Leaving your child in "Cruise Daycare"

[mncamck]

We have been on several cruises but this will be our first one with our child. She will be just shy of her third birthday. I am wondering about leaving her in the cruise camp for kids. I cant imagine just leaving her with perfect strangers...but I think it would be nice to have some alone time. Will I worry about her the entire time? Just wondering how this works.

[Travalerie]

My girls 3 and 9 months are not in daycare and we don't use babysitters regularly, so I understand how you feel....I think the group setting may be easier than in cabin babysitting. The staff has more accountability in the group setting. She will have fun and the people that work in the kids areas are really nice. Our previous cruise our daughter has been too young-most require potty training too. Now she is ready and would enjoy the other kids. I would go in there, see how comfortable you feel with the staff and give her 30 min or so and come back and check to see how she is doing. If you come back and she is doing great you will feel more comfortable leaving her longer. Find out the ages and rules for your ship. My husband has refused to leave our 3 year old in the camp. I hope I get him to let her stay in there and play and he can sit on the outside and read a book;) .

[crusinmama06]

Our kids were never in daycare (I work from home) - yet they took to the camps like fish in water. :D

 

They are VERY safe there. There are many safety precautions put into effect, pending on which ship you are on. Some ships have security bracelets that send off an alarm when the kids are taken from the area.

 

Some have security monitors that you can actually look into the kids camps just by standing at the camp front desk.

 

Most offer pagers/cell phones (younger groups) so you can be reached onboard while the kids are there.

 

Honestly I have more of a problem getting the kids to come with ME and leave their friends on a cruise. :rolleyes:

 

I have the different cruiseline kids pages scanned into a site at the link in my signature. You can see the different acitivities offered. What cruiseline are you going on?

[kimmimom]

and did fine. She had never been in daycare (I work from home). She loved it! The staff was great. We were on Carnival so we had a beeper for any problems (and the only issues we had were potty accidents). She had not been trained that long at that point and had several accidents. They paged us once only because she had used up her spare clothes and had peed on her shoes. They handled it well and never got mad or anything. Finally I told them it was fine to ppt her a Pull Up that they supplied at no charge while she was there (tired of urine smell clothes in our cabin and/or washing clothes). She LOVED going!

[Mammaof2girls]

I feel the same way...about leaving my girls with perfect strangers. I am a stay at home mom, and they've never been in daycare. However, my 6 yr. old has been going to school since age 3 (a couple times a week half day). And my almost 4 yr. old started preschool 1/2 day when she turned 3. having said that, yes we do plan on putting them in the Kids Crew (we're going on the Norwegian Dawn next mo.). However, I refuse to let them stay there all day. It'll be a couple hours maybe during the day , and a couple hours on some nights so my husband and I can catch a dinner together. So start by leaving her for only an hour or two during the day...checking up on her frequently. If you leave her there all day (which in my opinion, I won't...that's just me) of course you will miss her and start thinking about her alot. Just do it enough so where you can get some alone time...whether it be taking a swim in the pool or eating a meal, etc. :)

 

Good luck! :)

[Onessa]

My best friend is a special needs teacher at our local school. She has daily meetings with the Kindergarten teachers to discuss her students' classroom behavior and progress while the kids are in their classrooms. I also know most of the Kindergarten and first grade teachers.

 

The agreement among these early elementary school teachers is that they would take 10 assorted "special needs" kids over one child whose mom/dad was an overprotective "stay-at-home" parent. While they emphasize that most of the kids are great (SAH or day-care, special needs or non-special needs) the ones that are the most disruptive and the most difficult to work with are those who have never been in any sort of a group education or group care situation. These kids have never needed to think for themselves, to get along with peers, or to follow rules. At this elementary school, every year there are a couple of these kids.

 

If you are not comfortable with the specific situations with on-board programs; that is one thing. If you are not comfortable with allowing your child into safe situations where he has the opportunity to interact with others, and to explore and play without you hovering above her; you need to rethink your parenting philosophy.

 

I have never considered the kids programs on any of the cruises we have taken as "daycare". I realize that the activities that may interest me, a mature adult female, may not be the same activities that may interest my DD (now nearly 13yo, but who has been cruising with us since she was 2YO). The kids programs are opportunities for my DD to meet other kids her age (as fascinating as my DH and I are, I realize that my kid does like to be around kids her own age sometimes). The programs are opportunities to play games that I may not care for, and to learn about new things (sorry, I will NEVER dissect a squid in MY kitchen!), and to dance and sing and stuff that she would be too embarrassed to do in front of adults.

