Shocked at kid's behaviour...

[juliebean]

We returned from DW yesterday. Have to admit the crowds got to me more than the last time we went over spring break... Maybe I'm getting old?

But, I could handle the crowds, it was the ill behaved children (or perhaps their parents) that drove me nuts!

We had teenagers running up and down the halls of our hotel and screaming at 1 am in the morning. I can't say I was shocked, but my son's band had room checks at 11 pm and a guard on the boy's floor and another on the girl's floor for their safety and also to make sure they we not being a nuisance, more than teens are in general. I guess this group did not.

We also had boys, blocking the jets to the hot tub to make the water spray out of the valve - to the point where the water line was down about 6 inches and the jets were spraying at the water line - ruining it for everyone else after him. The dad must've thought it was cute, he was sitting and taking pictures of him, certainly he must've realized that it was draining the hot tub. The next morning, we saw a boy about 6 climbing a decorative light pole during breakfast, as his mother watched. What are these parents thinking?

While we were waiting in line for Dumbo, my husband got kicked in the back by a girl around six (but large) as her mother was trying to hold her during a tantrum, while her twin sister and older brother try to push by my kids at the turnstile - even after I told them to stop - that we couldn't go any further. In this case I had been listening to the mother threaten to take them out of line for about half an hour, and they had an actual physical fight where the boy grabbed a big handful of one of the girl's hair and she bit him really good. I'm sorry - my kid's have never bitten or physically hurt each other, and if I say we are leaving...it's not a threat, it's happening. My daughter really wanted to ride Dumbo, but it was awful being in line with them. I wondered if it was a poster on here a month ago with 5 kids, but alas no baby and toddler - so I don't think it was.

What is up with these things being acceptable??? I don't think I'm terribly rigid, I know kids run and scream and I am pretty tolerant when my and other kids misbehave - but it stops when they are a danger or nuisance to themselves or others.

Sorry to rant, but we just couldn't believe these things were happening!

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

I have five kids they don't act like that, in fact I have to say they probably hold themselves to a higher standard than most kids because they know they'll get constantly pre-judged for being from a large family.

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

Should add though the things you mention would have really annoyed me, did you call the desk to report the screaming in the halls? That really did need to be bought up with whoever was in charge of those teens.

I have to admit I do often think "why are you not watching your kid?" when I see some parents, we have five, we keep them in check AND they have fun - one doesn't have to be at the expense of the other. I know we can't always keep our eyes on kids 24/7 but watching your kid carry out unsafe/inconsiderate behaviour that is having a negative impact on other people and failing to correct it just isn't right.

On the whole though I found CM's to be really on top of calling people on safety issues

 

[juliebean]

I didn't intend to attribute the behaviour to the size of the family, I had just been trying to keep an eye out for a particularly memorable poster who said she was taking 5 kids under the age 8 by herself over spring break. I just wanted to see if she was real! It was the first thought I had considering their ages, even before the biting and screaming started.

Really, some would consider my family of three kids large and I'm the oldest of 4. The kid blocking the jets was just him and his dad, in all fairness.

I didn't call, by the time I got up the hallway fracas had stopped, but I'm sure someone must have - after that first night the latest that happened was 10ish. There clearly wasn't enough supervision though, in the bus lines the next morning I had to tell a bunch to stop dropping f bombs - no obvious chaperones in sight, as my daughters mouths were dropping. I was hoping my own teen was being well behaved, but even if he wasn't I knew his group had plenty of chaperones and would have things well monitored.

I mean, I don't think I have an unreasonable standard - but I've never seen behaviour this bad, anywhere.

 

[mjkacmom]

I have five kids they don't act like that, in fact I have to say they probably hold themselves to a higher standard than most kids because they know they'll get constantly pre-judged for being from a large family.

My kids have been raised to behave in public - with 5, I had to be very strict about how they acted in public, because I would've been in BIG trouble taking them out if they misbehaved! I get a lot of compliments from strangers - I think they panic when they see us (on a plane, in a restaurant) and then are pleasantly surprised.

 

[Hannathy]

It is all the special snowflakes whose self esteem will be forever harmed if they are ever told NO.

