First time letting the kids check themselves in and out of Camp--a little nervous

[Lady_E]

sorry I can't agree with you...do you have girls of your own? If you think you are not susceptible to the World's dangers you are very naive. Many people "well this will never happen to me"..and sad to say it can and does....I am a Father of 3 Girls so I can understand paranoia...

 

I'm naive because my parents trained me to be AWARE of the world and its dangers?

 

I NEVER said it COULDN'T happen. Even the most alert person in the world is still susceptible to the world, and I agree, stuff does happen. However, I was using the other poster's real life example of a crew member as something that would NOT happen to me or my friends precisely BECAUSE we were taught to look out for each other and be aware of weird stuff like that.

 

Yes, teenagers can be dumb and I'm sure many a young girl has had her head turned by the older man who shows interest in her. However, I was taught that lesson at 14, when an older guy sat down next to me at a beach and started chatting me up. I asked how old he was; 19. I promptly excused myself, not out of fear, but because I knew I was in over my head and that a 19 year old was too old for me.

 

Teaching your kids to think and be aware of the world makes them much less vulnerable to the world.

 

The other poster's paranoia is extreme. She'd do better to teach her children to be aware of their surroundings and to go to a trusted adult if they feel they need help than to smother them with fear.

 

Perverts are everywhere; there's just no avoiding them. As I said before, all you can do is teach your kids to be aware and be careful. Teaching them absolute paranoia isn't going to do anything but make them scared of the world.

[serene56]

the number one rule should be to stay in public areas and stay away from the cabin areas.

 

this is not hard to do on a ship as most decks are cabin areas.

 

kids can be on deck 5 or the lido deck. No reason to be elsewhere.

[Andoria]

If you have any concerns about your child's safety, I recommend "Protecting the Gift." A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders after reading it.

 

I was always fine with my son talking to strangers. By doing so, he developed his own instincts about people. For back up, he's also working on getting his 3rd dan black belt in Taekwondo and started Kung Fu lessons:) He's been roaming around town and walking to school since he's been 9.

[Redsfan]

I'm naive because my parents trained me to be AWARE of the world and its dangers?

 

I NEVER said it COULDN'T happen. Even the most alert person in the world is still susceptible to the world, and I agree, stuff does happen. However, I was using the other poster's real life example of a crew member as something that would NOT happen to me or my friends precisely BECAUSE we were taught to look out for each other and be aware of weird stuff like that.

 

Yes, teenagers can be dumb and I'm sure many a young girl has had her head turned by the older man who shows interest in her. However, I was taught that lesson at 14, when an older guy sat down next to me at a beach and started chatting me up. I asked how old he was; 19. I promptly excused myself, not out of fear, but because I knew I was in over my head and that a 19 year old was too old for me.

 

Teaching your kids to think and be aware of the world makes them much less vulnerable to the world.

 

The other poster's paranoia is extreme. She'd do better to teach her children to be aware of their surroundings and to go to a trusted adult if they feel they need help than to smother them with fear.

 

Perverts are everywhere; there's just no avoiding them. As I said before, all you can do is teach your kids to be aware and be careful. Teaching them absolute paranoia isn't going to do anything but make them scared of the world.

 

I may have misunderstood you as saying that nothing bad can happen to you because you were taught to be aware of every situation...what I am trying to say is not even you is not susceptible to something bad happening heaven forbid. Trust me, I am a Dad of 3 Girls and when they are older I will 100% be afraid something bad can happen to them on any day, I am also very aware that we have to teach them rights from wrong and help them to not put themselves in vulnerable situations. Also, to let them know it is okay to walk away from these situations as well. I am likely over protective so I have to watch the fine line of controlling and not letting experience things, etc...

[Brenna's Mom1]

I am a Dad of 3 Girls and when they are older I will 100% be afraid something bad can happen to them on any day

 

That is paranoia to the extreme. But then they are your kids and you can choose to raise them anyway you see fit. You just need to understand that others don't see the "bad" 24/7 and that doesn't make them an uncaring parent or one who doesn't care about the safety of their kids. By the way, and I'm not being facetious, do you keep them tethered to you all day, everyday?

[Redsfan]

That is paranoia to the extreme. But then they are your kids and you can choose to raise them anyway you see fit. You just need to understand that others don't see the "bad" 24/7 and that doesn't make them an uncaring parent or one who doesn't care about the safety of their kids. By the way' date=' and I'm not being facetious, do you keep them tethered to you all day, everyday?[/quote']

 

yes and I home school them 24/7 with only bread and water. Exactly where did I suggest I am raising them that way? Did I not suggest that I will be scared for their safety? Do you live in an area where an 8 year old girl was picked up on her way home from school only to be raped and had body parts spread over a field by a Woman and Man later caught and in jail for 25? I simply stated I am over protective but aware I have to let them experience things. I think every Dad grabbed their Girls when that little girl's body was found

[Brenna's Mom1]

I'm not going to go on beating this dead horse...the question originally asked was do we think that the OP should allow her kids to check themselves in and out of their programs. And many of us feel, if they are able to be on their own on land that it possibly will bode well for giving them some independence on the ship. How others choose to raise their kids is not the concern....and we were showing her that giving kids some independence is not being a bad parent...though, others, obviously disagree.

