Do you lie about kids ages for free entry?

[coffeeforone]

My DS turned two last weekend. We bought advance tickets for an adventure farm on Saturday. Going along with a friend who has a 4 year old and a DD who is 3 months older than DS.

It's free for under 2's and £11 for everyone else. I paid online and bought us all tickets including my DS and her DD, and let my friend know. She is now furious with me as I have apparently wasted £22 by paying for my DS and her DD. She says its normal not to pay for about a year after the cut off, and was shocked that I paid. TBH it didn't cross my mind when booking, but thinking about it they would never know. WIBU?

If you say your child is older than they are or younger than they are to gain free entry or ability to get on a 'ride' etc.

Should they injure themselves- where do parents stand legally, if they have lied......? Would they be covered by insurance to the extent a 'truthful' person would be?

I ask because I just came back from holiday and whilst their ds2 wanted to do an activity, and was accepted into it, until I read that you had to be 16. He's almost 6ft, and very broad, was offered alcohol all holiday by bar tenders etc. He looks old, yet he's 14.

I was the 'bad guy' because I said, if something happens, we could possibly be screwed with insurance because we told porkies. So I wouldn't allow him to do it.

Thoughts?

I've always been honest about it, I'd be way too paranoid to lie and my husband is a very straight down the line type of person and he wouldn't ever lie, plus my children would just say and have done. We went to an planetarium and the but the age allowed in one of the shows was 8 and over (we hadn't realised and when asked he told him how old he was). The guy said if anyone asks he's 8, but he kept telling everyone, loudly "but I'm not 8, I am 7" (he has ASD).

My husband is the type of person that drives back to the store of he finds he hasn't been charged for something (even if it's pennies). So it's not just on MN. I wouldn't just because I would worry the entire day I would be caught 😂

I have a lot of friends who do though, or will do self service as the cinema and select student discount to get it cheaper, which again, no chance I would do as I would worry (in fact I am a student and usually forget anyway). I purchased the Greatest showman on iTunes a few weeks back and someone visited when we were watching it and made some sarcastic comment about "you actually paid" and made comments to the tune of I was stupid because there are means do watching it for free. I find it weird people think and do things that way, I get really wound up when people act like I'm stupid for paying when in a sense they are benefiting of me paying.

I have done yes. My ds and dd2 were very small for their ages. When we took them to places where there were amusement rides you needed to be a certain height to get on, they would be unable to use them, but because of their age i should have paid for them to get into the park. so, for me, i would say they were younger until they were tall enough to get the same use out of the place as other children the same age. I don't think that was wrong, and its not like we didn't pay a lot of money to ge in.

No. But not for a moral reason.

Purely because my kids would shout out “I’m not 4 Mummy! I’m 5!!” Awkward!!!

What about if the thread were
‘Is it ok to steal from Louis Vuitton?’
Substitute some of the answers: I want it but I can’t afford it but I want it.

The correct answer is ‘I can’t afford X, or if I do X that leaves no money for Y so I won’t do X.’

People must watch the L’Oréal advert a lot. ‘I’m worth it!’ leading to ridiculous debts. Many families go on holiday only once every few years, one London attraction a year, a theme park only once as a family BECAUSE ITS EXPENSIVE.

I’ll make sure I lock all my windows before some in this thread climb though my windows and help themselves to my wedding dress in my attic ‘because I wanted it and mirrorwriting never even uses it and won’t use it again and I can’t afford one.’

It's really not the same thing, which I imagine you know, which makes your post all the sillier

As for the people saying 'it's dishonest,' 'it's theft,' 'what a terrible example to set to your kids' blah blah blah .... Whatever! Must be great to be SOOOOOOOOO perfect!

Seriously? Just not wanting to lie or to want your kids to hear you blatantly lying to get something for nothing is being SOOOOOOOO perfect?

I'd say that was just basic right-from-wrong to be honest.

It really is the same bob.

Philadelphia, Stilton, cheddar, processed slices. All different but still cheese.

Lying, theft, fraud, deception are all different flavours of the same thing and easily feed into each other.

Never but twice the staff have told me I must be mistaken and let my child in free as if they were younger.

I have dwarfism and my parents took advantage of this for years, I'd just sit in a buggy and I'd be in for the under 3's up until I was around 8.

Karma didn't happen to them but hit me instead as I have a giant son and had to argue that although he's tall he was actually under 3.

really not the same. Also not comparable to cheese

Miggedly It really is the same.

I think some people's moral compass go awry when they think about exchanging money for experiences as opposed to objects. The businesses running these attractions have to cover their costs and turn over a profit just the same as businesses that manufacture and sell goods. Why is stealing a designer bag not the same as lying about ages to get into an attraction for free? Both are obtaining goods or services you are not entitled to without actually paying for them.