 

[Ro Z]

My DS now 25 is forever saying that if he ever did something like what he had just witnessed he would have been sitting on his bed in the room. On our March trip. I had a kid kick me while we were watching the koi in Japan. I yelped OUCH! His mother said did he kick you. I said he sure did. She says well I don't think he meant to he just wanted to have his picture taken while he was doing a handstand. I said I don't think he meant it either but he did. His father in the mean time was saying hey buddy are you ok. They never said sorry! I guess I was standing too close to him. My DS was so PO'd! First I was hurt and 2nd he remembered what would have happened to him if he had done the same thing. To give the kid credit he didn't just haul off and kick me, he wasn't throwing a fit but.........it would have been the perfect time to say this is why we don't do handstands in WDW!

 

[juliebean]

I agree that the parent's response is important - this same trip, we also had a boy around 8 take a creamer and stomp on it near a table we were sitting at. It sprayed my daughter and got all over her shorts. BUT, his mother responded by first saying "what were you thinking??, having him apologize and removing him from the area, so we dealt with the mess and moved on.

The mom whose daughter kicked my husband and whose other kids tried to push by us at the turnstile just pretended like none of it was happening...

I guess like everything in life, it's more important how you respond to a mistake than the actual event.

 

[Wadecool]

We returned from DW yesterday. Have to admit the crowds got to me more than the last time we went over spring break... Maybe I'm getting old?

But, I could handle the crowds, it was the ill behaved children (or perhaps their parents) that drove me nuts!

We had teenagers running up and down the halls of our hotel and screaming at 1 am in the morning. I can't say I was shocked, but my son's band had room checks at 11 pm and a guard on the boy's floor and another on the girl's floor for their safety and also to make sure they we not being a nuisance, more than teens are in general. I guess this group did not.

We also had boys, blocking the jets to the hot tub to make the water spray out of the valve - to the point where the water line was down about 6 inches
and the jets were spraying at the water line - ruining it for everyone else after
him. The dad must've thought it was cute, he was sitting and taking pictures
of him, certainly he must've realized that it was draining the hot tub. The next
morning, we saw a boy about 6 climbing a decorative light pole during breakfast, as his mother watched. What are these parents thinking?

While we were waiting in line for Dumbo, my husband got kicked in the back by a girl around six (but large) as her mother was trying to hold her during a tantrum, while her twin sister and older brother try to push by my kids at the turnstile - even after I told them to stop - that we couldn't go any further. In this case I had been listening to the mother threaten to take them out of line
for about half an hour, and they had an actual physical fight where the boy
grabbed a big handful of one of the girl's hair and she bit him really good. I'm
sorry - my kid's have never bitten or physically hurt each other, and if I say
we are leaving...it's not a threat, it's happening. My daughter really wanted to
ride Dumbo, but it was awful being in line with them. I wondered if it was a
poster on here a month ago with 5 kids, but alas no baby and toddler - so I
don't think it was.

What is up with these things being acceptable??? I don't think I'm terribly
rigid, I know kids run and scream and I am pretty tolerant when my and other
kids misbehave - but it stops when they are a danger or nuisance to
themselves or others.

Sorry to rant, but we just couldn't believe these things were happening!

WARNING: inevitably someone will come along here on this thread and try and justify the child & parent's actions as well as demonize those who dare speak out against inappropriate behavior. Welcome to the DIS!

 

[ms_missy66]

I don't know. I swear every time I go to WDW I see example of agregious behavior, both from children and adults, and I don't let it bother me anymore. In no circumstance is WDW a typical environment for anyone, so everyone is a little "off". I've, personally, had some less-than-ideal parenting moments there.

It's easy to say "I've taught my kids how to behave in public" and tell us all the things you would have done differently. But in the moment, when it's someone else's kids, or whatever, you have to make a choice. Deal with it by saying something, getting out of line, calling the hotel management, etc or don't, co-existing with the crazies for the remaining ten minutes of the line and move on.

If something is just terrible, I'd do something. If it's merely annoying, I deal.

 

[DISNEYSIX]

You mean kids act like kids when they are at WDW?

 

[pigletto]

and if I say we are leaving...it's not a threat, it's happening

And there you go. It all boils down to consequences and follow through. I see it ALL the time, and have even experienced it with my own children. If you threaten and don't follow through it's useless.

All kids are going to have their moments. But the worst behaivour I see is time and time again when a child knows that there won't be any follow through.

 

[Rylee]

You wouldn't catch my children acting like that because I'm one of those "MEAN MOMMIES!"

My children know what is expected of them because I'm a firm believer that most children do exactly what is expected of them.

