Shocked at kid's behaviour...

[spacemountainmom]

My niece (age 3) would not sit in her seat and get buckled in prior to take off. She wanted to sit on someone's lap as she had every other time she had flown. She started throwing a big 'ol hissy fit and believe me, I probably would have been the first person to tell my sibling to remove the child (I wanted to get to Disney - darn it.) Luckily, I did not have to. The flight attendent got right in her face and told her to settle down....amazingly, she did.

Sometimes kids who always get their way with mom and dad just need a little authority. I wanted to hug that flight attendent (and ask her to spend the rest of the trip with us......KWIM....and you can possibly guess how my nieces behave in a store.)

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

I'm not insinuating anything....Just asking a question. Certain children are more prone to tantrums at certain ages. Especially around 2-3. (like yours, my younger DD had no tantrums that I remember) My older DD had several "at home" tantrums, but also 2 very public ones that I remember. One was at Disney (my fault...she was over-tired and over-stimulated, and I removed her from the situation by leaving the park and bringing her back to the hotel). The other was on a plane. She started having a meltdown before we even left the gate (because I opened the granola bar the wrong way, of all things). According to what you and the PP, I guess I should have gotten off the plane, sucked up the cost of the tix, gotten a hotel, and tried the same ordeal the next day? Sorry, but I chose to stay on the plane. Me, and everyone else for thaqt matter, just had to deal. Luckily, there was a mom with 4 older kids in front of me, who gave me a look of "I know what you're going through."

If your kids never had a public tantrum, consider yourself lucky. But please try and have some understanding for parents who are dealing with a child who maybe has a very different temperment from your children's. Not every misbehaving kid is a product of lazy parents. Sometimes it's just a kid having a bad day!

Yes!!!! Someone who gets it!




As far as shopping?

How many mothers do we know that REALLY want to take their kids shopping? Shopping and kids is a terrible part of motherhood lol.

I prefer to drop off mine some where, or do it while she's in school. And if I see a kid having a meltdown, while out by myself, I don't give the mom a dirty look.

I secretly say Ahhhhh!!!! Then proceed to the shoe department and try on as many as I want.

 

[Rylee]

Edit- just wanted to add that having an older kid and looking back is a lot like pre-kids when you would say I would never. All of us remember those times prekids when we looked at a child and thought I would never XYZ and then it happened! UGH! I think the older parents do that to a degree too... you do forget. It's the same for the preschoolers and infants. It's easy to look back and say I would never. There is a reason that we only remember the good times. It's there is nothing wrong with that. That doesn't mean that their advice is any less beneficial... it just means that sometimes the judgment isn't needed and if you really took a minute to empathize (not with the out of control Maxi is talking about) but some of the others... you might not judge as quickly if you remembered the time you were ready to loose your mind with a toddler. We all have those days... with any age child. It's part of being a parent.

How old are your children? You are so wrong.

I, and a couple other mothers of older children, are speaking from experience and trust me when we say... we have NOT forgotten what it is like to have younger children or parent younger children.

I could list 1000's of examples but it really isn't necessary. I remember everything... the joy, the sorrow, the love, the fear, etc., I remember it all.

 

[Rylee]

My kids really haven't had melt downs in public but they have done some crazy things(1 of my son's has asperger's).
I shall list all of the things that should be banned from the parks as they are can be annoying:
Smoking
chewing loudly
spitting(ewww)
seagulls
letting balloons go......
People who worry about other people's kids who are crying because disney can be way too much for a lot of people. Remember vacations are not one size fits all, some kids are not meant for theme park vacations....

Hmmm...
Then shouldn't the parents be more sensitive to their child's needs and not subject them to hours and hours or days at a theme park?

 

[dntd]

Hmmm...
Then shouldn't the parents be more sensitive to their child's needs and not subject them to hours and hours or days at a theme park?

My 2 older children have proven that they are not ready at this time for a disney vacation. Any child who disobeys in they way they have(can), have no right to attend a vacation period! This was a threat that I had used and followed through with( this isn't a family trip, it's one that I'm going with my sister and her kid leaving DH at home). As they are 12 and 14 they know better but they still push the limits, they are just those type of kids. I think they would have been horrible to take to disney when they were A toddler, so we camped every summer instead. Some people have never taken their kids anywhere so how would they know if their kids would do well in a theme park???

