Nervous about children and the railings

[beachgirl8078]

We're going on the Grandeur next month with a 7 and 9 year old and I keep envisioning one of my kids going over the rails! I'd love to hear from some moms who have had similar concerns and some reassurance that this is all in my head!! This is our first cruise and it's keeping me from having the great anticipation of it all, worrying about losing one of my kids! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I know, I'm loosing it...:confused:

[MiniMom57]

I am 5'2" and the railings come up almost to my chest. Most of them are curved toward you, with the bottom being farther away then the top. Also, the bottoms are mostly flat steel or glass. Some have rails all the way up, but I don't recall seeing any rails that are straight up and down. Climbing them would be at least difficult, if not impossible.

 

I would have inserted a photo I have of me and my husband next to the rail on the stern of a ship, but I have no idea how to do that!!

[HurricaneSally]

However, kids are very inventive and there are chairs everywhere around the deck. Best to keep very good eyes on them.

[badge454]

I am not a Mom, but we have taken our kids on two cruises. The kids are 13 and 5 now and we are going on another cruise, with a balcony, over spring break. The railing for the balcony has never been an issue but we do not allow our children out on the balcony unattended. Also, the door to the balcony takes pretty good force to get open. I am not sure our 5 year old could open the door alone. Hope this helps.

 

B454

[kenandlaura06]

Don't let them out on the balcony unattended or on decks unattended---keep them with you and you should be all set.

[1corona4u]

We're going on the Grandeur next month with a 7 and 9 year old and I keep envisioning one of my kids going over the rails! I'd love to hear from some moms who have had similar concerns and some reassurance that this is all in my head!! This is our first cruise and it's keeping me from having the great anticipation of it all, worrying about losing one of my kids! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I know, I'm loosing it...:confused:

 

Well, I left this for you on the other thread, but here is what I had to say;

 

 

Well, I don't have kids, but I spend a great deal of time with my best friends kids, 4 & 7, and I can tell you, they need constant supervision. The same will apply while on our upcoming cruise. The railings are fine, but no child should be left to wander on their own. Ever. Not even on land. I know you know that too. As you said, kids will be kids, and they need a sitter or an adult with them. I think from what I have seen, they would have to be really trying to get over/through the railing to do it. But I don't know all of the ships either, or which one you are cruising on.

 

It's ashame that all of the attention on these recent accidents is making people paranoid. Maybe you should wait until you feel comfortable taking them? Like when they are older?

 

 

Now having said all that, here are 2 pix of the railings on the Enchantment, which is the same as the Grandeur. The person I cropped out of the pix is 5', and she is about 2' away from the rail. In the balcony one, you can clearly see how high it is.

 

 

 

 

But children still should never be left alone............

[HurricaneSally]

It appears as though a child could crawl underneath those railings. Couldn't they?

[Titan(ic)5.6]

The horizontal pieces that are under the top rail make perfect "ladder steps" for mischievous kids.

[ckrobyn]

I totally understand and relate to your fears....

 

We took our DD who was 8 at the time on the Radiance last February - it was the first cruise for all of us and I was completely fearful of those railings! So fearful in fact that I started a thread just like yours exactly a year ago :rolleyes:

 

The responses that I received were overwhelming - people didn't think I was nuts, they understood what my concerns were and certainly helped me relax with their responses :)

 

I think it's great that someone even posted pics of the height of the railings - that should show you that a child would actually have to CLIMB over, and could not fall over just by standing close to the railing. That being said, you still need to be dilligent in your instructions to the kids - they should never be allowed out on the balcony alone under any circumstances. We made that very clear to our daughter on day one and we didn't have any issues. If we were out there, so was she. Insofar as the common areas are concerned - we stayed close to her and made sure that if she wanted to look "over" - we were right beside her.

 

I know how you feel, trust me. I worried endlessly about this same issue before we cruised last year. Once we were on the ship and I saw the height of the railings - I felt better. I'm sure you will have a wonderful time on your cruise - don't worry, just be dilligent! :)

[1corona4u]

It appears as though a child could crawl underneath those railings. Couldn't they?

 

Maybe if they were a small toddler.... I want to say the gaps are about 12". Maybe less. My dsl is down right now, but if I can figure out a way to check that, I will post a pic....as in make a reference to size...

[CARIBBEAN01]

We are cruising again this summer on the NOS with a 13yr old and 17yr old. We explained to them what can happen if you fool around near the railings especially hoisting each other up. At night they were not allowed on deck anywhere without one of us with them. I would be more worried about some of the herds of teens we saw fooling around together. I could see if they start running around and are not careful out on deck where an accident might happen. Talk to the kids we almost scared the you know what out of them they got the message....

[HurricaneSally]

I guess what I'm trying to say, is you have to watch your kids, because they can jump off, crawl off or goof around on the railings without your constant supervision. To the mom that says "I can't watch them 100 percent of the time". Well, you should watch them 100 percent of the time.

[Lewdog]

Children will only fall overboard if they are doing something they should not be doing such as climbing over or under railings.

 

So basically it is just like anything else in this world that can negatively effect kids, the parents need to be responsible for their children.

 

So yeah, keep an eye on your kids, don't let them do things that could place them in harm's way, quit worrying and enjoy the naticipation and your cruise.

[1corona4u]

I guess what I'm trying to say, is you have to watch your kids, because they can jump off, crawl off or goof around on the railings without your constant supervision. To the mom that says "I can't watch them 100 percent of the time". Well, you should watch them 100 percent of the time.

 

I agree. Here is another pic from webshots(paulobrien) that shows the size better between the rails. This is obviously from the back of the ship, but the railings are all the same.

 

Now the only way a child will get through there, in my opinion, is if they had a long time without an adult, to be able to squeeze through, or climb up and over.