We, DH & I, set limits. (They have a lot of freedom and choices within those limits but they know where to draw the line.) Our children know, we say what we mean and mean what we say. They understand, their "rights" end, where another person's rights begin.

As for the parents of those children, one might think they were in "vacation mode"... I'M on vacation, it's MY vacation, too, so I don't want to deal with disciplining them. Or, It's vacation, they're just kids being kids, let them have their fun. But... more than likely, it is the way they parent. Either they feel entitled and feel their children are, too, or they are so busy and so tired from being wrapped up in their other responsibilities, they don't make time for their children.

The few times we have encountered a rude, restless family in line, we have allowed them to go ahead of us, and then spaced ourselves several feet behind them.

* I know your comments weren't directed at large families but as you can see by my signature, we have 5 children. I would never make a generalization about large or small families, or only children, but I can speak for the large families I know personally, and I find the children to usually be considerate, helpful, patient and more laid-back... go with the flow type of kids.

 

[DISNEYSIX]

As for the parents of those children, one might think they were in "vacation mode"... I'M on vacation, it's MY vacation, too, so I don't want to deal with disciplining them. Or, It's vacation, they're just kids being kids, let them have their fun. But... more than likely, it is the way they parent. Either they feel entitled and feel their children are, too, or they are so busy and so tired from being wrapped up in their other responsibilities, they don't make time for their children.

Kids running up and down the hall in the middle of a night, splashing water out of the pool, climbing light poles and having tantrums while in line. You all think this is bad behavior? Do you people even have children?

 

[Leajess99]

Kids running up and down the hall in the middle of a night, splashing water out of the pool, climbing light poles and having tantrums while in line. You all think this is bad behavior? Do you people even have children?

Are you serious?? Climbing light poles, running up and down the hall and having tantrums are bad behaviors AND YES I do have kids. My youngest had a meltdown at DTD the first year we went and I removed her from the public area so no one else had to deal with her meltdown. Once she calmed down than we went on our way.

While it can be overwhelming at WDW, there is no excuse for bad behaviors other than their parents allow it. If you find nothing wrong with this type of behavior than I can only guess that your children act the same way.

Oh and my oldest recently returned from Wachington DC and there was no such actions by any of the teens on that trip as it was not something our school or chaperones would tolerate either. They knew there was no running in the hall at all hours of the night or playing ding dong ditch (that happened with some at some of the hotels we have been to for soccer tournaments).

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Kids running up and down the hall in the middle of a night, splashing water out of the pool, climbing light poles and having tantrums while in line. You all think this is bad behavior? Do you people even have children?

Yes, I have a child. And yes, what is described is bad behavior. In fact, I have a special needs child that is prone to meltdowns. And she is still held accountable for bad behavior. I once carried her kicking, screaming, hitting, and biting back to our hotel from the MK because she could not control herself. When we were at WDW last August, she had a morning when she was having some difficulty. I reminded her that if she didn't behave, I had no problem leaving the parks and spending the rest of the day sitting in the hotel room. And she knew without a doubt that I meant it.

 

[campgirlboo]

Kids running up and down the hall in the middle of a night, splashing water out of the pool, climbing light poles and having tantrums while in line. You all think this is bad behavior? Do you people even have children?

Not only do I have my own child (who admittedly isn't at the stage of doing much of anything that would be considered "bad" yet), I teach preschool and I deal with 19 children at a time. I would and do consider those things bolded to not only be bad, but definitely would be cause for me to remove them from a situation. Being exposed to a wide variety of parents and parenting styles and seeing the children that are raised those different ways, I told my husband before we even started trying to have kids that there are certain things that are and are not acceptable to me.
Now, do I realize that my child(ren) will eventually do these things and try to push their boundries? Of course! However, when they do these things, they will just experience the consequences (removing them from the situation).

 

[Wadecool]

Kids running up and down the hall in the middle of a night, splashing water out of the pool, climbing light poles and having tantrums while in line. You all think this is bad behavior? Do you people even have children?

Please refer to previous public service warning in post #9. No, I am not a psychic but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Please refer to previous public service warning in post #9. No, I am not a psychic but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

 

[Jen0504]

While it can be overwhelming at WDW, there is no excuse for bad behaviors other than their parents allow it. If you find nothing wrong with this type of behavior than I can only guess that your children act the same way.

Well said!!