What is up with parents forcing kids on rides???

[laura_<3]

We came across this last week in Epcot. A child was in tears not wanting to ride Soarin'. The parents took the child and placed him in his seat and fastened his belt. He was still crying. When the CM's were doing the seat belt checks they asked the little boy if he wanted to ride, as he was still crying, he said no. The parents were insisting he would be ok. The CM's asked the boy again if he wanted to ride, he again said no. One of the parents left the ride, looking very unhappy, with the child.

I found it quite distressing seeing how unhappy and scared the little boy was.

 

[IdoBeliveinFairies]

While I don't think you should make a kid ride rides they are too scared of. I have a 5 year old who picks and chooses what will be scary and it changes constantly. Last she had seen a video of the mexico boat ride and really wanted to ride it, but when we got there the giant aztec pyramid scared her and she threw a huge fit, but we took her on it anyway as we knew it was the ride she had wanted to ride. Also last year splash mt. was her favorite ride, but she told us this year she doesn't like it and it is too scary... When we go in june she may change her mind and she may decide she doesn't want to do it, but I wont make her do it.

 

[monkeybug]

I haven't read this whole thread, but I just wanted to say that crying does not always = scared and doesn't want to go on.
My daughter loved, loved, loved Soarin' (did I mention she loved it?) Thanks to child swap, she got to ride it 6 times while we were at Disney. On the 6th time she cried through the whole line, during the ride, and after we got off. Why? She was knew it was the last time she would get to ride it, and even though we told her we would come back, she was still just soooo sad it was her last time on Soarin'. I'm sure a few people were giving me the "Holy cow can you believe someone let her care for a child" glare!
I saw lot's of parenting decisions that made me do a double take while we were on vacation, but I always just gave the parents the benefit of the doubt. I mean heck, they forked out all that money to bring their kids to Disney! They must like them at least a little!!

 

[serene56]

My experience back in the day when my older two kids were 4 & 6.
They did not want to go into the haunted Mansion. (although I knew if they at least tried it they would like it.)
they started crying in the stretching room. Cried they didnt want to go on- cried until they saw the ghosts that ride in the seats with you. not kicking and screaming kind of crying--just crying.
We exit the ride and both said-- can we go again??

(personally Its a bugs life--most of those kids cry because of all the screaming that is happening. Kids feed off others.

We are going next Sept when GD will be almsot 5. We watch the travel channel specials and she tells us that she dont want to ride this or that. So now we spend some time showing her stuff on Youtube and tell her about Mickey Magic.

I agree with one of the posters above--kids are afraid of the unknown and if I let them be not try it because they "Might" be afraid they will not experince all life has to offer.

 

[kadesha]

I hate to see parents forcing their kids on rides. There are many rides that my kids do not want any part of. I absolutely do not try to force them to ride. Heck, there's a lot of rides that I'm afraid of and I wouldn't want someone forcing me to ride them! That's a terrible feeling!

 

[kennezgirl]

During our recent trip, we went to the Extra Magic Hours at Epcot. We had never been to EMH before, so we were not sure how it worked with fastpasses and Keys to the World and so on. My DH showed our room keys to the woman working at Test Track/Fast Pass line and she was standing in between the Fast Pass line and the Single Rider line. She told my DH that was all we needed to get on and motioned for us to get in the Single Rider line...with the kids. My DH assured me all the way to the loading area that this was EMH and things were different and all the lines were the same. I kept telling him he was nuts. When we got up there and I was proven right , my 8 year old and I were split up into a front seat and a back seat in the line. I was grateful for even that, but she was crying and carrying on because she wanted to sit with me rather than strangers. She had been on that ride five times and it was one of her favorites. To the unknowing eye, it looked like I was forcing her on and the lady that was part of the couple that was supposed to be in the front seat with me, stepped aside and got in the back so my DD could sit with me. I was very grateful, but her hubby was not happy. He made a snide remark to me and my DD that they could cry together because he wanted to sit with his wife. I explained to him that she was not afraid, that my DH had been wrong about how EMH lines worked. He became a little less peeved acting at that point, but he still was still annoyed. I thanked them both profusely when the ride was over. Lesson learned on how things work. Anyway, the moral of this little tale is that everyone thought I was forcing her on something and that was not the case.

 

[nicoleakr]

I never force my kids to go on anything....however last year we went on soaring for the first time.My dd who is 9 got on the ride and buckled in and I got my ds buckled in and then my daughter wanted to get off. I tried to get her unbuckled but it was too late.I felt so bad but she did end up loving the ride so it worked out. I can't imagine forcing my kids to ride the rides.

