Why do you think it is ok to let your children run down hallways?

[nednrom]

I don't have young kids anymore but when they were little or even in their teens, I could not let my children run around because of safety - fall and crack their skull, fall in the pool, get cornered by a stranger etc. I never thought that because the ship was an enclosed area that something could not happen to them.. There was curfew, dinner time together and the like. I don't think parents care as much anymore - a different parenting methods I guess. I sidestep them on the stairs and scold them if they're sliding down the railing so they won't hurt themselves otherwise, I've learned to ignore them.

[Lido_Deck]

Try a few 3 or 4 day booze cruises out of Miami if you want real noisy annoyance; and they are rather older "kids"!!

 

I avoid those because the Bahamas suck and there are too many NASCAR wife beater shirts.

[Cruisercl]

I may get flamed for this, especially since I can't imagine that the parents who allow this don't have a clue at how intrusive and annoying it is. But, just in case parents really have no idea, I am putting this out there. I am clueless as to why any parent thinks it is ever okay to let their children run up and down the hallways on a cruise ship. I know they are kids, and we should let them be kids...But, isn't it more important we teach them to be humans first? It is just not appropriate or considerate at any time of day to be running down a hallway outside of other people's cabins. Do you not realize how loud and annoying the constant thumping of feet running past someone's cabin door must be. And, it doesn't matter what time of day either. If someone is trying to relax in their cabin in the middle of the day or early evening, that is their right, and there is absolutely no reason for anyone to be running around in the hallways ever.

 

I agree!!

There is bad parenting on cruise ships quite a bit, letting children consistently run wild and screaming. Not really acceptable behavior. Why do parents think this is OK? Waiting until a child is 5 to tell them 'no' is too late. Some children have no supervision and probably don't have much ever.

These parents are raising their children to be immature adults and we all know those people!!! :rolleyes:

[VideoTech]

I may get flamed for this, especially since I can't imagine that the parents who allow this don't have a clue at how intrusive and annoying it is. But, just in case parents really have no idea, I am putting this out there. I am clueless as to why any parent thinks it is ever okay to let their children run up and down the hallways on a cruise ship. I know they are kids, and we should let them be kids...But, isn't it more important we teach them to be humans first? It is just not appropriate or considerate at any time of day to be running down a hallway outside of other people's cabins. Do you not realize how loud and annoying the constant thumping of feet running past someone's cabin door must be. And, it doesn't matter what time of day either. If someone is trying to relax in their cabin in the middle of the day or early evening, that is their right, and there is absolutely no reason for anyone to be running around in the hallways ever.

 

No, you won't get flamed by most. DW & I agree completely, and (somewhat off subject) as a constant business traveler I'll say this also happens in hotels quite a bit.

[AliceIn]

While i tend to agree... the only thing that comes to mind reading this is a 60 year old man in his bathrobe yelling at kids to get off his lawn and spraying them with a garden hose.

 

While it is annoying, don't you think your over stating the problem? "constant thumping"?

 

I had to laugh out loud at this one. I pictured the OP as an old lady with curlers looking out the window and screaming, "Damned kids! Stay offa my lawn!!!!!"

[herdingdogmom]

I was on deck 8 on the Pearl last year and the little kids were running down the hall and screaming every day. The parents encouraged it. Not my idea of a vacation. The noise is aggravating, but safety is a bigger concern. They can knock someone over or hurt themselves.

[esm54687]

Not just isolated to cruise ships.... and where do you think the kids learn the selfish entitled behavior from? It all starts at the top and parents are just, if not more, as self absorbed and oblivious to bad behavior as the kids

[rntravelingtheworld]

We were on the Fascination a few years ago and it was around 1100 pm and we heard kids running up and down the hall. We walked out of our cabin to confront the kids and discovered a mother who was letting her kids run in the hall so they would sleep better that night. So its not always the kids that are at fault.

[firegal2539]

I agreed with the OP. I actually, when I catch them running will yell stop running right now. I make a lot of noise but it stops the kids in their tracks. I also can't stand drunks so I stay off of summer cruises and 3, 4 and 5 day cruises.

 

 

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[tutuwahineLV]

Plus they could get hurt if the boat shifted to one side suddenly.

 

or if my foot shifts suddenly to one side....

 

my pet peeve...parents that don't feel the need to teach their children appropriate public behavior.

[BlessedAZWife]

Nope, no flames from me! Although, I suppose that I am more of the "grouchy old lady" than I would like! I feel as though I worked hard and waited a long time to be able to afford a decent vacation; and I just think that a cruise is something that should be looked forward to as an adult.

