Shy kids

[BSDolk]

My two DS who will be 4 and 5 when we cruise next winter, are both pretty skittish about me leaving them places. My prediction is that they will cry when I leave them at the Oceaneer's Club but will likely calm down fairly quickly after we leave. My question is, will the counselors work with them to try and get them calmed down or do they not want you to leave them if they are crying? I know I can stay with them for a little while at the Club, but still think they will cry when I leave.

 

[wishiwasgolfing]

Why not start getting the kids used to being sepearted from you starting NOW????
Sign them up for a play group even if it's just for 1/2 hour or an hour at a time. There must be somewhere you can sign them up.
If they are interacting with other kids within a short period of time I bet they do fine. You have plenty of time until your cruise to solve this issue.
Good Luck!

 

[BSDolk]

I do have them involved in several things, but they always cry the first few times I leave them, which is why I know they'll cry the first few times I leave them at the Oceaneer's Club. I'm wondering if the counselors will accept crying kids and work with them to get the settled down or if they won't let you leave them there if they're crying.

 

[wishiwasgolfing]

Well next winter is a long way off. They might outgrow it by then since it is a year away. Plus since the kids are involved in programs now they will eventually adjust. I would guess that the councelors if they are decent would try to settle the kids down. Maybe they would get special attention. But on the other hand if lets say the councelor does try to settle them down and they just will not then you run into the issue of ruining it for all the other kids. Like I said it's almost a year away. Kids can change alot in a year as you well know. I'm sure everything will work out fine.

By the way I have a 3 year old daughter that was not potty trained as of 2 weeks ago. After I booked the cruise (May 02) I discovered that kids have to be completely potty trained in order to leave them in the oceaneers club/lab. My wife and I told her this and she has done incredible so far with the potty training.
We only have 63 days to train her so she can enjoy the lab and we can on occasion enjoy a few moments by ourselves. We are crossing our fingers.
byeinkbounc inkbounc inkbounc inkbounc

 

[BSDolk]

Good luck with the potty training! My 3 year old DS is not even close - part of the reason we're waiting until next winter to cruise!

I know my kids may grow out of their shyness by next year. That would be great. However, if they don't I would like to know if the counselors will accept crying kids and work with them to settle them down. Typically when I leave them places they will cry for 10 - 15 minutes and then be ok. That's what I anticipate at the Oceaneer's Club but am concerned that if they are crying when I leave that the counselors won't let me leave.

Has anyone had that experience or seen counselors work to calm kids who are crying because their parents left? I just want to know what to expect because if they won't accept crying kids we can probably cross off the Oceaneer's Club (and some time alone) from the list of things we'll get to do......

 

[alwaysdisneydreams]

The counselors in the club deal with shy and timid little cruisers each and every week. It should be part of the training for them their first week onboard. The counselors try to comfort each and everyone of the shy/crying/timid little ones. After about the 15 minute mark give or take nothing is set in stone and your child is still very upset they will then page you. THe club is open for family time each sea day morning and that is a good time for you as a family to spend some time in the space to get you child acclamated to the club. If you have any questions I can try to help.

-Jess

 

[jkester]

We left our DS (3) in the Oceaneers Club and he seemed fine for about 1 hour. He then began to cry and they paged us immediately. When I inquired about how long he had been upset, they said that whenever the children cry or ask for their mom/dad then they immediately page them. I was glad because I really didn't want him in there upset. I think the overall theme of the club is to let kids who are comfortable and not crying have a super time. Since you have a long time to wait before your cruise, you may find your kids won't even miss you. It was my impression that the counselors are not like babysitters-they don't just stick it out with a crying child. If a child asks for mom/dad then they immediately page them and do not try distraction etc. Like I said, I am very pleased with this- I don't want my son crying for me and someone trying to pretend like everything is o.k. We are trying the club again this December (he'll have just turned 4) but some friends of ours (and his) will be going and I think we'll get a little more use out of the club. Good luck and I hope you are pleasantly surprised by how well your kids do!