Kids Club Question

[jkrislc]

I was reading up on the various kids' programs and ages. We're planning on traveling on the Magic the week before my son turns 3. Will he be required to go into the nursery or are they flexible with where they place children. He's already in a preschool and the size of a 5 year old, so I'm concerned that the nursery won't interest him much; further, I'd rather not have to pay $6 an hour for him to play in the facility.

Thanks in advance,

A Disney cruise novice.

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

The general rule onboard is that if a child is within 1 month of their birthday, they are allowed to move up in the clubs. They have also been known depending on the circumstances to allow kids to move up that fall outside of this window if they have space in the club.

Don't worry, you'll have no problem with him being allowed in the club (assuming he's fully potty trained).

[jkrislc]

Thanks for the prompt reply.

We're working on potty training right now. What happens if there is a set-back by then?

Kris

[CariBear]

As far as I know if they are not potty trained then they will not be able to stay in the club. Other lines are more leinent.........I also have a 2 year old son...so we scheduled our next cruise 6 months after his 3rd birthday so we have plenty of time to potty train. Good luck!!

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

Yes, he does need to be potty trained for the club. If not, then you will need to use the nursery.

Good luck with the training - going on Mickey's ship was great incentive for my son when training!

[Host Mick]

Originally Posted by jkrislc

Thanks for the prompt reply.
We're working on potty training right now. What happens if there is a set-back by then?
Kris

You might want to try the M&M method.
When he goes in the potty, give him a big handful of M&Ms, don't be cheap, a BIG handful. Do it every time and he'll be in the bowl every time in no time at all. There's something in that candy coating that helps to train them.
We had problems with my older son then a friend with a degree in early childhood education told me about the M&Ms. We tried it and bam, in two weeks he was an expert. Same thing with my second son, when the time was right, we got a couple of bags of M&Ms and he was ready for the pro tour in three weeks.
Plain or peanut doesn't matter, it's in the coating. Reeses Pieces may not work, the data is inconclusive. If you have a problem with rewarding with candy, then give carrots a try but have lots of pull-ups ready because it ain't going to work. In tis case, it's much better to just turn the candy over to your mother, it's what Grandparents are for.
Of course when he's hitting the bowl like a champ, you'll ventually have to wean him off of M&Ms. Methadone is NOT recommended. Just cut back on the M&Ms slowly until he forgets about them. Kids have the memory of a goldfish unless you did something dumb like promise them a cruise if they potty-train. They'll remember that for sure.
Good Luck

[phunchak]

Originally Posted by Host Mick

You might want to try the M&M method.
When he goes in the potty, give him a big handful of M&Ms, don't be cheap, a BIG handful. Do it every time and he'll be in the bowl every time in no time at all. There's something in that candy coating that helps to train them.

That's the craziest thing I've ever heard.

[Host Mick]

Originally Posted by phunchak

That's the craziest thing I've ever heard.

Hah! Crazy like a fox.
It's hard to argue with results. My kids are 17 and 15 now and they're STILL potty-trained.

[jelbnl]

YOu won't have a problem with your son being moved up if he is only a week from his 3rd birthday. YOur problem might lie with potty training. With the potty training, DCL wants the kids COMPLETELY independent, meaning they have to be able to do everything (ie undress, redress, wash hands) themselves. They also don't line them up to go, like they did in whey my son was in pre-school, meaning there is no "potty time". They have to be able to recognize they need to stop the activity and go to the restroom themselves, which to a newly trained 3 YO is sometimes difficult to do. My suggestion is to go back to the clubs every 60-90 min take your son to the restroom, this way the chance of accidents is greatly reduced.

[jkrislc]

Thanks for all the innput.

We have tried the chocolate and although he likes it, he is motivated enough by it. We're going to go the uncomfortable route and put him in cotton underwear instead of diapers. Since we have tile all downstairs, this is a fairly safe experiment and we're hoping that feeling the dampness when he goes will encourage him to use the potty, which is right there in the living room to make it as convenient as possible. Then we'll reinforce with chocolate when the time comes. Worse case, we'll use the nursery instead. I'm not going to let it ruin my vacation either way. In addition, my DW is fine with spending a few bucks here and there if need be for a quite dinner in Palo's. Also, good advice on making the "potty checks" if he is a pro by then.

[True Romance]

Good luck with the potty training. I also will be cruising with a child a week before his 3rd birthday, however not until April 2011 on the 10 day Mexican Riviera.

Going straight to underwear and m&m's is the way to go. My 1st, a girl, I potty trained in a week at 2 1/2 cutting out diapers all together and putting her in underwear. She maybe had one accident in the underwear and then got it. My 2nd, a boy, the underwear did not faze him and he still wet it. So I did, no underwear and no diapers-naked! That worked, he never peed on the floor and he was also trained in a week at 2 1/2. I will do the same for the 3rd when he is 2 1/2. Stay at home for one week with the potty in the family room and a bowl of m&m's.

Also if he is going on his own and you leave him in the kids club, make sure to dress him in elastic pants/shorts. Something without buttons or snaps that they might have trouble with themselves. I still dress my older 2, who are 4 1/2 & 6 1/2 in pretty much all elastic waist clothing. They always need my help with the buttons and snaps and I want them to be independent at school or friends houses and not need help.