Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that daughter wont be able to go clubbing due to tightening of age checks

240 replies

Carolinethe · 15/10/2021 14:08

My DD is one of the youngest in her year -August baby- and so has only just turned 17.

She has several friends who are turning 18 shortly and one has already mentioned going to nightclubs etc. She gors to the pub with friends and I gather has been served alcohol before now but I dont like to probe too much.

My perception is that licensing requirements have been tightened up so its much harder to get in if you are under 18 these days. I dont want to tell her to try and blag it and have the embarassment of being turned away by a bouncer for not being old enough when all her friends will have got in. So realisticall is she fated to not going clubbing until until next year when probably the attraction will have worn off/ everyone will be going away?

In my day we were attending clubs from about 15 onwards and I had various forms of ID stating fale birthdates to make us 18+ for when we were asked. I believe now this has been clamped down on so that id is only available with proof of birthday etc so no chance of faking it.

what do others do? Or is it out of reach for her?

OP posts:
miltonj · 15/10/2021 16:19

I was a summer birthday so had the same issue. Managed it a fair few times, with a friends ID, back in 2010/11 so not 100000 years ago, but things have got tighter even since then. I also got turned away a fair few times. I also went out with close friends in those days though so we always had a plan B.... if I didn't get in, no one would and we'd go back to our friends tiny garage for apple sours, lambrini, cigs, dancing and probs order chicken at some point.... tbh those were the best nights anyway looking back Grin

MrsColon · 15/10/2021 16:20

@DeepaBeesKit

I don't think this is new. There have been pretty stringent ID checks for years. I'm 36 and we never went clubbing until 18, it was rare in sixth form. There were a couple of smaller bars with dance floors (with poor reputations) known for letting in underage drinkers, so some people went to places like that but even those would get busted from time to time.

Clubbing isnt an essential activity, she'll find plenty of other ways to socialise.

I'm 36 as well, and got in to clubs from 16 no problem! I grew up in Manchester where this was totally normal.
TuftyMarmoset · 15/10/2021 16:20

I’m 26 and have never not been asked for ID at a club. I usually do at bars as well - a lot of bars have an ID entry policy in the evening now as well. She’ll just have to plan a big night out for her birthday.

Gwenhwyfar · 15/10/2021 16:22

@Liverbird77

I am actually glad things have been tightened up. In my day, back in the '90s, I could get I to pubs and clubs from the age of 14. It's horrifying to think back on it. We drank irresponsibily and were exposed to situations we didn't know ow how to handle
I went to pubs and clubs occasionally from 15, but I was sensible and never had any problems.
Skyla2005 · 15/10/2021 16:25

My daughter borrowed one of her friends that looked similar

RedRiverShore · 15/10/2021 16:25

I remember when I was about 50, I went for a drink with some work colleagues age about 25-35, every one was asked to show ID, she got to me and said, you're OK, I felt ancient.

The school year when you are 17-18 is very difficult though if you are at the young end when everyone starts going out to pubs, clubs and learning to drive, DS was at the older end but his friend was August born so missed out a lot that year

RedRiverShore · 15/10/2021 16:29

Gone are the days when you just had to remember an age 18 date of birth to trot out at 14-15 if asked

ItsAlwaysThere · 15/10/2021 16:31

I had no idea! What a change. I was in nightclubs not super young but certainly late 16 and early 17. We lived for it!

It will be hard for the younger of the year groups to miss out. It won't be long until they're 18 but of course they won't see it that way.

WoodchipNightmares · 15/10/2021 16:35

Nowadays the main way to get in is by borrowing an ID of someone who looks vaguely similar. If you've got an older sister then you're in luck; if not a friend of the same sex and ethnicity is usually all it takes.

Though I did once eject someone for handing over the ID of someone I knew. I didn't know the person standing in front of me Grin

JudyGemstone · 15/10/2021 16:35

My son is also 17 and has an august birthday. I think the first and last years at school are hardest for the summer born kids. He’ll probably get himself a fake id from somewhere, not sure where I would procure one for him though.

It’s swings and roundabouts though, having a summer birthday definitely has its perks. I hate my January birthday!

NumberTheory · 15/10/2021 16:38

I suspect you are right OP and chances are she will be refused at the door. I would think, if there was a chance that they could get in anywhere local without being checked/with fake ID, they would have been clubbing for the last year.