To the people who say doing this isn't stealing......it's exactly the same and swapping the price labels on different goods, so you pay the lower price rather than the real price of the product you take to the cash desk. Yes, even when you pay something, if you pay a wrong, lower price, it is stealing.
And when people say the prices are too high or they are too high for your small child who won't get value for money out of the cost and venue because they are too small - it's not your choice to choose what is a sensible price and to set it - that is the right of the business only. Where you have a choice is about whether to go in and pay that price they have set, or not.
And the fact you will buy some coffees and spend other money whilst there doesn't make it right either - Tesco isn't willing to let you steal a few items because you will pay for the rest of your trolley load.

For goodness sake - it's theft. There is no justifying it as something else. If you do this, that is your choice, but have the self awareness to acknowledge it is theft and that is what you are doing. The thing is, people don't like to consider themselves as thieves who steal.....but it is the reality with this. Lots of people are in self denial about it. I have more respect for the people who say 'yeah I lie about my kids age to avoid paying the full price. I know it's stealing from those companies but I'm happy to do it' than those who come up with all these excuses for their behaviour to suggest somehow the business has made them visit that attraction and forced them to lie.

I think I'm more judgemental about people deluding themselves than the theft itself, in lots of ways.

You might want to go to soft play or the farm or the theme park....but no-one is entitled to go to any of these places, just because they exist and kids like them. The businesses set the prices, not us...and then we choose if we are willing and able to afford to go. Simple really.

The meek on this thread will surely get their reward in heaven, at the (height based entry) pearly gates.

I can't say I wouldn't ever do this if I could. It's not always that I can't afford something but if I can get it cheaper, I will.

I've been lucky, but generally I do attempt to pay, and the staff on the till says "4? Looks more like 3 to me" then don't charge.

@myfriendbob

That's something you have to teach children anyway, so you might as well get on with it. Nobody doesn't lie. Kids need to be taught the skill.

This. ^ Kids need to be taught to lie, and with a straight face too. Essential to get on in life. Being able to bullshit is a great skill, and can get you much further in life. Lie about their age to get into places for free, lie about what time they got into school, and definitely cheat if necessary if it can further you in life.

As for stealing - that's OK as long as you get away with it. Don't get caught though.

Not from family and friends of course, but big companies yeah... And as long as your employer is a big company. Say, more than 100 employees.......

@chocolatewombat

it's exactly the same and swapping the price labels on different goods, so you pay the lower price rather than the real price of the product you take to the cash desk

Have you never heard of BAR CODES?

No-one has been able to switch price labels and get away with paying less since the 1990's!

Shame really coz I used to love doing that. Got away with shitloads of stuff dead cheap!

I do steal and cheat and lie when I can get away with it, but it's more difficult with pre-set bar codes, and CCTV everywhere.

DSHathawayGivesMeFannyGallops Do you shoplift some of your weekly shop to get it a bit cheaper? What about switching the labels on your kids' clothes before you buy them?

Getting something cheaper through deceit is akin to theft. You can mock those who don't endorse this kind of behaviour all you like, but it doesn't make your actions any less reprehensible.

I haven’t done it yet, but I definitely would.

seriously though, everyone lies. You're lying if you say you don't lie. You're lying if you say lying isn't essential to living.

I’ve done it before a few times tbh. We went to Disney twice once when my DD was just turned 3 and once when she was 4 but looked younger. It’s $100+ dollars otherwise.

@bumpitybump

Do you shoplift some of your weekly shop to get it a bit cheaper? What about switching the labels on your kids' clothes before you buy them?

ALAS, barcodes have stopped that many years ago (like I said up there ^) I steal when I can, but barcodes and CCTV stops it most of the time. I do get away with it sometimes though.

In fact, I have actually resorted to nicking peoples purses to compensate for not being able to steal so much from shops. Not often; maybe once or twice a month....

I haven't and couldn't because at 2/3 mine looked like a 5/6 yr old. I had to prove their ages on more than one occasion.

I'll say it again, when you buy child tickets you don't generally announce "I'd like a child ticket please for my child who is not yet 2 years old". You just say "three adults and a child please".

Unless you have a very precocious 3 or 4 year old who has read the details of the age boundaries, they're going to have no idea that you're lying.

Just throwing that out there.

I don't do it. I guess it's mainly because I'd be mortified if caught out, though I'd like to think it was partly honesty.

However I have lied on occasions to make dd older to do activities - she is both tall for her age and extremely sensible so I can't see how it does any harm. For example doing go ape type thing that was 8+ when was a couple of months short.