Children afraid to ride

[timC]

On our last trip in November, we watched a mother drag her son (about 9 years old) kicking and screaming onto the Star Tours ride. Clearly he was terrified of this ride and it was also apparent that the mother had been having trouble getting him onto any of the major attractions. As he cried (screaming actually) and grabbed for handrails in the fastpass line, the mother dragged him along, tried to calm him down, and apologized to others in line as she went.

I felt sorry for her, knowing how expensive is a trip to WDW, and how this child and this experience may spoil what should be a magical family vacation. I wonder if they got him onto any rides at all, after that experience.

My children are both theme park "warriors", and have grown into these rides over the span of several years. We never had to do much coaxing.

Maybe this becomes a problem for older children who have never been to a theme park, or for children who have been overly protected. I don't know. But, I don't think this lady handled the situation properly. My guess is that there is no short-cut solution for these children. I think the boy needs time and experience with smaller rides first, and gradually work his way up to the big rides. It may take an afternoon, several days, or perhaps several trips, but I would certainly recommend this over the "shock treatment" approach this lady attempted.

Does anyone have good strategy for this type of situation?

 

[Kermit]

I think your method is the only one that parents can even think about using. Your kids have to want to ride, and the only way that can happen is by letting them ride things that aren't scary and letting them gradually buid up. In some kids, it may only take 3 rides, but some people will never ride scary rides. We all know adults who would never get on a roller coaster, and no one would drag them on like that.

There are rare occassions when kids are dragged on a ride and then realize it isn't that bad, but it doesn't happen very often. Once a child decides something will be scary, it usually is. Besides, it's not fair for others in line to drag a screaming kid on a ride. Parents who are concerned that may happen should try to find a local, cheaper amusement park to warm their kids up before they go.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I used just that method with my DS now nine. At our local amusment park we started when he was very young (like 2 or 3) on the smallest roller coaster.Each year we would add one or two more trill rides. Sometimes I would have to talk him into it ,but I NEVER forced him. I also said if you don't like it you never have to do it again. Every single time he came off a new ride he would beg to go again which we always did. Kids need that mastory! He will now ride anything that does not go upside down and that is because his mom or dad never wanted to ride with him on those rides. He however has talked ME into riding Rock and Roller Coaster with him NEXT WEEK at Disney. Draging a child screaming onto a ride is not going to made the child enjoy trill rides. DS now loves parks and is a joy to enjoy the parks with.

Jordan's mom

 

[melindaandrob]

I had a situation recently with my dd who was afraid and I forced her. Our float for the girl guides in the Santa Claus parade was a flatbed truck. I'm a leader of 10 - 5 year old girls, including my daughter. She took one look at the truck and started to cry, I was faced with a situation, I couldn't leave her and I had to be on the truck because I was responsible for the other girls. A friend who is also a leader said 'pass her to me' so I handed my crying child up to her and once she was sitting on the truck she was fine. I can imagine what it looked like to the other parents standing near. What a horrible Mom I was!! I'm forcing her on a plane in a week to go to WDW. Wish me luck!!

 

[LKS]

You have to know your child. My oldest (9) is very timid about riding anything big the first time. He usually looks like he's about to cry (but I couldn't drag him on screaming.) Anyway, once he rides the first time and gets it over with, he's right back in line to do it again, and he is so proud of himself. So, to get him on that first time, we do offer bribes and I do a lot of talking in the line to keep him there. I have even had staff members (one was esp. great at Busch Gardens) join in our conversation to convince him that the ride is great. Of course, his little sister is totally gung ho and all out for anything she's tall enough to ride. For the Loch Ness Monster last summer, she had ridden three times before he finally got up the nerve to get in line, and yes, I gave him the last $5 for his gameboy color that he had been saving for. Then he ran right back to do it again, asking, can I get something else if I ride again? Answer - NO! But off he went. I think it was the highlight of his whole vacation, and he still talks about it.

 

[CindyAnn]

TimC - Like you I find it disturbing to watch an adult force a child onto a ride. Coaxing, persuading, and convincing, I understand. Physically coercing or ridiculing a child is beyond my understanding. Like LKS, I have a cautious 8yo son and an adventurous 5yo daughter, and she will definitely be going on some rides on our next trip that will be beyond him. It's mostly a matter of personality. I think exposing them gradually, as you suggest, is the way to go, but as Kermit says, some rides just won't be for everybody regardless of what you do. Thank goodness Disney offers the "switching off" (baby swap) option for younger or reluctant children, so that the adults and other children in the party can enjoy the attraction without lining up twice. I just wish that every family going to WDW knew about it in order to improve their trip.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

See - I was afraid you were talking about Steven (age 11) and I --

but you said Star Tours and not Tower of Terror. I forced him onto it one time and after that the choice was his. I'm sure he'll be in therapy for years anyway....might as well give him more ammo to use against me.

 

[MaggieMouse]

My 8 year old was very scary about rides for a long time. He would not go on anything that even looked scary and I would never force him. We just did the rides he was comfortable with.

This past year, my husband took him to some local fairs and "coerced" him on to some of the rides. I guess that helped because this trip to Disney, it just clicked, he still got scared on some of the rides but he did them and was ready to do them again. He even went on Big Thunder Mountain railroad and he really liked it.

Now he's looking more forward to the rides we didn't do because he's not scared anymore.

 

[sha_lyn]

With our kids sometimes it might look bad at times but usually it is more of a tantrum because theo ther kid or one of us picked this ride over the the one they wanted to do next. Both my kids are pretty brave for their age but each have theri moments. We stood in line for small kiddie coaster with DD at Cedar Point and once it was time to get on she went nuts. After she calmed down she loved it. On the other hand DS and I witnessed a terrible site at SW on their water ride (Atlantis ?) I knew the girl was too short and the parents kept bypassing all the check points somehow. Once we were on the ride she started screaming, and she screamed the entire ride. After a few very small drops we stated up for the big one and the mother tells her the ride is over and we are headed to get off, actually she told her it was over after every little drop but then laughed and said it is really over right before the big one. Well then we hit the big drop and the little girl told her mother " I hate you and I will never trust you again".