 

[CLR4321]

It really is pretty simple. People want everyone with them to have as much fun as they are, including their kids. So they force their kids onto a ride because they want them to experience what they enjoy themselves. On the other hand there are parents who are alone with kids, and they opt to force the kid on the ride if they aren't old enough to stay outside and wait for the parent to ride. It's just human nature really.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I say this as a recovering ride chicken...sometimes it's a good thing to not coddle your kids. Obviously, if a kid is freaking out badly and it's a thrill ride then I certainly wouldn't push it. But, rides like HM, Finding Nemo etc I would make the kid ride. I'm not talking about kids with a mental delay, those who are autistic etc.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I don't think it's fair to categorically say that any child who is crying shouldn't be taken on a ride.

We ask the kids to go on everything. If they say no, and it's a ride that might be scary for them, my husband or I absolutely will sit out with them. But my son used to be in the habit of flipping out at anything he didn't know about - including Spaceship Earth and Kali River Rapids, neither of which are the least bit scary. If we permitted him to run the show completely, he would never have gone on ANYTHING - and how fair would it be to take him to Disney World and make him sit to wait for everyone on the rides? He had fun on everything we took him on and now he trusts us to tell him whether we think a ride would be scary for him.

It's not always bad parenting.

ITA Trust me, I wish I had been forced on more rides as a kid..it's no fun being an adult who is fearful of rides. I've gotten over it for the most part..RnRC is the one thrill ride I haven't done yet at WDW and EE is now my favorite.

 

[snykymom]

HAHA this reminds me of the "Disney Tip of the Month" that appeared on our resort TV while watching the resort channels.

It said "let your little ones decide if they want to ride", there was a little picture of Timon and Pumba I think with Timon not wanting to go on the ride, or Pumba. It made me laugh.

This sign is actually in a number of the buses at Disney as well.

When my d was 6 or 7, she bucked up her courage to go on Space Mountain with me. We got close to the start and she started crying, saying she was really scared. I got out of line with her.

This January, my d, now a young adult, and I went back to Disney. Space Mountain was a snap. We saw some kids screaming on RnR. D turned to me and said, "I'm really glad you never made me go on a ride I was scared of."

My philosophy was simple. 1) I have to force my kids to do a lot of things they don't want to do: go to school, do their homework, take a bath, go to bed, go to synagogue and Hebrew school, do their chores, etc. But to force them to go on a ride? Not worth it.
2) I want my kids to trust their instincts. If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. If I override their fears to go on a stupid ride, how will they learn to trust? Will they start to question when they really do have somethinig to be afraid of? Not a risk I was willing to take.

Maybe you all do know that your kids will love the ride once they go on. But maybe you're teaching them something you really don't want them to learn.

 

[SilverL]

My dad paid me $20 to ride Space Mountain, haha. I was terrified, but I went on it willingly.

My cousin told her little sister that Winnie the Pooh went upside down three times. We had to drag her on that, but she wasn't screaming or crying. She was just petrified.

 

[luvthemouse71]

My dad paid me $20 to ride Space Mountain, haha. I was terrified, but I went on it willingly.

My cousin told her little sister that Winnie the Pooh went upside down three times. We had to drag her on that, but she wasn't screaming or crying. She was just petrified.

Ha..I wonder if we're related somewhere. Sounds like something we would have done!

Bribes are always good too-I have to make mayself go on RnRC, my sister is the Queen of the Chickens, so there's no way she'll go.

 

[Kurby]

as a parent of a 3 and a half your old who "forced" their child go on rides - i know my child. i knew that any ride i "forced" her to go on she would totally love.

splash mountian, haunted mansion (scarry), Test Track (ok we didn't go on this one because she was the width of a credit card too short but she was desperate to go on), pirates, plus others i can't think of right now.

all these rides she would say in the line "i don't like it" but when it was finished she made us get in line and go again and again - we limited them to 3 times each since some lines were getting long but she'd have gone over and over and over again if we let her.

OH and the slide at OKW - we couldn't keep her away from it once we took her down the first time

 

[mrstxcop]

This sign is actually in a number of the buses at Disney as well.

When my d was 6 or 7, she bucked up her courage to go on Space Mountain with me. We got close to the start and she started crying, saying she was really scared. I got out of line with her.

This January, my d, now a young adult, and I went back to Disney. Space Mountain was a snap. We saw some kids screaming on RnR. D turned to me and said, "I'm really glad you never made me go on a ride I was scared of."

My philosophy was simple. 1) I have to force my kids to do a lot of things they don't want to do: go to school, do their homework, take a bath, go to bed, go to synagogue and Hebrew school, do their chores, etc. But to force them to go on a ride? Not worth it.
2) I want my kids to trust their instincts. If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. If I override their fears to go on a stupid ride, how will they learn to trust? Will they start to question when they really do have somethinig to be afraid of? Not a risk I was willing to take.

