Legoland policy has some adults upset
Source: KCTV
KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -
Legoland in Kansas City's Crown Center has been a big hit, ever since it's grand opening, last month. Kids and parents always seem to have fun, but now, a little known policy has some older fans crying foul.
If anyone is thinking about making a trip down to Legoland, it turns out they won't be allowed in unless they have a child with them.
Kids of all ages love Legoland. Whether it is getting a crash course in how the building blocks are made or designing cars and launching them off the race track. Legoland has a lot to offer, that is if they let you in.
Turns out adults can't get into Legoland unless they are with a child 17 years old or younger.
Read more: http://www.kctv5.com/story/18581515/legoland-no-adults
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)say from your church or from a Boys' or Girls' Club or the Scouts or some other such thing.
And then, you can try your sister's kid or your grandchild.
Nihil
(13,508 posts)Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)You're an adult who loves Lego, go out and buy some. You know damn well you have enough already. Plus, you also have the many Lego conventions to attend. Travel the country, follow them like it's the Dead on tour. Go nuts.
Or just grow up. If you want to play with Lego, have a kid, and play with the Lego with them. It's far less pathetic that way.
2ndAmForComputers
(3,527 posts)Abandoning harmless pleasures because it's not "proper" for an "adult" to partake in them.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)And then one day, I scolded myself (I was about 15) and said that I looked ridiculous. I realized that I had no one to play Lego and other things I liked with, so I just packed my toys. I still have a great many of them, and one set of LEGO-type toys is in its original boxes.
So, I had children -- and played with them and their LEGOs.
And now I have a grandchild -- who loves LEGOs. Believe me, do we have fun.
It's so great to show a very young child how things fit together and how you can build and play.
I will never stop playing. Never. Never. Never.
Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)Part of what is missing here is the understanding that there are venues for adult fans of lego. I've been to them with my kids, and they are not mainly for kids. Kids are permitted, of course, but only with an adult.
This is no different. Brickfest is for adults. Legoland is for kids. If you visit these and see the sorts of exhibits, you'll understand why. One has roped-off displays of works by amatuer lego masters. KIds cannot play with them, of course, because they would break them. One has lots of Lego for kids to play with.
Keep playing. It keeps you young. But there can be a corwding out effect. We saw this with comic books. When I was a kid, they cost 25 cents and were affordable to kids, and targetted to kids. Then the industry figured out that many, if not most, of their customers had become adults, and they wanted more expensive archival quality paper rather than newsprint. So comics now cost $3.00+, and very few titles are still appropriate for children.
Lego has lines for kids, and adults. They have products that you'd be mad to buy for a seven year old, and a lot of stuff for kids as young as toddlers. I do salute them for keeping in mind that these are toys, not meant to be kept NIB, and for giving kids a place to play with them.
IndyJones
(1,068 posts)seeing adult men scope out little kids playing on the structures. We were there long enough to see that there were a couple of men there with no kids just watching.
uncle ray
(3,157 posts)seriously, where is the line that you figure has been crossed. can only men with children watch kids play? only non-creepy looking men?
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)I do not believe in gender-stereotyping toys. Sorry.
Toys really don't seem to care whether the people who love them are men or women.
Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)It happened, in this instance, to be adult men looking at the kids. Men without kids, going to a place frequented by kids, standing around looking at kids.
That's the problem.
IndyJones
(1,068 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)IndyJones
(1,068 posts)Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)But it's not true. Some of the people who have arrested development also have arrested sexual development.
Someone in my family works with convicted sex offenders. The grown up who goes to legoland and is obsessing over the lego is certainly fine. Probably 99% of folks who are AFOL folks are fine.
The guy who goes to Legoland to stare at the children is not fine. He's not thinking about how the kids are building, but what he would like to do to the kids. Many of these folks do act on these urges eventually.
You can tell. Trust your instincts as a parent. Someone who's smiling at something sweet a kid does is just a normal human being. Someone who looks at them as though they were a starving person contemplating a big double cheeseburger is not.
We had a sex offender released into our community recently who was reapprehended for violating his probation, which stipulated that he not be near children. He was just going to the butterfly house in Raleigh and staring at the children. On two separate occasions, he was creepy enough that a mom called the cops: the first time he simply left before they showed up, the second they figured out he was a convicted sex offender in violation of the conditions of his release and arrested him.
