Crying Children at Disney World

I made the comment on Twitter last week that if you have a crying child at Disney World that you are doing it wrong. A gross generalization of course but generally true I think. There are a number of reasons that children cry at Disney World (and other similar places) and most are relatively easy to handle and even avoid.

Tired – A lot of kids just get over tired on this vacations. Their parents are paying big money and they want to wring every possible second out of the trip that they can. Unfortunately children get tired. Parents should know their kids limits and break for a nap (or naps) during the day. Staying on the park grounds is wonderful for this. We always used to take an afternoon break for a nap when we traveled with a young child. This is also good advice when traveling with someone who is old too.

Hungry – Feed the poor kid. And feed them something they like. Vacation is not the time to force a child to learn to like something new. There is no fun in that for anyone.

Scared – Some kids are afraid of some rides or characters. Why force them? Take them away from the scary character. Maybe next year they will not be afraid and you can get that great picture. Why take a picture of a scared and crying child?

They want something – First off children should learn the word “no” long before they can walk or talk. They should also know that crying will not get them something. So that you have to do long before the vacation. If all that fails don’t take them into the shops. OK that is hard when the gift shop has to be walked through to get back out of the building. But move quickly and promptly at least. If a child is a nag don’t give them a lot of time to browse.

Also set some limits. Give them a budget if they are old enough to handle that. Let them choose what they want to spend their limit on. And if they still cry – nap time!

Baby stuff – Maybe they need a diaper change. Change them. Maybe they are too hot. Take them in some air conditioned place. Maybe hungry – bottle time! On second thought if they are too small to really enjoy or even remember Disney maybe it is too early to take them.

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