Maybe you all do know that your kids will love the ride once they go on. But maybe you're teaching them something you really don't want them to learn.

Great Post!!!

 

[teddygurlkeekee]

I don't know if anyone else has posted something similar because I didn't read through the whole thing.

But I know that when we go this weekend, I wil lhave to do a lot of forcing and Skittles bribing for my 4 year old stepson. He is a huge pansy and is scared of everything at first. Scared of slides, trampolines, even toys that move on their own. He was scared of them until we forced him down the slide or forced him to look at the toy and now he LOVES them. Most of the time you can tell when it's true fear for a reason, or just because of hte unknown.

Its just like trying new foods, you can't say you don't like it or are scared of it if you have never tried it. Trying new things is always scary, but if you don't learn to conquer your fears, i beleive you will grow up never facing them, and never leading a full life.

jmo

 

[vcgirl925]

Luckily my kids will pretty much go on anything and visit any character. But there have been some my ds wasn't "excited" about going on but i knew he'd LOVE it once he did it. We do encourage them to try everything and if they don't like it they don't have to ride again. We do no FORCE them. If they were ever adament about not going we might try and bribe them..LOL...but if that doesn't work then forget about it.

 

[blissventure]

This sign is actually in a number of the buses at Disney as well.

When my d was 6 or 7, she bucked up her courage to go on Space Mountain with me. We got close to the start and she started crying, saying she was really scared. I got out of line with her.

This January, my d, now a young adult, and I went back to Disney. Space Mountain was a snap. We saw some kids screaming on RnR. D turned to me and said, "I'm really glad you never made me go on a ride I was scared of."

My philosophy was simple. 1) I have to force my kids to do a lot of things they don't want to do: go to school, do their homework, take a bath, go to bed, go to synagogue and Hebrew school, do their chores, etc. But to force them to go on a ride? Not worth it.
2) I want my kids to trust their instincts. If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. If I override their fears to go on a stupid ride, how will they learn to trust? Will they start to question when they really do have somethinig to be afraid of? Not a risk I was willing to take.

Maybe you all do know that your kids will love the ride once they go on. But maybe you're teaching them something you really don't want them to learn.

I think you're philosophy is exactly right.
I was forced to go on some rides as a kid. One particularly bad memory was a roller coaster I was absolutely not ready to go on, and was scared stiff of. I remember trying not to cry--putting on a smile. I also remember who forced me to go. I do not have happy (or loving) memories of this person. Kids do remember when they are treated in very unkind ways.
Just because the child seems to cope when they have no other option doesn't mean the forcer was wise or kind.
I never, ever forced my kids to go on any ride they didn't want to go on. It was their choice. Because it wasn't a pressure situation, they rode happily, whatever they wished.

 

[NYDisneyKid]

The icing on the cake would be the kid puking on the parent(s) as revenge

 

[ashleyrm]

I think you're philosophy is exactly right.
I was forced to go on some rides as a kid. One particularly bad memory was a roller coaster I was absolutely not ready to go on, and was scared stiff of. I remember trying not to cry--putting on a smile. I also remember who forced me to go. I do not have happy (or loving) memories of this person. Kids do remember when they are treated in very unkind ways.
Just because the child seems to cope when they have no other option doesn't mean the forcer was wise or kind.
I never, ever forced my kids to go on any ride they didn't want to go on. It was their choice. Because it wasn't a pressure situation, they rode happily, whatever they wished.

My 21 year old daughter's favorite ride in WDW - Tower of Terror.
First time she rode - At age 10 (she passed on it at ages 6 and 9)
Not "forcing" her on before she was ready - priceless...

Mar 1995: Spent the morning at MGM. Catherine had no interest in riding Tower of Terror even though we tried mightily to convince her that it would be fun. We ended up child swapping and had a great time

.

Nov 1997: We got a parking space right up front, and proceeded directly to the Tower of Terror, and went right on with no wait. I had meant to request the seat belt seat, but was distracted by Catherine's last minute decision not to ride. This is the only attraction in Disney World that Catherine wouldn't do during our last visit. After riding her first inverted roller coaster (the Loch Ness Monster in Busch Gardens Williamsburg) this summer and really enjoying it, I had hoped that she would do the Tower this year. But, alas, it was not to be, so Daniel and I sent her off to the service elevator, and went on to enjoy our multiple drops.

Dec 1998: We got on the first elevator of the day at the Tower of Terror. Catherine finally went on for her first time. No fuss and no hesitation. I was so glad because I knew she would enjoy it, and she did.