 

The kids club activities are part of your kids fun while on vacation -- it is the opportunity for kids to be kids. If you feel like you are dumping your kids at the kids club so that you can run off and finally enjoy yourself, I think you need to rethink being a parent. If you don't let your kids play at the kids club and think that the people whose kids are in the club are shirking their responsiblity -- you need to get over yourself. But if you are just worried that your kid may not like the kids club -- relax, most kids really like it; and if yours does not you'll just deal with it at that time -- there's not much you can do right now to change how they will react to it when you are on your cruise.

[Travalerie]

My best friend is a special needs teacher at our local school. She has daily meetings with the Kindergarten teachers to discuss her students' classroom behavior and progress while the kids are in their classrooms. I also know most of the Kindergarten and first grade teachers.

 

The agreement among these early elementary school teachers is that they would take 10 assorted "special needs" kids over one child whose mom/dad was an overprotective "stay-at-home" parent. While they emphasize that most of the kids are great (SAH or day-care, special needs or non-special needs) the ones that are the most disruptive and the most difficult to work with are those who have never been in any sort of a group education or group care situation. These kids have never needed to think for themselves, to get along with peers, or to follow rules. At this elementary school, every year there are a couple of these kids.

 

If you are not comfortable with the specific situations with on-board programs; that is one thing. If you are not comfortable with allowing your child into safe situations where he has the opportunity to interact with others, and to explore and play without you hovering above her; you need to rethink your parenting philosophy.

 

I have never considered the kids programs on any of the cruises we have taken as "daycare". I realize that the activities that may interest me, a mature adult female, may not be the same activities that may interest my DD (now nearly 13yo, but who has been cruising with us since she was 2YO). The kids programs are opportunities for my DD to meet other kids her age (as fascinating as my DH and I are, I realize that my kid does like to be around kids her own age sometimes). The programs are opportunities to play games that I may not care for, and to learn about new things (sorry, I will NEVER dissect a squid in MY kitchen!), and to dance and sing and stuff that she would be too embarrassed to do in front of adults.

 

The kids club activities are part of your kids fun while on vacation -- it is the opportunity for kids to be kids. If you feel like you are dumping your kids at the kids club so that you can run off and finally enjoy yourself, I think you need to rethink being a parent. If you don't let your kids play at the kids club and think that the people whose kids are in the club are shirking their responsiblity -- you need to get over yourself. But if you are just worried that your kid may not like the kids club -- relax, most kids really like it; and if yours does not you'll just deal with it at that time -- there's not much you can do right now to change how they will react to it when you are on your cruise.

 

Lets not turn this into stay at home moms versus working moms thing. Whichever situation we are in, we all love our kids and are working hard to have good lives and healthy children and families. I mentioned my children not being at daycare to let the OP know that I understand her reservation about letting "strangers" take care of her kids. It is something that SAH moms understand because we are not used to dropping our kids off daily to be cared for by someone else. That does not mean we are better, it just means that our experience and consequently our reservations might be diffferent.

 

So I would ask you not to be critical over our choices and make assumptions that you should not-i.e. our kids not ever being in group settings, not following rules, thinking for themselves, or getting along with peers. I am not going to defend my parenting choice, nor am I going to tell you how well behaved and adjusted my kids are. That is not the point. The point is, we are discussing experiences with cruise childcare. We are letting her know that there are ways to utilize these services within your individual comfort zone; encouraging her to do what is best for her and her family.

[As You Wish]

My 2 year old daughter, who had never previously been in a daycare type of environment, thoroughly enjoyed the children's club on her first cruise. She wanted to spend as much time there as I would allow. It has been 8 months since that cruise when she had just turned 2, and my DD still remembers and talks about it. I felt safe with the counselors there and the security measures in effect. I was given a pager so that I could be contacted in case of any issues that may arise.

 

The vast majority of people's experiences that I have read with the children's clubs are very positive, but I think it's best to go with a "wait and see what happens" type of attitude. If your child seems to enjoy the club and you are comfortable with it, then let her spend some time there making new friends while you experince some time to yourself.

 

Have a great cruise.

[PattyW]

This is just my opinion, but referring to the kids' camp as "cruise daycare" makes me believe you have preconceived negative notions about the kids' camp.

 

I, like Onessa, think of kids' clubs in a much more positive light. The cruiseline takes the time to plan varied activities for adults during the day and all through the night. That's a good thing.

 

I look at the kids' camps as carefully thought out and planned activities for children during the day and through the night. That's a good thing.

 

I encourage you to look at the kids club not as a place where you can drop off your child for some alone time, but as a place where your child will want to go to enjoy herself and have fun.

