Kids alone in hotel room

You could always get someone off of care.com to come over and hang for a few hours

 

I was sort of in the maybe okay group.

Then I read this post. Makes one think a bit more.

We have done it before... but at an Embassy Suites where we could actually SEE the door to our room while eating i the atrium.

 

They had "smack you upside the head" rights too. Then Mom found out somebody else corrected your wrong, told Dad, and you got it again when he got home.

 

I would look into a sitter. I hired a care aide for my mom last year through an agency, not so much to be with my mom but to give me a break in getting her ready in the morning, including showering, etc. I forgot the amount but I was surprised at how low it was -- though you often get what you pay for -- like an hourly rate that was a bit more than one spin on 10-play quarters UX VP (which always puts things into perspective). One person was fine and the other person I am pretty sure stole one of my CCs and, not coincidentally, didn't respond to me or the agency when the next day she didn't show up. With an agency folks are bonded though you can still get someone that is dishonest. No drama this time by bringing someone with us that we know.

That being said, a babysitter requires less skill than an aide. She or he is basically watching a movie or tv show with your kids for a few hours. Assuming it's 40 bucks an hour from a place that your hotel would recommend (Wynn did NOT recommend the agency I used but instead the referral was from a friend of a friend), I would strongly recommend that course.

In addition to the concerns raised above, you want to relax and enjoy yourself while you and your spouse are out. I think that would be much harder to do if they were alone without a sitter as you would be worried about them. That's not fun.

 

Back in 69 my parents left my brother and me in the room at CP (same ages) when they went out
My brother was an angel the whole time
By the end of the second hour we were being babysat by dad's host's 18 year old daughter
Boy will be boys
Get a babysitter

 

I'm not considering taking my kids to Vegas, but I'm curious how safe/trustworthy even the licensed/bonded sitters are. I'd be weighing the risks of my kids misbehaving on their own against the risk of the babysitter doing something inappropriate.

I'm not being facetious, either. I struggle with the concept of someone I don't fully know watching my kids, which has limited my babysitting options in the past.

 

How much work would it be to put up a camera that you could access remotely from your phone?

 

So what happened between the 70s and now that all y'all feel is different so that you were fine to be left alone but these kids it's "no way". You were just better children? This generation is too dumb and irresponsible? There's infinite more options for kids to be entertained alone for a few hours these days instead of some crap TV like yesteryear. I'm sure it'll be fine.

OP, only know your kids and all of us are just speculating otherwise.

My single father left us alone when he went out of country for a week when we were 12 and 9. He gave us lunch money for school, went grocery shopping for our own meals, and gave us probably $50 emergency money. We turned out just fine. We also were left alone dozens of times while he ran errands or went to a poker tournament on the weekends. We would also be home alone 4ish hours every day after school and sometimes would be expected to have dinner ready when it was our day of the week to cook.

Kids need to learn to be independent and situations like hanging out in a hotel room for a few hours with the parents 10-20min away is one of the more reasonable situations I can think of.

 

I'm with the don'ts on this one. While it may not be illegal in the state of NV, the casinos have pretty clear rules on minors being with someone over 21 at all times out on the floor. While those rules don't technically apply to the room, if for some reason the kids decided to make their way downstairs or disturbed their neighbors it may be breaking a hotel rule and cold even involve being kicked out. I've never checked any of this out so could be overreaching but I've heard of casinos very strictly enforcing their rules when they want to and I'd hate to be on the receiving end of a security guards bad night over a dinner without the kids.

As others have said, it's all a bunch of "what if" scenarios, and only the OP really knows their kids. I agree either getting a sitter for a few hours or finding some alternate arrangements for them is a much more reassuring option so you can really enjoy your alone time.

 

I have 12, 6,5 yr olds and while I do begrudgingly trust the 12 yr old to be at home when he is sick so we can run a kid to school a mile down the road, I wouldn't trust him in Vegas to even watch himself even with a phone, tv, food etc

 

Many years ago (right out of undergrad) I was a hotel sitter for an agency and licensed/bonded (I had nanny’ed/babysat all through HS and undergrad too). The application process was intense and our rates reflected the vetting we went through. Will there still be some bad apples? Of course there will be but overall at that age I would 100% hire someone over leaving them alone. I do think kids need to learn to be more independent and of course only you know your kids but consider they will be in a new environment they are not familiar with and there will be many variables/chances for things to go awry. It’s not like leaving them at home where they have routines, are familiar and comfortable with their routines, and know their neighbors/know where to go to ask for assistance if something should come up. They will be in a strange place with different stimuli, possibly jet lagged or over-stimulated, and in a huge hotel with (possibly) odd or startling sounds coming from the hallway. I also happen to have a background in social work and all the literature points to 12 being about the earliest age a child should be left alone for more than an hour or so . 10 or 11 if they are exceptionally mature and in their own environment, not Vegas. (Well the literature actually doesn’t mention Vegas, I threw that in. ) My own rather substantial experience with children (including being a parent) seems to bear this out. So while of course you as the parent can make whatever decision you want, if you were my friend I would definitely advise against this and suggest getting a sitter or finding a childcare place you could take them.

