Recent cruisers. . .kid paging experience

[mollyjo]

We are T-9 days from our cruise and I am getting a bit nervous about our 3 year old and kids club. Last year, it happened to us on Palo night that our then five year old paged us because "he just wanted us" . Of course I see the benefits of children being able to get to their parents when they truly NEED them, but I don't want to be called for really no urgent reason. Now with my now six year old, I can pretty much explain that to him and shouldn't hear from him but the 3 year old???? Not sure he's going to get it and will be truly irritated if the counselors just allow him to page us any time he wants to. Does anyone have recent experience? Is their a particular counselor you built a realtionship with that you might recommend? Has DCL been any more flexible with NOT paging at the drop of a hat? I would love to hear your opinions and experiences. Thanks--MJ

 

[leisen]

We had a similar thing come up when we were in Nassau on our last trip a couple of years ago when DD was 4. We had been gone a little over two hours when she had them page us because she didn't think we were going to come back. This time we are bringing two way radios with us and telling them to "talk" to us first on these before having the counslers page us. That way if they don't "really" need us we can discuss it with them first. I don't know if this would work for you with your daughter only being 3. I just think that hearing our voice would do a lot to reassure them that we are still around and let us know how urgent the situation really is.

 

[Grumbo]

I've found putting the batteries in backwards works wonders on a pager you don't want to work too well
Works when I'm on call and having a nice meal anyway
Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[AnnMorin]

But as a preschool teacher I have a wealth of experience with children wanting their parents. Many times we allow the child to cry for a spell if it is seperation anxiety and attempt to distract them or get them interested in other children or toys. This usually works and we do give it our all as learning to seperate is important for a child to mature etc.. That said however there are some children that it is too overwhelming for and we do tell the parents that it is just to traumatic for the child. I am a well educated professional who is paid to help children with that transition. I don't know how educated the staff is in early childhood development but my guess wuld be that they are limited. It is unfair to ask them to make a qualified decision as to the urgency of a child's demand to page his or her parent. At preschool we make every effort to help the child with seperation as that is the goal of many parents (the entire reason their child was placed in preschool in the beginning) The councilors however are not there to help your child mature, they are only there to give them a place to play. It is unfortunate that you would be so irrated to have your dinner interrupted if your child "just wanted you" perhaps you should wait to take a family vacation until your child is old enough to understand that you do not wish to be disturbed unless it is something important. I can only imagine the back lash if councilors started refusing to page parents because they felt the child really did not need them. And to be honest why should they have to put up with a miserable child just so the parents can eat at palo? Why would you want your child to go through that? I don't think it is unreasonable for a three year old (or a five year old for that matter) to "just want" his parents when he or she is on vacation with them.

 

[rae519]

We were at brunch at Palo when I was paged. I called the Club and explained where I was. There was no emergency and my son had already changed his mind about leaving.

The Club staff is very understanding about these things and as long as you call them to let them know you have received the page - - well, a little courtesy goes a long way in keeping Junior there while you enjoy some well deserved adult time!

Rae

 

[AnnMorin]

Originally posted by Grumbo
I've found putting the batteries in backwards works wonders on a pager you don't want to work too well
Works when I'm on call and having a nice meal anyway
Cheers,
Grumbo

Wow I hope your child never gets badly injured and they are trying to page you to get permission to treat him or her.

 

[Grumbo]

Ann it was a joke, thus the smilies.
If I really didn't want to hear the pager its much easier just to switch it off..
THAT TOO was a joke
Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[AnnMorin]

you would be surprised how many people would do that seriously. We had a child that had a fell off the climber and hurt his arm, it was very swollen and the child was in terrible pain. We were concerned it may be broken and called mom on her cellphone. She was in the middle of her nail appointment and said for us to put some ice on it she'd get there within an hour just had to finish up her manicure first and let the polish dry.
So sad when children are not a priority. Some people should just have pets instead.

