. I feel that people are paying a price to dine in a quiet more relaxing place.

By the way, I will not be taking them to the movies anytime soon. And then it will be a "kid" movie and I will probably be seeing some of you guys there too!!

 

[momoftwins]

No word of a lie - we were at MK two weeks ago. There were two women behind us in the in the security checkpoint line. They followed us through the ticket turnstile. My 6 yr old twins were jumping up and down laughing/clapping at getting thru the gates. They were loud, but not so much that I needed to tell them to calm down.

There were several families with children of various ages either doing the same thing or in some cases their kids were crying. Anyway, these two women complained the entire time we were going thru the entrance process.

Once we got past the turnstiles, one turned to the other and said: "...I can't believe parents bring their kids to a place like this. They should really make this an adult only park..."

I assure you they were quite agitated and this was not said jokingly. I told my husband maybe they shoud have gone to the IOA instead! Gee whiz!

 

[docswkids]

My two boys are full of energy and at times difficult in public places. For those parents who look down their nose at me when my kids are melting down I think they probably have children born with different temperments than mine. For the childless people amoung us or those with grown children who have no tolerance whatsoever for kid behavior the first thing I think to myself but do not say is "You were not born all grown up, you too were a child once, and I'm sure you were annoying to some adult at least once in your life." I also think if you dont like kids, stay away from disney, and I mean parks, cruises, restaurants, the whole shebang. There are plenty of excellent, beautiful, luxurious adult oriented vacation spots all over the world and many, many cruise lines to choose from
.
We got the evil eye one morning while walking through the lobby of the Beach Club on our last vacation. It actually was the only morning son number two did not have a tantrum in the lobby. The kids were just exuberant and running ahead of us a little. An older man looked at us like he could not believe that a 4 and 6 year old would be allowed to do such a thing.

We actually avoid eating out, because our kids really cant sit that long at the table, and are difficult to control in a restaurant. When we do eat out it is usually in a casual, bustling sort of restaurant. The louder the better.

 

[elemusing]

My ds just turned 4 and he is VERY ACTIVE. He wears me out! Anyway, I sympathize with the original poster and I have been there, sister!

It is frustrating to be around people that are clueless about children. But we do occasionally have to go out and we do have to shop, etc.! hee hee

Angie

 

[Chance's Mom]

As a teacher of gifted children-

I have always believed that active, energetic, enthusiastic behavior is a very good sign of an intelligent child!

 

[VickiVM]

Wow, what a great thread! I have 3 kids - 8, 5 & 3. We are just now getting to the point in their lives that we can actually go out as a family to the movies, dinner, zoo, etc. without major meltdowns. For those of you with younger toddlers, take heart - they do get more manageable as they get older.

A couple of years ago we were all in Chicago for a few days and went to an Italian restaurant near our hotel. It appeared to be a family restaurant...open dining room, not too stuffy. There were a variety of customers there. Nonetheless we're doing our usual "No. Leave that alone. I said to stop that. Leave your sisters alone. The table will be ready in a few minutes. Come here!". By the time we sat down I was beginning to worry that a major meltdown was due any moment. We got to our table and I sat my then 3 year old in her chair and because of the way the slats on the back of the chair were, she caught her fingers in them and let out the most pathetic ear-piercing scream ever. (Actually, for her, it was just one of her usual screams...). The eyes of everyone in the dining room were on us. After a few moments of panic crying and wailing I managed to free her fingers and that was that. We ordered, had our meal and the rest of the evening was without incident. DH and I were truly exhausted from the stress of maintaining control of everyone's temperment throughout the meal. As we were wrapping it up, the older couple that was at the table next to ours were getting up to leave and paid our children compliments of how well behaved they were. Go figure. We graciously said thank you. When we were outside the restaurant, DH and I could hardly contain our laughter.

I think we all sypathize with the struggling parents when it's apparent they are making attempts to keep the children in line. Good manners go a long way in making others around you comfortable. We apologize to other patrons of restaurants we are in when our children are obviously disruptive. We do pull our children out of the situation if it becomes out of control. I think that's what the general public wants...not a public beating of the child, just an acknowledgment that the poor behavior is beyond acceptable and is being corrected.

 

[Tinkerbells2000]

As a mom of 4 kids, (2,4, 6, and 8) I can see both sides... I know that kids do have their moments, and that there is nothing that a parent can do. If a child decides to cry, they are going to cry... I think that most people understand that kind of behavior... The thing that gets me, and that has been mentioned once or twice are the kids without parental control... The ones that are running around, bumping into people, knocking things down, and the parent in their own little world. My 6 year old little girl has some problems with her sugar levels, and at times she will go into a fit that no one can control, at least until we get some fast acting sugars in her. However, we did not know this for the 1st couple of years of her life, so there were some fits that she threw when we were out, that I know people were rolling their eyes at , heck, I was at a loss as to what to do. The "regular discipline" that I had used on my other child was not working... So I was even saying that "this kid just needs some parental control" Now that we know she has this problem, we always keep fast acting sugars, and other snacks with us. Because of this, I always really feel for the parents that seem to be trying to get control, but the kid is still way out of control, and you see people passing making comments. The people passing really have no idea what the situation is about, or what could be causing it, but they always seem to have a solution.

We have been very fortunate that my other 3 kids, and now that we have my 6 year old regulated, are usually pretty well behaved when we are out. It is a little harder in Disney because the 6 year old has to eat a lot more often to keep the sugar levels decent, and at times, she may have a fit, if she doesn't eat for a couple of hours. (In the hot sun and walking the sugars get burnt off a lot faster), but for the most part they are all very well behaved, and I can not think of a time that we have been out when someone hasn't complimented our kids.

It is though, very hard when you see the kids at the next table taking off their shoes, and throwing food, etc... I have seen that many times, then my kids want to do it... To me, this is something that parents can control.. It's not kids just being kids. I was never allowed to throw food or take off my shoes when I was out as a kid, and I will not allow my kids to. I think (and this is just my opinion only) there are too many parents that don't really feel like dicsiplining their children, because of whatever reason, and they write everything off as kids just being kids, and it's an easy out so that parents don't have to do their job... I am not saying this in response to anything that I have read on this particular post, but I have seen and heard it enough times, that I have begun to hate that phrase... There is normal kid behavior, and there is "oh my goodness, your child needs a straight jacket, and you need to learn how to be the parent of the house" I think there is a difference. Anyway... I know this was long, but I have so many thoughts on this subject... Thanks to anyone who read all the way through.