A boy of 11 was detained in a Canadian Lego store for being “too young” to shop on his own. This note to the store comes to us from his father, Doug Dunlop, who describes himself as an outdoor dad in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Here's an edited version of what he wrote to the store: Today, our son went to the Lego store in Chinook Mall, Calgary, Alberta. He had over $200 and was intending to purchase some Lego with it. He is a frequent customer and a skilled Lego builder. He uses his own money he has earned from such things as babysitting and shoveling walks. Imagine my surprise when I entered the store and found that the manager had called a security guard to detain my son. He then tried to coerce me into staying with my son while he was in the Lego store. It is important to note that my son has been to the Lego store on his own several dozen times and has made thousands of dollars’ worth of purchases. No Lego store employee has ever questioned his behavior.
He does not disrupt business and he is a paying customer. I spoke to the security guard who told me that the Lego store required a parent to be with any child 12 or under. He stated that it was Lego store policy and that he was just enforcing it. I then followed the guard to the manager, and asked him why he would call security on my son. He stated that for safety reasons, no child under 12 could be left unattended in the store. I explained that I had not left him unattended—he had arrived at the store on his own, as a customer. I happened to be meeting him there afterward, but only because we wanted to meet for lunch. I asked what scenario made the Lego store so unsafe that an 11.5 year old needed a chaperon? He replied, “If I have to explain THAT to you, then you shouldn’t be a parent.” The security guard then piped in and started making a claim that child abductions from the mall were a frequent event—which is a lie. I cut him off and asked, “How many child abductions have taken place here in the mall?”
I questioned why the age policy was not posted at the front of the store and the manger responded once again with, “It should be obvious to any good parent that children under 12 shouldn’t be in a store unattended. We have the policy for child safety reasons. Your son is welcome in the store, but we ask that you accompany him whenever he is here.” The dad went on to list what he would like the store to do: apologize, and post the age policy on the front door. I recognize that just because this one manager and one security guard got it into their heads that an 11 year old is the equivalent of a toddler, that does not mean that all malls, or Lego stores, or Lego store managers, are this uptight. And the fact that the boy shopped there many other times unbothered by the staff indicates that this time was an anomaly. But of course the big point is to make sure that kids—like the elderly, the disabled, and everyone of every stripe and color—are always allowed to be part of society without being discriminated against on the false pretense of “safety.”
Doug, the dad, says that he has just spoken with the district manager, “and the summary is that they will put up a sign saying no unaccompanied children under 12. The safety scenario he suggested was that if the mall was evacuated and my child couldn’t contact me it would be dangerous.” Talk about classic worst-first thinking—dreaming up the very worst case scenario first and proceeding as if it’s likely to happen. It’s like saying, “Well, of course I’d LIKE to allow kids to play at the park. But if a tiger got loose from the zoo, it could be attracted to the scent of young meat. So for the children’s safety, we’re forbidding them to play outside.” My advice to Lego: Apologize and give the boy a Bionicle. Quit while you’re behind, but have not yet outraged every kid with an allowance.An online Lego store in Russia has given fans an early glimpse of what will be one of the must-have toys this Christmas - Lego Minecraft. The website published pictures of six Minecraft sets, which have been kept under wraps by Lego despite huge interest from fans.
The sets, listed as "coming soon", feature Minecraft's hero, Steve, as well as the villainous Creepers and a range of pets and farm animals. The toysets are named as "Mine", "Dragon Edge", "Workbench", "First Night", "Farm" and "Cave". Lego has previosuly released smaller Minecraft sets but this will be the first time large sets will be made available. Lego Minecraft is officially released next month, and demand is expected to be high after the original computer game version topped charts and was downloaded more than 100m times on PC alone. Versions of the game are also available on the iOS App Store and Android's Google Play, while a console version for Xbox and PlayStation has also been released. According to Microsoft, players have spent more than 2bn hours playing the Xbox 360 version of the game in the past two years alone. The game allows users to dig blocks out of the ground and build anything they want, sharing their creations online and making stars out of players who spend months replicating famous landmarks or the Starship Enterprise.
Minecraft has also been used in classrooms, with a special version - MinecraftEdu - teaching children everything from maths and reading to social skills. The success of the franchise has made its Swedish creator, Markus Persson, a multi-billionaire who needs a bodyguard for public events. He sold his computer company, Mojang, to Microsoft last month for $2.5bn (£1.2bn) after founding it just five yeas ago. Mojang, which also released a range of related merchandise including hoodies, wallets and necklaces, made a profit of more than $100m last year, and now employs about 40 people.Planning a trip to San Diego?Foursquare can help you find the best places to go to.Find great things to doThe LEGO Store /Ranked for in Log in to leave a tip here.Sort: Edward LeeVannygrlMelissa RauschenbergEnrique Gutiérrez ArzateEngel FonsecaScott WaiteNico CARTRONEliseo QuiñonezAdrian LazagaMiguel MierLego SolutionsSolutions OnlineLego Boy BedroomLego Bedroom Ideas Kids RoomsTiny Boys BedroomThree Boys BedroomBoys Bedroom Storage IdeasKid Bedroom Ideas For BoysBoys Bedroom MakeoverForwardWith three boys, I've been battling an ever-creeping LEGO problem for several years now.