Meltdowns in the park

[goofynmd]

How does everyone deal with their child's meltdown or temper tantrums in the park. It is inevitable that my 5 yr old will have a meltdown about something while we are at WDW. He gets timeouts at home if counting to 3 does not calm him down. Any creative ways to handle timeouts?

[BigRedDad]

It is a different world while at WDW. They are going to be in sensory overload, off their normal schedule, and excited at every turn. My recommendation to "deal" with it is to let them blow off steam by running around and playing for a little while. Let them get away from the running around. getting in line, etc. There are playgrounds at all of the parks. This may be all that is necessary. Please do not be one of those parents that say "I spent all this money and you will enjoy what I say". That drives me nuts. The children are out of their realm and need rambunctious time too.

Now, if it is the "I want" things, that can be accomplished before you go. We tell our DD that each day she gets one of the small stuffed animals at the end of each day (~$10 each). If she is good and does not constantly do the "I want" thing, she gets to pick one out to put in the window at the resort.

[megustamex]

We do timeouts "in the corner". The beauty of this is that there is a corner everywhere you go. We just say "you're in the corner", remove them from where they are and walk them over to a corner. We're at the point now where I just have to say "in the corner" and they find the nearest one themselves. They know that they are going to stay there until they calm down. I stay with them and ignore them until they stop crying and throwing a fit - they know that I won't even make eye contact until they are done. They know I don't care if it's a public place - if I did they would have control over the situation. This usually works, but we've used it everywhere we go and at home.

[KAT1811]

I've been very lucky in WDW. I can't remember any of my four children having a meltdown in WDW. Sure they have some, rare, cranky moments but they are so busy having fun that they don't have time to freak out and we let their moods dictate what we do. If they seem overly tired we know that it needs to be a low key day. Maybe some swimming and then off to a park for a bit at night and some dinner. We go for longer so we can schedule in some early nights and down time when they need it which really helps keep overloads at bay.

I suppose if they did I would find a quiet spot and take a "time out" until they cooled off and then explain that if they can't handle the parks then we'll go back to the room. They know Mommy doesn't kid around about things like that. If I say it I mean it so they've learned that when I say enough is enough I'm serious.

As far as the "I want" issue we buy them some Disney Dollars before the trip and they can spend "their" money as they want but when it's gone it's gone. I usually stay as far away from the stores as possible to avoid a problem.

When our oldest was young we started a pin collection for her and if she was good at the end of the day she could pick a pin for her collection if she wasn't good no pin. On the days when she was especially good she got to pick two pins. The promise of a special present at the end of the day kept her on her best behavior. Whenever I sensed a possible meltdown approaching I cut her off at the pass and reminded her that if she lost it she wouldn't be able to pick out a pin. Worked every time! She's a born shopper!

[Disney4us2]

Our first trip to WDW was when my DD was 5. She didn't have any meltdowns, although one time she got a little grumpy. She didn't want any more pictures taken and her face showed it. Our first trip was in July and we went back to the room around 2pm everyday for some cool down time and maybe a nap. That way she was refreshed for the evening.

I let her be a part of what we should do while we were at the parks. For dining, I let her choose what she wanted to order. She got to choose if we stayed late at the park or return to the hotel to do some night swimming. Most evenings we were swimming a 9pm. I really think it helped letting her make some choices. I also let her get one or two toys from each park if she was good.

DD was already a seasond Disney kid as she was a Disneyland passholder since the age of 15 months. The only melt down I remember is when we were leaving Disneyland for the day (she was 2) and was just crying her eyes out. Someone asked what was wrong and I told them she didn't want to leave Disneyland.

Even now (at the age of 10) she always has the "I want's. I just tell her I am not buying anything today except food. As long as she knows in advance, she is ok.

[#1donaldfan]

....bribes always work well with us !!


...just kidding.....actually, we've never had any "REAL" bad ones....

...I'd say just give 'em a $$ amount each day that they can spend, and if they act up, start subtracting....(make sure they understand what your doing, prior, so they know the consequenses)......

.......plus, like mentioned....it's up to us too, to try n understand them and know that they will be a little different than the norm....

[g8rgirl29]

An occasional melt down can and will happen even in the most magical place on earth!! Especially with their little routines all messed up. We have been fairly lucky that most times we can redirect our DD quite easily with the many things at Disney. Stick to your same manner of handling a meltdown at home. Use a bench or a fence as an area to sit/stand for a time out or bring a little towel to sit on for a time out spot. Mousekeeping does some funny things with any stuffed animals you bring along (one day we found Minnie reading a magazine with her feet propped up on a pillow with DD's blankie watching The Golden Girls and Teddy was wearing a pair of sunglasses)so quite often when DD would start getting fussy we would just ask her what she thought Minnie was doing back in the room and that would be just enough to redirect her to something else. This last trip as she is 5 (almost 6) I gave her a choice: You can decide for this to be a good day and we can continue on to the rides you enjoy so much or you can have a not so good day and we will sit here while everyone else goes on the rides. She chose to have a good day every time. I was surprised how fast she would come out of it. Also take the time to let them run in Pooh's playful spot or play in the tot water areas. Bring plenty of little snacks like raisins, pretzels, peanuts, goldfish etc. and keep them hydrated!! Have a great time!!