 

[rbbs]

14 pages Good thread to skip.....don't have 2 hours to sit and read this....got kids to look after and all I would say that I am more shocked by many adults behavior than I am of kids behavior "these days".....You know where I am going with that last statement....

 

[Mkrop]

So, not to stir things up....BUT, leaving a store is easy. Let's say your kid who "never had a meltdown in public" has one on an airplane before you even leave the gate? Are you going to get off the plane and lose all the $$ you paid for your seats? Or do you just paste a smile on your face and do what you can to get through it?

Once again if you are actively trying to calm the child, then there is no issue. I have been next to kids who have screamed the whole flight but the parents were working their butts of trying to get things under control...way to go! Both my kids have ear issues, that we work very hard to control with medicine and trying to pop their ears, sometimes we are successful and other times they are in pain and cry. But the whole time I am working to get them to stop or trying different methods to reduce the pain they are in. We seem to have our FL flights down it is flying elsewhere that getting the timing of the meds to work.

I think a grocey store or a theme park is a much easier escape than an airplane. Even if you are offsite, unless you drove from Tampa and had no where to go, if things are not settling down, then a much needed break at the hotel should be part of the plan. People use the excuse of spending money to push everyone in their party from opening to close, even little kids. If everyone can handle that, then great, if they cant then you need to actively remedy the situation.

If you can not leave the park, then find somewhere cool and where the people are minimal, and deal with the tantrum/meltdown.

DH also was on a flight where two brothers, he thought about 6 and 7, were separated from mom by two rows, he offered to switch with the mom and take her aisle seat over his window seat. She said no thanks and the boys fought and were complete terrors on the flight. Mom never got out of her seat in fact he was pretty sure she took a nap. Now that was all kinds of rude.

We flew when DS13 was 2. He thought is was extremely funny to kick the seat in front of him, and with him in his carseat, his legs actually reached. Once I realized he would not stop, bc reasoning with a 2 year old does not always happen (See I Remember!). I held his leg the ENTIRE flight bc the minute I let go to pick something off the floor, he started kicking the seat. I kept apologizing to the man in front of us and he said he knew I was trying. So he would not get frustrated about me or DH holding his legs, we read book after book quietly to him, we had the Magnadoodle, food etc. When we landed the man and his family actually complimented how Dh and I handled the situation. Felt great as new parents! This was also the flight where USAir changed the seating arrangements and had the 2 year old sitting by himself and would not change it for us until we got to the gate. That whole flight was stressful.

 

[ms_missy66]

I think it's hilarious that parents consider paying a flight change fee and incur other expenses associated with walking away from a plane if their child threw a fit. I'm not saying I'm tolerant of bad behavior. I have left a store before. However, outside of a disability or illness, a child does not dictatate what this family does. I've been that woman with a screaming child going through the grocery store. 1) That child is screaming because she doesn't want to sit in the cart. There is nothing wrong with her, other than she prefers something else. 2) Mama doesn't have time to come back later. So go right ahead and scream, baby girl, and learn that it will not get you your way. For those I'm imposing this child upon, my apologies. But just because I'm not yelling and dragging her out by her arm doesn't mean I'm not dealing with it.

To the mom who said that some kids are not cut out for theme parks, and the responder who asked why she would take them then - sometimes you don't know that until you get there. For many families, getting to WDW means months and months of sacrifice and saving. You're hardly going to spend your trip in your hotel room teaching your child a lesson in an environment you won't dare to bring him again at your own, literal, expense. That's ridiculous. You make the very best of it you can, enjoying the positive moments, coping with the negative ones, and going home with a fresh handful of lessons to apply to your next trip.

 

[twooley2]

one thing that annoys me is all the bad voice about TEENAGERS as bad people. I have teenagers and they are old enough to drive and I still do not let them run free at any amusement park in another state most likely not their own state and the size of Disney yet people let their teens do it and recommend it as being o.k. Now they wonder who the teens misbehaving are. Not all teens are bad but given the opportunity some will be. I find people who have small children and no experience as being teen parents are more down on teens than teen parents. Always hear oh I'd never do this or that with my teen and they do not even have teens yet. Just wait the tables change when you have teens its not like having a little kid who you can control at all times.

