How early is to early (newborns at parks)

^ I wouldn't sweat that. When our son was 1, we left him with grandma for a day at Knott's. We all (grandma included) won in that deal.

^Ah, but at Knott's you can't ride in an artichoke heart, or inside a garlic bulb. :)

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buckeye brad said:

I don't recommend changing your life entirely, but all the feedings, poop, naps, and snuggle time demand your time one way or another. *** Edited 3/3/2008 7:01:02 PM UTC by buckeye brad***

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It's no difference with adults. :)

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To us, a day at the park is a lot more enjoyable without our son. That sounds harsh, but to me it really isn't.

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Not to anyone who has kids, it doesn't ;)

Last season I went to Boobuzz without the kids. We had a great adult weekend. We got to do things that we couldn't do with the kids being along. It was a nice change of pace, but I actually prefer traveling with the kids.

I love watching my 4 yr old daughter(my son is 16, and doesn't get excited like she does.) Sharing the experiences with the kids are the great memories that will last us for the rest of lives. It's even more fascinating when we hit a new park. A lot of priceless moments.

I grew up with non enthusiast parents, but I could always count on our annual vacations to Wildwood and my dad's company picnic to get to ride some coasters. I love the memories I have from growing up visiting those places, and I love to share similar experiences with the kids.

We've left our daughter numerous times (mostly for CMania) over the years with either my parents or in-laws while we took trips. As a matter of fact, she stayed with grandma last year while we went to CMania. It's not a big deal for a couple days. She loves spending time with her grandparents and it's nice having a day or two to ourselves.

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rollergator said:
^Ah, but at Knott's you can't ride in an artichoke heart, or inside a garlic bulb.

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Unfortunately he was too small for the garlic on that trip. But I'm sure he'd love it now. In fact, we went on Disneyland's teacups last summer and he went on a major crying jag when we had to get off. Fortunately I was able to get him to understand that it simply meant getting in line again.

But that artichoke ride (tumblebug) is great...especially since it is right next to the fried artichoke stand. So the ride actually smells like artichokes. :)

Aww man...we are SO there this summer!

We made our very first trip to HW when my daughter was only 6 weeks old, (yes, she was with us!). Now we had a very worry-free day, but looking back now now, I wouldn't do it again. We were fortunate to have a very mild day for mid-July, plus, we made a couple of trips back to Santa's Lodge during that day.

The reason I say I wouldn't do it again? I'm not sure, I guess in hindsight, she was really too young to take the chance. But the worst part was for my wife. She was supposed to have Emilee "natural", but last minute problems forced a "C-section". My wife was so happy to be out of the house, but bummed because she couldn't ride anything for 8-10 weeks. She had to wait until the following year to ride Raven & Legend.

With our son, he didn't see his first park, (King's Island), until he was almost 2 yrs. old.

I fully admit to being a "heat pansy" (and I live in the south-- ugh!) but it's important to remember that young babies don't have a fully-developed ability to regulate their body temperatures. I'd try to avoid going during a really hot day, and make sure to keep the little one cool and protected from the sun. (A lot of sunscreens aren't recommended for children under six months of age.)

Another concern I'd have about taking a really young infant anywhere would be that their immune systems aren't fully developed either, and I'd be leery of exposing them to a lot of strangers until their little bodies were up to the challenge.

That said, I think the parent swap idea is a great one, or if you can find somebody who doesn't mind not riding, bring them along. Or even find a babysitter and leave the little 'un at home until they're old enough to enjoy the park. I know I'd be very excited to introduce a child to the fun of an amusement park, but when they're teeny tiny, they won't enjoy it much.

I'd be painfully disappointed if I was like Floorless Fan's wife and not able to ride! That's a recurring nightmare I have, going to a park and not being able to ride for some reason or another.

Whatever you decide to do, have fun!

CatPurrson

It's too early to take your newborn to amusement parks when the mother is too exhausted to walk a straight line.

Once Mom's getting enough sleep, travel as much as you can. Take advantage of everything possible before kiddo begins to crawl and grab things (9-12 months?). The infant stage is probably the last time the two of you can really behave like adults, because as soon as they start to crawl and grab things, half of your vocabulary will be, "No", "Let go" and "Put it down!" Enjoy the swaddling time, when kids are not much more than a football that requires feeding and changing.

As for taking toddlers to theme parks, you can do it, but really, they will enjoy it the same as going to your local swimming pool or playground. Few toddlers tolerate queues. IMO, kids must be at least five years old to appreciate the variety of theme park attractions, and ten years old to be tall enough to enjoy all the coasters you ride.

Interesting thread.

Funny how so many different opinions, approaches and outlooks can all be 'correct' for whoever is providing the advice.

As I read through all of these responses, I see some things I agree with 100%, some I disagree with 100% and a whole lot of comments that fall somewhere in-between.

All I've learned from this thread is that it's up to the individual to decide what works for them in terms of kids and trips to the park. No advice is going to be 'right' for you. :)

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Personally, the funny thing to me is how many comments talk about the 'change' in visiting parks with kids - how it's different and what compromises you have to make.

I never really started regularly visiting parks until I had kids, so I don't know any other way. I'm in exactly the opposite boat - as my kids get older and bigger it's a weird adjustment to being able to ride everything with everyone and not swapping out who is going to ride what with who and which one of us holds things and waits in the kiddie area.

My kids were never a 'problem' in the park because they've done it for pretty much all their lives. There's no tantrums, they're used to plodding around a park for the day with no need for naps, they've learned patience in waiting for rides, they've been riding the 'big' rides since they were able too and nothing is taboo beyond the height requirement.

