What age did you let your kids go out on their own?

[bnorris10]

My oldest was allowed to go out at the age of 12 as long as she kept in touch with us where she was at

 

 

My youngest is now 10 and at this point and time I do not believe she is ready to wonder the ship yet on her own - However I will allow her to stay in the room by herself

[tonit964]

Hi! We have looked in on the roll call but havent really read over everything. We will check it out, if there is a family oriented meet and greet then we would love to attend! Thanks for the heads up!

 

Your cruise was this past summer. So, how did it go?

[duchesslt]

I am pretty paranoid. I view a 4k passengers/1.7staff as a floating city. I think of the other people on board as strangers. I've read enough stories of bad things happening on cruise lines.

 

I don't let my son wander all around our (safe) town - no way would I let him roam a city with 5700 strangers with unlimited drink packages from Lord Knows Where.

 

My son is in 7th grade/12 years old and I would consider maybe allowing him to go from the kids club to the room since it is on the same deck but no way would he have free run of the ship, even with checking in or iConcierge. I still haven't decided if I feel comfortable with letting him sign himself out for this single purpose.

 

Again, I'm paranoid and there are really no protections for him on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

 

I read a fascinating very broad sampling study of kids ages 6-12 who were repeatedly taught for 3 months the dangers of strangers and various scenarios that are commonly used by strangers luring kids. Over 95% of the kids in the study were lured by a person away from an open area to "help find his puppy" shortly after the conclusion of the daily lessons.

 

Good behavior and maturity are very different things. I just don't think most kids have the maturity to not fall for manipulative bad people - it is the beauty of their innocence.

[ellis101]

You know your kids best and really are the only people who can do what is essentially a risk assessment for what you will permit for them.

 

We cruise in March with our 11 year old. He is sensible, well mannered, and knows the limit of his confidence. Our thought process is that for the first couple days he will stay with us when not in kids club. Once he is comfortable with the ship layout, if he wants to go up to the buffet crepe station on his own for example then No problem. If he wants to hang out with friends in the video game place no problem. It is likely that he might not want to go places on his own and that's ok too. It's a family holiday as well his holiday.

[Pat]

One thing I haven't heard mentioned and its the one thing I would live in terror of......What if a young woman was walking down the hall towards her cabin, one of the doors to another cabin opens and she is pulled into that cabin.....it could easily happen, in the afternoons I've frequently encountered long, lonely halls with so many doors. This is what I worry about, I've even felt uncomfortable once or twice myself, so I think up on the public decks they would be fine, but my rule would be to stay away from the cabin decks and to scream bloody murder if anyone tries to touch you.

[Crusin6]

One thing I haven't heard mentioned and its the one thing I would live in terror of......What if a young woman was walking down the hall towards her cabin, one of the doors to another cabin opens and she is pulled into that cabin.....it could easily happen, in the afternoons I've frequently encountered long, lonely halls with so many doors. This is what I worry about, I've even felt uncomfortable once or twice myself, so I think up on the public decks they would be fine, but my rule would be to stay away from the cabin decks and to scream bloody murder if anyone tries to touch you.

 

 

Your post makes too much sense and you risk being called neurotic....overprotected.....etc etc

 

 

I agree 100% with you btw and posted your exact thoughts many years ago only to be told that I was raising my kids wrong etc etc

 

You know it is the kids vacay too of course and they need to grow up sometime and other such nonsense

 

 

So be it.... But for me and my very independent capable kids....we don't need to prove ourselves in a small international city of 4000 plus 1500 from countries whose thoughts and lifestyles are different from mine.

 

 

 

 

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[jackson bernard]

Not to add fuel to the fire, but when I was a teenager (90's) a cruise was a FAVORITE vacation for my buddies b/c most all of them lost their virginity and got laid.

 

I have no idea what you should do, your wife may have valid concerns...I'm sure those guys/girls parents when I was a kid had no idea that was going on. Can just as easily happen at home too, but vacation makes things seem more ok.

 

I think you have to be most concerned with kids 13-16 which IMO is when teenagers are really dumb and probably haven't had as much of that independence at home. By the time your kid is 17 or 18 you just have to trust them.

 

 

Now was that necessary?

[Wavesprite]

Not to add fuel to the fire, but when I was a teenager (90's) a cruise was a FAVORITE vacation for my buddies b/c most all of them lost their virginity and got laid.

 

I call BS. I have a feeling that that's what your buddies told you.....

[Aldeya]

I am pretty paranoid. I view a 4k passengers/1.7staff as a floating city. I think of the other people on board as strangers. I've read enough stories of bad things happening on cruise lines.

 

I don't let my son wander all around our (safe) town - no way would I let him roam a city with 5700 strangers with unlimited drink packages from Lord Knows Where.

 

My son is in 7th grade/12 years old and I would consider maybe allowing him to go from the kids club to the room since it is on the same deck but no way would he have free run of the ship, even with checking in or iConcierge. I still haven't decided if I feel comfortable with letting him sign himself out for this single purpose.

 

Again, I'm paranoid and there are really no protections for him on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

 

I read a fascinating very broad sampling study of kids ages 6-12 who were repeatedly taught for 3 months the dangers of strangers and various scenarios that are commonly used by strangers luring kids. Over 95% of the kids in the study were lured by a person away from an open area to "help find his puppy" shortly after the conclusion of the daily lessons.

 

Good behavior and maturity are very different things. I just don't think most kids have the maturity to not fall for manipulative bad people - it is the beauty of their innocence.

 

I feel the same. Just a little observation from our recent cruise. There was a group of teenagers at 1am sitting on the stairs between the floors. They were all loud but one particular girl who looked 13-14 was swearing like an old sailor. F this, F that...

 

We were waiting for the elevator and just happened to see,I assume, the girl's mother running to them furious that her child is still out. Well, what do you know... the moment the woman approached the kids that girl instantly transformed into a little caring angel who was so apologetic and so sweet. You wouldn't think this was the same child.

 

My point is sometimes even we, the parents, don't know our kids well enough, especially teenagers. We just think we know....

Edited December 9, 2015 by Aldeya

[kerryincork]

It's a tough decision when you have teens. Just think back to when you were a teen and how much freedom you had, and go by that. I really don't think it is any more dangerous these days, it just the media make it seem that way. It is very rare for strangers to attack anyone. Any harm coming to anyone child or adult is likely to be done by family or friend. I mean I have heard of the occasional fight between passengers (never witnessed any). You know your kid, set out rules . meet up regularly and see how you get on.

[duchesslt]

I feel the same. Just a little observation from our recent cruise. There was a group of teenagers at 1am sitting on the stairs between the floors. They were all loud but one particular girl who looked 13-14 was swearing like an old sailor. F this, F that...

 

We were waiting for the elevator and just happened to see,I assume, the girl's mother running to them furious that her child is still out. Well, what do you know... the moment the woman approached the kids that girl instantly transformed into a little caring angel who was so apologetic and so sweet. You wouldn't think this was the same child.

 

My point is sometimes even we, the parents, don't know our kids well enough, especially teenagers. We just think we know....

 

I'm with you! No WAY I would let my 14 year old just check in with me on a cruise with booze everywhere and young teens from families I don't know running all around. I can see he is developing a personality with his friends that is different from his personality at home. This age group probably needs more supervision than ages 9-12. He's a cautious and good kid but very, very naive still. In his circle of many friends his age, I fail to know one who is "mature" enough to handle themselves in young adult or adult situations or street smart enough to see a bad situation unfolding.

[ala1017]

This is a big "Nope" for me as well. My daughter is 11 and we will be sailing Sunday. I do not think of myself as an overprotective parent but certainly cautious. I know 4 people going on this cruise personally and my daughter is one of them. Sure 99% of people on board are probably very decent human beings...it just takes one creep to destroy your world. The safety of my child is not worth that risk. At least in the kids club I can take some comfort in knowing there are "adult like" people in charge, she's not roaming around and I know when I go there..she'll be there. But to each their own. If you are comfortable with letting your own child come and go, that's your choice as a parent, I'm not going to judge anyones parenting skills, it's a hard job and not one child/family/situation is the same.

[Jenjer]

I don't think any parent thinks their child is the same with their friends as they are with their parents. Personally I enjoy watching my kids in their natural habitat with their friends. :)

 

You will find kids who stick to their folks like glue and others who run free all week.

 

I remember on Getaway my DS was just turned 10 he got a migraine one evening. Since he needs to sleep it off we left in in the cabin alone resting and went out to dinner. We told him to stay in the room we would come back in about 90 minutes and check on him. Well as we where finishing up he strolled right in. I was shocked and a little worried that my baby had been wondering the ship all alone. My DH got me a drink and told me to chill out. My DS was proud of himself. He wanted to eat he knew were we where so he came to us. He said he looked up the path and came straight here. If he didn't find us he would have gone back to the room. He also left a note in the room that he came to find us with the time he left the room. That showed me he had more maturity than I had ever thought.

 

Sometimes a little freedom can show you what your kids are made of.