To think parents lying about their child's age to get cheaper tickets is wrong?

[Liketochat1]

The swimming thread got me thinking about a chat I was having the other day. Parents were saying they lie about their child's age to get cheaper or free tickets to parks, zoos, shows etc... They claim their children are under 5, 3 or whatever when they aren't.
AIBU to think this lying is wrong and unfair or is it just to be expected?

I still got the child (under 16) fare on the bus and train until I was 21.

We do this on skiing holidays, kids under 8 go free (when wearing a helmet) my little sister turned 8 the week before the holiday. We said she was 7 and she got to go through all the lifts as a child. She had to go under a little archway that was about a meter tall, with her skis and helmet she is about 1.5 meters (at least) I did feel a bit bad for her having to crouch down for the entire weeks holiday but it saved about 200 pounds as she got kids price ski hire. There were kids who must have been about 14 going through the kid gates so at least we were not the worst offenders. Also the kids in scandinavia seem to be a lot bigger than English kids, the 3-6 month babygrows are like toddler clothes that you buy in the UK.

My mum took me to Edinburgh (from devon) when I was about 22 on her family rail card, I just wore a hoodie and say with my (then 4 year old) little sister.

My ds 13 still goes in ball pools when I meet up with a friend who has much younger children.
He is above the age limit but under the height limit!

I have done it. In fact I do it at te moment at a soft play area bu mainly because I think their pricing is unfair. They charge £1 for crawlers but full price (£4 for under 4s) for over 1's but dd is nearly 15 months and still crawling so can do no mor than an under 1 crawler, therefore she is under 1 when we go there!

Of course it's not "normal" iamme43 . Just because some people do it doesn't make it ok.
It's teaching your hidden that lying, cheating and stealing are ok, all to save + or - £5. Is it worth it??

I don't think I've lied about my child's age, but admissions staff often waive or reduce charges IME. I did buy child tickets on buses and trains until I was about 23 though. I really would find it hard to give the tiniest fuck about families doing this though.

I think it is normal smoking is "normal" but it doesn't make it ok.

I've done it. Most places have rip off entry prices anyway. I remember being encouraged by a bus driver once - "shes four isnt she" DD pipes up, no im 5, nearly six, "oh so shes definately four then" bless him, i was skint that week so that saved me a few pounds for which i was grateful.

Flogging -/+ £5 is alot of money and ould be the difference between affording a day out and not affording for some familes.

Would feel very guilty myself, but a friend recently told me that her daughter lied about her age to get a cheaper train ticket because she was only two weeks past her 16th birthday.

I tried it once but my eldest daughter quickly reminded me that DD2 had just had her birthday last week as WAS 3 now! Sigh.

Don't bother now.

I've done it. I'll do it again. Not the crime of the century and means we've had some days out we wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise.

DS has just turned five not that long ago. No one ever believed he was under five from age 2 as he is silly tall. It got very frustrating argue with people that he was 2/3/4. And at 2/3 he did act his age!

I would completely do this. same as I pretended to be 18 when I was 16 so I could go to the pub. If they don't ask for proof that's their own faults.

It's wrong, but so are the extortionate prices charged for children.

However you look at it, it is still theft.

Funny how people have adjustable morals. (yes myself included)

I bet 99% of the MN'ers that do this would never shoplift.

I remember being 16 and getting the train into town and paying child price (75p, that tells you how long ago!) then using my fake ID to get served in pubs

birdsofshoreandsea that is a good analogy, but I imagine very few people would steal that fifth dress.

It is not as though people have to go to outrageously expensive theme parks, if it's too expensive then you could just not go.

I wonder if the main reason that people think it is OK is because it is easy to do and you are unlikely to get caught. There are lots of other things that seem to be ridiculously expensive but people pay because they would hate to get caught.

Supermarkets make lots of profit but it doesn't make me want to steal from them.

the " no i would never do this" brigade have failed to answer my ??? above

im not suprised thougjh

Its completed different to stealing a dress. You can just buy a cheaper dress. There arn't cheaper theme parks for example. If all the options for a day out are overpriced then you don't have much choice.

We went to the library today.
Sometimes we go to the park.
When did theme parks become compulsory?
(I say this as someone who has allowed people to believe my DCs were younger, not actively lying, I just can't be bothered setting people straight all the time)

I've done it, but i just have a quick question of those of you who think there are no ocassions when this is right. My DS was born at 29 weeks. As such he was 2 11-13 weeks earlier than many others who are developmentally the same age, and he is much smaller than many.

I had to pay full price for him on a plane when he was 2 and a few days but under 2 corrected age, because of the civil aviation ruules. he was too small to sit on his own (and can't sit well but that's a whole other story) but that is at least an isurance requirement.

I do sometimes lie about his age on his passport, because to me that is not his age. His age is his developmental age.

It's morally wrong but who is whiter than white in all circumstances? Not sure we've ever really avoided paying the correct price for entrance to paying attractions. DS always small for his age (and still is) so could well have done but we don't do theme parks often enough to take the proverbial in that way. DD has always been tall for her age so would never have got away with pretending you she was under 5 when she was just 5 anyway.

Actually think we did once eat at an eatery and say he was 9 when he was just 10 because they were going to charge us for adult portions and he is not a greedy child, so nowhere near eating an adult sized meal. And DD ate virtually nothing so felt vindicated. Can think of many DCs who are considerably younger than 10 who easily eat twice as much as my DCs

DW did once try to get DD into an event (which was free) but with age restrictions. She was only too old by a matter of a month or so but the woman in charge was being bloody minded. DW did pretend she was several months younger but then felt so guilty about it that she cancelled DD's place at the event and vowed never to do it again.