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

[teddygurlkeekee]

Well now reading back, I seem harsh.

I think there is a HUGE (HUGE) difference between forcing the child on ToT and forcing them to go on Dumbo or peter pan or IASW.

Children's rides, he will be forced. The big thrill rides, it will be up to him. (although we plan on hyping him up and getting him to like hte little kids rides and then not show him the splash on splash mountain )

 

[Maine-iac]

with all this being said, let me just say that i fully understand a little "encouragment" --- we did tell our 7yr old to have an open mind about rides and to go on thinking about fun, not fear ---

she clearly did not want to do Dinosaur and she cried just walking up, so my dh sat out with her and then rode it when me and my 13yr old got off...

neither one of my kids wanted to do the Haunted Mansion --- we were in the little prep room and as we started walking towards the ride the 7yr old cried and the 13yr old said she didn't feel good about it, so we bailed, no big deal --- dh and i both know they would have loved it in the end, but it wasn't worth it to us to have our kids miseable with anticipation prior to it...

the forcing i am talking about it is the hanging on to your kids, pulling them thru a line, while they are crying and yelling...i just don't think that makes for good memory vibes for the kids or parents...but that is just my opinion...

I agree. There is a difference between forcing your child on a ride and encouraging your child to ride. A child clinging to his mother with tears in his eyes is different than a screaming, balling child.

Why should anyone have to stand in a line listening to a child scream or ride in front of or behind a screaming child while riding a ride? Is the other person's enjoyment not important? I believe the parent should pull the child out of line when it becomes clear that it may bother or interfere with other guests.

And do not tell me not to be concerned or feel sorry for a child when I see a child who is very upset and has fear in his eyes. I cannot turn my back and pretend it is not happening. I agree one should keep their words of concern to themselves unless they feel the child is in danger but do not expect them to stand there with big smiles on their faces like nothing is going on.

We were in front of a father and his kids in line for ToT. One girl about 7 or 8 was not happy about going on the ride. She was not loud or anything but expressed that she did not want to ride and was teary eyed. I was not bothered until the father told her that he would not buy her the doll she wanted unless she rode. I did not say anything but was upset that a parent would do that. Is it that important for her to ride that you would take things away from her?

My kids were never forced to ride anything. My DS did not ride Space, ToT or RNR until he wanted to, which ended up being when he was 15. My DD was alittle more risky and rode at earlier ages.

 

[bytheblood]

This is something that really upsets me. I do not like seeing parents force their kids to do things that scare them. I wonder how those same parents would feel if they were force to bungee jump, dive from an airplane or parasail over the ocean.

My dad forced me and threatened to spank me with a belt when I was kid (about 10) to ride the Runaway Mine Train at Six Flags. I was terrified to death and cried the entire time I was on the ride. I hated every minute of it. Each time I visited Six Flags as a teen or adult and passed or rode the ride - I thought of that and it left bitter feelings about my dad and killed the fun of the ride. I forgave him, but the memories were unpleasant. I promised I would never do that to my kid and I stood by it.

 

[BayouMickey]

This is something that really upsets me. I do not like seeing parents force their kids to do things that scare them. I wonder how those same parents would feel if they were force to bungee jump, dive from an airplane or parasail over the ocean.

My dad forced me and threatened to spank me with a belt when I was kid (about 10) to ride the Runaway Mine Train at Six Flags. I was terrified to death and cried the entire time I was on the ride. I hated every minute of it. Each time I visited Six Flags as a teen or adult and passed or rode the ride - I thought of that and it left bitter feelings about my dad and killed the fun of the ride. I forgave him, but the memories were unpleasant. I promised I would never do that to my kid and I stood by it.

Well you have to also know the kids. For instance, my two daughters didn't want to ride ANYTHING their first trip not even IASW (kicking and screaming).My girls are drama queens to the max. It's all about over reaction with them. Finally I had to just plob their little rear ends on a few rides and then they loved them. The ONLY ride I forced them on with a mixed reaction was test track. The 6 year old loved it, the 9 year old didn't. But I swear to you, if I didn't force my girls to ride anything, we would have spent the day on a bench staring. So yeah I'm a SOB parent who forced my children to ride rides and I don't regret it one bit!

