Would you let your child wait for you outside of ride???

[maxiesmom]

I bet your theory would change if you ever had a child abducted.

That is a silly comment. Do you not let your child ride bikes because somewhere a child has fallen off of one, hit their head, and died? Do you not let your child ride in a car, because some kids die in car accidents? People can't keep their kids at their side at all times because of what might happen. Especially when the odds of what might happen are so small.

As far as abductions go, the facts are that most times it happens with someone the child knows. Stranger abduction is way less likely.

 

[kris4360]

That is a silly comment. Do you not let your child ride bikes because somewhere a child has fallen off of one, hit their head, and died? Do you not let your child ride in a car, because some kids die in car accidents? People can't keep their kids at their side at all times because of what might happen. Especially when the odds of what might happen are so small.

As far as abductions go, the facts are that most times it happens with someone the child knows. Stranger abduction is way less likely.

Getting hurt and being abducted are two totally different acts. And like I said before just 1 stranger abduction is enough for me.

 

[Gracie09]

I bet your theory would change if you ever had a child abducted.

So you allow your child to go to friends houses? Do you ask if there are pools or guns in the house? Does your child take a bath or shower? Ride in a car? To to school? All these things are more likely to harm or kill your child then a stranger abduction at Disney world. The most dangerous part of going to Disney is driving to the parks.
I use to work at a law school and the number of adult students who could not handle simple things in life would astonish you. Every semester I had mommy's call because junior was sick with a cold or virus or something and could I go to his apartment and bring him to the doctor or bring him food. Why did junior get a c in a class? We as a society are raising kids who can't think or act for he selves. If they are faced with something new they don't know how to handle it.

 

[dansamy]

My 13 year old ds cooks, does laundry, mows and uses the weedeater. He helped his grandfather rebuild the lawn mower. He helped his dad fence the garden and his uncle with building herb planter window boxes. He can erect a 3 room family tent unassisted. He can start a fire & use a compass. He can navigate using a map or a gps. He can handle a Disney park he's grown up in. He didn't learn these skills overnight. They took time. Patience. Effort. On his part & ours. I can't imagine waiting until he's 15 or 16 to try to cram in as many basic life skills as I can.

 

[happygirl]

I wouldn't let me kids wait.

 

[cheer25mom]

Getting hurt and being abducted are two totally different acts. And like I said before just 1 stranger abduction is enough for me.

But its the same flawed logic.
Is one kid killed crossing the street enough to stop allowing that?
One kids killed in a car accident and we stop riding in cars?
One kid killed at school and we stop sending them?
That logic is foolish and counter productive. Just becuase one kid has been abducted by stranger we cannot refuse to allow our children to cope with life on thier own. The HAVE to ride in cars, the HAVE to cross the street, and they HAVE to learn to cope without mommy, even if there is a tiny risk something bad will happen, becuase the alternative is worse. A kid that cannot function at all.

 

[kris4360]

So you allow your child to go to friends houses? Do you ask if there are pools or guns in the house? Does your child take a bath or shower? Ride in a car? To to school? All these things are more likely to harm or kill your child then a stranger abduction at Disney world. The most dangerous part of going to Disney is driving to the parks.
I use to work at a law school and the number of adult students who could not handle simple things in life would astonish you. Every semester I had mommy's call because junior was sick with a cold or virus or something and could I go to his apartment and bring him to the doctor or bring him food. Why did junior get a c in a class? We as a society are raising kids who can't think or act for he selves. If they are faced with something new they don't know how to handle it.

Yes I am aware of the surroundings before my child goes to someones house. Pool, lake, guns, trampolines, drugs? I even do a criminal background check.

 

[fitzperry]

Yes I am aware of the surroundings before my child goes to someones house. Pool, lake, guns, trampolines, drugs? I even do a criminal background check.

You do a criminal background check on the parents of your kids' friends? Seriously?

 

[Pooh2]

I would just choose a ride that both parent and child will enjoy. He will be a teen in a short few years so enjoy your time with him now doing things he enjoys!

 

[mjkacmom]

I saw the look on a panicked today on a Mom's face that could not find her child today. I don't know how old the child was and I assume they found her but I would never want to go through the emotions that Mom was going through so I would say no.

All it takes is one thing and a life can be changed for ever. I know people that were victims of sexual abuse and it is very life altering. For that reason we do let our grandkids out of our sight.

