I'm sure I am going to start a firestorm, but.....On another thread, we had a couple of posts about kids, and how they effect others vacation enjoyment. I have a problem with parents not being able to control them. "Kids will be kids" is not something I experienced as a youngster, nor allowed my own to enjoy....IN PUBLIC!!

Most of us have kids. We have all taken them on vacation. Disneyland, Waterparks, etc. I took mine to Grand Cayman a few years ago, and when we got back, I asked them what they thought about the trip. "Well dad, it was nice.......but we like Myrtle Beach better"! That was their first and last trip down south!

From my experience, kids do not appreciate the Caribbean like we do! Do we love them? Absolutely!! Do we want them with us..well, most of the time. Am I going to allow them to interfere with others ....NEVER!!

Others have spent thousands as well to get to Bonaire! If we have to approach you, and ask you to reign in your child or children, shouldn't you take them to a more family friendly location?

I think kids, like adults, are all different. We've been taking my daughter, who is now 18 and a divemaster, to Bonaire since she was nine. She started off in Ocean's Classroom at Sand Dollar and was hooked, has been diving with us since she was 11, and going to Bonaire and other reef/nature oriented destinations has had a real affect on her life. She wants to be a counselor at Sea Camp on Big Pine Key this summer (she went there two for 2 summers) and is an environmental sciences major at Johns Hopkins now.

Another family we've met at Belmar has a daughter who's been to Bonaire with them multiple times, went on to study marine biology and now works at the Atlanta aquarium.

Some kids would, I'm sure, rather go to Disney or the boardwalk somewhere. Some places on Bonaire are more family-oriented than others. I wouldn't want to go to Capriccio and have to deal with someone's ill-behaved rugrats.

So no, I disagree. I think Bonaire is a great family destination. If your kids are the type who are not happy unless they are in front of some sort of video screen or in a theme park though, Bonaire may not be for them.

Bless you, Tad, for being considerate of those of us who appreciate well-behaved children. My husband and I do not have any kids and are not "used to" being around kids, actually....we cringe when we are trying to relax and uncontrolled, mis-behaved kids do whatever they darn well please and the parents/guardians just "ignore" the whole situation. Just not right.

I loved being a kid and my parents were strict when it came to our manners and behavior. We were taught what acceptable behavior is and if we were not respective of this we were reminded to behave accordingly. No running around at whim, yelling, screaming (unless in the appropriate situations) and the like.

David, I agree with you, as well, that is not healthy for kids to be parked in front of a DVD player, either. I liken that behavior to being "the Barney syndrome"....a whole decade of kids were brought up in just that manner....staring at Barney or a VHS machine that was set on "repeat" for hours. I guess it was used as a "baby sitter" for quite a few years.

I am not appreciative of infants being in my pool with diapers on, however. I don't care how "snug" they fit on the infant, it's not very healthy for anyone. We do see more and more of this on some of our trips. Not so much on Bonaire, however.

I do get concerned with the welfare of tiny infants on the Beach in Bonaire or in any hot/sunny location with little shade....it is way too hot for a newborn/infant who can't even walk yet to be parked in a pram (even with an umbrella over it) in Bonaire's hot sun and heat. It's probably very dangerous, as well. Infants that young should probably remain "at home" while the parents vacation in a hot tropical climate.

Just my 2 cents! Hope I have not offended anyone with my ranting here. Ayo. Carole

(Message edited by Carole on March 2, 2008)

David,

I agree wholeheartedly!! Bonaire IS a great family destination!! I'm talking about kids whose parents allow them to interfere with others vacation. My kids were well behaved in Cayman! Not that they weren't into video games, walkman (I think that was it at the time) etc.

I just have a problem with belly flops next to you in the pool. Running, screaming and bumping into you in the shops, etc......And the parents just look at you, as if you should just take it all in!!

Why should so and so's vacation dollars require me to put up with childish behavior, but my dollars be less valuable?

I've left a few restaurants in my life, paddled their butts in public, etc. I'm sure I'd go to jail now. But my point is, I do everything in my power, both at home and abroad, to make sure my family does not cause you any distress. Why do people with kids, and a lot of others.......not try to do the same?

Tad, you're right about probably being arrested today for paddling some butts but we seem to have turned out respectable as adults! Good old Dr. Spock. I think he was correct.

Airplanes and kids are another touchy topic with me and my husband. If you can't control the kids don't fly with them.

