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Thread: kids? spoiled?

  1. #1
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    Default kids? spoiled?

    I got back from a WDE trip yesterday. I noticed many strollers and inside the strollers were nine or ten year old children. Not being a parent myself I want your input.When I took my first trip to WDW I was 6 years old and my brother was 4 and he and I walked the whole time. So 10 year old kids in strollers are kind or rediculous. comments?
    "Calling someone fat won't make you any skinnier, calling someone stupid won't make you any smarter and ruining someone's life won't make yours any better"
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  3. #2
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    That is ridiculous. If the kids are that tired, GO HOME!
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  4. #3
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    I think that is a tough call. Last night a boy came trick or treating and he was in a wagon without a costume. While he was there it became apparant that he was a special needs child. Without knowing the story, it's hard to say what is right and what is wrong. My kids were 2.5 and 4.5 on our last trip and they did not need a stroller. We brought one umbrella stroller in case anyone fell asleep but we never even needed it then!!!!

  5. #4
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    We just went to WDW in September and my sisters kids (9 and 7) were doing just fine without a stroller. However we still take one for my son (5 as of 9/13). He however still tends to fall asleep early evening. Our son is a go, go, go kind of kid but when he stops, he stops. He is usually asleep for a good 3 hours or so. We believe this may have something to do with the fact that he has a heart murmer and his blood pressure is lower in his legs then in his arms due to heart surgery he had at 4 days old. His afternoon naps allow my husband to take in the rides our son is to short to go on and I don't mind sitting and watching people and browsing the stores. It's a lot easier with a sleeping child.
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  6. #5
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    I think that for day trips, most able bodied children can handle it without a stroller. However, for a multi-day trip, strollers can be a necessity. Also, they just make things easier at times. My 5yo still uses one, but I plan on losing it by the time he's 6.
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  7. #6
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    I know what you mean. It drives me crazy when you realize that the kids are likely NOT special needs. For instance, I often see double strollers with an obviously young child in one seat (like, a kid under 4) and then "older sibling" (over 8 years old) squished into the other seat.

    I do know that many special needs kids use "strollers as wheelchairs" due to sensory or stamina issues. This I have no problem with. However, if a child is TRULY special needs and older, they usually have a special needs (larger) stroller that doesn't look like a typical stroller, since they need to have a higher weight capacity.

    Too many parents these days do spoil their children. They want to keep them from ALL hardships, challenges, etc. It is especially maddening to watch overweight kids sitting in strollers and munching on junk, while overweight mom or dad pushes them. Enabling at its best...

    Kids can walk. Kids should walk. Exercise is important. If you need a rest, that is what benches/shows are for.

    I was out of a stroller at 4 years old, and so were both my sisters. My older son (who is special needs, by the way) walked at WDW earlier this year at 5 years old for the entire week. When he got too tired to keep walking, we left the park. My 4 year old rode in the stroller most of the week, but as soon as we got home, we stopped using it, and he's done long days at Disneyland without it for months now.
    Natalie
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  8. #7
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    My 9 year old twins, (one with clubbed feet) were walking all day at the parks from the time they were 4. I do not believe in strollers, and I even carry my sons medical supplies over my shoulder because there is just too much congestion in the parks and it won't kill me to lug it around. We did have to get a wheelchair on our last DL trip because he hurt his foot on one of the days (and pushing a wheelchair in a crowd is bad, but it is far worse navigating around strollers). He lasted one day in the chair, because we insisted, but the next day he adamantly walked in pain because he couldn't stand the inactivity.

    The truth is, at least 90% of the time, it is just pure laziness. We are training our kids to be armchair warriors. My kids aren't athletes, but I expect them to be fit enough to hike and walk, yes, even my special needs child. I am grateful that all his body parts work and that he can, and the sight of normal kids in strollers really turns my stomach. I know this will make folks mad, but kids (and adults) are getting way too sedentary and too used to having it easy.

    If a child is special needs, then absolutely get him or her into a stroller or chair -- it would just be nice if everyone with healthy kids would clear the congestion up a bit.

