To say 3 year old DC is 2 for free theme park entry?

[MooonDreamerz]

Toddler has just turned 3 and very small for their age.
we are going to a theme park next week. It's free for age 0-2.

DH says we should say DC is 2 so we don't have to pay for them. We will be paying for ourselves and older children.

Do people do this?

I can see how people get away with it as toddlers tend not to carry ID!

People who feel this way should refrain from patronizing them, not retaliate by stealing.

It’s dishonest. No

No, she won't.

You do what works for you. Others will do the same

You have stolen part of the entrance fee.

There is literally no difference legally or ethically between the 2 scenarios. I struggle to see how you are comfortable with one but not the other. They are identical.

I assume as an adult you wouldn’t try and get into a venue without paying, or go on a train without buying a ticket, or not pay for a meal in a restaurant @Createausername1970 . Interesting how many people think it is okay to do it with a child.

I do not li or steal so would not do this but you do you

Everyone does not do it because some of us are actually genuinely honest people .

I did this for a boat trip as it saved £30 for a matter of weeks. A few weeks later somebody asked DD how old she was

“4 in real life and 3 on boats”

I wouldn’t. I still feel guilty for pretending my child was 1 month older than he was so he could ride in a separate row to me and his sister. My kids were and are aghast at my lie and still talk about it, I heard them telling their dad yesterday when the theme park was mentioned. I feel shit for setting such a shit example that it’s ok to lie when it suits you

If you can save yourself a few bob, then I'm all for it, OP.

Don't listen to any Pollyanna's decrying your 'bad example'.
It's a victimless crime.

Absolutely this. I’m a financial crime manager as a job and we wouldn’t be investigating anyone who did this 🤣

I’d to it in a heartbeat.

My son and his mates still bought under 18 tickets for football for months after their birthdays. At half price why not?

Honestly the people at the gates couldn’t care less, of course most people do it for the few months they can get away with it.

I assume as an adult you wouldn’t try and get into a venue without paying, or go on a train without buying a ticket

if you thought you weren’t going to get caught I think you’d find a lot of people would!!

we’re not talking about swizzling a small business of our a restaurant meal here but paying less for a mass and overpriced activity. You’ll spend money in there anyway

@zingally everyone does not do it. I’m honest, I don’t try and save money by lying about my kids ages. I’ve also brought my kids up to be honest too and don’t think these stories about kids are “cute”. How can you tell your kids to tell the truth and then tell them to lie in this way? It’s not “ Pollyanna” to be honest. And it’s not victimless. They’ll put the prices up to make money.

You say a restaurant meal @Sugarlily but where do you draw the line? Is a £5 lunch ok, or a £1,50 ice cream? Is it ok to steal these smaller things? That’s what you’re saying.

You say a restaurant meal but where do you draw the line? Is a £5 lunch ok, or a £1,50 ice cream? Is it ok to steal these smaller things? That’s what you’re saying.

people draw their own lines. For me, I wouldn’t ‘take’ from a small business - but from a large corporate paying workers pennies whilst their board members lounge in their millions and keep putting prices up? Well I’d lose no sleep over that.

@Sugarlily so you wouldn’t lie about ages at a small family run place?

I once was mistaken for an under 5 on my 9th birthday. We were in Bruges and crossing a toll bridge. When my parents checked the receipt they realised they hadn't been charged for me.

I also got mistaken for under 15 on a preserved railway. I was 22. To be fair to the volunteer conductor, I'd been swimming in the sea, looked a bit of a mess and had a bike with me. I was with my dad on a day trip. (Being short has it's advantages). But it was my dad's favourite place so I insisted he took the money. I didn't let on how much over the child maximum range I was though.

I do agree theme parks for little one are expensive. But if it was for Gulliver's even if you paid, I think it great for little ones.

Agree. When my son at 18 was buying £10 football tickets rather than £40 adult ones, I shed zero tears for the gazillionaire club owners who charge rip off prices to line their own pockets.

so you wouldn’t lie about ages at a small family run place?

depends what the situation is. If I had two other kids and two adults paying full price and was planning on spending money in there too then, yes, I’d not worry about that.

No, it’s not victimless. No such thing. Might not be worth investigating and it’s hardly crime of the century, but it is depriving a business of money they are rightfully owed.

The justifications on here are ridiculous. “I bought my whole weekly shop at Tesco so shoplifting this chocolate bar is ok”, “Tesco charges too much for their food, so shoplifting this chocolate bar is ok”, “I don’t enjoy this chocolate bar as much as someone who has a sweeter tooth, so I shouldn’t have to pay for it”, “Everyone else is shoplifting chocolate bars and the checkout operators don’t seem to care, so it’s ok for me to shoplift this chocolate bar too”… it’s no different.

Do it or don’t do it, I don’t care. But quit trying to take the moral high ground while you dishonestly gain a financial advantage over what is often a fairly small business. There’s nothing “Pollyanna” about being honest and paying the correct price for things you consume, be that products or experiences.

I tried this and my daughter piped up "but I'm three mummy, not two". The person at the gate thought it was hilarious and charged her admission for a two year old.

My parents did this a lot when I was a child. Especially theme parks in Florida. An adult at the time (unsure now) was classed as 13+. The year I went aged 13 my parents paid for a child’s admission for me. Must have saved about $200.

Then when my dad was 60/61, he asked for 2 OAPs admission when mum was 59.

We took our son to London for his fifth birthday. We were asked how old he was and said five today. He should have been paid for but they let us off, I assume as it was his birthday. So much better than lying and being found out. If it was a 14 month old and looked 12 months then different as they don't understand what is going on.