Having nightmares about toddler falling overboard

[cb at sea]

Before my 1st child was born, I had nightmares about leaving him on the top of the car while I drove off! Horrifying! Well, it never happened! It's amazing what catastrophies your mind can conjur up!

 

Your child will be fine. If you want them overboard, you'll have to throw them....they will NOT "fall" off.

[katerkat]

Heck, my kid will be eight and I'm still worried about it! He wasn't quite three in the picture in my signature, and we threatened him with no dessert if he EVER stood on a chair near the railing. (And then proceeded to put him on a chair for the picture.) If you're a mom, you can see my arm is totally protecting him from the railing....a good few feet away!

[MMsteffey]

We've been on many cruises with small children-- it's just like being on the second or higher level at the mall, on any hotel/condo/home balcony, upstairs at your house - people who go over the rail, want to. Of course, no climbing on the rails. Use your high-caution parental radar to keep them from getting stepped on at the buffet, from falling down the stairs, from getting bumped by heavy doors. Hope you have a great cruise!

[redpryor]

The first time I had those dreams was while I was on a cruise with my then 20-month old and 4-year old daughters. What made me most nervous was when their then-23-year-old uncle (single, no children) would hold them up on his hip and walk over to the edge... !!!:eek:

 

I am a pretty quiet person, but when he did that, I told him very sternly that he was NOT to pick up my children when he was within 15 feet of the rail!!!

 

It was after that when I had the nightmares. Before that, I was not concerned. There was never any time when my kids were near a rail that they could/would climb. And even though most adults would be careful in holding a child near the rail, I just felt it was an unnecessary risk. What if someone walks by and bumps you and the kid goes flying over the edge? Just don't do it! Let them look through the glass or through the rails!

 

Now I have a third child, a boy. Aren't boys so different! I wouldn't have trusted my son not to climb the rails, and anything else he encountered! He is now 4 years old, and I finally trust him enough to take him on a cruise. His sisters are 7 and 10 now, and I trust them of course.

 

But you can bet that I will give every adult who is traveling with us a serious debriefing before we get on the ship that NONE of my children are to be held up near the rail!

 

By the way, we always book interior rooms too, mostly for the safety. We also always take plenty of adults along (there will be 7 adults including me and hubby) so that there are plenty of hands to hold, and eyes to keep watch. (And babysitters if hubby and I want to do something by ourselves ever.)

[murfturf]

I thought it was just me :) I had a son drift away in a river, and hubby caught him quick - but that gives me recurring nightmares. Since we booked our cruise I have thoughts of my 6 yo falling overboard as well. I think that he's too close and the wind or a bump can do it. We will have a balcony, while the kids have an interior room. I'm sure he'll want to come on our balcony but I will be super paranoid. The thought of me holding him and then losing my grip has been in my dreams as well!

 

I think it's just a personality type, and I'm trying to work on not obsessing about it too much! Anti-anxiety meds might help ;) Seriously though, I know he's going to be fine and I am trying to not let it dampen our plans. We have a sail and snorkel planned, and if the excursion says age 4 and up, then he should be just fine. He is a swimmer and we will take all safety precautions.

 

Just wanted to let you know I'm right there with you!

[finzup-kt]

i've been having similar thoughts... I'll be cruising in May - my little one will be 9 months. I just can't seem to get this vision of me carrying her walking on an open deck, and then I trip on the deck and she goes flying.

 

It's odd. In this "vision" I never see her go overboard, I just "feel" like she would?

 

We did book a balcony room but she won't even be out there with us so I'm not too worried about that. It's on the decks that I worry.

[MM4M]

I have heard some posters on a different thread talk about the gushes of air that happen when your balcony door is open and you open the room door to the hallway...what is THAT all about? Some people say it is pretty strong...

[crusinmama06]

Well I have always been the one to say "it's not possible" - well last month we saw "possible" - a baby dropped from one deck to the deck below.

 

So the moral to the story - ANYTHING is possible and don't take your eye off of your child.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1754820

 

And does it change my opinion - no - I still think balconies are the only way to cruise when you have young children. You just need common sense.