My final advice (and it's as useful and relevant as everyone else's in that it works for me and YMMV) is that if you plan on being an enthusiast for any time to come, don't leave your kids out of the loop early on or you will continually face all these issues down the road.

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greatwhitenorth said:IMO, kids must be at least five years old to appreciate the variety of theme park attractions, and ten years old to be tall enough to enjoy all the coasters you ride.

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I would have to say that that will vary with each child/person. My daughter I mentioned in my first comment will be eight this July, and she's quickly approaching her 100th coaster, (she'll probably get it this season to be honest).

She was a very quick in her growth, and was 48" by her 5th birthday and most recently got Maverick added to her count.

My son on the other hand is bound to be the eternally short member of the family, and will probably fit well into your comments. The kid just doesn't grow! Plus, he has no idea what variety in park attractions would mean. But, he is totally content in Nik Universe & Camp Snoopy too, so it all works out.

Has nobody heard of Grandma or Grandpa? Trustworthy family members? Personally, I don't think it is a good idea for any child under 3. However, if someone can give a good reason that is in the interest of the child of why a pre toddler needs to be at a crowded and loud park, please do so. I personally can not see any good coming from it. Its a huge risk just entering an infant into that kind of environment, not just do to the possibility of injury because of large crowds, but also sickness due to the mass amount of germs. I think it would be much safer and more enjoyable for yourselves to find somebody to watch them. You will have time later when they are a little more grown to enjoy the park with them. I know Paul is waiting impatiently for the days when his son can hop on The Raven with him.

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woohooboy said:
Has nobody heard of Grandma or Grandpa? Trustworthy family members?

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I currently live about 300 miles from my closest family member. Back when both kids were small it was closer to 1000 miles.

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Its a huge risk just entering an infant into that kind of environment, not just do to the possibility of injury because of large crowds, but also sickness due to the mass amount of germs.

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The worst part of this comment is that I think you're actually serious.

I guess I'm the worst parent on Earth - my son visited 17 amusement parks before he turned one. My daughter had ridden over 80 coasters (including biggies like MF) before she started kindergarten.

Lock me up! I'm a child abuser! ;)

No wait, check that. My kids are notoriously healthy and have never been injured at a park. Imagine that.

Then again, there was that one time my daughter threw up in my shoe in Kentucky...

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Personally, I don't think it is a good idea for any child under 3.

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Fantastic! Then you should not take you child. The post should have ended here.

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Its a huge risk just entering an infant into that kind of environment, not just do to the possibility of injury because of large crowds, but also sickness due to the mass amount of germs.

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Just as risky as that crowded Wal-Mart, and probably less germy than that day care. Injury due to large crowds? No one said about taking the infant into a mosh pit.

I haven't chimed in on this post yet, mainly because of the joy of watching people state their "opinions".

The first thing I teach in Early Childhood Development is that there is no absolute "right" or "wrong" in parenting on topics like this. Ask one "expert" and get one opinion, and another "expert" will say the exact opposite.

That said, the poster did ask for advice.

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OhioStater said:
No one said about taking the infant into a mosh pit.

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Now *this* is a thread I'd like to see.

Worried about germs? Noise? Oh boy! Germs and noise are the least of your worries. Just wait until the kid can run and climb. Man, you could worry yourself sick if you really wanted to. My guess is that woohooboy doesn't have kids.

Man, when my son was an infant, we were all about taking him everywhere. We just thought it was important to expose him to a lot of sights and sounds. We felt that sheltering him and being overprotective would have been detrimental to his development.

Anyway, we've taken him to parks and we've left him with grandma. It just depended on whether we wanted to do something for ourselves for a day. But the majority of the time, we take him. *** Edited 3/6/2008 3:55:18 PM UTC by janfrederick***

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woohooboy said:
Its a huge risk just entering an infant into that kind of environment, not just do to the possibility of injury because of large crowds, but also sickness due to the mass amount of germs. I think it would be much safer and more enjoyable for yourselves to find somebody to watch them.

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Makes you wonder how the human race hasn't died out already, eh? :)

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You will have time later when they are a little more grown to enjoy the park with them. I know Paul is waiting impatiently for the days when his son can hop on The Raven with him.

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Meanwhile, there's plenty of other family-friendly things they can do. The folks who own these apparently dangerous, germ-laden hazardous places actually like it that way. It boggles the mind. Simply. Boggles.

-CO

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Lord Gonchar said:
I guess I'm the worst parent on Earth - my son visited 17 amusement parks before he turned one.

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Well... my son only visited two amusement parks before he turned one, but he visited them much more than 17 times. Also, I have pictures of him riding the Thunderbolt when he was 6 months old. (Although, technically the ride never moved, so it wasn't really a ride.)

Draw?

I have seen many posts regarding leaving children with family and friends. The reason I started this thread was because we are having our son a month and some change before seasonal parks open were we live. I thought to myself... is it feasible for us to be able to go to a park this early?

My wife will be nursing, so leaving our son with family and friends will not be an option. I am excited to know the parks we are planning on attending offer accommodations for our situation.

I have been excited to hear other buzzers reply… Just Go For It!
I realize this all might back fire on us, and our some might be a total pill at such an early age.

Gonch, I think your comments have been my biggest influence. I think starting him at a very early age is the way we are heading. Hopefully adapting him to our lifestyle.

If this approach does not work we will just take it step by step…

Thanks again and keep the advice coming... God knows I love the help!