Would you leave a 9-year-old while you go on a ride?

[bfost87]

Yup, I would all day long as long as you have a system in place. Take them through the line and then use the chicken exit, and then have them wait in the gift shop or near a cast member for the 3 minutes you'll be gone, and make sure she knows that cast members are the people she goes to if she has any trouble, and doesn't talk to anyone else. After all, this world is a cruel place, but this is WDW, not a street corner at night

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Nope.

 

[bbak30]

My daughter is 10 and I would leave her in the gift shop or something for a few minutes. Only if we had a FP and would get through the line quickly. I wouldn't leave her for long though. She is pretty responsible and knows what to do if she is approached by strangers.
My younger one on the other hand....I doubt I will feel comfortable leaving her when she's 20.....

 

[balletomane]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...ee398c-b8b4-11e2-aa9e-a02b765ff0ea_story.html
Here is another great statistic website.

This is the same opinion that was stated earlier. One citing. The one I provided had many.

 

[Gracie09]

I think the cited sources: Federal Bureau of Investigation; National Crime Information Center; U.S. Justice Dept.; Vanished Children's Alliance; Redbook, February 1998; State of Washington's Office of the Attorney General; United States Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Juvenile Justice Bulletin, June 2000 stating that it's 24% are a little more reliable than one study by the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children by the same author that wrote this opinion piece, but that's just me.

Agree. Also add in the center for missing and exploited children which has the figure for stranger abductions at 1%.

 

[Gracie09]

It is reality that my child will never drown while I'm watching him. If more parents watched, fewer children would drown. Not a comforting fact for self-indulgent parents, but it's the truth. (I am not saying you are that kind of parent- just speaking in general.)

That's simply not true. Many kids drown while the parent is right there watching. Drowning is silent. That's why it's deadly. Do they have any tubes or other floats in pools with them? Those can mask a drowning. Do you have more than one child. What do you do when one says mom look at this? How can you watch both at once if they are on opposite sides of the pool. Do you ever drink water? That split second you reach for your water bottle you are not watching them. The attitude that all parents whose kids drowned were neglectful I'd honestly disturbing and smacks of mommy wars.

 

[aaarcher86]

This is the same opinion that was stated earlier. One citing. The one I provided had many.

Are we just ignoring the statistic that 0% of children have been abducted at WDW?

 

[maxiesmom]

I think the cited sources: Federal Bureau of Investigation; National Crime Information Center; U.S. Justice Dept.; Vanished Children's Alliance; Redbook, February 1998; State of Washington's Office of the Attorney General; United States Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Juvenile Justice Bulletin, June 2000 stating that it's 24% are a little more reliable than one study by the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children by the same author that wrote this opinion piece, but that's just me.

I would think the more current study would be the more reliable one. Data gathering has changed a lot over 15-20 years.

 

[rastahomie]

Are we just ignoring the statistic that 0% of children have been abducted at WDW?

WHAT? You never head about the kid that was abducted by gypsies? They took him into the bathroom, changed his clothes, dyed his hair black, then took him back to Romania or whatever to work in the coal mines. I read about it on the internet, so it has to be true!

 

[aaarcher86]

WHAT? You never head about the kid that was abducted by gypsies? They took him into the bathroom, changed his clothes, dyed his hair black, then took him back to Romania or whatever to work in the coal mines. I read about it on the internet, so it has to be true!

 

[Magpie]

I'm curious, for all the HELL, NOs........ what age WOULD you feel comfortable doing it? Just curious... I thought I was being overly helicopterish and that I would get mostly all "Yes, of course!", and honestly if she was 10, I wouldn't even be posting this thread b/c I would just assume that 10 is perfectly fine. But now seeing the "absolutely not"s, it's making me wonder what age you WOULD find it acceptable since it clearly sounds like 9 is not even CLOSE to an acceptable age for you????

I should have made this a poll.

Given there are people who will bring their ten-eleven-twelve year old sons into the women's bathroom, because they won't leave them alone even that long...

Last trip, I actually noticed a young man standing uncomfortably next to the sinks, staring fixedly at his shoes, waiting for his mum. I felt bad for the poor kid!

