Why do you think it is ok to let your children run down hallways?

[Two Wheels Only]

Enjoy your trip. :)

 

Trip?TRIP??!!!

 

You'd better not trip anyone or I'll.....(insert keyboard cowboy comment). :')

[pcakes122]

No problem with my attitude. Your example of how to talk to a child shows your lack of understanding. The problem is with people like yourself who expect children to never misbehave. If you are going on a kid-friendly line, you have to expect children. Noone is telling you to stay home but perhaps you should sail Celebrity or HAL. Your expectations via vi children are not reasonable. I have raised a fine young man. I have disciplined him and he turned out well. But I'd be lying to say that he never acted out and I remembering the second he did getting disapproving looks from intolerant people. That is the problem with society. Too many intolerant people.

Wow. Your defensiveness is preventing you from clearly understanding the topic of discussion. First of all, I'm not sure where you read that I expect children to never misbehave. Second the topic of this discussion is why PARENTS think kids running in hallways is okay - not "reasons we hate children." I don't even blame the children!

 

My opinion is that parenting has become very lax in many ways, and parents tend to chalk bad behavior up to "kids will be kids." You say that you "disciplined" your son, but I don't think teaching manners and courtesy actually requires discipline so much as it requires education. As I stated before, I believe that children want to do the right thing. They just need to be told what the right thing is.

 

Again, the problem is not the children. The problem is the parents who think this behavior is okay.

 

As an example, I have two friends that both have 5 year old daughters. Last week while having lunch at one friend's house, her daughter came to the kitchen table while we were talking and stood silently until her mother finished her sentence and said "Excuse me Mommy, can I ask you a question please?" & then proceeded to ask if she could change the TV channel. Contrast this with my other friend who simply cannot spend even five minutes on the phone without her little one at her knee repeating mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy continuously LOL So, you really can't tell me any of this is the kids' fault. ;)

[Até]

Ah, this thread brings back memories of the Breakaway during Summer break. Gangs of ten to fifteen year old kids running the hallways at night and morning calls over the PA looking for teenage girls who never made it back to their cabin the previous night.

[Crazy planning mom]

Wow. Your defensiveness is preventing you from clearly understanding the topic of discussion. First of all, I'm not sure where you read that I expect children to never misbehave. Second the topic of this discussion is why PARENTS think kids running in hallways is okay - not "reasons we hate children." I don't even blame the children!

 

My opinion is that parenting has become very lax in many ways, and parents tend to chalk bad behavior up to "kids will be kids." You say that you "disciplined" your son, but I don't think teaching manners and courtesy actually requires discipline so much as it requires education. As I stated before, I believe that children want to do the right thing. They just need to be told what the right thing is.

 

Again, the problem is not the children. The problem is the parents who think this behavior is okay.

 

As an example, I have two friends that both have 5 year old daughters. Last week while having lunch at one friend's house, her daughter came to the kitchen table while we were talking and stood silently until her mother finished her sentence and said "Excuse me Mommy, can I ask you a question please?" & then proceeded to ask if she could change the TV channel. Contrast this with my other friend who simply cannot spend even five minutes on the phone without her little one at her knee repeating mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy continuously LOL So, you really can't tell me any of this is the kids' fault. ;)

 

Your example of your friends childrens behavior belies a lack of understanding. The first child was more polite because you were physically there. The second child was more whiny because you werent physically present and she was. It was harder for that child to understand why the mother wasnt paying attention to her when she was in the room you werent physically there. Young children have trouble with abstract concepts. Anyway, you cant deduce whether either of these kids have behavior problems based on the limited examples you supplied. Spending a random moments with these children does not give enough evidence to make a determination.

My point is that even the best behaved small child will have moments where they misbehave. Of course, parents need to discipline. You have every right to dislike kids. You dont have the right to expect a kid-free environment. Kids are part of the world the same as you. If you have that little patience for them, then you should try to avoid them. You cant take a family oriented cruise line during school breaks and not to expect to see them. You can't go to Applebees and Walt Disney World and not to expect to see them.

[pcakes122]

Your example of your friends childrens behavior belies a lack of understanding. The first child was more polite because you were physically there. The second child was more whiny because you werent physically present and she was. It was harder for that child to understand why the mother wasnt paying attention to her when she was in the room you werent physically there. Young children have trouble with abstract concepts. Anyway, you cant deduce whether either of these kids have behavior problems based on the limited examples you supplied. Spending a random moments with these children does not give enough evidence to make a determination.