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

We had to "force" my dd (who was 8 at the time) to ride RNRC...we were the parents prying her off the fence in front of the attraction, she cried through the whole line, was hysterical by the time we got in the car. The cm actually said "we can't let her go if she's that upset", so my dh (who was next to her) talked to her to calm her down. I was sitting in front of her, and I could hear her laughing through the whole ride, and when we pulled into the station, she loved it and wanted to do it again! When we got out of the car I made her go and apologize to all the people who were in line around us for ruining their experience. I knew she would love it, she's been riding SM and TOT since she was 4 yrs. old and loves both.

 

[live4christp1]

Well you have to also know the kids. For instance, my two daughters didn't want to ride ANYTHING their first trip not even IASW (kicking and screaming).My girls are drama queens to the max. It's all about over reaction with them. Finally I had to just plob their little rear ends on a few rides and then they loved them. The ONLY ride I forced them on with a mixed reaction was test track. The 6 year old loved it, the 9 year old didn't. But I swear to you, if I didn't force my girls to ride anything, we would have spent the day on a bench staring. So yeah I'm a SOB parent who forced my children to ride rides and I don't regret it one bit!

Been there. While DS wasn't really a crying, drag on to the ride type kid, there were plenty of times while standing in line the first couple of years that he would decide he didn't really want to. He'd be all excited and then the apprehension of waiting made him nervous about it. I just told him, we couldn't go back out, we were to far into the line. After he came off the rides he'd want to go back on. To date he has ridden everything at WDW except TOT and he's riding that one with me this year.

So I agree, you have to know your kids.

DD is a kicker and screamer. If she rides it once and hates it she doesn't have to go back on right away. She still is to small for many of the thrill rides (height). The rides she protested most about last year were Kali - she didn't like it after she got off either. Then she had a huge meltdown at the Indiana Jones show (she hates loud noises, even fireworks - she will watch but I have to cover her ears). We did end up leaving the IJ show. This year she wants to ride Soarin' so she is gaining a little more flexibility. We will see when we actually get in line though. She isn't as easily convinced as DS, also a major drama queen.

 

[teddygurlkeekee]

well you have to also know the kids. For instance, my two daughters didn't want to ride anything their first trip not even iasw (kicking and screaming).my girls are drama queens to the max. It's all about over reaction with them. Finally i had to just plob their little rear ends on a few rides and then they loved them. The only ride i forced them on with a mixed reaction was test track. The 6 year old loved it, the 9 year old didn't. But i swear to you, if i didn't force my girls to ride anything, we would have spent the day on a bench staring. So yeah i'm a sob parent who forced my children to ride rides and i don't regret it one bit!

exactly!

 

[disneyjunkie]

Well you have to also know the kids. For instance, my two daughters didn't want to ride ANYTHING their first trip not even IASW (kicking and screaming).My girls are drama queens to the max. It's all about over reaction with them. Finally I had to just plob their little rear ends on a few rides and then they loved them. The ONLY ride I forced them on with a mixed reaction was test track. The 6 year old loved it, the 9 year old didn't. But I swear to you, if I didn't force my girls to ride anything, we would have spent the day on a bench staring. So yeah I'm a SOB parent who forced my children to ride rides and I don't regret it one bit!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I resort to bribery!

Am I the ONLY person is all of WDW that is just so excited and happy to be at WDW that I pay no attention to anyone else?? I have never noticed any of this stuff that gets complaints on the DIS IRL.

My son is afraid of lots of rides. Some he will try...some he won't. Not a big deal and I don't force him on them. It's NOT worth the trouble. But I'm not ashamed to admit I do use bribery! We do babyswap so it's no big deal since we have to wait with DD anyway.

Yes some I forced him on (non scary rides!!!) some rides. Because example: he wanted to do Splash Mountain. We got fast passes for later and did the ride once on stand by. Weeeeeeellllll he wants to ride it again and again and again and now the line is 60 minutes long. NO! We will WAIT for our FP!!! He gets all pissy about it and pouts on the next ride and the next ride and the next ride until it's time to use the FP.

Now my daughter cried because she can't ride all of the rides. DS was deathly afraid of Snow White at 3 and DD rode it 5 times in a row one morning. She wants to ride EVERYTHING. She was the one throwing a fit when we had to swap her at ToT. Poor kid. She knows that when we go back she will be taller and she is so excited about it. She just the rides! Hoping she isn't too scared of them when we go back.

