Parenting

So Rebecca and I are not strict parents when it comes to discipline but have always been quite strict when it comes to adhering to schedules for the girls. Meals are eaten at the same time every day within 15 minutes and bed time never waivers. The girls have always gone down at 7 (or earlier) and I can count on one hand the number of times that has not happened, usually because we are traveling or a dinner out runs late. Kate gets her 12 hours and Lauren gets her 14 (with an afternoon nap) as recommended by the APA. We both believe this helps, as the kids always know what to expect and when to expect it. I am always interested to watch the kids of other parents who don't adhere to such a schedule. In my opinion, I tend to witness more mood swings and melt downs. But this may just be a predetermined bias. This all essentially stems from Rebecca's unwavering adherence to the rules. If the APA recommends it, she does it. No TV before two as it contributes to ADD. Sleep schedules, everything.

So the reason I write this now is that I am sitting in the rotunda of the Disneyland Hotel in Paris because this is the only place in the hotel that has wifi. Rebecca and the girls went to bed about 7 and I came up here to catch up on email and baseball playoffs. And I found an absolute mad house...50 kids or so running absolutely amok, dressed from just diapers to full princess and pirate regalia. Parents are sitting here drinking, kids are shrieking, chasing each other with star wars guns and at least one gets injured every 5 minutes, several are absolutely screaming bloody murder and melting down at their parents feet. All from age 1 to 10. At 8 o'clock I wasn't too surprised. But now its 9:30 and no signs of slowing. And I know these are the same kids that are going to be up at 7 and in the park, knocking my kids over in line and behaving horrendously. Do parents know this and just choose to have their fun at the expense of the kids? Or do they just assume kids know when they need to go to bed and its ok to keep them out like this? Or, is this just Disney and vacation and these parents act quite differently at home? Or am I just a square who should let his kids run amok too as they are missing out by not doing so?