 

[Gracie09]

I would think the more current study would be the more reliable one. Data gathering has changed a lot over 15-20 years.

the center for missing and exploited children's study was 2015.

 

[Gracie09]

Given there are people who will bring their ten-eleven-twelve year old sons into the women's bathroom, because they won't leave them alone even that long...

Last trip, I actually noticed a young man standing uncomfortably next to the sinks, staring fixedly at his shoes, waiting for his mum. I felt bad for the poor kid!

forget ten or eleven someone posted that their 15 year old brother always came into the women's room with his mother. And no there were no special needs.

 

[elleherself]

I did this with my goddaughter when she had just turned seven on the trip. It was actually her birthday that very day. We took her through the line and then through the chicken exit, then we came back up and rode Tower of Terror without her. It was the only ride she didn't want to do. She had a cell phone. She was alone maybe ten minutes, and in that time she checked out the ride pictures and traded pins with a cast member down there at the ride exit. She did so well we let her watch a parade alone while we ate lunch nearby a few days later, again with cell phone. She knew where we were, we knew where she was. She handled everything perfectly. It was a great trip.

Kids are more capable than we give them credit for.

 

[Magpie]

A question for folks:

A lot of people post "she might get scared" as a reason for not allowing the child to wait at the exit in the gift shop. Is this often an important reason for making decisions, with regards to your children?

The reason I ask is because I don't think "scared" is something it's ever occurred to me to protect my children from. I do try to think through possible complications and potential emergencies and I frequently role-played these things with my kids. "What would you do if...?" "And what then?"

But, maybe it's just because my daughter is a nervous personality at the best of times, but I spent most of my time telling her that "courage is being afraid and doing it anyway", not trying to prevent her from encountering the many, many things that scare her. And she has turned out to be a very brave, sensible young lady!

At nine, she would have known that if the ride broke down, it - probably! - didn't mean we'd been all killed in some horrifying roller coaster accident. So, if she's worried, just go talk to the nice cast member behind the counter in the shop. And if that nice cast member doesn't help, then talk to the next nice cast member, and so on, until we're all back together. Mind you, cell phones are a brilliant invention and go a heck of a long way toward putting everyone's mind at ease.

Am I wrong in thinking it's probably beneficial for kids to encounter scary situations on their own sometimes? Assuming you've already ensured they're reasonably well equipped to deal with them, I mean?

 

[Magpie]

forget ten or eleven someone posted that their 15 year old brother always came into the women's room with his mother. And no there were no special needs.

 

[gtpoohbear]

A question for folks:

A lot of people post "she might get scared" as a reason for not allowing the child to wait at the exit in the gift shop. Is this often an important reason for making decisions, with regards to your children?

The reason I ask is because I don't think "scared" is something it's ever occurred to me to protect my children from. I do try to think through possible complications and potential emergencies and I frequently role-played these things with my kids. "What would you do if...?" "And what then?"

But, maybe it's just because my daughter is a nervous personality at the best of times, but I spent most of my time telling her that "courage is being afraid and doing it anyway", not trying to prevent her from encountering the many, many things that scare her. And she has turned out to be a very brave, sensible young lady!

At nine, she would have known that if the ride broke down, it - probably! - didn't mean we'd been all killed in some horrifying roller coaster accident. So, if she's worried, just go talk to the nice cast member behind the counter in the shop. And if that nice cast member doesn't help, then talk to the next nice cast member, and so on, until we're all back together. Mind you, cell phones are a brilliant invention and go a heck of a long way toward putting everyone's mind at ease.

Am I wrong in thinking it's probably beneficial for kids to encounter scary situations on their own sometimes? Assuming you've already ensured they're reasonably well equipped to deal with them, I mean?

Sadly I'm seeing this more and more lately - it's like people can no longer differentiate between a child being scared and actually being in danger. I've gotten into more than one debate over the "how dare you's" directed at a parent for not immediately stepping in at the first sign of distress. Learning how to deal with fear is part of growing up, or at least it should be.