 

[mollyjo]

If I somehow implied that my child was "acting miserable" last year--let me correct that. He was having a ball, one of his newly acquired friends in the kids club was not and called his parents. Then mine decided that he should too. When I asked the counselor is he was upset, crying, uncomfortable, her response was "no, he just wanted to page you." I don't expect the counselors to be well-educated child professionals, but I expect the teenagers that babysit my kids to use common sense. I have four children, and I enjoy taking them on family vacations. I also enjoy private time with my husband. And yes, I believe we should be able to have that time uniterrupted UNLESS it's an emergency. I want my children to know that they can soothe themselves, they will be just fine and I will return ALWAYS when they need me. But perhaps not only when they just want me. I have my own needs too. Quite frankly what makes me not like the response you gave Ann is the judgement that you would pass on me as a parent. I know I am not the first person who was "irritated"--not mad, not angry,-- by the speed at which they were called to kids club. I am simply wondering if there is a solution for those of us that feel it's an issue.

 

[AnnMorin]

and am sorry if you viewed it as such.
I was just stating my personal belief that children should come first, and that a three year old's need for mom as irrational or inconvient as it may be is more important than parents own need for "personal time" . I am sure that it is very difficult being a parent of so many children and that you very much so desire and deserve time for yourself, I just am saying that child number four also deserves and desires your full attention as much as child number one did. I am sorry if I offended you, it was not my intention and I do feel sorry for the "many of other parents who are irritated' when their child wants them. You are the one who stated that you were annoyed at being disturbed and wanted a way to tell the councilers to not bother you unless it was important. The CM's need to page parents any time a child requests it, otherwise they could be in trouble if a child had a total meltdown and theydenied them. They are not there to personally babysit any child only to supervise play. I know some parents in our town bring a nanny with them when they travel to deal with their children. Maybe you could consider bringing one of the teenagers who babysits for you, that way they know and understand your child and could give him the one on one he may need if he misses you.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Mollyjo,

I remember reading on one trip report where the child was paging the parents for no serious reason, and when the parents were were ( unhappily - I am sure ) getting up to leave Palo and mentioned this to the CM... The CM personally called down to the kids club, explained that the parents were dining at Palo... Voila - Due to that Disney Magic - suddenly the whole 'situation' was solved!

Perhaps if you are very nice in explaining your wishes that, hopefully, the CM's will do their best. I am sure that if your child does indeed have a problem then they would not hesitate to page you.

Hey, three year olds do tend to cry when parents leave them! Especially in new unfamiliar surroundings. ( OMG - that is the most heartwrenching thing for any parent!!!! ) One thought would be to plan for Palo later in the cruise. And, starting right away at the 'get aquainted' time on embarkation day, let your daughter spend some 'not pressured' happy time in the lab. That is when she may make a new friend, or become trusting of a particular CM? Then, maybe choose some specific times with activities that you know might be fun for your daughter. And avoid taking her at times that you feel may be stressful for her.

I know that, when he was three, if my son were just dropped off somewhere unknown for the first time, or was to become very stressed and upset somewhere for the first time - then I could never begin to even take him NEAR that particular place without a complete meltdown.

I know that the alone time and a nice dinner at Palo are a big deal for me and DH! I too would hate for it to be interrupted for no real reason....

Have a WONDERFUL cruise!


PS: Grumbo - ROFLOL!!!!!! Cheers!

