Would you ever MAKE your child get on a ride?

[minniekissedme]

My now DS11 was a complete chicken &^%$! He wouldn't try anything. Now he rides everything except maybe Mission Space.
DD8 wouldn't ride Tower of Terror...made her go. Poor thing cried all the way through and down and up and down...when we were walking thru the gift shop she muttered, "can we go again?!" She got a TT t-shirt for that!
DS6...he's a sicko. Loves everything...always did. Totally fearless.

 

[I believe]

When we come to WDW my children each have their own list of must-see things to do. My youngest even has her own must-not-see list. Disney's child swapping policy is so easy to use; they even offer child friendly attractions and "distractions" around every corner to see with them while waiting. Another bonus you'll find when you child swap is that your other child, the one that wants to ride, gets to double up on the fun and ride twice with minimal wait on that second ride!

Before trips, we show our kids youtube footage of the new-to-them attractions they would probably enjoy so they can see for themselves what they are like. They decide whether they want to experience them before we come to WDW. To them WDW is a giant buffet, where they are free to pick and choose the parts they want to see. Showing them the footage in advance is all of the gentle nudging I am willing to do to my kids when it comes to what they will see at Disney. I really want them to learn to listen to that little voice inside of them that's there to guide their decision making. My kids always have a great time at WDW, no matter what they skip, because they don't think they are missing out on anything anyway.

Disney is so real to them I think if I pushed them into something that ended up scaring them, to help them to feel better, I would then have to tell them it wasn't real. I am not ready to spoil this (my own) magic because I love that Disney is so real to them and I don't want that part to end.

This approach seems to be working for my family as every trip is different because they always decide to include seeing more things. I focus on what we do see on a trip and then later we start looking forward to what we might see on our next trip. Waiting to do things works fine for us, for example, I know my youngest would have loved Soarin' a couple of trips ago when she was finally tall enough. She didn't want to do it then so we baby swapped and she spent time over at the Imagination pavilion. A couple of months ago on another trip she decided she wanted to try Soarin' for the first time, and of course, she loved it! She was so proud of herself for finally deciding to try it. While I am sure she would have loved it a couple of trips ago, after lots of "nudging", I think she gained more by getting to decide when she was ready to experience it. I'm going to continue letting my kids discover Disney at their own pace. We all know Disney is for everyone; my kids also know that not all of Disney is for them, yet, and that is OK with me.

 

[disneymomof2boyz]

Ok, here are my 2cents...I answered Yes, I would take them on the ride if I knew that they would have fun. I answered this b/c out of all the choices it probably best suits what I do w/ my children. BUT....I would never force my child to go on if they are kicking, crying or screaming.
I feel that as a parent I know both of my childs personalities. And as a parent I feel like I am to challenge my children and move them outside their comfort zones every once in a while, but I also have the responsibilty to respect them and stop pushing if I see that it is damaging. It is a very fine line and a challenging job.
I have 2 boys, 11 months apart. They are complete opposites personality-wise. My oldest is daring as long as we are around to confirm it's okay. He likes to be challenged and does well when he is challenged. The most important thing to him is that we as parents are there to make it okay for him. Now my youngest is a whole different story, he is more fearful, but more willing to try new things. If he does not want to go, HE DOES NOT WANT TO GO!!! No use in pushing b/c he will throw a fit. But recently I have been noticing that if his older brother does it, and tells him to do it, then he is more willing to try it.
So, I cannot judge any parents b/c each child is different and each parent knows their child. God gave us each child w/ a purpose and I believe each child was meant for that family.

 

[kc5grw]

I would not take them on a ride if they did not want to go. On our trip in Dec 2003 my oldest DD was 9.5 at the time. She was always very senstive to things that were dark or the least bit scary. We managed to get her through the preshow for the Haunted Mansion, but about the time we were going to step into the car she was getting ready to freak so I took her out the exit and waited to go back through when the rest of the family came out. I wasn't exactly pleased at the time, but it was all for the best. Before our trip in June 2007 at which time she was almost 14 she was still unsure. The more we talked and the more she found online about the ride she became convinced that she was going to ride it this time. Well it was closed for renovation. Bummer of all bummers I say. Well, she is going back in May with her high school band and it will probably be one of the first rides she gets on. She is a Nightmare Before Christmas freak so she'll be looking for the hidden Jack's in the ride.

I would nudge, but in the end if they really didn't want to go on a ride I wouldn't make them. I knew she would have probably enjoyed it once she rode and figured out it wasn't as scary as she thought. She had her mind made up and that would have just spoiled the whole experience.