Would you let your 7 year old go to WDW without you?

[Queen Lee]

Good morning. I am new to these forums and hoping to get some different perspectives, as they seem to be a wealth of information.

Here's my dilemma: The other day my sister in law asked if she could take my son with her on vacation to WDW in the next 12 months. My immediate response was "No". When she asked why I told her because I want to go. We have a new baby and I will not be traveling with her for a few years, as I don't want to subject others on a plane to her crying. We have been to WDW twice with my son.

I am wondering if I should let sis in law take him. She watches him all summer (she is a teacher so off in summers) and several afternoons a week during the school year. She is extremely helpful filling in whenever needed for getting him to dentist appointments, sports practices, homework help and just general babysitting (for both kids). My son loves her and has no problem staying with her and sleeps over her house on a regular basis.

I am conflicted and would love to hear what others think.

 

[Disneylover99]

Good morning. I am new to these forums and hoping to get some different perspectives, as they seem to be a wealth of information.

Here's my dilemma: The other day my sister in law asked if she could take my son with her on vacation to WDW in the next 12 months. My immediate response was "No". When she asked why I told her because I want to go. We have a new baby and I will not be traveling with her for a few years, as I don't want to subject others on a plane to her crying. We have been to WDW twice with my son.

I am wondering if I should let sis in law take him. She watches him all summer (she is a teacher so off in summers) and several afternoons a week during the school year. She is extremely helpful filling in whenever needed for getting him to dentist appointments, sports practices, homework help and just general babysitting (for both kids). My son loves her and has no problem staying with her and sleeps over her house on a regular basis.

I am conflicted and would love to hear what others think.

Sure. Send him. It sounds like you have a positive relationship with her and you trust her.
What are you conflicted about? They are having fun without you?
If your son wants to go and your sister in law wants to take him, it sounds like a win-win situation to me.

 

[Spunky946]

Yes I would let him go.

 

[Queen Lee]

Sure. Send him. It sounds like you have a positive relationship with her and you trust her.
What are you conflicted about? They are having fun without you?
If your son wants to go and your sister in law wants to take him, it sounds like a win-win situation to me.

I definitely am conflicted about them having fun without me. I just want to experience these kind of memories with him as well, but it is not a good time for me to go with the baby and all. I definitely have a positive relationship with my SIL and I rely on her quite a bit and she is great at dealing with some of my disorganization (I am working on that!) and she really does love my kids. I think it would just be hard for me to not be on a fun vacation with my son.

 

[Meeko5]

Id absolutely let him go since you trust your sister and they have a good established relationship.

New babies are hard on older siblings, letting him take off and go do this would be good for him I'm sure.

What an awesome aunt she is for offering!

 

[ebradley23]

Yes I would let him go, since it's family and not his first trip.

I also wouldn't wait to take my kid on a plane until they were older either. My son flew for the first time when he was a month old. He was on 24 planes before he hit his first birthday. Did he cry occasionally? Yes. Did I ever is subject passengers to unruly crying. No. Today, at 4 yo, my son is an awesome passenger on flights. He's quiet and doesn't kick seats. Why? Because he learned how to behave through every flight we took. Most of the worst kid behavior comes from those children who are 2 or 3 and have never flown, since they never learned how to behave. It's the same for restaurants. My kid never runs around like a wild man, because we exposed him to restaurants from the time he was born.

 

[Disneylover99]

I definitely am conflicted about them having fun without me. I just want to experience these kind of memories with him as well, but it is not a good time for me to go with the baby and all. I definitely have a positive relationship with my SIL and I rely on her quite a bit and she is great at dealing with some of my disorganization (I am working on that!) and she really does love my kids. I think it would just be hard for me to not be on a fun vacation with my son.

Sorry to sound harsh, but it seems selfish to not allow your son to go and have fun, because you have obligations and can't have fun at the moment.

 

[megster1123]

Good morning. I am new to these forums and hoping to get some different perspectives, as they seem to be a wealth of information.

Here's my dilemma: The other day my sister in law asked if she could take my son with her on vacation to WDW in the next 12 months. My immediate response was "No". When she asked why I told her because I want to go. We have a new baby and I will not be traveling with her for a few years, as I don't want to subject others on a plane to her crying. We have been to WDW twice with my son.

I am wondering if I should let sis in law take him. She watches him all summer (she is a teacher so off in summers) and several afternoons a week during the school year. She is extremely helpful filling in whenever needed for getting him to dentist appointments, sports practices, homework help and just general babysitting (for both kids). My son loves her and has no problem staying with her and sleeps over her house on a regular basis.

I am conflicted and would love to hear what others think.

Why would you need to wait a few years to take her on a plane? It's really nice that you're being thoughtful to the other travelers but waiting that long seems a bit extreme. And I've seen two year olds on planes that have been WAY worse than a younger child.

As for your son, I would let him go. It's a great opportunity for him, why take that away from him? You seem to have zero issues with him traveling without you, it seems to be more of an issue of you feeling left out.

