How do you get kids into camp if they don't want to

[valtandc]

I have 2 kids ages 11 and 13. So they would be separated. They don't want to go into camp. And I'm fine with that. But....I really believe they would enjoy spending time in the camps......

 

I would probably miss them as its a family vacation.....but my reason for getting them into camp is for their benefit.

 

Any suggestions besides putting a sack over their head and carrying them over my back?

[LHP]

IF the issue is being separated....IF the 11 year old will be 12 very soon, you can ask for an exception. It is not always granted, but sometimes it is.

 

It doesn't hurt to ask.

 

IF they are separated, I would explain to them that they are not LOCKED into Camp Carnival. It is not a babysitting service (until 10PM)...it is a place to meet and greet and play with new friends.

 

They can totally come and go as they please....that may make it more attractive.

 

When you board...have them look over the schedule and allow them to pick and choose what they want to participate in.

[Crazy4Koko]

They may have some preconceived notions about the word 'camp'..thinking its for babies... Ask them to check it out the first night.. I'm sure they will find some 'stuff' to do, and at the same time meet some kids to hang out with.

 

 

There really are some fun activities for the kids to do..late night movies, sundae parties, Tshirt making, scavenger hunts ( which are a blast!)... I bet they will surprise themselves. I have yet to see a kid in Circle C or club 02 having a bad time...

[firefly333]

bribe them. say if you spend 2 hours in camp then we will do so and so that you wanted to do.

[dustyroad]

take them too the tour and see how they react too all the activities they can do and the freinds they could make there. maybe they will change their mind. it they still do not want too do it plan things on the ship as a family and make it a great fun cruise you all did together. the last thing i would want on a nice relaxing cruise is having too deal with my children that complained, where grumpy and were in a bad mood because they were forced too do something they really didnt want too do. im sure it will work out in the end and all of you will have a fun time. good luck .

[SG81]

tell the 13 yr old there will be girls his age there. 12-13 is when you start wanting girls

[lulu78]

I have 2 kids ages 11 and 13. So they would be separated. They don't want to go into camp. And I'm fine with that. But....I really believe they would enjoy spending time in the camps......

 

I would probably miss them as its a family vacation.....but my reason for getting them into camp is for their benefit.

 

Any suggestions besides putting a sack over their head and carrying them over my back?

 

You can suggest they go and take a look at what the meeting place looks like, what's available to them, and see other kids...they may change their minds once in there. My daughter is also 13, and last time we cruised, 11...she really was not that much into it, as she felt ''to old'' for Camp Carnival. However, she is now excited about being able to go into Circle C with the ''older '' kids. It sucks once they get separated, we've had to deal with that with my nieces before, but it's worked out good cause once they go they make friends and kind of get into it.

 

But if your kids still don't want to go to the camp, there still so much for them do on the ship, that you could still probably find sometime to relax on your own and the kids will still be having fun together. Good Luck ! :)

[crusinpsychRN]

My kids thought it was "dumb" and didn't go back after one time.

[travler27]

Act like you're the parent.

 

Tell, don't ask.

[Julienatul]

It always helps if you can scout out a child around the same age as your child and introduce them, then they can "hang out" for the duration of the cruise. I believe at that age they can sign themselves in and out so just give them a list of activities and tell them they can pick and choose what they want to do.

[Tralynn]

Definitely bring them to orientation and encourage talking to the other kids. My DD met her "new cruise buddies" at orientation on every cruise.

 

Also, don't forget to see if you can possibly arrange a kiddie meet & greet through your roll call for your cruise. It can be held at the regular meet & greet and maybe come up with a game to serve as an icebreaker for the kids.

[njmomof2]

My response would be "you don't." My kids were 12.5 and 8 on our last cruise and neither one wanted to go to the club. Younger one because he didn't remember having a good time previously (which he did) and older one because he found 3 boys almost the exact same age and they hung out around the ship. Plus at his age, there were not as many organized activities. They usually went to the teen lounge and the kids were hanging out so they left for other things.

 

I always suggest checking it out, seeing if there are kids their age so it might look appealing, but in the end, it's their vacation too and I spend too much time during the remainder of the year being the parent and telling them what to do. I want them to have fun and a good time, and if telling them that they had to go to the kids club meant they were unhappy, then it's not a good vacation. There are enough things they "have" to do in this life. Kids club on a cruise ship is not one of them.

[Warm Breezes]

I had my kids go a couple of times on their first few cruises. Like your kids they were never in the same age group. They hated it. I no longer ask them to try it. They love cruising and they are much happier hanging out together than with a bunch of kids they don't know.

 

If your kids haven't tried it yet, try to get them to go once or twice...If they really don't like it, then don't force them to do something on their vacation that they really don't like doing. There is always mini-golf, basketball, shuffle board, ping pong, the arcade, etc that they can do together and probably have more fun since they are doing it with someone they know. Let them hang out with family and not a bunch of strangers on their vacation if that is what they prefer.

[RoofingPrincess]

IMO, kids 11 and 13 should not be walking around the ship solo... if their options are "go to the kids' club or hang out together".... what would their response be? :) I know I would've much rather gone to the teen club and hope to find some new friends there than hang out with my younger brother!

[tonit964]

We have our daughter 11, look at the activities at the camp for the day and decide which one she wants to go to. Usually there is at least a couple of hours each day she wants to go. If not, then she just hangs out with us but we remind her that is our vacation too so we might want to do something she doesn't.

Have a great cruise!

Toni

[arpie05]

My son, now 15, loves the programs! We cruise because he wants to go.

Have your kids seen a list of activities? My son doesn't really care for going to the slides or the pool thing. He loves the games they play, scavenger hunts, video games, pizza making, teen parties, movies, etc.