 

[conniehar90]

My daughter is scared of the unknown so I have trouble getting her on some rides. But, I have learned that if I can coax her on them, she LOVES then. I let her decide when she should go on Space Mountain and it was our last day. She kept asking to go on more, but we couldn't because it was our last day. I did "force" her to go on Splash Mountain. She was crying and others were giving me dirty looks. But, I knew she would love it and she did. On our last trip, I told her she was going on TOT and RNR well before we arrived. She balked but went on (no crying this time). Now, RNR is her favorite ride.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Well...it could be alot of things...we took our nieces in January and once the little one was cranky and gave me grief about going on the the Jungle Cruise but once we got her on it she was fine...she was just having a 6 year old moment and we waited in line for a few minutes and she was telling me how much she wanted to go on it and then it was our turn to board the boat and she became a dead weight and started what all kids start, the whining, the crying. the arguing etc.

My older niece (just about to turn 13) did that to us on the "baby rides" but I told her she can sit on the bench and wait until we got off the ride (I know she was not going to let that happen) and guess what, she rode with us, she pouted and stomped her foot the entire time but she got on it.

Now if either one of them was having a hysterical fit, screaming, limps flailing etc you can bet your bippy that I would have taken them out of the line and back to the resort for a time out.

 

[Dominus]

I have one scardy cat and one daredevil. I often have to "force" my scardy cat to try new things. It's that way for everything new swimming, riding a bike, new foods etc. Everything I tell ya. So my choice is to give in to his fear of the new, thus enabling his fearful existence. Or force him to face his fears and overcome them. I choose the later. He always ends up smiling. It's the same reason I make my kids try peas and squash. Because I want them to be the most well rounded people they can be. Why not ask this question. What's with parents FORCING their kids to eat greens, at least 1x a day I see a kid crying over a green bean? That would be a stupid question right?

 

[Cibahwewah]

"Okay sweetie, you don't feel like going on the ride? Well, you just sit on that bench over there while the rest of us that are here to have a good time ride the ride. Oh, and when a strange man asks you to help find his puppy, politely tell him you already have a puppy. See you in 60 minutes!"

Sometimes, as a parent you have to make a judgement call. My kids are at times convinced they don't like things until I make them try, then they love it. Cut the poor parents of the screaming kid a little slack.

 

[tgrundy]

My kids will say they want to go on this or that and when we get there, they are like "no, I don't want to get on it". I know it is just a little larger then they thought or different then the picture, but once they do it they do usually enjoy it.

 

[Aliceacc]

"Okay sweetie, you don't feel like going on the ride? Well, you just sit on that bench over there while the rest of us that are here to have a good time ride the ride. Oh, and when a strange man asks you to help find his puppy, politely tell him you already have a puppy. See you in 60 minutes!"

Sometimes, as a parent you have to make a judgement call. My kids are at times convinced they don't like things until I make them try, then they love it. Cut the poor parents of the screaming kid a little slack.

"OK, sweetie. If you're really too terrified to ride, I won't force you. I wish you would try it, but not if it's going to give you nightmares. I realize it's only a ride, and I'll be happy to do something else with you while the rest of the family rides it. After all, this vacation is all about having fun together, not about me forcing you to like what I like. Let's see how the line is at Small World, OK??"

 

[CampbellScot]

Most kids fear the unknown. If parents didn't encourage their children to push through it they would never try anything new. It's all a part of parenting. Kids don't always get to choose what they will and will not do. They're kids.

It's a subjective topic at the very least. I think that parents do what they think is best for their child. It may not be what other parents would choose. Will the kids suffer in any way if they don't go on the ride? No. I'm sure it won't make a big impact either way.

But it's a larger life lesson: Feel the fear, do it anyway. It's not like their parents are asking them to do something dangerous. It's Disney. It's a great place to practice trying new things.

 

[alloyd1170]

I have to say-I know my kids and what they are truely afraid of. I prep my kids ahead of time with talks, videos, photos, etc of whatever they might face at a place. For example the other day we went ice skating (dd's first time). She is the type that wants to observe others, especially her firends doing something first. After 10 minutes or so, I picked her up and carried her on the ice. She screamed a bit, but I skated around holding her for a few minutes. Finally I put her down, still holding on to her. Within 10 seconds, she decided she liked ice skating. Within a few minutes, she was ready to let go of the wall and take off into the middle of the rink. By the time we left, she wanted to sign up for lessons.