    I have been going to DL since I was five years old. I have so many pics of being in the parks and of the crowds and these strollers just weren't there en masse in the 70's -- kids were expected to walk and we just carted around less junk.
    The only life I can think of that would be worse than being a special needs mom is not being one...

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  9. #8
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    Oh, I want to add that one of the best pieces of advice i got before talking my preschoolers to WDW was to get them out walking everyday so they were just used to it. By the end of the day, the only one tired on our vacation were me and my dh
    The only life I can think of that would be worse than being a special needs mom is not being one...

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  10. #9
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    I agree with most of what the previous posters have said. If it is out of pure laziness older children are being allowed to sit in strollers, what message is this sending them?

    Not wanting to open another can of worms, but it causes me pause and makes me think of the scooter dilemma we've discussed in the past here on Intercot.

    Are young over weight children in strollers going to be the future adults in scooters?

    I couldn't help but observe 2 things during our last trip to WDW and U. Studios:

    1. Those using scooters were very cold in demeanor to those of us waiting patiently in line as they got situated on the rides/buses. Not even a "hi, how are you" or "thank you for your patience" or "sorry this is taking a while" etc. If/when I am not able to walk and need a scooter, I would feel bad for those waiting patiently in line to board a bus while I got taken care of. There seems to be a secret club between those using scooters. They would wave at each other in passing or as doors of buses opened and they got a glimpse of one another. Don't misunderstand me, I don't judge them for why they are in the scooter - their health needs are their own business. It's just their dismissive and entitled behavior left me feeling a bit angry.
    2. WDW had 10 times as many scooters than U. Studios. We never had to wait once at US. I wonder why?


    Just food for thought.
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  11. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by LibertyTreeGal View Post
    . . .

    The truth is, at least 90% of the time, it is just pure laziness. We are training our kids to be armchair warriors.
    . . . I know this will make folks mad, but kids (and adults) are getting way too sedentary and too used to having it easy.
    and Amen!

    Parental Laziness = spoiled rotten kids.

    Another hundred years or and people of all ages will be out-of-shape and using scooters and motion devices to go everywhere. Nobody will bother walking anymore. Remember WAll-E?
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  12. #11
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    ECVs and strollers aren't illegal -- yes, to non-users of said items having to wait to load a bus or a ride while the person using a mobility assisted device or getting kids/strollers ready can be irritating -- but isn't that equally strange? Why is it that in our present generation waiting for 5 extra minutes to load a bus can make people feel so irritated that they have to complain, write letters, give dirty looks, expect an apology...

    I am not sure where this thread is going, but lashing out because people use strollers or ECVs won't be tolerated.
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  13. #12
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    I don't think anyone is lashing out at stroller/ECV users.

    I think it is worth wondering how many of these kids who are riding around in strollers past the age of 6 with no real reason to, might end up needing to use assistive devices when they are older, due to years of a sedentary lifestyle.

    It's a valid point. It's a major concern in the U.S. today. Parents are enabling destructive lifestyle choices. Parents need to take responsibility for their children's health and well being and provide them with the tools to life a long, healthy life. Encouraging stroller use past a reasonable point is just irresponsible parenting.
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  14. #13
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    We first took my daughter to WDW at age five. We didn't even consider a stroller. I'm not sure she woudl have even had as good a time if she had been strapped into one. As it was, she was able to look round (within limits, of course) and take time looking at what she wanted to look at. We were right there with her, but often we let her decide when to stop and look at a plant, or a bug, or a duck, or, well, whatever! It was a hoot seeing WDW through her eyes!

    By the way, she is now 21 and is a Disney fanatic just like us.
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  15. #14
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    i would consider a stroller maybe more for a means to avoid the bag search at the parks... many a times I saw strollers packed to the brim allowed to pass through the security checkpoint unhassled at the "no bags" entrance.

    Perhaps they kids don't need a stroller, the parents just realized its away to bring bags in without being stopped and search.
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  16. #15
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    I'm sure laziness is a part of it, but I want to add two things because I can just see this one getting locked somehow after someone overreacts to something.