So what if the ride breaks down while you're on it and they are waiting? Life happens. Things don't always go as planned. They need to know this. And while they might get bored and even worried, they are in no more danger from waiting 30 minutes than they would have been for 10.

But, as I said earlier, we are pretty free-range. I don't think a ridiculously long list of far-fetched-what-ifs should prevent me from teaching my kids some independence and responsibility. I'd rather them take some small risks now than be clueless and vulnerable as young adults.

 

[TJDisneymama]

A question for folks:

A lot of people post "she might get scared" as a reason for not allowing the child to wait at the exit in the gift shop. Is this often an important reason for making decisions, with regards to your children?

The reason I ask is because I don't think "scared" is something it's ever occurred to me to protect my children from. I do try to think through possible complications and potential emergencies and I frequently role-played these things with my kids. "What would you do if...?" "And what then?"
?

lol, whether she would be scared is not even something I considered. Its not like she would be being forced to do something she doesn't want to (waiting by herself).....she COULD come on the ride if she wants. So she will have a choice -- she could come on the ride, or she could wait over there by herself; it's up to her.

Feel free to skip over, I'm just thinking (typing) out loud exactly how many times this might be an issue:

MK:
Splash Mtn. - YES
7DMT - YES
Space Mtn. - NO, I don't ride
BTMRR - No, I don't ride

AK:
EE - No, don't ride
Dinosaur - No, don't ride
Kali River - YES

EP:
TT - No, don't ride
MS - No, don't ride

HS:
ToT - YES
RnRRC - No, don't ride

SO.....4 times total. 2x at MK, once at AK and once at HS. Is there even a chicken exit for Kali River????

 

[Magpie]

lol, whether she would be scared is not even something I considered. Its not like she would be being forced to do something she doesn't want to (waiting by herself).....she COULD come on the ride if she wants. So she will have a choice -- she could come on the ride, or she could wait over there by herself; it's up to her.

Feel free to skip over, I'm just thinking (typing) out loud exactly how many times this might be an issue:

MK:
Splash Mtn. - YES
7DMT - YES
Space Mtn. - NO, I don't ride
BTMRR - No, I don't ride

AK:
EE - No, don't ride
Dinosaur - No, don't ride
Kali River - YES

EP:
TT - No, don't ride
MS - No, don't ride

HS:
ToT - YES
RnRRC - No, don't ride

SO.....4 times total. 2x at MK, once at AK and once at HS. Is there even a chicken exit for Kali River????

On Kali the raft unloads at the loading dock. I know, because one glorious slightly chilly morning there was no one else there, so the cast member let my kids duck around the barrier and keep riding over and over and over again (as long as they unloaded and loaded again "properly", just in case someone else showed up in the queue ready to ride).

So your daughter would just be waiting with the cast members at essentially the same spot where the rest of you got on - no problem!

 

[mjkacmom]

A question for folks:

A lot of people post "she might get scared" as a reason for not allowing the child to wait at the exit in the gift shop. Is this often an important reason for making decisions, with regards to your children?

The reason I ask is because I don't think "scared" is something it's ever occurred to me to protect my children from. I do try to think through possible complications and potential emergencies and I frequently role-played these things with my kids. "What would you do if...?" "And what then?"

But, maybe it's just because my daughter is a nervous personality at the best of times, but I spent most of my time telling her that "courage is being afraid and doing it anyway", not trying to prevent her from encountering the many, many things that scare her. And she has turned out to be a very brave, sensible young lady!

At nine, she would have known that if the ride broke down, it - probably! - didn't mean we'd been all killed in some horrifying roller coaster accident. So, if she's worried, just go talk to the nice cast member behind the counter in the shop. And if that nice cast member doesn't help, then talk to the next nice cast member, and so on, until we're all back together. Mind you, cell phones are a brilliant invention and go a heck of a long way toward putting everyone's mind at ease.

Am I wrong in thinking it's probably beneficial for kids to encounter scary situations on their own sometimes? Assuming you've already ensured they're reasonably well equipped to deal with them, I mean?

There are some great quotes here -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mitch-ditkoff/50-awesome-quotes-on-risk_b_2078573.html