I've lost kids before, and yes, it's a horrible feeling. However, that's not going to cause me to be so overprotective that my kids never learn to be independent (they all turned up eventually). The clock is ticking on dd16. Although she's managed to fly alone, navigate public transportation into the city (bus to light rail to train), she still has moments where I wonder where I went wrong. I only have a little over a year! It goes by so fast.

 

[cheer25mom]

Yes I am aware of the surroundings before my child goes to someones house. Pool, lake, guns, trampolines, drugs? I even do a criminal background check.

But you let them go right? They might get struck by lightening, or a car might crash into the house and hit them, or the parent might not be telling the truth about what is in thier home, or they might have a friend or relative stop by who is a criminal. Juvenille records don't show up on backgroud checks, and not everyone who would harm a child has a record. No situation is completely safe. At some point you either accept some risk with your kids, or never allow them to do anything for themselves.

 

[trina830]

cheer25mom, dansamy, maxiesmom, mom2rtk, just want to give you all a for your tenacity in this conversation. I'm with you!

 

[novajet]

If they are faced with something new they don't know how to handle it.

My 9 year old is seeing a therapist to try to overcome a character phobia (not just for Disney World- she's afraid of school and sports mascots, too). Her therapist actually told me to purposely be late to pick her up from school one day because she wanted my daughter to be given the opportunity to be faced with a situation where she had to think and make decisions. I had always been there to pick her up, never late, and the therapist worried that I'd been too predictable, too quick to rescue her. I *knew* she was completely safe at school (well, as safe as you can be), but it was still a little difficult to do. I didn't want her to be scared. But, I did it. And, she was so proud of herself!

I'm trying to be a more reflective parent. I can't protect my children from everything. So, I'm learning to calculate risks and give them the freedom to gain independence, confidence, and decision-making skills.

Has a child ever been abducted from WDW?

 

[kris4360]

You do a criminal background check on the parents of your kids' friends? Seriously?

Of course!

 

[dansamy]

I just shake my head when other people at work talk about their unemployed adult children moving back home & sleeping till noon & playing Xbox till 3am. (Young, college educated, employable adult children...)

 

[cheer25mom]

My 9 year old is seeing a therapist to try to overcome a character phobia (not just for Disney World- she's afraid of school and sports mascots, too). Her therapist actually told me to purposely be late to pick her up from school one day because she wanted my daughter to be given the opportunity to be faced with a situation where she had to think and make decisions. I had always been there to pick her up, never late, and the therapist worried that I'd been too predictable, too quick to rescue her. I *knew* she was completely safe at school (well, as safe as you can be), but it was still a little difficult to do. I didn't want her to be scared. But, I did it. And, she was so proud of herself!

I'm trying to be a more reflective parent. I can't protect my children from everything. So, I'm learning to calculate risks and give them the freedom to gain independence, confidence, and decision-making skills.

Has a child ever been abducted from WDW?

Good for you for doing what was best for your child, even when it was hard.

No, no child has ever been taken from or molested at a Disney theme park. There have been 2 reports form the wave pools. In one case it could not be proven that the contact wasn't accidental and in the other it was a family member of the child.

 

[cheer25mom]

I just shake my head when other people at work talk about their unemployed adult children moving back home & sleeping till noon & playing Xbox till 3am. (Young, college educated, employable adult children...)

It happens a lot these days. It was unheard of when I graduated and the sigh of supreme failure as an adult to go crawling back to mommy's house because you couldn't cut it in the real world. Now, it is accepted.

 

[fitzperry]

Of course!

Wow. I can't imagine being that suspicious of everyone with whom I come in contact.

 

[CatelynnMarie]

This thread is a mess tbh.
Use a little common sense. Yes, it is WDW, and chances are low, but this is your child we're discussing here. Anything is possible unfortunately. If I were a parent, I would never leave them alone like that. I would never risk my child getting hurt, lost or abducted, etc. At a certain age, okay, acceptable. Call me overprotective, but being a New Yorker and seeing how absolute flop the world is, I'd never risk it.

 

[robinb]

Trying to reason with the people who feel they shouldn't allow an older child some freedom at WDW is pointless. In the years I have been reading these kinds of threads about allowing an older child to wait alone at WDW (or being able to use a potty on their own, etc) I have come to the conclusion that the parents suffer some form of anxiety. They need to be in control and if they are not in control they believe that something terribly bad might happen to their children. Their anxiety exaggerates the risk. I personally don't understand people who are afraid to let their older children stretch their wings at WDW any more than I understand people who are afraid to fly in an airplane, but I believe the root of the fear is the same.