Theme parks and toddlers

[Star39]

Hello all
Just after some advice.... I have been away on holiday in Denmark and today visited a theme park. My baby is now nearly 16 months old so I guess she’s a toddler! she was going on some rides with me like the carousel etc and then there was this train ride which from the outside which looked quite slow. I even asked the guy supervising if it was ok for a 16 month old. He said yes (maybe he misunderstood) there was no heigh limit either for children with adults. Anyway, he turned out to be like a runaway mine train which in the mountain was going fast and dipping but outside going slower. I held my baby so tight. I now feel so stupid I took her own and super guilty. My husband said it’s fine and she would have liked it (she didn’t cry or laugh - she didn’t really know what to make of it) I’m now thinking she’s mentally scared or partly deafened because the other kids were screaming. I just feel awful. My husband is always trying to make her grow up faster than she should x

She winter have been either deafened or mentally scarred! She was held tight and totally safe. It all sounds really fine.

It sounds like she is quite unaffected! If she was frightened, she would have cried or been upset! She was probably just a bit shocked! Everyone screams on rollercoasters, it’s just a natural reaction I think! Please don’t worry, she won’t remember, she’s very young!

I went on my first rollercoaster when I was 5. My Dad persuaded me I’d enjoy a Wild Mouse.. I was so shocked by it, I didn’t speak for about an hour afterwards apparently. There’s a photo of me looking very pale & confused 😂 For years I refused to go on any rides but as a teen, I wanted to copy my friends & so went to a theme park and loved it. I’m now a rollercoaster junkie! I love them!

I’m now thinking she’s mentally scared or partly deafened because the other kids were screaming.
😂😂😂

I grew up with 5 older siblings. Screaming was a everyday part of life, my hearing is fine.

Thankyou all. @Bol87 yes I think she might have been shocked or at least thought ‘what in earth is going on’. I just feel abit stupid (as well as thinking it was super bad parenting) to take her on. We tried to take her on another ride which these mini aeroplanes that lifted up and just went round but the min height was 95cm. There was no min height in the train ride which is what led me to think it would be slow. I did have my doubts as there were no other super small children in the line but when I asked the operator he said it was fine. She’s been fine since I just feel awful and a bad parent! I have never held her so tight! X

I've done this. Took my very nervous dd on a soaking wet freezing river ride. Poor thing was terrified.
My other dd however loved the waltzer at very young age. About the same age as yours. If there were no tears it's fine honestly.

It was silly of the attendant to let you on, but even if she was scared at the time (which she didn't show so probably wasn't), she'll forget really soon. It will have absolutely no long term effect on her.

You're not a bad parent because you checked first and you're worried now. A bad parent would do neither of those things.

When my dd was about 11 months old, we went on a boat ride close to a huge waterfall (Victoria Falls kind of size). She got cold, wet and cried the whole time. She was my pfb and I was overprotective at the best of times. I felt like the worst mother in the world and was pretty close to crying myself.

I have very vivid memories of that day; dd has absolutely no memory of it at all.

Every 16 month old I've met loves being chucked around. They shouldn't have let you on, but I am absolutely certain it won't have scarred her.

What sort of restraint did you have? I think you'd have released sooner if it was the over the shoulder sort you get for rollercoasters - if it was a lap bar then it might have felt terrifyingly fast and like it was chucking you around but it really wasn't.

Not released, realised, sorry!

@CottonSock Thankyou for your post. I thought I was the only person who had done this so was feeling bad! X

@LisaSimpsonsbff it was a metal lap belt so not the over the shoulder restraint. I originally had her on my lap and the man told me to sit her next to me. I had my arm round her and my arms hand under her chin above the bar as I soon realised she could have whacked her chin in the bar. The photo at the end of the ride is literally the top of my head and that it as I was shielding her so much. Also weirdly, the operator / attendees rode on the ride, like he had an actual seat in the middle of the train???? Not sure if he was operating it or what??! It did feel fast but maybe you are right and it wasn’t ?? X

So just did some reading on the ride. It says it has a max speed of 58 km per hour which is 36mph. The guy rides on the train to brake in the corners (it was a super old rollercoaster) I guess 36mph isn’t actually too fast and it just felt faster.

I suppose 36mph is fairly fast if you are 16 months, but in the grand scheme of things, it won't have scarred her. She probably won't have really been bothered, judging from her reaction, and she's no going to remember it in the long run. Although if I was the operator, I wouldn't have let you on.