However, I am not afraid to say something when my "space" is being infringed upon. On a cruise on another line, (a typically more mature demographic) a group of us was sitting on the edge of the pool chatting. I wear hearing aids and if I wanted to participate in the conversation, I had to have them in. As I NEVER put my head under water, I felt safe in leaving the aids in. There was a father with a child of perhaps 4-5 years of age in the pool. The father was encouraging the child to swim to him and to kick, thereby splashing all in the vicinity. People were trying to steer clear of this child or leaving the pool to avoid being splashed. Father continued the game. Until the child kicked and splashed into my face. At that point, I said to the child, "stop splashing, you are not the only one in the pool". Father called the child over to him and they played a more sedate game. Win! I'd not have been like that, had there not been a "family pool area" that they could have been using.

I am a firm believer in the old adage, "your rights end, right where mine begin. And vice versa".

[cruisinmeme]

I agree that it's best to encourage children to behave politely. I also think that people need to realize that children under 3 can be pretty unreasonable. If you insist on carrying them through the hallway, you may have a toddler screaming at the top of their lungs to get down. If you put them down, they like being able to run ahead. Which is worse, the screaming, or the thudding feet? In my opinion, I'd rather the running - they get past my cabin faster.

 

People can be truly awful about expecting perfect behavior from a toddler. They give you the evil eye and make nasty comments about controlling the child. Don't any of them remember what it was like when their own children were 2 and 3? We always tried to go to early dinners when we took the kids out to avoid bothering people - but there was no way we were going to stay home cloistered for 5 years.

 

Feel free to bitch and whine about tweens and teens behaving badly - if you remember being a perfect angel at that age yourself.

 

 

I don't exactly understand where you are coming from. Sounds like you are defending the behavior. My grandkids have been cruising since the youngest was 22 months old (now 13 years old). Cruised with us, us &apparent so. We never had an issue with this. Let me mention they do have rules and respect is one of them. So if a parent can't control them running all over a cruise ship, wait until they are older and see what happens.

 

What happens when they bust into something and bust their butts .

[perditax]

That is one great benefit of the Studio Cabins...NO KIDS. Since children can't be in a cabin by themselves, everyone in the Studios is an ADULT. No kids in the rooms, no kids in the hallways.

 

 

Even the Haven doesn't have that benefit.

 

Fellow Studio fan, but more and more people seem to be letting their kid relatives into the lounge--or else the kids have figured out when the doors are open or propped open by crew, and sneak in to take cookies etc. Happened on my last Escape cruise (one door is broken there, and won't close unless you really yank on it), and on my last GA cruise, where I'm sure grandma or someone was letting them in. Spotted them taking fistfuls of poundcake, examining them, then putting them back in the display. For the first time in my life I spoke to a kid while their parents weren't around and explained that that was how people got sick.

 

That said, no, you won't find kids running the halls inside and I love it.

 

For the people whose response to these threads is always "well, drunk adults are obnoxious too!", that's a really thin counter-argument to poor parenting. Poor adulting is a different topic with plenty of its own threads. :) Apples and oranges, as they say ... and those drunk adults are probably the same ones whose kids are racing through the halls of the stateroom decks.

[McGirls]

I'm not up for letting my kids run up and done any hall ways, ship or otherwise. At the end of the day they are kids, who once excited bout something, tend to break into a run. Just remember there were adults a long time ago that had to put up with your behaviours as a kid. Well maybe not, since there appears to be some pretty special people on this site.

 

I'll tell you what really flicks my switch, when those same people who think it's ok to tell of a kid for being a kid, when they are nanna napping during the day because they came back to their cabin at 2am, half cut after a boozy night at the comedy club or casino. They laugh loudly and cheer on their boozy friends, while being pretty flat and stompy footed themselves. They have no regard for families with sleeping kids, but want their 3pm beauty sleep uninterrupted.

 

Works both way folks.

[NLH Arizona]

I understand kids being kids and can accept the occassional running up and down the halls. What drives me crazy is when the parents are with them and they clearly see that there are people walking toward their running children and they don't say a darn thing to their children and a collision occurs and usually the parents giggle and say how cute little Johnny and Jane are. One day I'm going to stand my ground and little Johnny or Jane will bounced right off me and land on the floor and we will see how funny that is.

