Would you...

[shortkathleen]

Would you feel comfortable leaving your 10 and 12 year old in your dvc room while you and your spouse went out to dinner alone? It would
only be at the most 2 hours. We are considering it but I feel a little uneasy. (mainly because we would not be at our house) We would be close by, they are very responsible and we do it on occasion at home. They would just watch tv and play cards. What are your thoughts??

 

[carissa1970]

Depends on the resort. When we were at Aulani, we felt comfortable letting our 6 year old roam around alone, but I don't think I would anywhere else. The ages you gave though, yes.

 

[MouseMomx2]

It completely depends on the maturity level of the kids, but yes, when my kids were that age I would have comfortably left them alone in the room for a couple of hours.

 

[ssawka]

If you are really concerned, you might want to consider putting them in one of the "kids clubs". It is not cheap, especially for two, but it would put your mind at ease and let you enjoy your meal (hopefully without interruption)

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/childrens-activity-centers/

 

[CarolMN]

Since you have done it at home, I'd say yes. You'll be close by and I assume have cell phones they could call if necessary.

 

[shortkathleen]

Thanks everyone! I think we will do it unless the kids decide they aren't comfortable with it for some reason.

 

[mecllap]

Your comfort level is what counts. In at least some States, I think, 12 is "legal" babysitting age. Most kids that age can self-entertain for 2 hours these days, if they're used to all the electronic gadgets that are so prevalent and have cell phones.
If yours are Disney-wise and travel-wise, should be fine.

 

[Dean]

Would you feel comfortable leaving your 10 and 12 year old in your dvc room while you and your spouse went out to dinner alone? It would
only be at the most 2 hours. We are considering it but I feel a little uneasy. (mainly because we would not be at our house) We would be close by, they are very responsible and we do it on occasion at home. They would just watch tv and play cards. What are your thoughts??

I probably wouldn't in a strange place but it depends partly on the kids themselves and partly on how far I was going from them. You said at most 2 hours, assuming you're going to a signature, that suggests to me you'll be close by walking distance because anywhere you had to drive to or take a taxi for a signature would likely get you to a min of 2 to 2.5 hours if that affects your decision. I'd likely put them in one of the kids programs which they'll enjoy better anyway.

 

[Sammie]

Just make sure they know what to do in an emergency, etc.

Also make sure they know not to allow any one to have access to the room and to put the latch on so that even Cast Members can not enter.

I personally would not. It is not the same as being at home where they have neighbors that they know.

 

[tripletsmama]

I would emphasize the importance of not opening the door for anyone and other safety precautions. I would then choose somewhere relatively close to your resort. I wouldn't go to a restaurant in a park. I would feel I could get to my car more quickly if I was parked at a resort.

 

[singastory]

Only you can judge their maturity level. I was babysitting the neighbor's toddlers at age 10. Fun story: when I was 12, my parents left me in charge of my two younger sisters while they went on a helicopter tour during our family vacation to Hawaii. They gave me a slip of paper with a phone number on it and said, "If we don't come back, call this number." I was mature enough to understand and accept that responsibility without freaking out. They were gone a few hours, had a fabulous time, and made it back safe and sound. They would absolutely never have left my sisters with the same responsibility... I don't even think they could handle it now in their 20s

 

[BabsBunny]

With cell phones, I'd be comfortable with it. If you feel a little uneasy about it, why not go to dinner at your resort?

 

[shortkathleen]

Only you can judge their maturity level. I was babysitting the neighbor's toddlers at age 10. Fun story: when I was 12, my parents left me in charge of my two younger sisters while they went on a helicopter tour during our family vacation to Hawaii. They gave me a slip of paper with a phone number on it and said, "If we don't come back, call this number." I was mature enough to understand and accept that responsibility without freaking out. They were gone a few hours, had a fabulous time, and made it back safe and sound. They would absolutely never have left my sisters with the same responsibility... I don't even think they could handle it now in their 20s

Beth- That is hillarious!!

 

[rocketriter]

As each of our kids reached 12, we put him or her through a Red Cross babysitting certification course. (They'll accept kids 11 and older.) After that, we were comfortable leaving the kids home alone for a couple of hours. They felt that it was an honor being trusted and never got into trouble. Your mileage may vary, but it's a possible solution to consider, if not for this trip then for the future.

