DS4 has sprouted like a weed recently and is 44" tall (last time I measured he was 42"). Now, I’m thinking of riding FOP with him and leaving DS3 behind with DW, who has no interest in thrill rides (crazy, I know…). I had briefly thought about doing this for 1 or 2 rides, like Splash and/or M:S, but now I’m thinking of more (FOP, Splash, M:S, Test Track, Soarin), and I’m starting to worry that DS3 will not handle being excluded very well. DS3 is 38" so we will try SDD and 7DMT with him if he wants to ride a “big kid” ride.
Any ideas or advice for handling DS3 when DS4 gets to ride something he doesn’t?
DS3 gets a special; “I stayed with Mom” treat for each ride that might cause sadness. I firmly believe that bribery is one of the keys to excellent parenting.
I dealt with this last year…DS6 was 46" and DS3 was barely 38". I had conversations with both of them separately. I explained to DS3 that there would be times when DS6 got to do things that he wasn’t big enough for, but that I would make sure he got to go on a different ride or get a special treat when that happened. I told DS6 that if he, at any point, made a big deal out of any ride and made his brother feel bad, he would lose the privilege to ride the big rides. I also tried to schedule big rides when I thought DS3 might be asleep in the stroller. I don’t think we had a single issue (regarding this!).
We have done very similar to what @kerrilux_625778 does making sure each child has their expectations set ahead of time. For us the too short child(ren) get their pick of a treat/special activity/show/character meet to supplement and the older one(s) knows if they are not agreeable to it, they will then lose their privileges to ride (and we have held up to that as I can think of 2 very specific instances where we skipped their favorite height requirement ride bc of poor attitude towards the younger ones chosen activities).
For the longest time we also had all the height requirement benchmarks penciled onto the pantry door & whenever we had a trip upcoming they would measure themselves to see what they could expect to be tall enough & what would be waiting for them for future trips. We’ve since moved & I’ve not ever setup something similar but I remember this playing a huge part it helping set expectations bc they could visualize where they stood in terms of their height & what it meant they could & couldn’t do.
I’m 5’ 2". I’ve dealt with this personally all my life! My advice from someone that has lived through it… When it comes time for that child to not participate - take them somewhere else. Do not take them through the queue or ride entrance. It was always so heartbreaking and frustrating to see the ride I couldn’t do. Take that child to do something else and meet back in a designated spot afterwards.
I don’t recommend buying the short child something unless they can eat / dispose of it BEFORE you meet back up with your group. In my experience, if you buy one child something the other(s) are going to want it too. Even after explaining to the tall one that is a substitute for not riding. Then the “big” kid gets that too and it feels not as special for the short one.
idk - Maybe I’m just projecting my personal issues!!
Before I had kids, I went on a WDW a trip with my BIL, SIL and their 3 kids. My nephews were 4 and 3 at the time and we had the same issue. We always found a good option for my 3 year old nephew while the 4 year old went on the rides with the height requirements. For example, while the 4 year old went on Dinosaur!, the 3 year old went on Triceratops Spin. Like others we also told the 4 year old that if he made his brother feel bad about the situation, then then he would not get to go on the “rides for older kids”. The adults rotated who they went with. We didn’t have any issues.
I might be the only one, but my kids so far have generally been too scared to ride the big rides. So when DS7 was finally tall enough and brave enough to go on the thrill rides, DS4 was just relieved she doesn’t have to go!
Why don’t you ask DS3 what special thing he’d like to do, even if his brother doesn’t? Maybe they each get something “special” to them. Maybe DW takes him to get a special stuffie and (because we’re adults and know better), let DS3 also pick out a special one for his brother. That way they each feel like they got something