 

[mollyjo]

We have an honest difference of opinion. You are of course entitled to your beliefs, and I assume that you parent your children according to those. I, as well, have my own beliefs and those beliefs dictate my parenting style. It is not inherently more difficult to parent four children than it is to parent two or ten--parenting is a tough job no matter how you dice it. And just so you understand my perspective, this isn't about treating my fourth any different than my first. I wouldn't have wanted to have my dinner date cut short then, anymore than I do now. My kids don't suffer from separation anxiety, and while I understand that Disney has to cover all the bases, I just feel like it was overkill to not ask our son if he really needed us. It seemed in that situation that they were eager to have him picked up and not equally eager to give parents a little freedom. We had friends with us on the cruise who got paged all the time because their seven year old was "bored". Both parents and child were frustrated with the experience. I'm not sure what the answer is--but I guess if I was really unhappy or overly concerned I would bring my own childcare or simply wouldn't go on DCL. I'm sure we will all have a great time, on our second cruise and our eighth trip to WDW. Despite any appearances to the contrary, this family is all about our really-quite-great kids. Take care--MJ

 

[cruisnfamily]

Not to turn this into a debate or anything but I think there are alot of parents out there who feel the exact opposite of MollyJo.

We travelled with friends last year and they made a point when signing up for the kids club to tell the counselors that they were to be paged IMMEDIATELY if their son (age 5 at the time) even hinted he'd like to see them. They wanted to be absolutely sure he would not be "talked out" of paging them. The counselors did make a note on his file regarding this. Perhaps MollyJo could have them note the reverse on her file...

Good luck with this, I'm sure it will be worked out to everyones satisfaction.

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by Sonya Francisco
We travelled with friends last year and they made a point when signing up for the kids club to tell the counselors that they were to be paged IMMEDIATELY if their son (age 5 at the time) even hinted he'd like to see them. They wanted to be absolutely sure he would not be "talked out" of paging them. The counselors did make a note on his file regarding this.

I am SO glad to hear that you could make that notation on the file....I want to be notified the second my daughter wants or asks for me or cries...I am taking her on a family cruise and I would really like to spend most if not all of the time with her...I was only going to let her go to the club because some of the things there I think she would enjoy and actually if they let me stay with her during those times I would stay there with her...they are only young once and you never know what the future holds...enjoy the heck out of them while you can!

 

[Wishing on a star]

OMG.... Somebody posts about a couple of hours for supper with her husband, and it turns into a personal debate!

 

[Ashley24]

When registering my 2 children in the club and lab about a month ago on the Magic, a counselor was discussing the pager and mentioned that if dh and I were going to Palo to mention that fact when dropping the kids off. So I think they understand and would be less likely to page parents during Palo time if the children are merely bored.
Ann

 

[rae519]

After 5 cruises, I am disgusted by parents who allow their "little darlings" to sign in and out, then run around the ship like wild animals in packs. Your little Junior may be the sweetest, most polite little child when s/he is with you, but put him/her with peers and WHAMMO! The pack animal syndrome comes alive.

After saying that, I'll go back to topic - if you don't muster up the common sense and parental feeling to reply whenever and wherever your child says s/he needs you, then you certainly should not be a parent. Ann covered this in a more complete and thoroughly excellent manner - I ditto it all!

If a couple wants a "childfree" vacation, then ask a relative/friend to babysit before cruising.


Rae

 

[PeachyK]

I think this poster asked a simple question and I think I have a simple solution.

Here is my suggestion for what worked for me on my Palo night and with my 7 year old. He really enjoyed the club during specific activities, by 10pm when they go to "quiet time" he wanted out, which was fine because we were all ready for bed by then. Anyway...I luckily had made my Palo ressies for 7:30pm which turned out to be the perfect time because every night there were really neat activities from 7:15-10. Check the navigators to get an idea. I'm sure he will be so involved in the activity he won't have time to think about where Mom and Dad are. Relax and enjoy yourself. We had Andrew from South Africa and he had great stories for us from his time on the QE2.

 

[rae519]

We had Andrew for brunch when we dined with the Barnards - he was a very nice person. Great accent!!!

Rae

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by aprilgail2
I am SO glad to hear that you could make that notation on the file....

They really did make a note, too. I know this because it must show up on their computer screen whenever they pull up the kids record. I picked him up one day and they started reading the screen (kind of under their breath to see what it was saying) and I realized she was reading the "page immediately...." note the counselor had put in the file. So they do note it and it does pop up every time they call up the kids file.