There's no need to be paranoid. Let your children take part in the community, play in your street, play sports and engage in other activities with coaches and other adults that you trust. That being said, there is a difference between a normal interst in children and an abnormal one. I do not think Legoland or any other venue frequented by children should become a place that is cruised by pedophiles.
neohippie
(1,142 posts)I'm glad to know that there are people out there who know what is in the minds of others, because even when people communicate their thoughts and ideas to me in words, I sometimes still have trouble understanding them, even when it is in writing, but seriously, people like you can help to keep us all safer, knowing what is in other peoples hearts and minds
Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)What do you think they are there to do? I didn't claim to be a mind reader, but it's axiomatic that past behavior predicts future behavior. In the specific example I cited, at least two mothers did engage in "mind reading," and guess what? They were spot on, and they found a sexual offender in violation of the terms of his release.
Since it's infeasible to do a background check on everyone entering a place such as Legoland or Chuck E. Cheese, this seems to be a sensible policy.
neohippie
(1,142 posts)It's fortunate that in the case where these mothers found out that this person was a sex offender and that the person was caught.
But, I was speaking in general terms, I don't know how you could know what someone was thinking, when you observe them looking at a child. I am sure that there could be a lot of other reasons besides that they are a sexual predator.
In general when you see a person out in a public place where there are children at play, and don't know them at all or their history, how can you know what is going on inside their minds, even if they are staring a child playing, there are a lot of other reasonable explanations that are more harmless, for example, they could be remembering their own carefree childhood in their older years, thinking about their own children whom they may have lost, or grandchildren etc.. or simply enjoying watching kids at play and the simple happy innocence that children enjoy that has been lost by most of us as adults because of life's experiences. Not everyone who is watching children is doing so because of a sexual reason.
I just think that while all parents should be cautious and protective with their children, that like anything somethings can be taken too far. There are lot's of adults without children who love children and would never dream of harming one, some of them are coaches, teachers, and their assistants, day care workers, people who's own children have grown up and moved away, etc...
At any rate there are people in this thread that suggested that "any normal adult" wouldn't be at a place that would be considered for children unless they are some type of wacko predator, the people who seem to know what is going on in these other peoples head, have a very narrow and somewhat twisted view of the world, not everyone is out to get your children, however there are those who are, but I doubt that most people can tell the difference between the two, I'm sure that there are lots of predators who look nice and friendly and lots of nice and friendly normal people who appear threatening because of their looks, size or clothing (i.e. wearing a hoody turns you into a thug) and I just think that once you start trying to imagine, someone's past history or claim to know what is in someone's mind, you are projecting your own thoughts and fears on to that person and that just doesn't sit well with me and I wanted to speak up about this I realize that you were talking about known sexual predators and their past behavior but that is another story
As for the alcoholic walking into a bar, perhaps, they are there to try to stop their friend from going on a drinking binge, because they are out with friends, and could be the designated driver, they own/work at bar, etc... not everyone's behavior is governed by what you think they are motivated by, see how it works, you seem to think the worst of everyone, without knowing what their motivations are projecting your own reasons behind what you see
Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)due to my wife's occupation. I agree with much of what you have to say, but I have had to become far more familiar with how the mind of a pedophile works than I would like.
My wife is a forensic psychologist at a federal prison. She got into this field because she enjoyed working with the chronically mentally ill, who do violate all sorts of federal laws as a result of their delusions. Several years ago, Congress passed a law providing for the indefinite civil committment of sex offenders, and now a good deal of her time is spent determining whether these persons are a danger.
Some of the folks she works with have become rather paranoid regarding their own children, generalizing their work experience to the population at large. It is important to keep perspective, to understand that the worst sexual predators are a very small percentage of the population.
Pedophiles and hebephiles (itself a somewhat controversial diagnosis) have certain traits, and it is possible to organize them into distinct types. I'll limit myself here to the worst sort. The worst sort preys on children to whom they are not related. They are "the worst" in the sense that they are the ones who have the greatest number of victims, but also because they have means of abusing children that are hard for parents to prevent, because of the seeming randomness of their crimes, and because they have a higher incidence of sexual sadism. Many of these sorts have tailored their entire lives around sexual abuse of children: their choice of occupation, where they travel, their family life, etc. Very often in treatment they have reported visiting places frequented by children in order to feed their fantasies, and sometimes this will lead to an opportunity to inflict themselves on another victim.