Uh, oh.....I feel some heat coming on soon....cb

Thank you Carole!!!

For Gods sake...don't get me started about kids on planes!!! Maybe we should take cover in the bunker, and prepare for incoming.......:-)!!!

Well, I had to pipe in here. I have 2 children ages 10 and 5. We have traveled to Asia, Europe and the Caribbean with both of them.

I would like to think my children are not an annoyance to anyone when we travel. But I believe that is because we have travelled with them since a young age and have set forth strict ground rules and proper behavour (For those of you have met my kids I hope this has come through). I am VERY conscious of others around us and how, if at all my children are effecting them. I am angered when I see kids running around and screaming and kicking the back of my seat while the parents sit there and act oblivious to what's going on! On our last trip to Europe on Swiss Air the flight attendants came over and commended us on our kids behavour and asked jokingly if we could give a few of the parents on the flight parenting lessons!

I am far from a perfect parent with perfect children but my parents were from the "old school" and I follow a lot of how I was raised and it seems to be working!

I am not offended by anyones comments because I agree with them. If my children are misbehaving I will remove them from the situation and not allow them to ruin it for everyone else. I could go on and on with horror stories I have witnessed myself but I'm sure we all have lots of them!

I had my window open earlier to let the bright sunshine and warmth consume the room.....NOW I know what that "smell" might have been that was wafting in with the sunbeams for a short while....it was BOB's "scent" all the from Mery's house in South Jersey to our house in North Jersey!! Man....he DOES have some pungent odors emanating from his being!!! LOL. cb

Oops....wrong Thread!!! This is for Bob.....sorry!

(Message edited by Carole on March 2, 2008)

Dark Side of the Moon,

Thanks for being the parent you are!! There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with order and discipline!!

I myself, was a VERY bad boy in private, and with my buds in school. However, when my parents told me to jump, my only allowed response was "How High"? None of us are "Anti Kid", and not taking them on vacation. We're just asking that parents with children, on vacation or anywhere, be mindful of others.......

Keep up the good work!!!!

RosAnne's kid are wonderful. And cute as can be. You and Ravi are going to have your hands full during the dating years, girlfriend.

I absolutely agree with you about parents who don't/won't control their kids. But that is an issue anywhere, including places like Disney, Myrtle Beach, etc. I think two different issues are being conflated here: bad behavior and whether or not Bonaire is a "family friendly" destination.

I've not had much of a problem on Bonaire with ill-behaved kids (though on one trip the non-stop dawn-to-dusk game of "Marco Polo" in the pool outside our apt. was enough to drive me to distraction). But I am sure it happens.

Now that mine is grown, I love seeing other people's kids get out of the water after a first snorkel or dive brimming over with enthusiasm for what they've seen.

And we've certainly had to exit a restaurant or two when mine was uncivilized (though corporal punishment was not in our repertoire, and I was brought up the same way - a look from my father was withering enough that it was not needed).

Now a rap on the noggin of the parents of those ill behaved monsters - that's a different story.

We brought our children to Bonaire when they were younger- WITH a babysitter so that they could stay in the condo while we had a decent meal in quiet. My kids didn't go to restaurants until they could understand the concept of sitting in your seat even if you are done eating (and lets face it- threats from Mom. ) I like to think that they were not too obnoxious- but then, we took them nowhere until they were old enough to beg for it- then it was a huge treat.

RosAnne's kids were not wonderful when they came to see Bob and I They were so bad mannered that they even refused ice cream!!!! I loved them both to bits.

Tad - lighten up! you said:

"From my experience, kids do not appreciate the Caribbean like we do!"

I would like you to go on a dive with my newly-certified 10-year old son. I've never seen such delight underwater. Every minute he was touching my arm & pointing excitedly at something. On his fourth dive after certification I gave him my camera to take pictures. (he turned the dive because he was cold). In 20 minutes he took 60+ pictures. They are certainly not going to be published in any magazine, but I will keep all of them, as they show how a child sees the world.

Have you ever swam 5 feet above your dive buddy and popped their bubbles? Kids love to do it and it just shows there is more to life that seeing the tiny blennie on that beautiful coral head.

I am highly allergic to any smoke. Does that give me the right to tell everyone within 50 feet of me that they are destroying the vacation that I paid thousands of dollars for? I think not.

From my experience there are obnoxious people everywhere and age is not a factor.