 

[quandrea]

Yes I would let him go, since it's family and not his first trip.

I also wouldn't wait to take my kid on a plane until they were older either. My son flew for the first time when he was a month old. He was on 24 planes before he hit his first birthday. Did he cry occasionally? Yes. Did I ever is subject passengers to unruly crying. No. Today, at 4 yo, my son is an awesome passenger on flights. He's quiet and doesn't kick seats. Why? Because he learned how to behave through every flight we took. Most of the worst kid behavior comes from this children who are 2 or 3 and have never flown, since they never learned how to behave. It's the same for restaurants. My kid never runs around like a wild man, because we exposed him to restaurants from the time he was born.

I second this! If you want to travel and its in the budget, go! I travelled with twins from three months. They've been all over the world, Russia, Scandanavia, Disney (more times to counts), all over Europe. With a little organisation and planning it's easy. If you want to have your own fun with your son go and have it!

 

[Hikergirl]

Yes, I would not hesitate to let him go.

 

[jeepnjudy]

I definitely am conflicted about them having fun without me. I just want to experience these kind of memories with him as well, but it is not a good time for me to go with the baby and all. I definitely have a positive relationship with my SIL and I rely on her quite a bit and she is great at dealing with some of my disorganization (I am working on that!) and she really does love my kids. I think it would just be hard for me to not be on a fun vacation with my son.

It sounds like your son has a close relationship with your SIL so why not let him go have fun? You can still experience other memories with him during future trips to Disney but it does not seem fair to hold him back because of the baby. This is no different than when my parents want to take my two DSs on trips. I let them go because it continues to nurture their relationship with their grandparents and money cannot buy that time spent with them so to speak.

 

[mjkacmom]

I would definitely let my child go! I have five kids, and they've all been many, many places without me. I can't imagine denying them fun experiences just because I'm not going to be there.

 

[Gracie09]

I that situation I would absolutely let her go

 

[Bethislucy]

Let me just say first up I don't have children. I am a auntie to 3 wonder children that I would give my life for. One is my nephew from my brother, the other 2 are not technically mine in the auntie way. They are my cousins kids and me, and her and her sister have always been really close. Now she let us take her son when he was 4 as a yay I'm a big brother trip when her daughter was born. We had the best trip with him ever. It is actually one of my favorite trips I've ever taken. And him now at 12 still talks about things on that trip. It was just me, my cousin (the sister not the mom) and him. We always had our cell phones with us so anytime she wanted to call or he wanted to call we had the phones and we checked in through out the day just to give her peace of mind. We had drove and were about 8 hours from home. Now my sister in law will not let us take my nephew at all. She has to be with him on any trip. Which is her choice as the mom. I hate that my nephew misses out on the chance to go, but I can't do anything more than offer. I would give my life for any of those 3 kids. I don't think I can possible love anyone more than them. So I say while yes you will be nervous if you trust them enough and know they will keep your baby safe, let them go and enjoy the trip. Just ask that they face time and check in with you all the time. If you have one bit of hesitation that she won't keep him safe then don't let them go. At the end of the day your his mom and you have to do what you think is best.

 

[c3h3a3r]

I would definitely let him go.

 

[chartle]

Going to assume that this is your first kid.

At some point you are going to realize that they are going to have experiences away from you and you can't control it.

My two sons went with their grandparents to visit my BIL and left with training wheels and came back with none.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I wouldn't let DD go without me but I am a bit neurotic like that. I haven't left DD overnight yet either (she is 4). But when my niece was 7 we did take her to WDW and the beach without her parents and we had a blast. My brother and his ex are very hands off parents. They started leaving their daughter overnight when she was 6 weeks old. So I guess it just depends on your parenting style. Do you think your son would be ok to be away from you that long?

Also, I wouldn't hesitate to travel with a baby. DD has always traveled with us, her first trip was at 8 weeks old, and it has never been a problem.

 

[TreeFalls]

Yes, I would. Very similar situation- my sister is a teacher, my kids love her and she loves them and she spends lots of time with them in the Summer. I would have a hard time letting her take the kids on their first trip ever (I would not want to miss that!), but since he has been before, no problem.

As a side note, I am taking my 7 month old next month- of course there are downsides to traveling with babies, but you don't have to stay home unless you want to!

 

[Dinohood]

let him go because i kind of see a patter already he can't because of the new baby or i want the new baby to see it also but not right now. New babies are hard on older kids and this can be a break from his new little sister it is no different then you getting a break you shower or the other parent takes over for some hours.

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

I'd let him go! Especially since he's already been. He'd have fun with extended family and you get a little one on one with the new baby. Going from one to two is a big adjustment and for me things always seemed easier when I only had one kid to handle. (They still do, and the baby is seven now.) My sister loves taking my middle son places because he and her son are so close; it actually makes outings easier for her because they're good company for each other!