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!

I'm sure a child who is slightly over the arbitrary age set by the theme park but as OP says short for their age so unlikely to be able to even go on most things won't cause staff cuts. I think all should go by height as many now do, this seems fairer as surely a big part of entry being free is because the child is unlikely to be able to go on most things.

I think the food and drink prices are theft at these places so it balances out

True 😂

I mean - i think you’ve already made your mind up? Just do it and hope you dont get caught. My friend tried this at some theme park and her daughter loudly said I’m not xx I’m xx at the till but - it was mega embarrassing for all of us - there was a huge line! She didn’t go in in the end.

No I haven't made my mind up.

I thought about this but we would be buying online so there is less risk. Lately she's been saying she's 4 to be fair

We will be when ours turns three later in the year, she was very premature, so technically she will be two for 11 weeks after her third birthday.

I think technically she'd still be 3 but sounds like she may be small too so go for it!

I'm old enough to realise that life isn't black and white. Sometimes you find yourself in a position where two of your moral values conflict, and one has to give way. But I'm deeply saddened by the number of people who are prepared to be dishonest for no better reason than it suits them and they can't see the harm. Perhaps they don'thold honesty as a moral value in the first place. I find that scary.
Do it if you want, justify it if you want, but don't claim that that makes it a morally acceptable thing to do because it doesn't. There's a difference between morals and pragmatism.

It's ridiculous paying the same for a 2 year old and a 7 year old when the 2 year old will not get anywhere near as much value.

This is what bothers me. The 3 cut off seems a bit random as what can a 3 year old
do that a 2 year old can't. My 3 year old is the size of or small than a lot of 2 year olds. 5 or older would make more sense or doing it on age.

Thanks for all the comments. I haven't even read them all yet. I am leaning towards saying they are 2! I am usually the sort of person who is honest to a fault. Yesterday I called the supermarket attendant over as I realised I hadn't paid for something (and for some reason the self scanner was letting me carry on).

The toddler won't go on many rides as isn't tall enough. I don't go on the rides. One of my older kids doesn't like the rides. I get it's a bit dishonest but I don't feel like I'm taking anything from them tbh but I do get why some
people say it's wrong as technically it is!

I have priced it and we would save about £50 by saying toddler is 2. We are paying for four full price tickets and a night at the hotel so we are looking at about £400 plus food and drink and what we spend in the theme park / hotel.

Go for it, just don't complain if there's not enough staff, or at the initial price - first things places do when revenue isn't what it should be is cut staff and increase prices.

Does that mean no one should take under 3's as it doesn't generate enough revenue? It does sound like a lot of people do this rightly or wrongly so this must be worked into the pricing in a way ie they get more 2 year olds than 3 year olds at least on paper.

So basically you've concluded that it's ok to lie, cheat and steal.

All of your justifications about who rides what are irrelevant. You are deliberately cheating the establishment. It's their right to set the prices, not yours.

If you disagree with the cost/value of the entry fees, the decent thing to do is go elsewhere. Not go there and cheat the business out of revenue.

Agree. These people are demonstrating a real lack of character.

They seem to feel extremely entitled to holidays, outings, theme parks etc to the point of lying, cheating and stealing to get them. And will come up with all manner of convoluted thinking to justify their actions.

I went to a theme park abroad where you paid for each ride (or a set of rides) separately so anyone could wander round and go in the expensive cafes, but you didn't have to actually pay to watch your kids/partner while holding everyone else's coat.

Calm down, this was in the 80s.

That isn't how insurance works.

Now?

I can remember hiding under a blanket in the car at 5/6 to be smuggled into an attraction (can't remember which one though!). I'm 39 this year and it didn't ruin my moral compass.

In fact I'm just back from returning a purse that had been left on the table at the beach and had a lot of money and cards in it!

There's a lot of people on this thread who must need a ladder to get off their high horse. I expect it's the same people who would dob their neighbour in if they left their house more than once a day during lockdown.

Rules is rules 🙄

Do it. These theme parks should go on height really for those ages.

It works both ways. My daughter aged 6 but very tall for her age, was refused entry onto the kiddy rides for 6 years and under.
She was too young mentally to go on the bigger ones.
Get away with it if you can. You're paying a fortune for the rest of the family...

Not at all , I really don’t care what other people do , the question being asked was would you lie about your child’s age to save money and I would not .

They seem to feel extremely entitled to holidays, outings, theme parks etc to the point of lying, cheating and stealing to get them. And will come up with all manner of convoluted thinking to justify their actions.

What a drama llama! Meanwhile in the real world..

Yep that's them....

You just know it, don't you.

Yep you know they were on the phone ‘officer I don’t like to tell tales but there’s 7 of them in the garden and some of them sitting less than 2 metres apart’

@Girliefriendlikespuppies not at all. I would never have reported someone for breaking Covid rules. I did disapprove of some of the rule breaking but kept my thoughts to myself as I didn’t know individuals’ circumstances. I have a huge amount of sympathy for what lots of people went through during Covid. Awful time.

That doesn’t equate in my mind to lying about a child’s age to benefit financially. You seem to be very defensive about it. If you’re secure in what you’re doing why the lash out to those criticising?

Just booked soft play for my 2 year old as an under 2.

I don't feel guilty at all, a 2 year old and a 10 year old being charged the same is ridiculous and the gap of the steps in the toddler bit is so big, my small 2 year old can barely do it on his own.

If you think it's ridiculous, don't patronize that establishment. Cheating them is scurvy. It's not your prerogative to set the prices.

@BettyBardMacDonald kids like soft play, like they like theme parks.

And one won't get scurvy from saying one's child is younger than they are!

I have with a clear conscience
My DS1 was early and small

@BettyBardMacDonald - I'm not going to pay the price for an area he can't use independently because of his height. 😂