 

[livndisney]

Oddly enough, I think I ran into one of those "former children who were allowed to scream when they did not want to be in the store" yesterday. This woman screamed about everything yesterday, pushing her way thru the line, screaming at the cashier, screaming at anyone who tried to redirect her to the line that "she did not want to be there". Clearly she was not used to the idea that the world did not revolve around her.

 

[MartinaC]

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.

I'm with you. We were a family of five growing up and felt the same way. My mom always got compliments on how good her five kids were.

 

[forever11709]

I am the mother if a 13 month old, aunt of a 3, 4, and 8 year old and have 7 cousins who are at least 15 years younger than me. My 13 month old knows what no means and listens to me, if not I will remove her from the situation. My 3 year old nephew is a hellion around his mother but around me and DF he is an angel because he knows he will not get away with the same things as he does with his mom. And same with the other 2. My cousins also realize that I am in charge when we take them places, the second I leave the house with them I become the authority figure, but if we are at their house they know that I am their friend, most of this comes from their parents and how they were raised, they are very polite and well behaved. None of them are "boring" or "lame" they are just well behaved and know how to have fun while doing that.

I also don't have a problem speaking up to people when I think their kids need disciplining, no bodys kid will kick me and think it's okay. Which is also a reason we will be sitting in the "bulk head" on the airplane, my daughter won't even have the chance to be kicking the back of someone else's seat.

 

[dntd]

To the mom who said that some kids are not cut out for theme parks, and the responder who asked why she would take them then - sometimes you don't know that until you get there. For many families, getting to WDW means months and months of sacrifice and saving. You're hardly going to spend your trip in your hotel room teaching your child a lesson in an environment you won't dare to bring him again at your own, literal, expense. That's ridiculous. You make the very best of it you can, enjoying the positive moments, coping with the negative ones, and going home with a fresh handful of lessons to apply to your next trip.

If a kid can't take a local zoo,shopping,appointments etc and behave they are NOT ready for a theme park.

 

[Mkrop]

If a kid can't take a local zoo,shopping,appointments etc and behave they are NOT ready for a theme park.

We did a lot of local trips before we decided to do Disney the first time and then also did the same for DS8 when he came along

 

[CouponAngie]

Ahhh, I understand now! (Sorry just overly sensative on the large family issue as we get so many assumptions made about the fact we have five) I have five and I venture into the city on public transport with them on my own, we go all over without DH, but Disney? I'd lose my mind within 24 hours if I went without DH and just the kids! (not to mention the fact I'd have to pee with at least 3 kids in the cubicle with me! ) It's a brave lady who takes five kids to a theme park on her own! My sister finds it hilarious when we go to anywhere crowded as she says she can see me constantly head counting under my breath (and yes, I've had panic attacks when I only count four and then my oldest says "mom, the baby is in the sling" )

This is just my opinion of course, but it seems to me that the larger families tend to have better behaved children than the families with less that 4. The parents from the beginning have had to have control or it would be absolute anarchy at home. It's just part of life for them.
And, for the record, I have 3 children, so I'm not stating this from a biased point of view. Just from my observations.

 

[nchulka]

This is just my opinion of course, but it seems to me that the larger families tend to have better behaved children than the families with less that 4. The parents from the beginning have had to have control or it would be absolute anarchy at home. It's just part of life for them.

This is so true! Years ago before I had kids I worked as a cashier at Target. The families with 4 or more kids always had very well behaved children. The only kids that threw tantrums were either by themselves or with one other sibling. Obviously not every kid who was an only or one of two threw fits, there were plenty of well behaved ones also. But I never did see large families have any problems with their kids. We cashiers actually used to comment about it, it was so obvious.

 

[rbbs]

Next time this happens just stare them right in the eyes and loudly say "oh the humanity" and slowly walk away shaking your head......



just kidding....never tried this but would love to know/see if it has any effect

 

[KBW]

Yes!!!! Someone who gets it!




As far as shopping?

How many mothers do we know that REALLY want to take their kids shopping? Shopping and kids is a terrible part of motherhood lol.

I prefer to drop off mine some where, or do it while she's in school. And if I see a kid having a meltdown, while out by myself, I don't give the mom a dirty look.

I secretly say Ahhhhh!!!! Then proceed to the shoe department and try on as many as I want.

love it! But then again, I'm from LI!! I see your location is NJ, so I'm wondering if maybe we were twins, separated at birth!