7 year old advice - freedom?

[Caaake]

Hi all-

 

We are sailing the Norwegian Pearl to the Bahamas in April with our 7 year old. This our first cruise for my husband and I, but our son has been on a short Disney cruise with grandparents before.

 

I've been looking for thoughts/experiences on how much freedom, if any, would be safe for a 7yo. All the advice I've been able to find is for older kids.

 

My son is a responsible, independent, conscientious guy. At home he can play outside or ride his bike without supervision. He's a strict rule follower who loves any chance to be independent, and I just know that on the cruise ship he's going to want a little freedom.

 

He is very excited about the kids club but I anticipate he will also ask if he can grab a snack/drink or go to another area by himself. Having never been on a cruise before, what are some age appropriate ways we can give him a little freedom? I obviously am not going to give him the run of the ship but he would be thrilled if there are some chances to feel like an independent big kid.

 

Thanks in advance!

[cb at sea]

They will not allow any child under 9 to leave the kid's club on their own. However, if you, as a family, are at the pool, and you want to allow him to go to the buffet to get a drink or ice cream...that's fine and totally up to you. I see nothing wrong with that!

[martikus]

In my opinion the biggest issue on a ship is it is really easy to get turned around/lost. We

Found a 12(?) year old crying on the stairs because he could t find his room and we helped him.

 

We have been on several cruises and most recent our son was 9. He is very responsible but no way was I ready to let him wander alone. Across the pool deck to get ice cream or use bathroom SURE, but another floor nope.

 

And it wasn't an issue for us to stick together.

[gerif]

I understand your wanting him to have a little independence - like getting a soft serve on the pool deck where you can see him. But, would you drop him off at a large mall in a strange town to wander by himself?

[Warm Breezes]

My son was 7 on our first cruise and our daughter was 7 on our 2nd cruise. My son was very independent at 7, my daughter not as much. Having said that I wouldn't let either one go off on their own at that age on our cruises. They are now 22 and 19. I started letting DS have more independence at 10. DD was a little older but I did let them go off together at 9 and 12. One rule we always had as they grew up and grew more independent was that they always let us know where they were going to be and we always let them know where we were and if that were to change we had to let each other know. Another rule we had was that they were not to go to anyone else's room and no one was allowed in their's (we started getting them their own room when DS was around 16.) We also tried to always get rooms close to the stairs so they didn't have to walk down the halls past cabins to get to our room or to the public areas.

Edited December 13, 2016 by Warm Breezes

[A&Jfamily]

Hi all-

 

We are sailing the Norwegian Pearl to the Bahamas in April with our 7 year old. This our first cruise for my husband and I, but our son has been on a short Disney cruise with grandparents before.

 

I've been looking for thoughts/experiences on how much freedom, if any, would be safe for a 7yo. All the advice I've been able to find is for older kids.

 

My son is a responsible, independent, conscientious guy. At home he can play outside or ride his bike without supervision. He's a strict rule follower who loves any chance to be independent, and I just know that on the cruise ship he's going to want a little freedom.

 

He is very excited about the kids club but I anticipate he will also ask if he can grab a snack/drink or go to another area by himself. Having never been on a cruise before, what are some age appropriate ways we can give him a little freedom? I obviously am not going to give him the run of the ship but he would be thrilled if there are some chances to feel like an independent big kid.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

I would be very hesitant to let my 7 year old go to another area of the ship unattended. I too have a now almost 13 year old that always has been a responsible, independent, conscientious person, but the cruise ship just wasn't the place for exercising independence at that age.

 

He was 9 when he was allowed sign in/out privileges, and that is when we started working with it. We would allow him to leave dinner with instructions on how to get to camp, for example. A couple of times in the early days he had to back track, get the instructions and try again. It was just too easy to get lost and until they have the spacial relations skills to understand the maps, its just too easy to get lost.

 

I don't know the layout or amenities of your ship, but on Carnival I would not have an issue say getting a drink near the arcade and letting him play in there. Or taking a lounger in the area of the waterpark and letting him explore without standing over him. And as others have said, he could walk to get ice cream while I stayed by the pool. Letting him go too far on his own is a recipe for disaster. JMHO