 

I've been wondering about this too, and my conclusion is that a lot of people were latchkey kids in the '70s and '80s, but didn't raise their kids to be latchkey kids. Latchkey kids have a certain set of skills and discipline that kids whose parents never leave them alone don't learn.

 

There was a post I read, can’t remember if it was on VMB or another forum, where a dad left his kids alone (don’t remember the ages) in their hotel room in Vegas and went downstairs to gamble. He came back up to find security guards at his door and they escorted him and his family out of the hotel. I believe the article said they banned him.

I could’ve sworn I read this on VMB, but I can’t find the post. Anyone else remember reading that? It was like the dad was the one who posted it asking for advice.

 

Generally, when you have to research the laws of two states to see if a plan you have is legal or illegal, it's most likely a bad plan from the start.

I've read about a lot of crazy plans and ideas from posters here concerning ideas during their Vegas trips. But those have always involved adults only.

So you're going to leave them a phone. How often does an incoming call go straight to voicemail when you are roaming a casino? How often do just not hear your phone with all the noise in a casino? Both happen quite often.

You think it will be ok. Maybe even the kids think it will be ok. But then, you're gone for a while. Reality set in and the kids realize they are in an unfamiliar hotel room in an unfamiliar city. They hear noises. They hear people in the hall. They become uncomfortable, maybe even scared. Why would you even consider putting them through that?

Maybe they are ok with it. But they get bored. They start jumping around the room, jumping on the bed. One of them gets hurt. Or they get into an argument. They're making enough noise that a guest complains. Security come up to the room. And they find a 10 year old and a 7 year old left alone while their parents are in the casino. There's a few scenarios that could result in. None of them are good.

If you both had to go somewhere with your 10 year old, and your 7 year old couldn't accompany the 3 of you, would you leave him with a 10 year old babysitter?

We have a 9 year old daughter. She's gone to Vegas with us every trip we have taken. And that has generally been at least 3 trips a year since she was 14 months old. When it's just the three of us, we've just had to take turns each doing our casino time alone, while the other stayed with our daughter or took her out to some activity. Some trips we've been lucky that my dad or sister accompanied us. Dad likes to play poker, but generally doesn't stay out too late. So he can stay with her and we get a chance to go out together. My sister isn't that into Vegas, but loves spending time with our daughter. And she loves spending time with her aunt. That also affords us time to go out together. Every trip has lots of pool time, CircusCircus visits(NOT staying there), Container Park, and all kinds of other activities we do as family. If mom and dad have to take turns staying with daughter and get our gamble on separately, that's what we do. And we make it work.

Because that's simply how it is. And it's the responsible way to do things when taking a young child to Vegas. Or anywhere.

She's a very good kid. Smart kid. Responsible kid. But she's 9 years old. I don't think there's a whole lot of difference between a kid being 9 and a kid being 10.

And quite honestly, there's NO WAY we could relax or have a good time knowing our daughter is alone in our room/suite. NO WAY AT ALL.

We have NEVER considered leaving her alone, even for a minute.

I really believe you need to reconsider.

 

There's this pesky thing called child endangerment nowadays. I hear about a lot of examples that would have been normal parenting 50 years ago. Like leaving kids alone. We just had an example where Mom left two kids in a car while she went into a store to shoplift and the car caught fire. Kids had to be rescued.

 

This is what I was wondering. Wouldn't the brain be preventing you from really enjoying Vegas for Vegas sake, if another issue (child welfare) were occupying the same space?

 

Isn't there still Kidsquest somewhere?

 

Can not imagine what kids would do if the fire alarm went off.

 

I was a latchkey kid from a very early age. I rode my bike several miles each way in elementary school along a rather busy road. I also ran with sticks, crossed my eyes and ate my fair share of dirt. We called each other pretty bad names at times and played football in the street. In other words, a normal kid of the 60s and early 70s. Still don't think my parents would do something like this. I shudder to think they needed "mommy and daddy time" on our excursions, but, hey, that's what quickies are for. Anyway, a family getaway is a family getaway. The thing is, however, parents with kids need to make the decision that is best for them and not us here, even if we are correct. lol

 

We have done it before and would do it again. You know your kids. If you trust them to behave, then feel free to leave them for a bit. Just be sure they bolt the door.

Also, does the older one have a phone? if so, you can text/call them to be sure all is ok.