 

We make a deal. We always go to opening, sign up and get the Capers. Then he marks what he might not like (dancing hip class) so at that time he is expected to come back to the cabin and check in. Or I might swing by there and wait for him to exit. Then we'd go to something. He has left dinner with dessert in hand to go to Circle C. He wouldn't want to be late for an activity. I wish we had found cruising before he was 9.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=966269

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/CarnivalSpirit/Hawaii/Capers/KiddieCapers.htm

[Warm Breezes]

IMO, kids 11 and 13 should not be walking around the ship solo... if their options are "go to the kids' club or hang out together".... what would their response be? :) I know I would've much rather gone to the teen club and hope to find some new friends there than hang out with my younger brother!

 

My DS(16) and DD(14) have always gotten along great together. Yes every once in a while they get on each others nerves...but it is a rare occurance. They would tell you in an instant that they would rather hang out together than with a bunch of strangers. They have been on 7 cruises, since they were 7 and 4. They tried the kids clubs on our first 3 cruises. More than once I had to get DD because she was crying/upset and really didn't want to be there. Both my kids are on the shy side even though DS plays HS sports and DD is a competitive dancer. It takes them awhile to warm up to new people. There is nothing wrong with that. The last thing I would do is force them to try again. They were that way when they were OP kids ages.

 

If OP's kids try it and really don't like it there is nothing wrong with them hanging out together. There are plenty of things on the ship for them to do other than "walking around solo". My kids spent 85% of the time with us and 15% doing things like mini-golf, basketball, arcade, ping-pong, shuffle board, and playing cards together...they definately weren't walking around the ship solo.

[serene56]

The orientation is the most important- tell the kids its mandatory.

 

(those kids in the 12-14 year "camp" are way too cool for group activities and you will find kids of this age hanging out together during the week- be it at pizza, or the hot tubs...playing cards.

 

the 9-11 year program--kids can sign themselves in and out and have sleep overs, scavenger hunts.

 

Maybe your kids are having anxiety about being "stuck" in camps while you are off having fun.

 

Tell them to go to the meet and greet if only to meet the kids they will be sailing with.

[H82seaUgo]

I have 2 kids ages 11 and 13. So they would be separated. They don't want to go into camp. And I'm fine with that. But....I really believe they would enjoy spending time in the camps......

 

I would probably miss them as its a family vacation.....but my reason for getting them into camp is for their benefit.

 

Any suggestions besides putting a sack over their head and carrying them over my back?

 

my kids just find and make their own friends on the open decks.

 

they already know the cow goes moo.

[QVickiB]

Definitely make the orientation mandatory. Then I'm all about the bribing for the first time. If they don't like it, at least they tried. If it's a 7 day cruise, I'd say if they didn't like it the first time, try again later in the week.

[ehfl]

I don't think there's an easy fix. Getting kids to do what they're told has to start at an early age. At this point, there's not much you can do.

[SadieN]

Last cruise we had "Barnacle Girl." We just couldn't seem to get her off our side. Couldn't get her to go to Club02. She signed up but didn't want to go to any of the activities. In all fairness to her she has gone to the club every cruise except this one.

[LaVagabonde]

Tell them you've decided that since it's a family vacation, you've decided that they are not going to be allowed to spend anytime in the kids' activities, meeting and having fun with other kids their age. Tell them they're going to have to go to all the old folks' activities with you instead, and that they're not allowed to whine when they're bored. Say that you know that they'd rather be doing cool stuff and meeting lifelong pen-pals from around the country, but that you think it's more important that you all spend time together as a family. ;)

 

Seriously, though... athough I got lots of input from my kids on what they wanted to do as they were growing up, the major decisions were mine. Bribing the kids? Uh, no... my kids didn't run my household. Just like they could decide whether or not they actually LIKED a particular food and whether they wanted to eat more, Mom always made them TRY everything that wasn't bad for them. My kids are grown now, but if we'd cruised when they were younger I'd have made them go to orientation and them some of the kids' camp activities to try them, just like I made them try some summer camps and activities that they weren't so sure about before they went (and they always ended up loving them). With the cruise camps for kids, this also goes along with the fact that although family time is very important, "couple time" for the parents is also very important. Like children need to be nurtured, the parents' relationship needs to be nurtured and kept strong. Happy parents = a happier family life = happier kids. I would think that at least some time at the camp for the kids is probably a good thing for everyone.

 

That said, from various posts I've seen on here, it seems that the orientation is pretty important to making the kids feel comfortable.

[Warm Breezes]

I don't think there's an easy fix. Getting kids to do what they're told has to start at an early age. At this point, there's not much you can do.

 

This has nothing to do with getting kids to do as their told. The OP's kids are expressing their desire to hang out together and not with a bunch of strangers. My kids do as there told, but why would I want them to go to a kids camp if I knew they wouldn't enjoy themselves and they would have a better vacation if they just hung out together? Some kids are just not social butterflies and this type of situation is well out of their comfort zone. Some vacation to be forced out of your comfort zone.

 

DH and I get our alone time when they are hanging out together. As long as everyone knows where everyone else is at and lets the other party know when they change location, then there shouldn't be a problem with kids that age hanging out together, doing things other than the kids club.

 

I agree that the OP should get them to try at least once, if they've never gone, but if they don't like it, like my kids, why force them to have a vacation they don't enjoy because you said so? Let them hang out together and have fun.

[CruisingLPN]

I always have my DDs pick which activities they want to do. My younger DD is more sociable and likes to go to camp. My older DD is very shy and will usually only go to camp for art projects and drawing contests. She likes getting the Tshirt and Scrapbook, so she's willing to go at those times. Usually once the kids see that Mom and Dad are just laying around relaxing, camp seems less boring.