[loxley]

I'm naive because my parents trained me to be AWARE of the world and its dangers?

 

I NEVER said it COULDN'T happen. Even the most alert person in the world is still susceptible to the world, and I agree, stuff does happen. However, I was using the other poster's real life example of a crew member as something that would NOT happen to me or my friends precisely BECAUSE we were taught to look out for each other and be aware of weird stuff like that.

 

Yes, teenagers can be dumb and I'm sure many a young girl has had her head turned by the older man who shows interest in her. However, I was taught that lesson at 14, when an older guy sat down next to me at a beach and started chatting me up. I asked how old he was; 19. I promptly excused myself, not out of fear, but because I knew I was in over my head and that a 19 year old was too old for me.

 

Teaching your kids to think and be aware of the world makes them much less vulnerable to the world.

 

The other poster's paranoia is extreme. She'd do better to teach her children to be aware of their surroundings and to go to a trusted adult if they feel they need help than to smother them with fear.

 

Perverts are everywhere; there's just no avoiding them. As I said before, all you can do is teach your kids to be aware and be careful. Teaching them absolute paranoia isn't going to do anything but make them scared of the world.

 

I call it raising victims. There was a post here a while back where one of the super over protective parents were a few minutes late picking their daughter up at camp. She was put out of camp at 10pm. They found her sitting on the steps crying because her parents were not there. Does anything scream victim more than a child sitting on the steps crying because they don't know what to do? My children by the age of five or so would have known what to do in that situation.

 

It is like my dog and the town dogs. My dog got ran over the very first time he got out of the fence, however the town dogs live for years crossing the road several times a day. My dog had no clue how to cross a road because he had been in the backyard being cared for his whole life. The town dogs know how to cross the road for the most part. I have seen them cross half way, wait on the line for traffic, then continue. Occassionally one does get hit, but my dog was killed within 20 minutes the first time he was out of the backyard.

[loxley]

yes and I home school them 24/7 with only bread and water. Exactly where did I suggest I am raising them that way? Did I not suggest that I will be scared for their safety? Do you live in an area where an 8 year old girl was picked up on her way home from school only to be raped and had body parts spread over a field by a Woman and Man later caught and in jail for 25? I simply stated I am over protective but aware I have to let them experience things. I think every Dad grabbed their Girls when that little girl's body was found

 

Actually our neighbor, the mailman, kidnapped the child across the street on the premise of running to the store for ice cream, took her down to the beach, cut her up pretty bad, very badly in fact. He tried to remove her arms. Thought she was dead and tried to drive away but was stuck and actually flagged down a man for help covered in blood. That man called the police and they found her and she lived. Her parents had taught her to not talk to strangers. Not to take candy from strangers. Guess what, she didn't accept a ride to the store with a stranger. She went with her neighbor. The man that came over for bar b q's and would bring back candy for the kids when he went to the store. Their mailman. Truth is, if she had gone in to ask if he could take her to the store, her parents would have probably let her go.

 

Sometimes the wolf eats the lamb no matter what you do.

[Lady_E]

I call it raising victims. There was a post here a while back where one of the super over protective parents were a few minutes late picking their daughter up at camp. She was put out of camp at 10pm. They found her sitting on the steps crying because her parents were not there. Does anything scream victim more than a child sitting on the steps crying because they don't know what to do? My children by the age of five or so would have known what to do in that situation.

 

It is like my dog and the town dogs. My dog got ran over the very first time he got out of the fence, however the town dogs live for years crossing the road several times a day. My dog had no clue how to cross a road because he had been in the backyard being cared for his whole life. The town dogs know how to cross the road for the most part. I have seen them cross half way, wait on the line for traffic, then continue. Occassionally one does get hit, but my dog was killed within 20 minutes the first time he was out of the backyard.

 

 

 

I'm so sorry about your dog. I think pets are a little different and you should not feel guilty because you raised your dog in a backyard (they're pets. That's usually where they go. :))

 

But I agree with you about the girl. Once, in college, I thought my car was stolen. I patiently scoured the parking lot, then called every family member I knew. No one was answering their phones (it was a weird day). So then I called the non-emergency police line, and reported the car stolen. Turns out it had been towed (dumb me, parked it in the wrong spot). So I went and bailed my poor car out.

 

Was I annoyed that I'd had to pay 100 bucks and waste my time and worry about my car? Oh yeah. But my parents--and life experience--had also taught me what to do in such a situation.

 

The girl crying on the steps was obviously never taught any practical life lessons. If your parents are late picking you up, you borrow a phone from someone and CALL them. You don't sit there crying like a baby!

 

Raising your kids to be victims is the WORST thing you can do, in my opinion. How in the world is your kid going to survive in a world where they're NOT special snowflakes, and no one cares what happens to them, if you don't raise them to take care of themselves?

[crazytrain486]

Ours are 14,13 and 11.5. We have rules, they go to the activity and when done go back to our room. We leave post it notes on the mirror of our location during the day and they come and meet up with us. They all have to be back in the room by 5! we get ready for dinner, eat as a family and then off to the activities for night time. My girls are 14, and 13 so they stay together. Just like land know who they are with, check in-spy what ever you want to call it, meet the kids and hopefully their parents.