[TheVBs]

We've experienced this and we do time outs at home too. We'll try to find a quiet, shady spot, get them something to eat or drink and that usually does the trick. We try to take enough breaks and go at a pace they can handle. If it really looks like one of them has had it, we just head back to the hotel for some downtime and a swim.

[pirateyankee80]

How about a nap ? When my kids threw, DS 22 and DD 23, or throw, DS 9, a fit, we would go back to the room and lay down on the bed for a "time out" and allways they would fall asleep for an hour or two. Allways made a hugh difference. Sometimes one of us would lay next to them to calm them down. Might help if we napped too ! PS this works at home too !

[disneykid@hrt]

Snacks, naps, and playgrounds!

[Gator]

My son had one of those just yesterday after we forcibly led him away from Lightening McQueen. After I took off my belt....just kidding. We would distract him by taking him near a fountain (which he loves) and then move on to another attraction as quickly as possible. It's a lot easier when the crowds are low.

[c&d]

We found leaving the park worked for us. Once out of the park and on the bus DS would fall asleep and be in a much better mood. We'd then hang out at our resort for a while and then once everyone had calmed down (parents included ) we'd head back.

[cinderella crazy]

Snacks, naps, and playgrounds!

Yup. This is pretty much our philosophy while at Disney. We take a break every day. We'll head to a park during the morning, each lunch at that park, and then head back to the resort. We'll lay around the room, relax at the pool, play at the playground and then head to a different park for dinner.

We take snacks and water bottles into the parks so nobody is cranky from being hungry. In the four trips we've taken with children we've had no major meltdowns. We just try to watch for them getting tired and when we see it coming, we leave the parks and head back to the resort.

If either of my children did have a meltdown in one of the parks, we they would be given a timeout and we would then seriously determine if we needed to take a break and go relax. I know with my children, when they start having meltdowns, chances are they are tired and need to rest.

[joonyer]

My kids learned from a very early age that I meant what I said (every time) and I kept my promises. And like most kids, they weren't perfect and had tantrums or melt-downs from time to time when they were younger. At home they had to go to their room and stay until they could behave properly.
So, on our first trip to WDW, I told them that if they had any tantrums or started complaining too much about something they couldn't have or do after we told them "No", then we would just leave the park right then and go back to our room. They knew that I meant it and would do it. At even the slightest hint of discontent, I would just ask them "Are you ready to leave now the park right now?" and that would jerk them right back into good behavior. We didn't try to make them overdo things or be too hard on them, but I made sure that they understood that if they chose to behave badly, they would lose the privilege of being in the park. If they got too tired and really wanted to leave, we went back to the room for a break.

[betteratmk]

Most children are over tired and out of their element on vacation. Try to keep mealtimes similar to at home and only allow the same amount of junk food as well. A sudden steady diet of things that aren't allowed at home makes for crabby children!! It's hard to keep their normal bedtime but try to keep the same amount of sleep they usually get at home. As far as the I wants, we had an envelope for each day we were gone, once the money for that day was gone so was the I wants!!! The money increased with age and he knew if he wanted something bigger he just had to save his envelopes!! Worked great. ( we always bought the shirt or sweatshirt though!) Ty saves his own money for Disney now ( almost 13) and has for the past 4 years. He always comes home with money! Funny isn't it!!!

[pox24]

When our kids were young, and they mis behaved, we would make them listen to the It's a Small World Theme over and over and over and over again.

[DakandZakMom]

When our kids were young, and they mis behaved, we would make them listen to the It's a Small World Theme over and over and over and over again.

[Mrs Bus Driver]

Even an adult can have a meltdown so watch yourself as well. As for your children you know them best. With my DS (he was ADHD) he found most of DL to be to much. While he was rough and tumble and you would think he would have liked coasters best his favorite was IASW. Sometimes it is best to take your ques from them and go with the flow and have fun.

[Gusgus]

We have two boys and we have had 1 meltdown each. The first time my oldest when he was about 5 and threw himself on the ground. We tried to pick him up but he was acting like we were beating him with a stick. Sp we just sat on a bench and let him go. We did have some people passing by think he was lost but we just said he's having a tantrum. Once he calmed down we told him that he has to go back to the room. He threw himself down again. We waited until he stopped again and we said we have to go back to the room. We did go back to the room and thereafter all we had to say when he started getting upset is "do we need to go back to the room?" and he would behave.

Our youngest was also about 5 years old and it was his first trip. After a day of hell with him we told him if he misbehaved the second day he would have to go to the room. We knew it was going to happen and we didn't want to punish our older son so me and my wife played rock, paper, sissors before we left the room, I lost. Sure enough I was leading him out of the magic kingdom crying. We get to the front of the park and out from a popcorn cart comes a woman asking him what's wrong. He jumps into her arms and the next thing I know he's pouring unpopped popcorn into the popper and getting a bag of popcorn. He ended up calming down and I explained to the woman what we were doing. She told him it's not good to misbehave and he shold listen to his dad. The bus ride was calm as he ate his popcorn and he got the message once we were in the room. The rest of our trip was event free with our "do we need to go to the room" warning. You got to follow through on the warning!

Gusgus

[goofynmd]

Thank you for all of the stories and ideas. I am glad to hear that my child is not the only one that has off days. I hope that a little discipline, bribery and pixie dust is all he needs to behave.