Will they think she's being tortured??

[lillylynnb]

We are going in Aug.{THIS IS OUR FRIST TRIP EVER TO THE WDW} and i was concerned becuse my son 9 years old has Bi-polar and we thought long and hard about going becuse our 5 years old really deserves to go after a long year. We were concerned becuse his melt downs happened alot when there is lot of activies. So im glad to hear im not the only on that has been think about this. Hopfully the DISNEY MAGIC will take over and it wont be a total flop.

 

[bumbershoot]

If a child was screaming so loud that it was disturbing me in my room at 2 AM I would be calling the front desk! No one has the right to disturb their "neighbor" in a hotel in the middle of the night. You make a point in your own house not in a hotel. I don't mean a minute but if it was going on for 5-10 minutes you bet I would be calling.

.........

I have happily realized that you are simply concerned about the child and would want mgmnt to make sure nothing horrible is going on, and that is good of you. I have a feeling that most of the time the knock or phonecall from management is going to make an innocent and difficult situation worse, but perhaps someday you would help a bad situation stop, and that would be good!


For us, a disturbance at 2am isn't a discipline situation, but would be a suddenly ill child situation, or recently a leg-ache situation (either growing pains or he inherited my life-long leg-ache problem), or a *he woke up raring to go despite it being night* situation...so for us, mgmnt showing up would prolong it at worst, but just not HELP at best.

 

[Trentmom]

I understand your concern.

Last year, when we stayed at All Star Movie....we took our 2 and half year old son to the pool at night.......

Well, we had been there almost 2 hrs...we started in big pool,then the baby pool and then to the sprinkler area, kind of phasing him out til it was time to get him to the room

Well, it was super late...we told him 5 more mins and we are going...

When we finally got him out there, he was kicking and screaming so loud and we too had to put him in a football hold.

We got him into our room

He is rolling around, crying. This is his first ever REAL tantrum and when I tried to take off his bathing suit, he screamed like as some people would say, Bloody Murder....

This went on for 45 mins......we got him down to his diaper by about 20 mins....and then took us another 20 mins to get a dry diaper on him and pjs and then gave him a cup of milk...and he finally stopped and fell asleep.

I kept waiting for a phone call or knock at the door....

It was a horrible feeling, but we tried everything we could to calm him down...

This year....he did a lot better..we never made it to the pool, but we did do sprinklers, and he left easily this time after about an hr....thank god...

 

[KJMAX1]

If you think screaming is bad...My 7yr old decided to pitch a fit at MGM on day. The total "The World Hate Me" drama...of course that why her parents brought her to WDW because we all hate her.. Anyway....We made her sit in the stroller for her tantrum, and it had just stopped raining. My sis and I took our 5 other kids on the Great Movie Ride...Well the pavement is so slick where the handprints are when its wet, that my 7yr old got out to protest she was staying with dad for time out, she stomped her foot, slid on her sandals, and went flying to the pavement hitting her head!!!! She had a black eye!! Thank goodness two CMs saw what happened, and wrote down the incident, I am sure in case they get sued...But at least they were right there to help. They offered us first aid but we already had an ice pack for the baby's milk bottles....So she applied the ice, and it got better. Plus they gave out entire family snack coupons.

its a given with all the excitement and crap to buy that kids will get upset. Especially when parents want them to have the best time, and we end up keeping them up too late, its too hot, or they are overly hungry. I always carry Dum-Dump lollipops for times when the kids need to behave. On the airplane we bring licorice too. I brush teeth once we get to the hotel, and they rarely get that candy. It helps in the Im having a meltdown now mode.

 

[me again]

Well, I have 2 kids and am familiar with the type of meltdowns they can have, although mine have never done anything to attract unecessary attention in public (just my good luck!)

But seeing a tantrum is one thing, overhearing it is another. If you can see what's going on you understand (at least if you're a parent) that the kid is just being a brat. But if I was just in a hotel room and heard a child screaming "No, Daddy, No" or something similar, and I couldn't see what was going on, I think I would call front desk, just to have them check on the situation. 99.99% of the time I mmob (mind my own business), but I think I would err on the safe side and at least look into the situation, or have someone do so. I would not call 911 and put everyone in an awkward situaiton, but calling the front desk would at least check on things.

So much has happened in hotels with children. Look at that kidnapping in Portugal, the little girl who was left alone in the hotel room. Perhaps she screamed something, perhaps someone heard, and decided to mind their own business.

