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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To lie about DD's age to get her in free?

375 replies

Kasterborous · 25/03/2015 14:56

I'm prepared to be told I was being unreasonable. We took DD who turned three 24 days ago to our local Wildlife park today. Under three they get in free, over three it's £10.00 which seems a lot so we said she was two. I know it was dishonest and next time we will pay for her.

OP posts:
dotdotdotmustdash · 25/03/2015 16:02

My DD turned 16 recently and has to take an intercity bus trip every couple of weeks. The fare should double now that she's 16 but I've told her to continue to ask for a half fare at least until next month when she stops the travelling. I don't feel guilty about this, nothing has changed financially for her or us, she's still at school and still doesn't earn any money of her own so suddenly paying double because she's had a birthday isn't fair.

DancingDinosaur · 25/03/2015 16:03

I'd do it.

monkeyfacegrace · 25/03/2015 16:14

I do it all the time.

My kids always ask in the car 'how old have I got to be today mum?'

I can't get worked up over it. If I had to pay full price we wouldn't do half the things we do, and we spend a fortune on food/gift shops too.

I also lie about my son's height at Alto Towers. His shoes are quite often stuffed with folded park maps and extra socks to add a few cm to get him on the rides Grin

hedgehogsdontbite · 25/03/2015 16:16

and I don't lie about it either. What the heck gives people the right to accuse others of lying, just because they actually WANT to be honest and upstanding citizens who set a good example to their children.

Guilt. They accuse us of lying because otherwise they'd have to accept that their justification of 'it's ok because everyone does it' holds no water.

MagicMojito · 25/03/2015 16:19

Victimless crime yanbu.

These places charge an extortionate amount anyway. We went peppa pig world last week, it cost us just under £100 pound +the price of food/coffees then £50 in the souvenir shop.

I doubt very much these places will go bankrupt any time soon. Call it a cheeky freebie!

ASorcererIsAWizardSquared · 25/03/2015 16:20

"I have never lied about dd's age because lying about her age would have made her seemingly be conceived and born at a different time thus making her a completely different person. Different sperm different egg."

and the prize for overthinking it goes too.....

hiccupgirl · 25/03/2015 16:21

I do it for my 5 yr old DS and I don't feel guilty about it tbh.

I'm quite happy to pay the full child's price if he is going to get as much out of the experience as say an 8 or 12 yr old. But I am not paying the full child price at places that charge the same from 5-16 when clearly he's not going to be able to get as much out of it yet as an older child. Same when he'd just turned 3 and should have then paid the same as a 12 year old to get into the zoo. I also refuse to pay an extra £2 to get into Softplay because he is now 5 when his friend's at school who are still 4 but taller than him, get in at the lower price.

BellaVida · 25/03/2015 16:24

I have always been honest and on several occasions, the person in the ticket office has said how nice it was for someone to be so and let my DD in free anyway!! Guess it happens a lot.

Original poster
Kasterborous · 25/03/2015 16:25

It gets expensive anywhere you go once they turn three, it seems to be the age they start charging for.

OP posts:
MagicMojito · 25/03/2015 16:26

My moral compass is spectaculary low compared to a lot of mumsnet. Its bizarre to me that this is seen as an issue at all.

Then again, I'm the type of person who would be made up to find a tenna on the floor whereas most mumsnetters would aparently do the honorable thing of handing it into the police station Blush

SomewhereIBelong · 25/03/2015 16:29

going by the threads on here there is a shameful amount of dishonesty going on - lot of it full in the face of the children to whom we as parents are supposed to set an example.

I find it shocking... and sad - if lying comes so easy and is condoned so readily, why would kids bother to tell the truth in any situation? What would you do as parents if you caught them in a big lie and they turned round and gave these examples back at you?

PickleSarnie · 25/03/2015 16:35

Euuuuurgh. I thought you would be made up to find a "tena" magic. I was most confused why you thought the rest of mumsnet would have a pair of incontinence pants into the police station

Littlemonstersrule · 25/03/2015 16:35

Quite an eye opener to see how many dishonest people are around. Presumably those who do it don't mind being stolen from etc themselves.

Lots of wildlife places run as a charity and barely make ends meet without people lying to avoid the entry fee.

You wouldn't hopfully steal from a shop but it's effectively what you are doing to the companies.

HeyDuggee · 25/03/2015 16:35

In other countries, you often need to produce proof of age if you want a child discount. I always thought it was so lovely that in UK, most people follow the honour system and pay up, so venues don't need to ask for proof of age. It's shit that people like you and others on this thread take the piss.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 25/03/2015 16:43

Lying about a child's age makes them a different person? A differemt sperm and egg?

M'kaaaaaaaay.

Salmotrutta · 25/03/2015 16:45

I've never done this.

Not because I'm a smug self-righteous so-and-so but simply because I was brought up to be honest and I would feel awful guilty.

And "victimless crime"??

Seriously? So if every 3 or 4th person does it then the park doesn't lose money?

It's a bit like people who say shoplifting or not telling a cashier that they gave them too much change is a "victimless crime" Hmm

DrankSangriaInThePark · 25/03/2015 16:46

I'm wondering at what point these people's moral compass does kick in.....bit of shoplifting? Nah, the supermarket can cover it, bit of cheating in exams? bit of benefit fraud and tax evasion? Bring it on. All victimless crimes, so who cares?

DrankSangriaInThePark · 25/03/2015 16:50

I wouldn't call it a 'cheeky freebie' magicmojito. I'd call it what it is, which is theft.
And nobody stood over you and forced you to spend 50 quid on tat I presume? Shame you didn't see fit to spend a fraction of that on the correct entrance fee.

Salmotrutta · 25/03/2015 16:50

Exactly DrankSangria!

tiggytape · 25/03/2015 16:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

googoodolly · 25/03/2015 16:52

But if the family had gone say, 3 weeks earlier when the DC WAS underage, they still wouldn't have paid the money. And I bet many families wouldn't take their DC's to these places if they required proof of age simply because it's so expensive.

resipsa · 25/03/2015 16:54

And you know that you don't have to go to these places if you think they are too pricey...to use the 'chaperone' excuse is flimsy! If you don't want to pay, don't go.

PtolemysNeedle · 25/03/2015 16:58

At birth swimming and a local farm I've had cashiers tell me my child must be younger than he is so that they could charge me the cheaper price. Sometimes the staff if these places are nice enough that they don't want to charge the maximum they possibly could.

I think this goes on a lot, and the businesses it happens to could clamp down on it if they chose to. But they don't.

tiggytape · 25/03/2015 17:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Paintedpinksapphires · 25/03/2015 17:04

It's dishonest. You know it is, the fact that there are other people who are behaving in this way doesn't make it ok or any less dishonest.

I also find it interesting that many of those who say they also lie/teach their children to lie say 'everybody does it'.

Everybody does not do it. Even if 'most' people do, being a sheep doesn't make it any less wrong.