 

[wordwitt]

I think it depends on the kids, but with safety instructions and mature kids, I'd say yes. I would make my own child check in with me via text every 15 minutes, but I'm a bit helicopter-ish.

 

[k3chantal]

Would you feel comfortable leaving your 10 and 12 year old in your dvc room while you and your spouse went out to dinner alone? It would
only be at the most 2 hours. We are considering it but I feel a little uneasy. (mainly because we would not be at our house) We would be close by, they are very responsible and we do it on occasion at home. They would just watch tv and play cards. What are your thoughts??

We did this with our 12 year old last May. He watched his 9 year old brother for us. I agree though, eat at the restaurant at your resort so that if you need to get to them quickly, you can. My boys were actually happy to have a respite from all the late nights and went to bed and were asleep by the time we returned.

 

[stitch1094]

Sounds like I'm in the minority but I would never leave my kids unattended in a hotel room by themselves. But then again I wouldn't be in that position because I would never choose to go on a family vacation and then dump the kids so I could go to dinner alone. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[LSchrow]

Sounds like I'm in the minority but I would never leave my kids unattended in a hotel room by themselves. But then again I wouldn't be in that position because I would never choose to go on a family vacation and then dump the kids so I could go to dinner alone. Different strokes for different folks.

i wouldn't call allowing one's preteen kids to hang out together in a WDW resort room "dumping" them a lot depends on the child(ren) tho, some kids shouldn't be left in their own bedroom alone.
i think allowing fairly mature 12 and 9yos to stay together in a locked resort room, with a direct connection to you via cel phone, notes on where you will be, and instructions (what they are/aren't allowed to do, how to use room phone, etc) is fine.
btw, both DH and i have always been heavily involved in our kids' lives (preschool/PTA boards, classmom, coach, volunteering from 6 months old, etc) - so no parental slacking
we gave them structure, trust, and direction during their lives, and had no problem allowing them to stay in our WDW resort while DH & i went to dinner for 2 hours. it wound up being an excellent decision: they felt they had earned our trust, and had a fantastic time just being with one another (apparently, they had long conversations, played games, and came to appreciate one another as people - that's hard when there are each one's friends, family, around).
i agree with PPs that the restaurant should be close, like in the same resort.

kids can't grow up if you tie them up - trusting them when you know you can, and allowing them a little bit of freedom based on that trust will help them grow into more emotionally healthy teens

 

[rutgers1]

Sounds like I'm in the minority but I would never leave my kids unattended in a hotel room by themselves. But then again I wouldn't be in that position because I would never choose to go on a family vacation and then dump the kids so I could go to dinner alone. Different strokes for different folks.

I think this is a rude and condescending post. My guess is that, if we were to explore your life, there are many things that we would disagree with, too.

As for me, this will be the first year that we would consider leaving the kids in the room, although we have left them alone at home many times while we dash out food shopping and running errands. My sons will be ages 13 and 12. The older one is very, very responsible. We are going on a 2-week trip which will be one of 2 trips to Disney in the same calendar year. If we wanted to slip out for a dinner, I wouldn't consider it to be "dumping" my kids. In fact, after being together staying in a studio for 2 weeks, perhaps the time apart for a couple hours would be good for all of us.

 

[Greysword]

Sounds like I'm in the minority but I would never leave my kids unattended in a hotel room by themselves. But then again I wouldn't be in that position because I would never choose to go on a family vacation and then dump the kids so I could go to dinner alone. Different strokes for different folks.

A little un-trusting, are we?

As a side note , I think using the word "dumping" is fairly inflammatory given the context of the discussion, as it and the rest to the paragraph intonates the parents on this board are irresponsible. Maybe a different set of words to explain the same idea, or is this description accurate.

As for myself, I would most definitely allow our DD at 12 year old to stay in the room alone, as well as roam around the resort with his/her sibling/friend. If they wanted to hit the arcade, activity room, nightly beach movie, etc then I would let them go by themselves, especially if we gave them a cell phone.

How else will they learn to be independent if they can't be trusted to wander around a Disney World resort unattended, which is likely safer than your neighborhood? Shoot, I used to watch my 5-6 year old brother when I was 7-8 years old after school, walking to/from school to boot! I think parents are a bit more over protective these days (myself included to a degree).