Balcony with a 4 year old, concerned?

[BugsMomma]

This is the first cruise where we will have a balcony. Should I be concerned with having a 4 year old? What's the chances of her being able to get to the top of the railing?

[OCruisers]

She won't be able to just slip off. The only way would be to take a chair or table and climb over. She's old enough to understand she's not allowed to stand on tables & chairs.

 

Don't worry and enjoy your balcony! :)

 

LuLu

~~~~~

[Scrapnana]

As long as she is not on the balcony without an adult you don't need to worry.

[gerif]

Assuming, of course, she is never on the balcony without an adult, there is no way she could climb over. She would have to drag a piece of furniture over to the rail and climb up on it which is impossible to do with an adult watching.

[Mom2B&Z]

Do you need to prepare her and set limits to balcony use? Yes. Our rule is no kids on the balcony without an adult.

Do you need to worry? No, but it comes with the job ;)

[NanciRDH]

Do you need to prepare her and set limits to balcony use? Yes. Our rule is no kids on the balcony without an adult.

Do you need to worry? No' date=' but it comes with the job ;)[/quote']

 

This is our rule too, along with chairs are only for sitting and no moving the furniture. We've been cruising in balconies since our youngest was 3, and she knows the rules. She can't open the slider herself, it's too heavy, but she knows if she breaks the rules, she won't be allowed to visit the balcony, even if there's a big person out there.

[cb at sea]

As your child will NEVER be on the balcony alone, you have nothing to worry about. If you want her overboard, you will have to throw her.

 

The balcony door has a child lock...and it's HARD to unlock and open. No worries!

[BugsMomma]

Thanks for all of the replies! I really don't see her being out on the balcony but if she is, there will ALWAYS be someone out there with her.

[Osmosis Jones]

We had a balcony with our 5 year old son on board last year.

He kept standing on the ottoman/footstool to look over the railing - the balcony was about the same height as him, so I could understand why he wanted to do it, but it still made me nervous, especially as the seas were rough for a couple of days:eek:.

 

Obviously we talked to him about safety etc., but it's so very exciting for little kids, that I wouldn't trust one on their own ;)

 

Thankfully, he couldn't open the door by himself so there was never a time where he unexpectedly took himself out there. We were always with him just in case.

 

Wishing you a fabulous cruise:)

[Bobbyjean]

I agree with Osmosis - it can be slightly nerve-wracking as they COULD in theory climb over the railing using a chair or table. Our son is always on the move and has no fear ... we really had to keep an eye on him last time we had a balcony. But it did not put us off booking another one.

 

Just have strict rules from the start (no climbing) and watch them like a hawk when the balcony door is open.

 

Hopefully you will have some time to relax too :D

[NanciRDH]

I agree with Osmosis - it can be slightly nerve-wracking as they COULD in theory climb over the railing using a chair or table. Our son is always on the move and has no fear ... we really had to keep an eye on him last time we had a balcony. But it did not put us off booking another one.

 

Just have strict rules from the start (no climbing) and watch them like a hawk when the balcony door is open.

 

Hopefully you will have some time to relax too :D

 

This is why the rule we had about furniture is only for sitting and don't move it was enforced with our DD. allowing the kid, no matter how rambunctious, to stand on the ottoman, shouldn't have been allowed at all. Laying down the law from the start and watching constantly them is the best advice. We were lucky to have balconies with glass sides, even tiny she had no issues seeing out. I realize not all ships are like this, so the desire to climb to see is real.