[dsrdsrdsr]

i've been having similar thoughts... I'll be cruising in May - my little one will be 9 months. I just can't seem to get this vision of me carrying her walking on an open deck, and then I trip on the deck and she goes flying.

 

It's odd. In this "vision" I never see her go overboard, I just "feel" like she would?

The decks are quite wide, plenty of room to stay away from the rail. After all, what do you think your normal reaction would be if you fell while carrying your daughter? (a) roll and/or put your arms out to ensure you didn't land on her; (b) throw her as far and as high as you can in the hope of clearing the nearest fence?

 

Seriously, there's more chance you'll be hit by an asteroid.

[ginger123snaps]

OMG...I had been on several before having kids....You can see in my signature there was a huge gap in our cruising..we had kids and before we took our first cruise with the children I was having nightmares also! I would wake up at 2 am and research how many toddlers if any have fallen overboard. It's a mom thing and I totally understand your concern. The great thing about the kids club is that they stay enclosed and don't go out....when they were with us..we watched them like a hawk. We took our first cruise with the kids when they were 3, 3, and 2 (all three are boys). Everything went smooth. I won't say stop having nightmares..because you will...you will feel much better once on board!

[ginger123snaps]

OMG...I had been on several before having kids....You can see in my signature there was a huge gap in our cruising..we had kids and before we took our first cruise with the children I was having nightmares also! I would wake up at 2 am and research how many toddlers if any have fallen overboard. It's a mom thing and I totally understand your concern. The great thing about the kids club is that they stay enclosed and don't go out....when they were with us..we watched them like a hawk. We took our first cruise with the kids when they were 3, 3, and 2 (all three are boys). Everything went smooth. I won't say stop having nightmares..because you will...you will feel much better once on board! Just take the same precautions you would in any public area!

[cantwait2cruise]

We just booked our first cruise in almost four years and literally as soon as I booked and paid on Saturday night, I got this wave of paranoia about my three year old falling through the railing. I thought OMG what have I done? We have an inside room so there is no issue there. And I will just make sure we are careful up on the decks.

 

On a prior cruise, my mom and I were sitting on a deck where a dad was letting his small son climb on the railing and I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I had to get up and leave because it was making me so nervous.

[Julienatul]

The balcony is usually made of glass with no openings about 4 feet high. You can in my sig pic how high it is compared to my 3 and 6 year-old at the time. We always make a rule, no child is allowed out on the balcony without a grownup and absolutely no furniture anywhere near the railings.

[SarahD112]

If you're really worried - or have a climber - bring the chairs and table from the balcony into the room. You could always ask your room steward to store them for the week. Of course, you can't use them then.

[lucigo]

My son was platinum by the time he was 6, so lots of experience here, plus he has autism so I'm hyper-vigilant. My nightmare (took me days to shake off) was that somehow we were in our cabin, still in port and I left something in the car, went to get it and the ship sailed without me, and my son was in the cabin.

 

The "bad things" that have happened to us weren't the obvious, like a balcony, but just like at home its the little things you don't think about. Once he had his hands on the elevator door, it opened and his little hand went inside the wall with the door and smashed his finger. I freaked, he freaked, it was smooshed but in the end was fine.

 

HERE IS THE IMPORTANT ONE!!! The thing I REALLY worried about was that cruise cabin doors don't lock from the inside, you pull down on the handle and the door opens. One morning I woke up early and went to get coffee. Ben woke up (2-1/2) and climbs over dad who could sleep through a fire, and is half way down the hall when I come around the corner and see him looking for me. Scary part is with the autism if I hadn't found him its not like he would have been able to talk to anyone else. After this I started using the stroller as a barricade. We have been on autism group cruises where parents bring stick-on plastic alarms. And believe me, when they go off everyone comes looking.

[Chicky2181]

[quote name='fragilek']If I had a small child with me I would choose an ocean view room rather than a balcony roomt. It would be worth it so that you can relax a bit more.[/QUOTE]

This is exactly what we did. When our dd was 7 months old we had a balcony, but she will be three on our next cruise. So went with the ocean view for peace of mind.


I have nightmares too....just like the OP. actually last night I had one and the ship started to lurk back and forth and then a huge gust a wind came and sucked my little one over board. I know I sound crazy. :o