I really do wish this were a case like the myth of poisoned or booby trapped Halloween candy, but it's not. It's not the case that men who have children of their own don't do this, but they don't have to leave the house to victimize children. There are people out there who do see a pedophile around every corner, but this isn't a case of that: it's a case of a sensible precaution that does not really limit the freedom of most people. In our case, many of the offernders are being released into our own community, which is a concern.
Almost all of the people your children will interact with have no interest in abusing them, but it is sensible to understand what those who are sexual predators are like. Beware of strangers who give gifts to your children--hell, beware of anyone outside of your immediate family who gives gifts that seem a bit much or inappropriate. Obviously, beware of folks who offer your kids alcohol, drugs or pornography.
A man--and, certain middle-school teachers aside, that's who we are dealing with--who is in a place frequented by children with no appearance of having any reason to be there, who is interested in looking at the children rather than whatever else is going on, is suspicious. He will linger there, and gaze at them the way a normal man visiting a strip club might look at the strippers. And, no, I have not seen this myself, but it's basically what convicted sex offenders have described doing.
Of course this is not the only sort of pedophile, and not all of them do this. But some of them do, and are creepy enough that parents have alerted the authorities. Also, almost all of the people who become priest, youth ministers, coaches, doctors, teachers and birthday party clowns are not pedophiles, but it's a sad fact that a few of those have chosen these sorts of occupations simply because they can get access to children. I could relate dozens of anecdotes here, but won't, because we have all heard these stories already. Thankfully, it is possible for most of us to put them in the back of our minds.
I don't think I have become paranoid about this yet, but sometimes I do think my wife has. Once we were at the grocery store and she saw a fellow looking at our son for a little too long, and she said "Stop looking at him!" I don't know what she saw that I did not, or whether what she does has given her special insight or whether it's poisoned her trust.
neohippie
(1,142 posts)I agree that when speaking about sexual predators that their past behavior is probably a very good indicator of future behavior, but just like with anything things get carried overboard, for example, many people don't understand the difference between sex offenders and sexual predators, and think that one is the same as the other, when in fact many sex offenses have nothing to do with preying on children or anyone.
There is too much confusion, over this, and people look at these online sites and see that there are 50 registered sex offenders in their own neighborhood but they have no idea as to what kind of sex offense the person committed, it could have been as simple as a 17 year old having sex with a 16 year old, or a person urinating in public, or mooning their friends from their vehicle when they were leaving a high school party etc.. yet everyone assumes that these sex offenders are predators that are after their children.
I just wanted to point out that things are not always what they appear to be, and in this case an adult at lego land while it may raise some suspicion, may be harmless, but it is always wise to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst as human nature has proven time and time again to be more awful than any of us wish to think about.
Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)sexual predators do prey on children, but some of the candidates for civil commitment are either not exclusive to children, or prey on adults. One fellow, whose civil commitment proceeding's results are pending, was described in our local newspaper recently. It accurately attested to the fact that his incident offense was breaking into the home of a 66 year old man and raping him. It left out the fact, though, that his victim died less than a year later, described by his family as a "broken man," and that this man was actually the seventh victim in a drunken 24-hour rape spree. "Man is a beast to man."
I'm not a hystericl person. I don't have my kids get their candy x-rayed at the fire department. And I'm aware that, because of my wife's job, I probably read newspaper stories most folks gloss over. For example, we had a Santa at the local mall who was rotund, who was an elderly gentleman who had grown his beard and hair to exactly the right length, who was great with the kids, who turned out to be a sex offender, though apparently one who liked teen girls. I want my kids to be able to trust Santa, but I don't really trust him anymore.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/gallery?section=news/local&id=8502360&photo=3
4th law of robotics
(6,801 posts)but that 1% . . . .
Kurska
(5,739 posts)"Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."
-C. S. Lewis
Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)Of course, it does bolster my point, because Lewis was an author of books for children. To understand the point I'm trying to make, you need to understand the difference between a C. S. Lewis and a Lewis Carroll.
There are a great many venues for adult fans of lego. As someone who has a kid who enjoys lego, I've spoken to many of them, and they seem to be nice, normal folks. But we do need to remember that these are toys, and we can have something for children as well.