My point is that even the best behaved small child will have moments where they misbehave. Of course, parents need to discipline. You have every right to dislike kids. You dont have the right to expect a kid-free environment. Kids are part of the world the same as you. If you have that little patience for them, then you should try to avoid them. You cant take a family oriented cruise line during school breaks and not to expect to see them. You can't go to Applebees and Walt Disney World and not to expect to see them.

Wow. I think you are really reaching here. No one said they dislike kids. No one said good kids never misbehave. No one said they expect a kid-free environment. All anyone is asking for is courtesy.

[kathiewe]

I don't think teaching manners and courtesy actually requires discipline so much as it requires education. As I stated before, I believe that children want to do the right thing. They just need to be told what the right thing is.

 

As an example, I have two friends that both have 5 year old daughters. Last week while having lunch at one friend's house, her daughter came to the kitchen table while we were talking and stood silently until her mother finished her sentence and said "Excuse me Mommy, can I ask you a question please?" & then proceeded to ask if she could change the TV channel. Contrast this with my other friend who simply cannot spend even five minutes on the phone without her little one at her knee repeating mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy continuously LOL So, you really can't tell me any of this is the kids' fault. ;)

 

Education sometimes requires discipline, In this example there are 2 kids from the same parents. I doubt that they are educated differently but respond so. You can educate everyone but some will learn the easy way and some won't.

 

Case in point my son who is a pretty good, responsible kid has problems with 1) eating a healthy diet with vegetables and different proteins as well as trying new foods and 2) back talking me... sometimes Dad never anyone else but me always. We educate him all the time about these issues but at times it requires discipline.

 

In fact during our recent cruise I took DS to Harvest Caye with the rest of our family but without DH who decided to chill on the ship. He was back talking to me on the walk over, which he had been doing for much of the trip until that point, and I had enough. Tried to explain to him what he was doing and why it needed to stop, yet he continued. He back talked about why he wasn't back talking. I grew more frustrated until finally,just before we got to the gate, I pulled him aside to explain, in a not to so pleasant voice, why this behavior needed to stop, no questions asked, immediately. Then explained what we would do if it didn't, namely return to the room where he could spend time, in quiet, doing nothing. Since we had walked out of Disney parks and other places for quiet time many times before, he knew Mommy was done and the behavior would not be tolerated. All the while people, including our family, were looking at me speak strongly to my son. It was uncomfortable and embarrassing, but necessary. Finally it was done and the security guy came over to try and ease the situation by saying something like,"come on guy, stop giving your mom trouble; you're a good kid you want to have fun-not get in trouble." Never again did he back talk that day, nor really the rest of the trip.

 

The problems are 1) often people don't back up the parents but rather sympathize with the kid, 2) kids see other adults or kids doing similar and don't understand why it's not acceptable for them, and 3) kids will play the parent against others. Even in the case above my MIL tried to help by suggesting she take my son to the beach while I get some Mommy time, which I refused because I didn't time out... DS needed to behave. All of this makes parents weary of disciplining, particularly in public.

 

Point is, it's easy to point fingers or complain about parents not educating their kids properly. It's hard to be a parent dealing with these situations. Been there, done that and my kid is pretty good. I have all the respect for parents of kids who are really a handful.

[LrgPizza]

This is the main reason I don't eat in the MDRs. On my first couple of tries, there were very young children walking and running around the dining room screaming and the poor servers had to run an obstacle course to avoid them. Now, we all know that if something were to happen, like the server stepping on them or spilling food on them, it would be the servers fault, not the parents.

I've only had issues with kids in a restaurant once on an NCL ship, and it was Cagney's. You certainly can't blame the venue for the behavior of the children, so I'm not sure why you'd avoid MDRs. I didn't decide to avoid Cagney's. LOL! It's not like the exact same kids are going to be there.

[papa B me]

In my opinion this thread is describing symptoms of a much deeper problem that has developed in our culture over the past 20-30 years. Our culture has become so self obsessed that many have no awareness of others around them or simply don't care.

 

Thus the children are running out of control wherever they are, never say please, thank you , excuse me, sir, ma'am, or I'm sorry.

 

Their parents are the ones on the ship who at 2 am in the morning are loudly stumbling down the halls drunk or at dinner are so loud in their conversation at dinner that it is impossible to hear the person sitting next to you. Or will light up a cigarette before getting to the smoking area.

 

Their grandparents are the ones that will run you over in the hall with their scooter or take their cane and push you out of the way in the buffet line, or throw an absolute fit at a young attendant in the theatre because they can't sit in the reserved seats for those who payed 3 or 4 times as much for a suite.

 

All the above will show up in the MDR in shorts, t shirts and flip flops then if confronted will loudly say I paid $$$ for this cruise and I will do what I want.