    First, it's very easy to see spoiled in others, but it's not always so easy to see when we're spoiling our own. Is three trips to Disney per year spoiled or is that just a parent who can afford it? Ask an average American, they'd probably say spoiled. Ask a bunch of Disney fans like us, and we'd probably say what a fortunate family / lucky child. All in the eye of the beholder.

    Second, I agree there seem to be a lot of bigger kids (both in age and girth) in strollers these days. I don't know the reasons behind every one of them but occam's razor doesn't point to elaborate explanations, it points to laziness. I go biking every weekend on the West Orange Trail and when I go to Disney later in the day the contrast is amazing.
    Bike Trail = people who care about their fitness, families out biking, running and walking together, very few overweight.
    The visit to Disney = back to average American where 2/3 of us are overweight or obese.

  17. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by brivers222 View Post
    i would consider a stroller maybe more for a means to avoid the bag search at the parks... many a times I saw strollers packed to the brim allowed to pass through the security checkpoint unhassled at the "no bags" entrance.

    Perhaps they kids don't need a stroller, the parents just realized its away to bring bags in without being stopped and search.
    Uh, no. Strollers are searched as well. At least at DLR, they are. If there are bags hanging on the stroller, or in the stroller basket, they have to be removed. Anything in the bottom of a stroller has to be clearly visible.

    However, DLR also doesn't have a "no bags" entrance. EVERYONE has to pass through the security checkpoint, bags or no bags.

    Maybe WDW needs to implement a similar system.
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  18. #17
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    i completely undertsnad special needs children or people being in a stroller, but i really dislike seeing other people who can walk fine but decide to be in a stroller or wheelchair to avoid lines...
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  19. #18
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    Ok, I agree with a lot of the post, but some are just wow!! "Kids are fat" Kids are spolied" because they choose to sit in a stroller at Disney World...Come on they are not going to be dependent on these strollers/scooters in their lifetime. Parents get strollers to keep an eye on their kids too(some kids need a closer eye then others). A lot of crazy things happen on vacation I don’t see it as a problem when they are close by and if a stroller is the way "SOME" parents choose to do this then so be it. You haven’t walked in their shoes so don't judge. Also as far as getting on and off the buses with strollers/scooter. When is the last time anyone said THANK YOU on a bus for others having to wait when parents take their sweet time folding a stroller and fighting with it to get on the bus. I have never had a parent turn around and apology’s for taking a few extra seconds getting adjusted in a seat with a stroller, so why is it that the people in scooters/wheelchairs have to be happy faces to people who snicker at them for being first on and first off. Why don't we all just mind our own business and let parents that choose to have strollers for kids regardless their and scooters bound people do as they please.

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  20. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kim Possible View Post
    i completely undertsnad special needs children or people being in a stroller, but i really dislike seeing other people who can walk fine but decide to be in a stroller or wheelchair to avoid lines...
    Well, if it anyone pushes a chair and in order to try to avoid a line then they are idiots because after one trip with pushing a 60lb kid in a wheelchair I was about to have a coronary Power chairs, maybe, but dang those things are more awkward than you can imagine.
    The only life I can think of that would be worse than being a special needs mom is not being one...

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  21. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kim Possible View Post
    i completely undertsnad special needs children or people being in a stroller, but i really dislike seeing other people who can walk fine but decide to be in a stroller or wheelchair to avoid lines...
    Oh my gosh, I have to share this. During our last trip I noticed an elderly woman on a scooter waiting with what I assumed was her daughter and family (husband and 2 small children) to load our bus back to the resort. The bus drived loaded her on the bus and her family followed. When my family got on the bus, we noticed they left the elderly woman on a seat by the double doors near the back while they sat together as far away from her as possible. When they arrived at the resort, the couple and young children passed by the elderly woman, barely acknowledging her. They didn't help get her off the bus and allowed the bus attendant to do all the work. They barely even waited for her as they took off across the parking lot for their room. It was really sad. The woman didn't look like she was having fun at all. I hope my assumption was wrong - it looked as though they didn't want her to be with him, but did enjoy the perks of getting on the bus early.
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