I'd like to live in a world where there was no danger to children, but the fact is that that's not where we are. Children are not allowed in many bars: I don't see any reason why there cannot be childish entertainment that are for children.
sinkingfeeling
(51,490 posts)eggplant
(3,917 posts)Care to explain this a bit more? I don't think you've dug yourself a big enough hole yet.
Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)With my kid. THere are venues for Adulkt Fans of Lego that are not kid friendly "No! Don't touch the Lego!" These are toyus, and I don't think it's bad to have a place that's for children who like toys, not adults who like toys, and certainly not for adults who "like" children.
Ter
(4,281 posts)I would never go hang-gliding, but don't put people down who enjoy it. That's pathetic.
Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)It's the equivalent of an adult barging into a child's birthday party uninvited and helping themselves to the cake because they happen to be the sort of person who enjoys birthday parties.
There are a great many venues for AFOLs, some of which exclude children. Legoland is rather specifically designed for children aged 2-12. Since you cannot do a background check on all customers, this seems to be a sensible policy.
It's sad that this has to be the case, but it takes about ten seconds with the Google to find out why this is a sensible policy. If it's OK for AFOL's to ban children from their events to protect plastic models made from toy bricks, why on earth shouldn't we try to actually protect living, breathing children?
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-09-18/news/0909160544_1_offender-arrested-elk-grove-village
http://globegazette.com/news/iowa/sex-offender-dressed-as-cookie-monster-arrested-in-davenport/article_33604464-c2ba-11e0-9abf-001cc4c03286.html
The funny thing is that I myself engage in a hobby many folks would consider inappriate for a grown man: I play Magic the Gathering. Most of the folks who play are grown men, a few couples, college kids: almost all are geeks. About 10% of the people who play in tournaments are kids, though, and many of their parents will simply drop their kids off. We all know each other, and we have talked about the problem that some small percentage of the people who are attacted to MtG are there because there are kids.
This isn't an abstract problem: it has come up that there are pedophile Magic players:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/19/james-julius-beaudrie_n_1437616.html
Our community has had to address this head-on. More than once, we've circulated items about folks who we ought to look out for. I am ambivalent about whether adults who are interested in "childish" entertainments such as games and Lego are more likely than other folks to be sexually interested in children: my wife, who is a forensic psychologist, says that it's more likely in terms of their personality, but also because something like a trading card game offers access to children and because such items as trading cards cn be used as "bait" to "groom" children.
So on the one hand, as a Magic player, I'm a little defensive about this. But an adult who attends AFOL events versus one who wants to visit Legoland is like the difference between an adult who plays MtG versus one who plays Pokemon. I regard the first as perfectly normal, but the latter as a little suspicious.
eggplant
(3,917 posts)...you are saying that childless adult males who enjoy lego are pedophiles. And yet, you don't have a problem with adult males who happen to have a kid to bring with them to such a place. And the only inference that I can draw from that is that you believe that adult males with children (or at least access to them) cannot be pedophiles.
Or did I somehow misinterpret what you said?
Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)How many Lego events have you been to? Since I've had kids, I've been to any number of them.
For adult fans of Lego, there are many conventions and venues to meet with other adult fans of Lego, some of which do not allow children. I can understand that: when you see how much work has gone into their creations, you can imagine that most builders would not want the grubby little hands of children anywhere near their Lego.
http://afol.brickcon.org/
Do click on this link and see what it's like.
Legoland is different. Google it, and you get this right on the search results: "LEGOLAND® Florida is a 150-acre interactive theme park dedicated to families with children between the ages of 2 and 12." Rather specific. AFOL folks who don't have kids don't have to go there: they have tubs and tubs of bricks at home, and can get anything they want from vendors at the aforementioned conventions.
http://california.legoland.com/explore/rides_and_attractions/duplo_village/
Again, click on the link and compare it to the stuff you see on the first site.
Sadly, there are hundreds of instances of sexual predators going to places frequented by children, and these are only the ones that make the news. This is a sensible policy, and the same one at Chuck E. Cheese.
Why is it OK to exclude children from AFOL events to protect Lego models, but not to exclude adults without kids from family entertainments for the protection of children.
It's not an illogical policy. Again, it's sad, but pedophiles who have kids don't have to go to Legoland to find victims. In fact, they don't even need to leave the house.
lookingfortruth
(263 posts)hurt them BUT who hasn't played with legos. Hell who wouldn't play with legos at 30 or 42 or 80 if they could get a chance too.
