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Thread: Parenting in the Parks: Safety In the Parks... and Resorts and the Cruise Ships

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    Parenting in the Parks: Safety In the Parks... and Resorts and the Cruise Ships

    Safety In the Parks... and Resorts and the Cruise Ships by Adrienne Krock

    In the wake of recent tragedies at Disney pools, the Parenting Panel discusses monitoring children on vacation.

    Read it here!


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    It kind of odd to read these comments when the solution is so easy. One parent must always be holding the child by the hand at all times. This never fails. To imagine that a kid will follow you is pure folly. They may or they may not. Likely WILL NOT.


  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo996 View Post
    It kind of odd to read these comments when the solution is so easy. One parent must always be holding the child by the hand at all times. This never fails. To imagine that a kid will follow you is pure folly. They may or they may not. Likely WILL NOT.
    That's a rather simplistic solution. This might work for very young children when walking around, but what about for older children who can be trusted with a certain amount of freedom? Thinking about different situations ahead of time helps you be more prepared when the time comes.

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    Quote Originally Posted by stan4d_steph View Post
    That's a rather simplistic solution. This might work for very young children when walking around, but what about for older children who can be trusted with a certain amount of freedom? Thinking about different situations ahead of time helps you be more prepared when the time comes.
    In the stories, the kids are 2 1/2 and 4 years old. That's the age where you worry the most. What about older kids? You worry about them less.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo996 View Post
    In the stories, the kids are 2 1/2 and 4 years old. That's the age where you worry the most. What about older kids? You worry about them less.
    I'm the one with the 2 1/2 year old (now 3) in the story. We absolutely do have the holding hands rule when we're in a crowded area or places like parking lots. He holds a hand, and if he refuses, he goes in the stroller. There are times I'm alone with him and can't hold his hand, like when I'm carrying a tray of food, but in that case I KNOW I am the one responsible for him and have to keep my eyes on him every second.

    The mistake that we made - and learned from - is that we each assumed that the other one had him. We also learned how FAST things can happen. I was gone less than a minute and in that time he wandered out of the restaurant and totally out of sight. Now we confirm who is going where, and we don't assume.

    It's easy to say "I would never ever let something like that happen" but I would bet lots of parents have similar stories.
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    Parenting in the Parks: Safety In the Parks... and Resorts and the Cruise Ships

    DH and I used to talk about who had "the duty" when the kids were little. It was a verbal, clear identification of who was responsible.

    One time at a park for a birthday party, our sone disappeared. He was running around with other kids and it was a Long Time before any of the other parents realized their kids were missing! There was a little creek through the park. They were eventually found safe having wandered away out of bounds. But we learned our lesson. We always set boundaries after that. And identified where to and where not to climb because my older son's name was "Kid get off of that" at the time.

    There are 10 kinds of people in this world... Those who know binary and those who don't.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo996 View Post
    It kind of odd to read these comments when the solution is so easy. One parent must always be holding the child by the hand at all times. This never fails. To imagine that a kid will follow you is pure folly. They may or they may not. Likely WILL NOT.
    I would imagine most parents have this rule and it works great, until the parent can't hold hands with the child. Not every family has two parents at every activity and don't know about other parents but I can't hold a child's hand and pay for food, or carry a tray of food, or tie my shoe or even go to the bathroom. And you would be surprised how many kids crawl under the door while mom is trying to go to the bathroom. When my girls where little I was stopped out side of the mall bathroom by security because a women told security I was harming my child in the stall. My crime... When I was sitting on the toilet my foot was on top of my daughters shoe, so she would be reminded that she had to stand there and wait for me. Two weeks earlier we witnessed a child crawl under the door and run like lightening out of the bathroom while the mom was on the toilet. Luckily that child was ok and found quickly but I did not want that to happen to us.
    It pays to have a plan.

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo996 View Post
    It kind of odd to read these comments when the solution is so easy. One parent must always be holding the child by the hand at all times. This never fails. To imagine that a kid will follow you is pure folly. They may or they may not. Likely WILL NOT.
    This is true in theory, but Disney is just too full of distractions for kids and parents alike for it to be reliable, and there are too many times that require an adult's use of two hands. One of our contingency plans was to use these temporary tattoo/stickers called SafetyTat which allow you to write your cell phone number on them (we also put our hotel info). They last a few days and are waterproof. We told our 4yo to show it to a cast member if he got lost, and while (thankfully) he didn't ever need to, it gave us some peace of mind.

    Also on the topic of safety was our concern over peanuts, as our kid has an allergy, but all the Disney restaurants are very accommodating if you let them know. At each sit down restaurant the chef came to the table multiple times to talk with us, and our kid's food was always labelled with a toothpick that said "allergy" indicating the cook and wait staff were aware. Fantastic care from Disney!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo996 View Post
    In the stories, the kids are 2 1/2 and 4 years old. That's the age where you worry the most. What about older kids? You worry about them less.
    Actually, the child that died at WDW was 13.

    1. Children over the age of 4 can get injured.

    and

    2. Yes, it's extremely simplistic to assume that it is appropriate to hold hands at all times with a child.
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    Parenting in the Parks: Safety In the Parks... and Resorts and the Cruise Ships

    My sister has a 'big brother strap' on her stroller, for big brother to hang onto when he can't hold hands because Mom has her hands full. Fortunately, big brother was very 'compliant' with holding it!

    Cathy

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    I had 4 kids. They were stairsteps. When I began traveling as a single mom, they were 7, 6, 4 and 3. I did not have enough hands to be able to hold all their hands. I think every parent needs to think about what works for them. When they were little, we used a stroller and "big sibling straps" to get through crowded areas. Add to this, Escape Artist (4yo then) was severe ADHD, so we also had a "leash", even when he was in the stroller. (He would see something interesting and pop out of the stroller to go look.) We averaged 2 trips a year, and while holding hands would not have worked, we found what worked for us. I think it is important for parents/families to figure out what works for them.

    Planning 3 trips at once...

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    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Malcon10t View Post
    I think it is important for parents/families to figure out what works for them.
    I think this is a great point.

    In past articles, I have said that sometimes you need to practice things before going to the parks. This is not just for the parent's sake to learn what works best for their kids, but also for the kids to learn how to act in public, let alone crowds. Sometimes, such practice is easier said than done, but like anything else, practicing helps work out the kinks in a system.

    Accidents, injuries, and incidents happen anywhere, and the difference is how you handle each situation. But ultimately, and I say this with the utmost respect for my fellow parents, safety is still primarily the parents responsibility - and to do so in a way that works best for their family.

    By the way... as what was mentioned above... explaining to kids what to do if they are ever separated is a great idea. First rule - dont panic. Second rule - find a cast member with a name tag and tell them you need help. From there, a cell number would work great, but they have ways of working things out in any case.

    (One note, Ive been told that Disney does not have lost children... just lost parents. )
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  14. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by adriennek View Post
    Actually, the child that died at WDW was 13.

    1. Children over the age of 4 can get injured.

    and

    2. Yes, it's extremely simplistic to assume that it is appropriate to hold hands at all times with a child.
    1. Yes. 2. Then do more. Gee!!!

  15. #14
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo996 View Post
    1. Yes. 2. Then do more. Gee!!!
    Do you have any tips for keeping track of older kids? Safety is just as important for them as well, while the methodologies may be different.
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  16. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by GusMan View Post
    Do you have any tips for keeping track of older kids? Safety is just as important for them as well, while the methodologies may be different.
    I do, but from the hyperventilated responses, I'll take a break from it.

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