I have to chime in...one time in Bonaire there were babies in the pool and the next day the management had to close the pool for 2 days and heavily chlorinate (yuck)!!! When I am on vacation and I want to use the pool I shouldn't have to put up with this...parents, please, please, please don't put your infants in the pool with diapers or anything else.
(just my 2 cents)

I have to say thanks to CB and Julia for being kind!

Sue from N.J. I think Tad was just venting. I do agree with you on the subject that people of all ages can be quite obnoxious and ruin situations.

I also understand not everyone is a "kid" person and some adults simply enjoy there life or certain outings child free. As a parent I can usually pick up on that and harbor no bad feelings towards them for it. Heck, I was "old" when I finally decided I liked kids enough to want to have some of my own .

Kids AND adults alike need to extend good manners and respect regardless of who they are with and where they are!

One more comment I'd like to add is my perspective on life changed in a BIG way once I had kids, and it was a wonderful change!

Sue,

I'm sorry!! I did not mean it to come out like it sounded. I LOVE kids, and hanging with them. Got a couple of my own!! My whole point was that kids PARENTS can make or break another couples vacation.

My posting had nothing to do with kids in general, but rather.......Parents in Particular. IMHO, it is just totally inconsiderate, to expect others on vacation, to put up with what this or that couple, allow on a daily basis!!

I would love to have experienced what you are with your son!! Maybe someday? They aren't 30 yet, and I'm still working!! Again, Ros Anne is right! I'm just venting after several decades of putting up with others unruly children, after I have spent thousands on vacation as well!!

Tad - apology accepted. When you have well-behaved children it gives you the right to approach parents of under-supervised children and inform them their 'little-darlings' are operating outside the norms of acceptable behavior.

I will admit, my son (the new diver!) and 4-6 other kids did engage in some unrelenting Marco Polo play and running to/from the pool to the dock at BelMar 10 days ago; however it was between the hours of 4-6pm, which I would propose are hours that this behavior should be permitted.

Sue

hello,

I am new to this forum. My family will be on holiday for one week in Bonaire March 16 to 23 - we are very excited.

We are an expat family. We have lived overseas for 10 years. We have resided in the Middle East and now we live in Ecuador.We have traveled extensively through out Asia, India, the Middle East etc. Our son, now 10, was raised abroad. Our daughter, now 5, was born in Saudi Arabia. As a traveling family of 4 we are VERY careful and aware of how the manner of our family (not just the kids) affects the quality a cafe, hotel, beach, pool area etc, life.

But just a couple of points:

1. Our family goes on holiday to enjoy, be free, celebrate and have fun because 45 weeks of the year we are busy, overwhelmed, doing homework, keeping up with school events, working on our careers and just like "everyone" else taking care of business. So, we as a couple with 2 kids, like to back off on our kids when on holiday. No to say they roam freely and wild and impede the enjoyment of other guests but we do lean toward being more lenient while on holiday because for so many weeks a year we are on our kids cases.

2. Adults partying late at night without a cause for concern of the noise or disruption it has on our sleeping children. These adults are far more annoying to me than a child running through a cafe or screaming for a hot dog at 2:00pm by the pool side - even though I hate that too! However, I love to party too and think that other adults have a right to celebrate and enjoy themselves but it's simply a matter of decent, common sense and civilized manners and consideration for ALL guests or patrons.

3. Kids have fun in way that MOST adults cannot relate to.
4. Adults have fun in way that kids cannot relate to.
5. We have a choice. If there are screaming kids - go somewhere else. Just as when I have to cope with adults on a beach or pool side drinking, making out or using profanity. I get up and move to another place. In the past I have tried to ask the adults to be more discerning with their manner in front of my children but I usually get a nasty look or told to F#*% off.
6. Talk to the manager.
7. Families with kids be aware of the honeymooners, empty nester's etc who wish for peace and quiet. Keep the kids in range but make them accountable and sensitive to other guests as they explore the area.
8. I think that if we ALL are more aware and considerate with each other - childless or not - we will see that everyone has worked hard, saved their pennies to be able to chill out on holiday - no matter the age - we all should enjoy Bonaire or where ever we holiday more peacefully.

And that's the name of that tune.

Thank you Simon for some realistic views..Welcome to Bonaire Talk..

Simon, welcome to Boanire Talk. What a nice first post, cogent, spelled correctly, and sane.

I hope you have found on BT all you need to know to enjoy your trip. If not, don't hesitate to ask.