 

By the way I experienced all of this on our cruise on the Oasis in February.

 

So what's my solution to the problem(like anyone really wants to hear my solution-ha)

 

I want to personally be a little less self absorbed and try to lead by example. I want to try and return kindness for ugliness. I want to focus more on how blessed I am to be able in my mid 50's to travel the world several times a year and frequently take trips that are adults only or close too it-ha and less on the petty annoyances in life, have 4 grown children that at least in my rose colored glasses seem to be at least a little bit more aware of others then the average 20 something. And have the blessing of trying to pass on my view to 3 beautiful grandchildren and soon to be 4.

 

Just one man's opinion so let the flaming begin

[Cruisewithm]

In my opinion this thread is describing symptoms of a much deeper problem that has developed in our culture over the past 20-30 years. Our culture has become so self obsessed that many have no awareness of others around them or simply don't care.

 

Thus the children are running out of control wherever they are, never say please, thank you , excuse me, sir, ma'am, or I'm sorry.

 

Their parents are the ones on the ship who at 2 am in the morning are loudly stumbling down the halls drunk or at dinner are so loud in their conversation at dinner that it is impossible to hear the person sitting next to you. Or will light up a cigarette before getting to the smoking area.

 

Their grandparents are the ones that will run you over in the hall with their scooter or take their cane and push you out of the way in the buffet line, or throw an absolute fit at a young attendant in the theatre because they can't sit in the reserved seats for those who payed 3 or 4 times as much for a suite.

 

All the above will show up in the MDR in shorts, t shirts and flip flops then if confronted will loudly say I paid $$$ for this cruise and I will do what I want.

 

By the way I experienced all of this on our cruise on the Oasis in February.

 

So what's my solution to the problem(like anyone really wants to hear my solution-ha)

 

I want to personally be a little less self absorbed and try to lead by example. I want to try and return kindness for ugliness. I want to focus more on how blessed I am to be able in my mid 50's to travel the world several times a year and frequently take trips that are adults only or close too it-ha and less on the petty annoyances in life, have 4 grown children that at least in my rose colored glasses seem to be at least a little bit more aware of others then the average 20 something. And have the blessing of trying to pass on my view to 3 beautiful grandchildren and soon to be 4.

 

Just one man's opinion so let the flaming begin

 

No flaming, I totally agree. People misunderstand NCL Freestyle with like of politeness. Even if you are not obligated to wear a tuxedo for the MDR, it doesn't mean that you can wear anything that comes to mind. It's just some common sense, appropriate behavior, decorum.

 

Any cruise should come with a guide of how to be a polite person when you are dividing small spaces between thousands of different people.

Unfortunately in reality, most people just don't know how to behave outside their houses. And if you cater a international cruise where you go to international territory the lack for understanding and acceptance shows itself.

[Sissaaaaaa]

At the risk of being accused for having horrible people/parent skills, I still have to ask: At which point in time did we start considering kids who run down a corridor to be ill-mannered? Seriously? They are kids....Indeed, small kids don't run on their toes, no, they stomp, as somebody correctly noted. So what?! There are many cruiselines that cater to a different group of pax than NCL does. Choose Azamara, Princess, Crystal, Silversea,or one of the many upscale cruiselines that do not neccessarily cater to families with kids (some might disagree here...:-)).

PS: Manners are important, yes - I totally agree on that. But I do not consider running down a corridor, playing in a corridor, or not paying attention to absolutely everybody who walks down the corridor to be a sign of bad manners....

 

When they are running and screaming at the top of their lungs at 6am, or 11pm. That is not a kid being a kid. That is a bratty, ill-mannered child with parents who don't give a crap. Plain and simple.

[Sissaaaaaa]

No problem with my attitude. Your example of how to talk to a child shows your lack of understanding. The problem is with people like yourself who expect children to never misbehave. If you are going on a kid-friendly line, you have to expect children. Noone is telling you to stay home but perhaps you should sail Celebrity or HAL. Your expectations via vi children are not reasonable. I have raised a fine young man. I have disciplined him and he turned out well. But I'd be lying to say that he never acted out and I remembering the second he did getting disapproving looks from intolerant people. That is the problem with society. Too many intolerant people.

 

Another snowflake :rolleyes:

[Sissaaaaaa]

Well, I have a terrific son who is now a teenager and I certainly disciplined when he needed it. However, I think that people have become more intolerant towards children. They certainly werent that way when i was a kid.

 

 

Parents were parents when you were a kid. Parents are not parents now. They are afraid to discipline their kids, and expect everyone else to be "tolerant" to their bratty behavior. The entitlement attitude is just ... amazing.