I realize that doesn't offer too much reassurance to the op, but Disney is full of children, I'm sure hotel security knows the difference between an over loaded child with a meltdown as opposed to a child being abused or abducted. Don't worry too much about it, I'm sure you wouldn't be the only one who's kid had a meltdown in a hotel while at disney!

 

[digman6]

I have to agree with alot of you, as a mom of 4 kids and childcare provider its going to happen at some point. Its the reaction you give that will get attention more then the child really!

I kinda laugh as well and think been there done that! when I hear a kids melting down. I found that if you talk to them calmly that really helps if you freak out they freak out more. The more calm you can be the better for everyone.

Remember your not alone when this happens there are another 100 kids someplace probably having the same thing happen when your going through it.

 

[catalexander]

meltdowns happen.

To kids.

And to adults.

When I see one.... I'm just glad it's not one of my 4...

I can GUARANTEE... that YOU are not nearly as upset/concerned/overtired as the parents are.... the parents are not only concerned first and foremost about their child, but they are ALSO worried about how their kids' actions are affecting those around them....

I think any parent has BTDT, even if we don't want to admit it.

Parenting doesn't take a vacation, and some rules have to stand... even at Disney!

 

[Nanu57v]

To the OP--Your DD is three, so I assume the longest she'll be sitting is 3 minutes...that should be fine in a hotel room...its not really long enough for anyone to worry. But please don't do it in a restaurant. Take her outside. We were eating at a restaurant last night and this toddler threw a fit. My thoughts, "glad it not mine, and (after a minute) gee this is really ruining my meal." I always try to bring distractions to restaurants (fav books, crayons, small toys) for when DD is bored and wants to get down and run. But this kid must've been screaming for several minutes and I was totally getting stressed out by it.

 

[kate0305]

What I struggle with is people who get upset with children acting like children. If you don't want to hear children being loud, I am not sure Disney is the best place for you. I would never take my kids to a restaraunt where quiet behavior is a requirement, because I am pretty sure they would not be able to meet that expectation. But if they are loud in a noisy restaraunt, and people are giving us looks like we are the worst parents. . .well, so be it.

I try to not judge parent's style. Sometimes planned ignoring is a good intervention. Ignoring risky behavior is one thing, but walking a few steps away from a temper tantrum and showing a child that they will not get attention by acting that way can work wonders. When I walked a few steps away from my then 3 y.o. son, a Cast Member tried to appease him with a sticker. Which pretty much sent the opposite message of what I was trying to send. I imagine she just saw an unhappy child at MGM and wanted to help him feel better, but missed the scene leading up to it.

To the OP, I always worry about worst case scenarios too. Then I usually find that it is the things that never crossed my mind that happen!!! Have fun and do whatever parenting method works for you.

 

[happygirl]

As long as it isn't the hours between midnight and 6 in the morning, And it truly is only a minute. If it was 5 or so minutes I'd be calling no matter what time of day.

LOL okay I hope I stay by you at Disney when my child wakes up from crying from a bad dream or just not knowing where they are the first few nights, you go ahead and call the front desk or whoever you want to call, maybe they can have a magic wand and my kids will stop crying

 

[jodifla]

We were staying with our son at OKW when he woke up in the middle of the night, completely inconsolable. I believe he was about a year old. We Know we woke up the people in the one bedroom adjacent to us... we could hear them get up; there must have been people sleeping in the living room.

We tried to calm him for about 5 minutes....walking him around, putting him in bed with us....all things we normally wouldn't do.

Finally, DH took DS to the car and drove him around until he fell asleep....

Things happen. In the middle of the night, we did try to keep him quiet. In a restauran, we would just pull him out.

Not sure what we would have done at OKW if we hadn't had our car, though!

 

[Nanu57v]

DD did that once at a Holiday Inn Express. People commented on her keeping them up the next morning at the continental breakfast. It was forever ago, so I can't remember what the problem was...but she was only 6 months old at the time.

 

[grammynelliebelle]

Sounds like this makes staying offsite in a condo or house an even better idea. Gramm

 

[DisneyAllison]

Thank you so much for all of the great replies. I have been away from my computer for a couple of days, and when I came back, I couldn't believe how many responses there were - THANKS!

To clarify... DD is normally pretty cooperative. The meltdowns aren't full-blown tantrums, just screaming her objection(s) for a minute or two - no kicking, etc. They don't happen every time she (or a beloved toy) goes to time-out - thank goodness. This is something relatively new for her & I hope she grows out of this phase soon !