Now had she still been pitching a fit, I would've stopped right there and not forced her to do more. My son was the same way with Mission Space (green side). He was in tears and the CM talked to him while we were in line. Once the ride started, he forgot about his fears and couldn't wait to ride it again and again. Same with Test Track. We tried Space Mountain once and he said no more. I didn't make him do it again.

 

[monkeybug]

"OK, sweetie. If you're really too terrified to ride, I won't force you. I wish you would try it, but not if it's going to give you nightmares. I realize it's only a ride, and I'll be happy to do something else with you while the rest of the family rides it. After all, this vacation is all about having fun together, not about me forcing you to like what I like. Let's see how the line is at Small World, OK??"

So here's the thing. I understand your point of view, but I also understand the other point of view.
"OK sweetie. If you don't want to try new things because your too scared, I won't force you. You never want to swim across the deep end? That's OK! Too scared of that first bus ride? I'll just drive you. Is it a little to scary to spend the night at friends house? We'll just always have the sleepover here! You don't want to go to Hawaii 'cause the Ocean has sharks? Alright we'll just make our next family vacation all about you! That is after all what the rest of the world will do once you leave home...unless of course that's too scary, in which case you can just stay in mommy's basement!

I understand that it's just a ride, and to some parents it's not worth the battle to "force" their kids to do it (I fortunately have never had this particular problem, both my kids are dare devils), or it's just not the place you choose to do it. But I don't think it's fair to judge someone else for pushing their children to do something they are scared to do. Every parent (if they are doing their job) has to push their children to try things they are fearful of (first day of school, dentist, college, job interview, broccoli!) It's how we learn to take risks, it builds self confidence (what feels better than conquering a fear?) and it prepares them for life outside our cozy nests (you know those little birds have got to be having a full blown freak out right before mama pushes them from the tree, but it's not likely they will learn to fly if she doesn't!) I know a lot of parents who try to make every situation comfortable for their kids, and honestly I think that is much more detrimental in the long run than forcing someone on a ride! The world doesn't revolve around any one person, nobody is going to make everything right for their child out in the real world (well unless they turn out to be pop stars, and then lot's of people might try, but we all know how that story usually ends!), and sometimes though a parents real intention is just to make life enjoyable for their child, what they are really doing is building a sense of entitlement, and a crippling fear of taking risks and standing on their own.

 

[bronxite]

My kids made me go on Kali River Rapids, and who sat in the one seat that gets totally hosed...me

 

[disneynewbee]

So here's the thing. I understand your point of view, but I also understand the other point of view.
"OK sweetie. If you don't want to try new things because your too scared, I won't force you. You never want to swim across the deep end? That's OK! Too scared of that first bus ride? I'll just drive you. Is it a little to scary to spend the night at friends house? We'll just always have the sleepover here! You don't want to go to Hawaii 'cause the Ocean has sharks? Alright we'll just make our next family vacation all about you! That is after all what the rest of the world will do once you leave home...unless of course that's too scary, in which case you can just stay in mommy's basement!

I understand that it's just a ride, and to some parents it's not worth the battle to "force" their kids to do it (I fortunately have never had this particular problem, both my kids are dare devils), or it's just not the place you choose to do it. But I don't think it's fair to judge someone else for pushing their children to do something they are scared to do. Every parent (if they are doing their job) has to push their children to try things they are fearful of (first day of school, dentist, college, job interview, broccoli!) It's how we learn to take risks, it builds self confidence (what feels better than conquering a fear?) and it prepares them for life outside our cozy nests (you know those little birds have got to be having a full blown freak out right before mama pushes them from the tree, but it's not likely they will learn to fly if she doesn't!) I know a lot of parents who try to make every situation comfortable for their kids, and honestly I think that is much more detrimental in the long run than forcing someone on a ride! The world doesn't revolve around any one person, nobody is going to make everything right for their child out in the real world (well unless they turn out to be pop stars, and then lot's of people might try, but we all know how that story usually ends!), and sometimes though a parents real intention is just to make life enjoyable for their child, what they are really doing is building a sense of entitlement, and a crippling fear of taking risks and standing on their own.