The Things I Learned at Disney World

I am just back from seven days at Disney World. Barb and I recently celebrated forty years of marriage. Trip was our way of celebrating with our kids and grandkids. Nine of us spent seven nights in a two bedroom condo. Speaking for myself, I think we came away loving each other more. Our oldest son Peter and his wife, Amy, have three little boys; Little being defined as under the age of six. Observing them in action for a week I must say I was impressed. They might be the ultimate tag team. Yes, grandma and I stayed back at the resort most evenings so the young people could go out and some fun.

I had not been to the Magic Kingdom before. One of the things that surprised me was the number of international travelers. During my first two days I met families from The UK, Scotland, The Netherlands, Peru, Costa Rica and Brazil. I stopped trying to keep track. One thing I concluded was that international families have a very different style of parenting. I witnessed more family discussion and saw much more unity among those from other cultures. Even the large youth groups, some numbers 50+, seemed well behaved and disciplined. Perhaps it is because the international travelers are from the higher economic class, only they could probably afford such a trip.

International families seemed to treat each other with respect. I saw a lot of serious conversation and listening, as opposed to many American parents who seemed to take the "my way or the highway," approach.

I did come away with a list of the three worst examples of parenting (yes I actually heard these);

1. "If you don't knock if off we'll go back to the hotel." (Yeah right, that's the reason we spent all that money to get into this park.)
2. "If you don't stop it, I'll break your arm!" (I think I will let Child Protective Services handle that one.)
3. "You are acting just like your father." (And you mom, remind me of a member of the gestapo.)

Please think about your parenting style before you go out in public. Our country needs to imporve our image.