[perditax]

I understand kids being kids and can accept the occassional running up and down the halls. What drives me crazy is when the parents are with them and they clearly see that there are people walking toward their running children and they don't say a darn thing to their children and a collision occurs and usually the parents giggle and say how cute little Johnny and Jane are. One day I'm going to stand my ground and little Johnny or Jane will bounced right off me and land on the floor and we will see how funny that is.

 

On a positive note--you've just made me stop and appreciate the parents in my little metro area. Even if they're letting a "little" walk ahead somewhere like Target they're watching them like a hawk and start calling "watch out--look where you're going, look where you're going". In other words, they're teaching them about boundaries while letting them have some freedom. And if I do have to perform evasive maneuvers, the parents apologize with a smile. This is pretty consistently my experience in my own little zip code.

[triptolemus]

... and we will see how funny that is.

 

Are you kidding? It will be absolutely hilarious!

[Longstockingpippi1]

That is one great benefit of the Studio Cabins...NO KIDS. Since children can't be in a cabin by themselves, everyone in the Studios is an ADULT. No kids in the rooms, no kids in the hallways.

 

 

Even the Haven doesn't have that benefit.

 

And I hope it stays that way! I doubt it though, all good things get ruined.

[AliceIn]

I don't exactly understand where you are coming from. Sounds like you are defending the behavior. My grandkids have been cruising since the youngest was 22 months old (now 13 years old). Cruised with us, us &apparent so. We never had an issue with this. Let me mention they do have rules and respect is one of them. So if a parent can't control them running all over a cruise ship, wait until they are older and see what happens.

 

What happens when they bust into something and bust their butts .

 

I am very strict with making sure my kids were learning good public behavior from a young age. They are all well mannered kids. That said, you have rough patches with toddler aged children. They push your buttons, they flat out ignore you, and take things to the limit. It is part of learning for them. So we would tell our kids, "no" and the child might have a tantrum. We don't give in, butmyou get the nasty stares because your child is having a fit. Try parenting if you think it is so easy. Most of you sound like you forgot your own kids whiny, brattty moments. I never let mine run wild. But I expect that 13 year olds may not have polite behavior down par in their youth.

 

Frankly, I see much more unpleasant behavior By adults. Pushing to get to the desk for tickets, reserving entire rows in theaters, you name it. The kids are the least worst.

[perditax]

Again: adults behaving poorly is not the subject of the thread, despite its popularity as a would-be rebuttal to kids running amok.

 

Or, in case they don't still teach this idea: two wrongs don't make a right.

 

The thread also isn't about screaming toddlers, for what it's worth,

 

The thread is about parents letting their kids treat stateroom decks as a running track/playground.

[Two Wheels Only]

or if my foot shifts suddenly to one side....

 

 

 

...like a boss...

[lenquixote66]

We were on a cruise 3 years ago that had very wild kids . They would go to cabins and change the outside designations from make up room to do not disturb and vice versa.

 

At night they would knock on cabin doors then run down the hall.

[TaterSalad]

I booked a guarantee on the Getaway one of our last cruises and ended up in a family balcony. Worst balcony of my cruise history (and that's saying something!) It was close to the kids club (and we are in our 50s and early 60s). No kids with us. Every morning there were kids running down the halls screaming and running toward the kids club and that was our wake up call. Hated it quickly!

 

What are you going to do? Apparently parents just send their kids running toward the club (and they weren't toddlers).

 

 

It definitely cured me from booking a guarantee cabin and we have been on over 30 cruises and many of them were guarantees.

[momofmab]

Mom of 2 here. I agree with you about the annoying behavior (coupled with the knocking on doors/ringing cabin doorbells and running). It would be great if all parents would work on manners and appropriate behavior with their kids but it's never gonna happen, and you're never going to get a polite "Thank You" from confronting parents about what you perceive as their lack of parenting skills.

 

Cruises are crowded, contained spaces. If you choose to sail during "kid-heavy" weeks, where ships are filled to capacity, then you are bound to experience some bad behavior. It goes with the territory.

 

My advice, if you don't have kids yourself to consider, and don't have to sail during popular weeks - DON'T!

 

When my kids have grown out of cruising, my husband and I can't wait to change our cruising experience to lines and itineraries that don't cater to kids and the drink-to-get-wasted crowd ;)

[FranknBeans]

We we just off a ship RC on the weekend and had to tell numerous kids to stop running, parents not in site.

Same goes for the entertainment were a family let there 3 small kids run around their seating area and up and down the steps of balcony as if to say "aren't they cute"

Parents need to stop thinking that cruise ships are NOT a free baby sitting service.

 

This was on an 11 day cruise and was surprised to see so many young families, mostly European.