I just figured that since Disney will be extra stimulating, and she will be more tired than usual, we might experience a meltdown or two...
We plan to visit the parks in the morning, eat lunch / brunch, and then rest during the hottest part of the day, and then return to the parks in the evening if possible. We are going into this trip knowing that flexiblity is the key!

Thanks again for the great advice!

 

[Vijoge]

Well, I have 2 kids and am familiar with the type of meltdowns they can have, although mine have never done anything to attract unecessary attention in public (just my good luck!)

LOL My oldest (he'll be 30 Dec 25) was just a few days shy of turning two.
My girlfriend and I had taken the kids to the mall to finish some last minute
Christmas shopping. In the very center of this mall was a large gazebo type structure, elevated about 4 steps, where Santa sat, and of course, the entire area was very crowded.

As we're walking by this area, my son threw himself on the floor screaming that he didn't want to go. I bent down to pick him up to carry him and he covered his face with his hands (still lying on the floor on his back) and screamed "Mommy, don't beat me!"

Of course, my girlfriend busted up laughing (it wasn't her kid!) and I searched frantically for a hole to crawl into. Until that exact moment beating him hadn't crossed my mind.

 

[Tam1067]

Just a story...

Some former neighbors of ours were at the mall, and their DD freaked out, threw a fit, so the point that they had to leave the mall. After they got home, the police came to the door because someone had called in the licence plate number and reported a possible kidnapping! They were horribly embarrassed but also appreciative that someone paid attention.

 

[Micka Mouse]

Dh and I decided to take our dd's for a walk tonight on a nearby trail. I placed both girls in the jogging stroller, brought a blanket (very cool tonight) and was super excited . Ten minutes into our walk, dd2 pulled dd5's hair. 5 complained about 2, then pulled back. I finally get them settled, when dd2 had her leg too close to dd5 (are you KIDDING me????). Dd5 starts to scream. BTW, the trail is so quiet that you can hear crickets and frogs. Now all you can hear is echoed screaming!

I turned the stroller around and COMPLETE MELTDOWN !!!! DD5 lost it. I was in complete shock . I made the biggest mistake by saying "you're embarassing me". Her response? "You're embarassing ME".

I picked dd2 up and carried her the rest of the way to the car, while dh pushed the stroller. dd5 didn't say another word, and fell asleep on the way home. I have to admit, I am angry . I could say that the only reason I'm mad is that she behaved the way she did, but I know that real reason I'm so mad...I could've handled the situation better. I shouldn't have gotten flustered. Also, I usually have raisins or the aqua doodle pads with me to distract them.

All I wanted was a nice peaceful walk with my family. Instead, I have a really sad memory and tons of guilt .

Thanks for letting me vent. I feel better now that I got it out

 

[Whosemom]

My second kid went through a phase of screaming for quite awhile at bedtime. We stayed at the cabins at FW that year.

 

[celerystalker]

so it is ME that has to be prepared to modify MY behavior asap to keep the kids even keel, and really pay attention to their fussy cues before they blow up.

Well said!

I've got a weird parenting question for you all. I'm going to be a foster parent soon (4 to 5 months), so I've been doing a lot of reading just because I'm an obsessive planner.
Anyway, the books say that you should comfort your child after they hit, bite, throw a tantrum, etc.
Do you all agree?
I'm not saying I would be mean to them, but after the child blows up, do you really find it helpful to hug them?
In dealing with kids, my experience is that they are not ready for affection for about 15 minutes or so, but I've never had my own, know what I mean?

Also, I'm taking my friend's 2 year old for a 12 day WDW trip.
We're driving (estimated 10 hours by mapquest, I'm adding 3 hours for stops, if neccessary).

Any sugggestions for the drive?

We're also planning on almost all early nights and naps at the resort every day. I also bought one small gift for each day to combat the "give me's!" in the park.
Any other suggestions for the parks?

 

[Tikicampers]

Anyway, the books say that you should comfort your child after they hit, bite, throw a tantrum, etc.
Do you all agree?
I'm not saying I would be mean to them, but after the child blows up, do you really find it helpful to hug them?

When my three year old goes to time out, he sits for three minutes and then I talk to him for a little bit and before he leaves time out he has to say he's sorry to me (or to the dogs or his sister as appropriate) and then he gives me (or them) a hug. To be honest, I probably need it as much as he does. I do feel like it lets him know that he's earned the right to start over and try again. This method has worked very well for us as long as we are consistent. Every now and then he'll test it, and be in time out several times in one day, but usually it only takes once.
I treat tantrums a little differently. If we are at home, I'll usually just leave the room until he stops. Then I'll go back and talk to him, and I usually give him a hug once he calms down.