When to tell 5yr old about trip! HELP!

[eek40]

Hi all, I need advice!

O'neill and I will be traveling leaving home on Nov 12th and doing three nites starting on the 13th at WDW and then 4 nite cruise starting on the 16th of Nov. We are about 39 days out, and he still has not a clue that we are going. We found out yesterday that he is having surgery to remove his Tonsils(or Tinsels as he calls them)on Oct 10th. It would be kinda nice to tell him on the day of surgery about the trip, but its also still gonna be a month away if we do. I am not sure how he can handle that month of waiting and how long I can stand the "are we going today?" questions. But I am torn. Anyone have any advice on when to tell him? I originally wanted it to be a surprise, but his Mom and Granny want to see his face and excitement so thats not an option. Is a month to soon? Or is it better to do it maybe 2 weeks prior? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks
Aimee

 

[Cruise]

I'm not sure I'd do it around the time of the tonsil surgery... he's probably going to want to talk about it a lot and then not be able to

I'd probably wait till he's a bit recovered and do it around the 2 week mark. When my nephew was 5, his only concept of time revolved around things in his regular schedule. "No, it's after 2 more days of school." "No, after 3 more times of going to Sunday School"...etc.

Good luck!
Julie

 

[Twinave]

We are sailing next week and I just started talking to my 6 year old about the trip. He just turned 6 last week. This is our second cruise, and he remembers a little bit about being on the "big ship" last year. He is excited and wants to help with the packing, cleaning, and shopping.
Hope this helps.

 

[clh2]

My DD had her tonsils out when she was 4. There are too many things to talk to them about before the surgery, as my DD had many questions. My DD was in a lot of pain for about 3-4 days after the surgery. If I had told her any important news for the couple of days before or the couple of days after, I would have been disappointed in her reaction.

As a matter of fact, my sister asked my DD if there was anything she could buy my DD to "help make her feel better". My DD said there wasn't anything that would make her feel better.

(Of course, my sister never "got" that you can't just buy something to make a kid feel better. But that's a whole different story involoving a "material girl")

I would wait to tell your child until he is feeling much better after the surgery. It took my daughter took about a week before she was feeling better enough to comprehend something as cool as a trip like this.

I know every child recovers differently from this type of surgery. If you want a big "WOW" type of reaction from your child - wait until they are feeling better to give them this news.

Good Luck!

 

[Masonpips]

We booked last year during the Halloween cruise and my kids have known since then. It's always been discussed as "the day after Halloween we'll go on the Mickey boat" this year and until the last 2-3 months it hasn't been a big deal. We started the calendar on the fridge in August and have been counting down weeks ever since.

We check the port cam every Saturday morning and say "in X number of weeks, it's OUR turn again". (Bummer today tho....)

Mine are 4 and 5 (will be 6 on the cruise). The anticipation is a lot of the fun in our book!

 

[Grumpy's Mom]

Although mine are older - 13 and 17, with a five year old I think I would wait until a week before. Print out a calendar page for the month of your cruise - put some kind of sticker on the date that you tell him, and a great disney or ship sticker on the date of the cruise. That way, he can check in with the calendar each day, mark of the days as they pass before he goes to bed each night, and be right on track. This should help with the "when are we going" questions! I did this with my younger daughter one summer for a trip, and it worked out really well. I put the calendar page about two feet up from the floor on the refrigerator door, so we could both check it each day together. She loved the idea, and it gave her something concrete to look at and get an idea of how much longer till we get there!!

Have a great time!!!

 

[jilljill]

On one of our cruises we took DD out to dinner about 2 weeks before to tell you about her surprise. We gave her a 'Bon Voyage' card with Disney Dollars and a copy of the itinerary with the ports of call - she was 6 at the time. She was so excited when she realized what the papers were all about.
Good luck with when and how you decided to tell the little one, and with the surgery too.

 

[mobetsy]

We're not going until next March, and we told our kids a year ago when we booked the cruise! At the time, they were 4.5 and 8. Dh and I were just so excited that we couldn't wait to tell them. Although there's been some confusion about the cruise (after we took the 1.5 hour boat to Catalina, ds asked us if that was our cruise!), both boys are excited and seem more patient than I am. We watch the DCL video A LOT!!

 

[rae519]

How long do you want to hear "how many days now?" and "when do we go?".......

It gets old fast.....

Rae

 

[Cheryl-Lynne]

I think I am more excited about the trip than anyone in our family! We told our children dd5 and ds9 about the cruise we are taking in Dec/03 back in August. We made a paper chain, so every morning our daughter can take off a link, and see how much closer we are to our trip. I have never heard from her, "when are we going?"

 

[Kimnicki]

We booked in March 03 for a March 04 cruise and I told my DS4 (at the time) and DD7 when I booked. MMouse37 was kind enough to lend me her Disney Cruise tapes (I haven't forgotten you!!) and the kids loved them. Maybe I'm lucky but they really don't bug me about "when are we going?". When they do ask, I just put the tapes in again and it seems to do the trick. Since you are not that far away from your trip, I would wait until after the surgery and recovery. My DD had her tonsils out last year and the first three days she really just slept and rested. Using a calendar is a wonderful idea and it will involve him in the countdown!

Hope the surgery goes well and enjoy your trip!

 

[eek40]

Thanks for all the tips so far. I didnt even think about the fact that he might not even care about the trip while recovering from the surgery. I dont really care about a big reaction but his Mom and Granny do! I get to take him and see it first hand so I have the best seat in the house so to speak. Now if I can just convice his Mom and Granny to let him rest for the weekend after the surgery that will be a big step. Granny and Mom tend to push him. In case you havent guessed Iam kinda the "sensable" one when it comes to his health at least! Keep ideas coming if you have any, and please keep us in your thoughts.
Aimee

 

[Jeanny]

Originally posted by rae519
How long do you want to hear "how many days now?" and "when do we go?".......

It gets old fast.....

Rae

I do that now... I keep telling Jacqui how many days left and she just rolls her eyes yeah kind of like that!!

 

[kmc33]

The countdown calendar has worked well for my son for trips. We used it first prior to our disney land/sea vacation last April when he was 4. We ended up telling him a month ahead of time. I printed out Disney clipart characters and he picked one each day to put on the calendar. It worked so well that we used it again for our non-disney beach vacation over the summer. We are going on the Magic Jan. 31st and "Santa" is going to bring our trip Christmas morning and we will do the countdown calendar yet again.

I guess it depends on the personality of the child. My DS needs advance notice for everything since he makes transitions poorly. My sister on the other hand, who is joining us on the Jan. 31 Magic cruise jokes that she will tell her 5 y.o. DS on the way to the airport! Her son does not anticipate things well too far in advance.

At any rate, I can see that it might be good to wait until he is recovered from the surgery -- you could even do a 2 or 3 week countdown caledar, if you think that's something he would enjoy.

Good luck! Have a great trip!!