Should Children be Able to Shop Alone?
According to the policy at Chinook Centre’s LEGO store in Calgary, Alberta, children under the age of 12 should not be left unattended in their store. Unfortunately for 11-and-a-half-year-old Tadhg Dunlup, shopping alone at his favourite store resulted in him being detained until his father showed up.
Credit: CBC News
After Tadhg’s father, Doug Dunlop, wrote a blog post about their experience at LEGO, the issue of child safety versus helicopter parenting ignited online.
@stevenandchris what if he was 8? 9? Better safe than sorry, kids could hide their true age...
— Andrea Girones (@AndreaGirones) April 30, 2015
Lego Store detains 11-year-old boy for shopping without an adult http://t.co/MMzV9Xce6x Quick, get some more bubble wrap
— Gwumpy Kitteh (@GwumpyKitteh) April 30, 2015
Although Tadhg had shopped at that store alone many times and spent thousands of dollars he’d earned, LEGO stands by the decision it made on that day.
“As a toy company, our utmost concern is for children's safety, and as such we have a policy in place regarding unaccompanied minors,” said Amanda Santoro, a LEGO brand relations manager. “As this customer was under the age of 12 and alone, we followed our protocol and stand by our policy."
Good, I say. Stop consumerism early. Boy, 11, detained at Lego Store for shopping alone http://t.co/Qv958rnOxK pic.twitter.com/r0r6jl3pP8”
— Doris Buss (@DorisBuss) May 1, 2015
This year our Parenting Panel has talked about child safety, from online to on the street. People have strong opinions on either end of the safety spectrum, but Taylor Kaye and Chris Shulgan seemed to agree on this story.
I did that at 11! @stevenandchris: @YummyMummyClub @hinakhantherapy @shulgan @Taylor_Kaye thoughts on this story? http://t.co/ybwbfqzD3d"
— Taylor Kaye (@Taylor_Kaye) April 30, 2015
@stevenandchris That LEGO store detaining the 11 y.o. contradicts the toy company's corporate ethic of fostering youth independent thinking
— Christopher Shulgan (@shulgan) May 1, 2015
Do you think 11-year-olds should be able to shop alone? Weigh in with your comments below.