It is just rude to keep out a segment of the population who have a legit desire to see this place and perhaps indulge their inner child.
TheDebbieDee
(11,119 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)these rules.
The one item in my house that I think my children would fight over, and I mean knock down drag out fight is the LEGOs and Toy Builders that I possess (some of which belong to them).
I have already been instructed that it is not up to me to decide who gets what when it comes to the LEGOs.
Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)You can order a catalog. It's free. Lots of stuff that really is geared to adult fans of Lego.
It may be an inside baseball distinction, but there are venues for adult fans of lego. Brickfest, for one. They tour the country. They are swell, but not really for kids. Legoland is for kids to actually play with the toys.
MisterP
(23,730 posts)they should allow only NON-relatives to accompany them
SunSeeker
(51,787 posts)I mean, if it's anything like Legoland in CA, it is overpriced, boring (strictly geared to the under 8 crowd), long lines for lame 30-second rides, and really bad food. All around adult hell. Seriously, I can't imagine why ANY adult would want to go there unless their kid insisted--or they were pedophiles (which is is probably the reason for the rule).
pstokely
(10,533 posts)Last edited Wed May 23, 2012, 01:37 PM - Edit history (1)
Chuck E Cheese also has this policy
Alcibiades
(5,061 posts)It's depressing that this is necessary, and they might only do it for liability purposes, but I am OK with this. Just like you cannot go on the bowling alley without the proper shoes, or a kid cannot go into a bar, an adult without kids should not be able to go certain places frequented by children, mainly because the only people who would want to are bad people.
On edit: wrong link!
IndyJones
(1,068 posts)TBF
(32,118 posts)and our rule is Disney once every 5 years. We did go once as adults before we had our own kids when I wanted to run the marathon. I have to admit I like to play Lego with the kids, but can't imagine why adults would want to go there alone unless they are buying legos in the store to sell over-inflated on eBay (or for their own collection) ... or they are pedophiles.
MountainMama
(237 posts)I am offended, frankly, that you would characterize adult LEGO fans this way. My husband is a AFOL. We went to Legoland in California a couple of years ago.
We went because he loves LEGO and always has. He wanted to see the mini-USA display, which is a masterwork of design. He also wanted to check out the LEGO store there. He ended up not really buying anything.
He likes children, but never has wanted any of his own. He most certainly is not a pedophile and he is not a reseller who never uses LEGO.
As vices go, it can get expensive but it is harmless. I have been married to a alcoholic. I've been with my husband almost nine years now. He would never, never harm a child.
I don't like this "proactive profiling."
TBF
(32,118 posts)here mentioned pedophiles as an issue. In fact, I actually mentioned - albeit in parenthesis - that adults might be buying legos for their collections.
MountainMama
(237 posts)over several of the responses here. I guess yours was the "last straw," saying there were only two reasons for an childless adult to want to go to Legoland. I hope you can understand my frustration.
TBF
(32,118 posts)and that is understandable. We visited the Florida Legoland in Dec. I very much enjoyed the mini-land and that's how I knew there must be adult collectors.
One thing I didn't like was the long lines for the kids' rides. It really would make more sense to let adults in too I guess and then close the place at noon or whatever - so it doesn't get too full. That way folks would be less likely to lose track of a kid in the park, and might actually be able to get on more rides. I was thinking more about liability - but that too may be overkill on the part of their lawyers.
there's no hard feelings. Most people are pretty dismissive when I say Steve's into LEGO and stuff like this doesn't help.
Stuff like this and what happens at the airports.....I really, really don't care for this "guilty until proven innocent" approach to things. I was treated like a terrorist at Denver because the stupid Tylenol gelcaps I'd bought had melted. It was a "suspicious mass" to TSA and I could have missed my flight.
Don't mean to single you out personally. Thanks.
TBF
(32,118 posts)And I swear Colorado has crazy TSA agents. We visited Colorado Springs a couple years ago and they flipped out because I had formula bottles for my 18 month old. Granted he's a big kid and was already eating plenty of solid food by then, but he liked the formula better than milk so I carried the bottles with us for snacks. Now he's 5 and drinks juice/water - still no milk. At any rate, those agents had me whisked away to check sealed bottles before my poor husband knew what hit him. He was stuck waiting with 2 kids, no shoes, etc until they released me.