 

If you sign your child up for tumbling at home, you might be able to get some alone time and get the grocery shopping done while she's there, but that doesn't make it daycare. The alone time is merely a perk of signing your child up for something she will enjoy.

[Mammaof2girls]

My best friend is a special needs teacher at our local school. She has daily meetings with the Kindergarten teachers to discuss her students' classroom behavior and progress while the kids are in their classrooms. I also know most of the Kindergarten and first grade teachers.

 

The agreement among these early elementary school teachers is that they would take 10 assorted "special needs" kids over one child whose mom/dad was an overprotective "stay-at-home" parent. While they emphasize that most of the kids are great (SAH or day-care, special needs or non-special needs) the ones that are the most disruptive and the most difficult to work with are those who have never been in any sort of a group education or group care situation. These kids have never needed to think for themselves, to get along with peers, or to follow rules. At this elementary school, every year there are a couple of these kids.

 

If you are not comfortable with the specific situations with on-board programs; that is one thing. If you are not comfortable with allowing your child into safe situations where he has the opportunity to interact with others, and to explore and play without you hovering above her; you need to rethink your parenting philosophy.

 

I have never considered the kids programs on any of the cruises we have taken as "daycare". I realize that the activities that may interest me, a mature adult female, may not be the same activities that may interest my DD (now nearly 13yo, but who has been cruising with us since she was 2YO). The kids programs are opportunities for my DD to meet other kids her age (as fascinating as my DH and I are, I realize that my kid does like to be around kids her own age sometimes). The programs are opportunities to play games that I may not care for, and to learn about new things (sorry, I will NEVER dissect a squid in MY kitchen!), and to dance and sing and stuff that she would be too embarrassed to do in front of adults.

 

The kids club activities are part of your kids fun while on vacation -- it is the opportunity for kids to be kids. If you feel like you are dumping your kids at the kids club so that you can run off and finally enjoy yourself, I think you need to rethink being a parent. If you don't let your kids play at the kids club and think that the people whose kids are in the club are shirking their responsiblity -- you need to get over yourself. But if you are just worried that your kid may not like the kids club -- relax, most kids really like it; and if yours does not you'll just deal with it at that time -- there's not much you can do right now to change how they will react to it when you are on your cruise.

I most certainly agree w/ Travelerie. Gee, perhaps I should have not mentioned I was a SAHM....as that gave you a preconceived notion that my kids can't think for themselves, and are the most distruptive types. I am not an overprotective SAHM, thank you very much. I also made sure that they were in some type of educational setting, starting with my oldest which I started her in montessori preschool at the age of 2 1/2. What's the big deal if I"m just saying I would never leave them there at the Kids Camp all day? We are here for a FAMILY vacation and I feel a couple hours a day or so is plenty for them to be at the camp...as the main reason we are on this cruise is to share this vacation experience together as a family. I have no probs at all sending my children to the kids club. But there is nothing wrong w/ me not wanting them to be there all day "with strangers". My kids are very well adjusted, thank you and has never ever been the "most distruptive" at all. They are far from that and the most friendliest, well adjusted girls you will ever meet. I am far from an overly protective stay at home mother, and yes my kids have done tumbling and I have never left them. I watch from the mezzanine as I feel they are too young for me to leave and run errands while they are in tumbling class. Does that make me overprotective? Heck no. My oldest competes in gymnastics and at the age of 6, I am still there watching her as she's in the gym 7 hr. a week. When she moves up a level come Sept. and she'll be at the gym double the amount of time, I will start leaving her and coming back later as she will be a bit older.

 

So please don't assume that just because we are SAHMs means that we lock our children up and they never get socialization, etc. My kids have been in more activities, etc. than alot of children who have been in daycare. To each it's own....and noone should ever judge ones' parenting choices or assume how their children are.

 

I never once said that the programs won't be good for my children, in fact it would be great for them. I never said it was a negative thing at all. Just because I said about the leaving them w/ stranger thing....that was only because my 3 yr. old won't be able to communicate to me as to things that happened or what she did. But it doesn't mean I won't let her go as I've only heard positive things. For my 3 yr. old it would help her socialize with other children despite her apraxia....it will help her in many ways (as it does in her preschool setting) and my 6 yr. old it will help her as well because she does have mild selective mutism and tourette's so being around other kids will hopefully help her to use her voice. Noone is saying the kids programs are a BAD thing. Not at all. I only said that I couldn't leave them there all day, and won't leave them there all day. I should have clarified more to say because our focus is this is a family vacation and i want most of their time to be spent w/ us and SOME of it at the camp.

 

Geesh.