At what age would you put your kids ACROSS from you in an inside room?

[NMLady]

We are a family of five and currently have two balcony rooms booked. I'm thinking about maybe booking an inside room for my kids. Thinking before we head to bed, we would give them one of our keys so that the kids can let them in our room if an issue arises. Thoughts?

 

I think it depends on the kids. We have a 16 year old grandson that I wouldn't trust in a separate room but another grandson, who is only 12, is very responsible.

Edited March 17, 2015 by NMLady

[babyher]

And the problem is...... Are you saying that those who choose to get their kids a separate cabin are ignoring their children? I guess I ignored them from when they were 2 years old when they each were in full time structured day care. My kids are independent and responsible children and I love them all the more for it.

 

 

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Due to circumstance , my kids had to grow up with a little more responsibility and accountability than most. Ex and I divorced when they were young, I had to work a lot to keep everything afloat , their mother was let's just say "impaired" during most of their childhood. They weren't in daycare , but I cannot bless my mother and one of my sisters enough for the help they provided when I had to work.

 

No it wasn't easy, and in contrast to my carefree childhood it wasn't fair. But now that they are adults, they are amazing kids. They think on their feet , they are independent. They amaze me with what they have accomplished with their lives.

 

Never going to say they were saints , but when you see some of these kids , I know I am blessed .

 

Today they tell me , we might not have been the Brady Brunch (more like The Addams family *LOL* J/K) But they know they wouldn't have gotten where they are if we had hovered around and wiped their behinds and nursed them until they left for college.

[babyher]

Where did I say the parents ignore their children, I said they ignore the age restrictions rules placed by the cruise line.

 

When I read that one attorney in Florida has had 75 cases of sexual molestation, with half of those involving children, I just think I'd rather be safe than sorry. What someone else does is their business.

 

Are all these cases on cruise ships or in the state of Florida itself?

 

Sadly many cases of child molestation the responsible party is a friend or relative of the victim. So you can make sure there is an adult with the child at all times and that doesn't gauruntee anything.

Edited March 17, 2015 by babyher

[DaisyGoldberg]

When I was 12 not only was I being left home with siblings if my parents went out, but people would pay me to take care of multiple children under 5, including an infant, sometimes from 6 pm til 2 am. And I was not some super babysitter -- all my friends did the same. It wasn't all THAT long ago, even if Jimmy Carter was president!

 

That being said, after taking into account your knowledge of your kids, I'd also take into account the circumstances. Two 15 year old friends might get up to more trouble on their own than the exact same 15 year old girl and her 11 year old brother in the same room.

 

The baby monitor talk kind of startles me. If you don't trust the kids, don't get them the room. Eavesdropping on them after about age 10 or 11 seems really intrusive to me. They deserve a certain amount of privacy to talk about their parents in ways the parents don't want to hear!

[Sunshine2U]

Never had to make the choice and I spent some time thinking about it. I think if we needed (or simply wanted the convenience) of a second cabin and it was not adjourning for whatever reason, my husband and I would plan to take turns sleeping in that cabin. That doesn't mean we couldn't wake up and move back into the other cabin in the middle of the night; or abandon that plan altogether. I would be less apt to do this if there were three "children" (ages 12 up) in the extra cabin. I don't know if there's any reality to it but I feel like three is twice as safe as two.

 

I wouldn't make a big deal of it with my kids. It's a natural progression from all of us in one cabin to now getting two cabins. They sleep better, I sleep better, and they are extended freedom to do their own thing during the day. I know for a fact my two kids, as younger teens or tweens, would not have been comfortable in a cabin away from us - at least not in the beginning. As older teens, we didn't take them with us but would have let them have their own cabin. Thank goodness they didn't want to go!

 

Also: booking adults into a cabin with minors protects cruise companies in all situations. One thing this policy also accomplishes is keeping hoards of late high school/early college kids from cruising en mass without chaperones and is one of the reasons you should be eternally grateful that the policy is strictly enforced at booking. The cruise lines know they cannot control who sleeps where. But they can exert due diligence at the beginning of the process.

[Vacationdreamer<><]

Never. DH and I split up and stay with the kids. [emoji173]