I would encourage your daughter to think about what she will do if she's the only one turned away and the others go in without her. Maybe offer to pick her up/have taxi money available/fund an uber so she can get home safely the first time that happens. Also, if it suits, try and create a home environment that she's happy to have friends round to on a weekend night so she doesn't miss out on all the socializing. If you have the space, a shed in the garden done up into a mini-club could be a draw some of the time (though obviously doesn't have the same opportunity for meeting others as a club does).

Arabelladrinkstea · 15/10/2021 16:41

My son has just turned 18 and has been going out into pubs for the past 18 months, where there’s a will there’s a way!

Strangevipers · 15/10/2021 16:43

Borrow an id

Hope that your daughters friends are decent friends and if she doesn't get in they won't go in without her

Some clubs or pubs don't have bouncers on the door u til a certain time so get in there before they do

scarpa · 15/10/2021 16:52

From what I know from my younger cousins, they just borrow ID and then change their names on their social media profiles to match now in case the bouncer asks to see it as 'proof' - the modern version of learning your fake star sign in case they ask ha.

A club near me introduced a fingerprint system when I was 17, I just used fake ID to set up a profile with my fingerprint. There are always ways round it if they're that bothered!

Redwinestillfine · 15/10/2021 16:55

Surely it's a good thing?

Kb2942 · 15/10/2021 17:00

Yes it's a lot harder and has become even harder over the last however many years. My mum was that age in the 80s and said it was really easy. I turned 18 in 2010 and it wasn't too hard then. Many of my friends borrowed each others Id and seemed to get away with it. I also managed to get in clubs and served at pubs at 17 as I looked so much older!! It has got a lot stricter since then though - rightly so!!

Clubbing is a dying trend I think though. The young people I know don't seem interested in it anymore!

beigebrownblue · 15/10/2021 17:03

Getting an ID card is not a bad idea.
Google id card for young people for info.

Avarua · 15/10/2021 17:04

Get her to borrow a similar looking boy's ID. If they query it, she can say she's transitioned and is finally living her full life as a woman. They'll be too scared to question it. Free pass.

MargaretThursday · 15/10/2021 17:06

@Winniemarysarah

It’s really been clamped down on now op. They really do ID anyone who looks under 25
They ID everyone. I went with a group for a friend's 40th and we got all ID-ed. They also only take official ID, no cobbling your own ID together as I remember from 6th form.
pantjog · 15/10/2021 17:07

Everything is stricter nowadays. My DC can't get in to clubs without ID. (Boo. Hoo.) I got ID'd by the Ocado delivery man the other day. I am old enough to be his mother. And not remotely youthful-looking.

berlinbabylon · 15/10/2021 17:11

I can't see why she would struggle to get into a club if she is 18 and has ID?

Although I did read something this week (may have been on here or perhaps it was on Facebook) where a bouncer refused to accept that the ID was genuine because "the photo looked too young".

Peanutsandchilli · 15/10/2021 17:11

Why the hell are you so keen for your underage child to be served alcohol in an adult orientated environment? They should raise the legal age imo. Kids and alcohol are never a good mix.

berlinbabylon · 15/10/2021 17:12

Oh I see she's 17 and wants to go. Well she can't and will have to wait.

berlinbabylon · 15/10/2021 17:13

@Peanutsandchilli

Why the hell are you so keen for your underage child to be served alcohol in an adult orientated environment? They should raise the legal age imo. Kids and alcohol are never a good mix.
Agree that it is a bit strange that the OP wants her underage child to drink alcohol but not sure I want the ridiculously strict rules to be tightened up anymore. The law says 18, not 25. So you should only have look 18.
MarcelineMissouri · 15/10/2021 17:14

Totally sympathise. I am a fellow august baby and I also looked really young! My teenage years were through the 90’s and to be honest we were clubbing from 14 and somehow usually managed to get in. I did have a fake id for a while, most of us did. And we went to clubs or pubs most weekends.
BUT that year when everyone started actually turning 18 and I was still left with my fake id I pretty much stopped trying to go anywhere. It was one thing when you’re all underage and trying to blag your way in but not so much fun when everyone else no longer has to worry! I have to be honest that year did suck a bit and I did feel quite left out at times but that is the life of a late birthday unfortunately. Now we’re all in our 40’s and I am very happy to be the youngest!