[Petitbotcottage]

That is a bratty, ill-mannered child with parents who don't give a crap.

I fully understand the point you are trying to make but your analagy regarding parents perhaps could have been described a little better rather than bringing unsavoury language into the discussion.:(

[Sissaaaaaa]

I've only had issues with kids in a restaurant once on an NCL ship, and it was Cagney's. You certainly can't blame the venue for the behavior of the children, so I'm not sure why you'd avoid MDRs. I didn't decide to avoid Cagney's. LOL! It's not like the exact same kids are going to be there.

 

Ironically the only place I ever had an issue with kids while eating was in the Epic Club, in the Haven. They were running around the table, under the table, and crawling on the floor while mom, dad, and grandparents sat there drinking their wine and eating their dinner. The parents and grandparents didn't give a rat's behind who was being disrupted.

[Sissaaaaaa]

I fully understand the point you are trying to make but your analagy regarding parents perhaps could have been described a little better rather than bringing unsavoury language into the discussion.:(

 

Don't melt. The word "crap" is acceptable in the forum. Crap.

[DMH15]

Don't melt. The word "crap" is acceptable in the forum. Crap.

 

 

If it is allowed on TV without being bleeped it is ok with me. I agree. Crap.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sissaaaaaa]

If it is allowed on TV without being bleeped it is ok with me. I agree. Crap.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

:'):'):')

[LrgPizza]

Well, crap. This post went in the ****ter.

[Petitbotcottage]

I am extremely disappointed at this "toilet" language being used by a variety of recent posters. If this kind of language is acceptable to you, is it any wonder that the children at the forefront of this thread are allowed to do what they want.

[ColeThornton]

I am extremely disappointed at this "toilet" language being used by a variety of recent posters. If this kind of language is acceptable to you, is it any wonder that the children at the forefront of this thread are allowed to do what they want.

 

 

Lighten up, Francis.

[Shawnino]

You need a licence to fish, but any drunken idiot is free to become a "parent".

[WashyWashyHappyHappy95]

I may get flamed for this, especially since I can't imagine that the parents who allow this don't have a clue at how intrusive and annoying it is. But, just in case parents really have no idea, I am putting this out there. I am clueless as to why any parent thinks it is ever okay to let their children run up and down the hallways on a cruise ship. I know they are kids, and we should let them be kids...But, isn't it more important we teach them to be humans first? It is just not appropriate or considerate at any time of day to be running down a hallway outside of other people's cabins. Do you not realize how loud and annoying the constant thumping of feet running past someone's cabin door must be. And, it doesn't matter what time of day either. If someone is trying to relax in their cabin in the middle of the day or early evening, that is their right, and there is absolutely no reason for anyone to be running around in the hallways ever.

 

Probably the same people who play music on their balconies.

 

"It's MY vacation, and there's no RULE against it, so I'm going to do WHATEVER I WANT."

[Buttwig]

I've been on several Carnival cruises. I am an annual pass holder at Disney World. I love children as long as they are properly cooked. <---settle down there, snowflake. No one is suggesting that this last statement is anything but a joke and if it offends you, you most likely belong on another cruise line that caters to sensitive folks who don't care for humor.

 

If any person, regardless of age, gender, or anything else, is creating a possibly unsafe environment for others in a shared common space, I will say something about it. I'll try not to use foul language like "CRAP" but I will say something. Would you rather I watch your toddler knock over Triptolemus's elderly mother and risk injuries to both of them? Seems like some parents might answer yes to this.

To the parents I see trying to educate their youngsters and teach them appropriate behavior, thank you!

Flame on!

[WashyWashyHappyHappy95]

I've been on several Carnival cruises. I am an annual pass holder at Disney World. I love children as long as they are properly cooked. <---settle down there, snowflake. No one is suggesting that this last statement is anything but a joke and if it offends you, you most likely belong on another cruise line that caters to sensitive folks who don't care for humor.

 

If any person, regardless of age, gender, or anything else, is creating a possibly unsafe environment for others in a shared common space, I will say something about it. I'll try not to use foul language like "CRAP" but I will say something. Would you rather I watch your toddler knock over Triptolemus's elderly mother and risk injuries to both of them? Seems like some parents might answer yes to this.

To the parents I see trying to educate their youngsters and teach them appropriate behavior, thank you!

Flame on!

 

I'm mostly with you on this, though the term "snowflake" is more appropriate for a Breitbart message board.

[Buttwig]

I'm mostly with you on this, though the term "snowflake" is more appropriate for a Breitbart message board.

Sorry, my bad. Wrong board. I tried to think of a word that wasn't as offensive as "crap". Probably should have just left it blank :evilsmile: