My kids club concern....

[ZIPBAGS]

My son will be 3 in a month. He is partially potty trained. The problem is that the kids program starts at 3 and they have to be trained. If not he has to go to some aquatots program which we have to stay with him the entire time. He also wouldn't enjoy being with the younger kids. Has anyone used either of these programs. I know they said if he is a month short of his 3rd b-day they will let him in....as long as he is potty trained. Well, we are doing the best we can.. But, he still has some accidents. Especially with people he doesn't know. We are more than willing to come down and change his pullup if he ever has an accident.

[Tromler]

Unfortunately children need to be diaper and pull up free to participate with no exceptions.

 

Our son has done the aquanauts (3-5) program 2 times now and loved it.

 

Most recently on Navigator last week.

[ElvisandTracey]

The kids must be 100% potty trained for health reasons-the AO programs do not have changing facilities nor staff trained to change diapers, therefore no diapers, no pull-ups, period. Without proper facilities to dispose of diapers and clean up, disease could break out all over the ship-so no, no pull ups, for any reason. My son will almost be 2 on our cruise, so my options are in room babysitting (which I use all the time) or Aqua tots.

[Rala]

The "entire time" of Aquatots is 45min. to maybe just short of an hour. My grand-daughter "participated" recently and she was the only child there. She had a great time.

 

As a former pre-school teacher (23 yrs.) I know from experience that most children under the age of 3 will "parallel play", that is play right beside another child perhaps doing the same thing, but not not interact with the other child.

 

Having seen the program, I think your "almost three" would be delighted with all the new toys whether there are other "tots" there or not.

 

I hope you all enjoy your cruise!

[JULIE7]

:rolleyes: :eek: I just went on my first cruise ever on the Jewel of the Seas. I have a 3 year old. Just turned 3. She is potty trained and its rare that she has an accident. She went to adventure Ocean. with her sister (4 years) and they loved it. Unfortunately the bad news is that the first thing they tell you is that they have a strike 2 policy that if she has 2 accidents, she cant come back. I was confident this was not going to happen to me and one day it did. And they are very strict with this, when I went to pick her up they emphasized Again about a possible next time what would happen. When you leave the kids in this program they give you a cell phone for you to have in case they need to get in touch with you and thats how they call you. That day when I went to get my daughter she was soooooo upset.. I felt bad for her. She felt very embarrassed. I worried about a second time because they really loved to go there. Happily it did not happened again.

So if you still have time, you better train your tod more so that he can enjoy the club without this hassle.

[JULIE7]

:eek: My cruise started nov 13th and my daughter turned 3 on Nov. 14th and The first day they did not let her in the program, I had to wait for her to be fully 3 years old.

If your tod is not 3 they wont let him in the program.

[jwlane]

a strike 2 policy that if she has 2 accidents, she cant come back

An "accident" isn't even necessary. If the AO staff has to assist in any way (pull up, zip, button, etc.) a strike is counted.

[nreilly]

That is crazy that if they need help zipping or buttoning then that is considered a "strike". My six year old sometimes needs help buttoning his jeans. I guess you should go with all elastic.

[jwlane]

That is crazy that if they need help

It does seem extreme, but in these litigious days one can theorize why. Some kid alleges "He touched me", and all hell breaks loose. What they tell the kids (No touchy touchy) goes for them, too.

[VikkiGarcia]

Unfortunately in this day and age they cannot help at all. My sister brought two pairs of sweatpants for her son to wear every time he went into AO. He would change back to shorts or pants back in the cabin. She just alternated each time and rewore them all week.

[ruttie]

They have no way of knowing if your child is in a pull up or not... If you are dililgent and you check on him routinely. I say send him. My son was potty trained but like most kids sometimes he would get involved and just forget or put off pottying until it was an emergency then he would occasionally have an accident because he did not make it to the potty in time.. I made sure i showed him where the bathroom was several times and reminded him often just in case luckily for us he had no problem.. But just in case I put him in a pair oif training pants.. good luck and enjoy!

[rjg41]

They have no way of knowing if your child is in a pull up or not... If you are dililgent and you check on him routinely. I say send him. My son was potty trained but like most kids sometimes he would get involved and just forget or put off pottying until it was an emergency then he would occasionally have an accident because he did not make it to the potty in time.. I made sure i showed him where the bathroom was several times and reminded him often just in case luckily for us he had no problem.. But just in case I put him in a pair oif training pants.. good luck and enjoy!

 

First, for the age there is no exception. Remember they have a BC or passport for the child. Secondly, accidents are one thing but to intentionally put in a child that is NOT potty trained is another. In that case if any kids in AO get ill, like ecoli, because of the dishonest, deceitful parent(s), I hope they get sued big time. I guess there are always people who think that rules are for everyone but them.

 

On our family cruise we have two grandkids that were not old enough/potty trained. They had a great time but of course their parents were not worried, "we have to stay with him the entire time". By the way, there is in-room babysitting available.

 

Of course other alternatives is bring someone along to help with the child or leave him home.

[ruttie]

. Secondly, accidents are one thing but to intentionally put in a child that is NOT potty trained is another. In that case if any kids in AO get ill, like ecoli, because of the dishonest, deceitful parent(s), I hope they get sued big time. I guess there are always people who think that rules are for everyone but them.

.

 

It is highly unlikely that any kid would a get sick from another kid having an accident in his pull up. with pants on.(were not talking at the pool which is a totally differnt story). And to bring up suing someone becasue a kid has an accident in his pants is just plain out there....

However, there is NO excuse if a parent sends a sick child weather they are trained or not to the kids club...

The OP said there child was mostly potty trained, so why not send them to the kids club and check on them frequently to see how they are doing. There is no way to prevent an accident and even potty trained kids can have an accident especially when they are on cruise ships or in unfamiliar settings... putting a pull up or taring pant on them would just be an added bit of protection just in case....

The age is a different story if they are too young for the age requierments to the kids club they are too young period! No way to get around that one nor should you try...

[posmanti]

My daughter is 3 and fully potty trained, but needs help wiping a "number two". Can I ask them to page me if she has to do a number two and I'll come do the deed? Or, is this considered a "strike"?

[Sun and Fun]

ALL children have accidents. My almost 6 year old was at a birthday party and got so involved he had an accident on the way to the bathroom. It happens. At least RCCL has a 2 strike policy.

[jwlane]

Or, is this considered a "strike"?

It is a strike. They must be completely independent.

[JCSM-Mom]

My son will be 3 in a month. He is partially potty trained. The problem is that the kids program starts at 3 and they have to be trained. If not he has to go to some aquatots program which we have to stay with him the entire time. He also wouldn't enjoy being with the younger kids. Has anyone used either of these programs. I know they said if he is a month short of his 3rd b-day they will let him in....as long as he is potty trained. Well, we are doing the best we can.. But, he still has some accidents. Especially with people he doesn't know. We are more than willing to come down and change his pullup if he ever has an accident.

 

We just got back from the Voyager. My son turned 3 a week before we sailed. He is also partially potty trained. They told me about the 2 strike rule and said I could give it a try. I didn't send him. I was afraid it would be to upsetting for him to get booted out and not get to go after he'd already been there. He wouldn't understand. I also have a 17 month old, who couldn't go anyway. Not only that, we did not have an regular underwear for him just pullups and they stressed they couldn't wear those, so I'm not sure if they check or not.

 

We went to the aquatots program on the Sea days. The kids really enjoyed it.

 

I didn't realize until I read here though that they had to be able to button, zip and wipe 100% too! That is alot for a 3YO!

 

Have a great trip.

[rjg41]

By the way, another option for those with kids not potty trained or between 2 and 3. Carnival's program allows kids from 2 and up and potty training is not a reguirement. Note here: http://www.carnival.com/CMS/Static_Templates/Toddlers.aspx

[atlcple2]

Perhaps part of the reason that they don't change pull-ups or diapers is for liability reasons. All it takes is for one child to say that he/she was touched inappropriately and there is a serious problem on board...for good reason. Maybe I have worked in the legal field for too long, but it is just a thought.

[larkwind]

OP--last year we took our then 3y 2mo, potty-trained boy on a Celebrity cruise. We didn't leave him in there more than a couple of hours at a time because he would need a round of 'mommytime'. So if your little one is able to go pullup-free for a short time, just go get him and play a bit in the cabin or have lunch, etc before going back. Our guy was there morning, afternoon, and after early dinner for 1-2 hours each time and he had plenty of fun, but wasn't tired and cranky for the counsellors. Once, we got there to pick him up and he was happily sitting on a toilet, singing at the top of his lungs, assuring them he wasn't done yet...I guess he just needed some alone time:rolleyes: They thought it was hilarious (but he also didn't need to be wiped, either...so don't know how that would have worked).

Good luck with the training--we had one easy boy and one hard...but both are fine now!

[imsulin2]

Just an observation: When my daughter was 20 months old, she would get a clean diaper out of the box, get the Wipes, take the dirty diaper off and throw it away, and lie on her back with her little legs up in the air, saying "I'm ready!" We figured she was ready for toilet training. When my oldest son was five years old, we had to still use the jellybean reinforcement and the "toilet target"....just so he could go to Kindergarten!:D

[larkwind]

Just FYI--tried to have our 4yo wipe himself today. He couldn't even reach far enough--and he's big for his age! So that leaves us with option #2--don't go 'poop' at AO...go ahead of time or wait 'til we get back. This could be interesting...

 

IMHO just calling the parents (don't they give a phone?) and giving a strike if the parents can't/don't come, would solve the problem with the least stress on the kids and parents.