They just didn't run them through the X-ray? They took you to a separate room? I am sorry to hear that.
TBF
(32,118 posts)but they could've at least told my husband what was going on. That's the only airport where we ever had trouble. Usually there are family lines and I've never had to go through Xray machines - just metal detectors. It was a very weird event.
MountainMama
(237 posts)but it was pretty bad and embarrassing. You know how I felt!
Have a good night!
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)The major retailer I worked for had to pay high six-figures to settle after some pervert started masturbating in front of a child in the mensroom. The individual had previously been arrested for public lewdness (think Larry Craig) and served a trespass warning in the same location and had been wandering the store for hours before the incident. Sure as hell wasn't going to put that in front of a Texas civil jury.
callous taoboy
(4,593 posts)Daemonaquila
(1,712 posts)"Gee, I'm sorry you can't come in here and buy that $179 R2D2 set... and YOU can't come in and buy that $129.00 Battle of Helm's Deep set... and YOU can't pick up the motherload of Star Wars sets for your nephew's birthday. We're only allowing kids in here to play with the bricks and sometimes pester their parents into $12 impulse buys." End of moronic policy in 3... 2... 1...
Monk06
(7,675 posts)AmyDeLune
(1,846 posts)I remember a few years back Disney was looking to cut costs at their specialty stores. Some exec's great idea? Get rid of merchandise, particularly clothing, for adults, kid stuff only!
Not surprisingly, Disney Store revenues dropped by about 50%. Parents and adults without children liked being able to buy an Eeyore t-shirt or slippers or a coffee mug.
They lost a lot of money before they were able to restock their store with all-ages merchandise.
pstokely
(10,533 posts)nt
IndyJones
(1,068 posts)I can even check with merchandising, but I am certain already that was never a policy. They never eliminated adult clothing or adult type merchandise - which would be clothing, kitchen, and other home items.
rucky
(35,211 posts)Odin2005
(53,521 posts)Nihil
(13,508 posts)To answer a bunch of the criticisms upthread in a single post (rather than a bunch of repeated replies):
- No, it is not *age discrimination*- there is no age barrier to the place, simply the requirement
that adults (of whatever age 18-80+ ) are accompanying children there.
- No, it is not preventing adults from *buying* Lego - you can buy it anywhere you wish (offsite).
- No, it is not aimed at stopping adults from *playing* with Lego - play with it anywhere you wish
(as long as you are not on LegoLand's property without a child).
- Yes, you are all over-reacting to a downright rational policy.
Was it a slow news day or something?
mulsh
(2,959 posts)Disney based much of Disneyland on Oakland's Children's Fairyland.
http://www.fairyland.org/
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)This is what the flip-side of no-child policies at restaurants and airlines looks like...
(cool your jets, righteous cowboys-- just a small joke)
Roland99
(53,342 posts)Freddie Stubbs
(29,853 posts)A few perverts have to ruin it for everyone,
KurtNYC
(14,549 posts)This policy may less about child molesters than about creating a very kid friendly atmosphere. Some adults who play with Legos can be pretty cranky and rude toward kids. It may also be aimed at making sure that the best customers -- parents and young kids -- get first priority at the new and popular location.
Hopefully they don't allow CHILDREN that are not accompanied by a parent or guardian, either.
yellowcanine
(35,703 posts)Hey honey would you rather babysit the snot nosed toddler next door or go to Legoland with creepy Uncle Dwight?
4th law of robotics
(6,801 posts)Unfortunate but valid.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)markpkessinger
(8,409 posts). . . and as such, I have no problem with it.
Butterbean
(1,014 posts)is the developmentally delayed/mentally handicapped adults who may be lego fans who will now not be able to go with their caregivers, except on "adult nights."
As the mom of a developmentally delayed/mentally handicapped child who will one day BE a dd/mh adult, this hits me on a very personal level. I can see in my head, somewhere, an adult man or woman, with the heart and mind of a child, heartbroken that they cannot go to legoland with their caregiver/parent because something that gives them joy is deemed improper, inappropriate, unfit, or they are viewed as a potential pedophile.
It's great that there are "adult nights," but how frequent are they? Do they have special needs nights, and if so, are adults with special needs allowed then? These are all things that I think about on a daily basis, because it's my reality. My child won't always have the body of a child, but he will always have the mind of one.
Just something to consider.