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Las Vegas For Kids Parental Guidelines
What Parents Need to Know When Bringing Kids to Las Vegas
Parental Guidelines for Family Fun in Las Vegas
Exposure to Adult Oriented Material
Adult Oriented means SEX ADVERTISEMENTS, plain and simple. While prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas and Clark county it is NOT illegal to advertise Escourt Services and shuttle services to areas where prostitution is legal. Furthermore it is completely legal for Sidewalk Trolls (Our term for the low lifes that distribute the material) to pander away. Las Vegas City council has been over this issue many many times and somehow constitutional arguments aside it persists. What does this mean? It means you’ll likely be solicited along the strip to take a handout featuring these advertisements. It’s highly annoying. But if you have never been to Las Vegas you need to look out for it. These materials are also available in Newstand boxes along the strip. If offered do NOT put out your hand or you’ll have it stuffed right at you. These flyers/booklets contain Topless women in suggestive poses. You’ve been warned.
Where are all the Kids Activities?
The water slide that used to be on The Strip is gone. A prominent Family Fun center Gone! MGM Grands Kids Oriented Attractions… you guessed it GONE! There is only 1 Mini Golf location in the city. Read on…
The reality is this; Las Vegas isn’t a Kids Town. Sure 5 or 6 years ago there was a little Media Push by the Casino PR teams to portray Vegas as a more “Family Friendly” destination, but the reality was then as it is now – it’s simply not true. We walk up and down the Strip, in and out of Casinos, and seldom see much in the way of “Kid Friendly” activities. Our goal here is not to portray Las Vegas as this great Family Vacation Destination; rather to showcase what really is of interest and available to families.
If you want to use Vegas as a jumping off spot to the Grand Canyon or Lake Mead it’s a great place to stay for a couple of days. And yes there are some swimming pools your Kids will really enjoy (Assuming you are a Guest at that Hotel). The IMAX stuff is neat, and maybe if you are into Arcades a trip to Circus Circus is warranted. But we can guarantee you that 10 minutes after watching the lions asleep in the glass cage at the MGM or the 10 minutes it takes to see the Bellagio Fountain show, your kids will likely be bored.
We are not here to discourage you, but you need to know the facts. So hopefully you’ll find our guide useful and informative. And while we make every effort to get out and about town; Las Vegas is a place of rapid change. If you visit a venue, a restaurant, an amusement that we have not listed – drop us a note and let us know. It’s our job to make the experience of visitors like you better.
The Casino Gaming Areas
Children may “pass through” the casinos, but only when accompanied by an adult. If you let your children roam the Casino hallways unattended your are asking for trouble.
Curfew is ENFORCED on The Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas has (and readily enforces) a curfew for anyone under the age of 18. In general (although it varies slightly by day of the week) children under the age of 18 MUST BE off the streets by 9pm.
Should You Really Bring Your Kids to Las Vegas?
Our answer is a qualified YES! However you should know that while the Public Relations Machine that markets the City of Las Vegas to tourists is always going to spin a positive vibe for Families; the Public Relations people hired by the Casino Resorts are more succinct in their views.
Las Vegas is and always will be an Adult Playground – it’s simply become more accommodating to families as evidenced by these quotes from the Las Vegas Review Journal:
- “Our attempt at being hospitable to everyone has been interpreted as our desire for people to bring their children, and that’s not the case,” – Alan Feldman, spokesman for MGM Mirage.
- “There are things for people of all ages to do, but we’re not marketing to teens. You should never get Las Vegas mixed up with Disneyland.” – Alan Feldman, spokesman for MGM Mirage.
- “Certainly, Las Vegas has become more of a family destination, but it’s a fact of what the destination has become that people can find plenty of things to do,” said Richelle Thomson, spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “We’re not directly marketing Las Vegas to children.”
How much should you Budget for Vegas Family Fun?
Although some events are free be prepared to spend at least $20-$75 per child/per day for a fun Las Vegas kids activity. An all day pass for admission to Circus Circus “Adventure Dome” (Their 5 acre Theme Park) is currently $22.95 per person. Should you choose to spend a few hours there then move on to the rides at the top of the Stratosphere you’ll see how easy it is to burn through a $100.
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thanks i didn’t know that las vegas had a curfew
Curfew for kids is only if not accompanied by a parent. The statement above makes it sound like kids are on lock-down after 9. If your kid is walking alongside you, you will not have an issue. This law prevents kids running around unattended. And it starts at 10:00, not 9:00.
TJ – We choose to list 9pm above because this is in fact the correct time of Curfew on The Strip on Weekends. Better safe than sorry. Las Vegas is NOT the place to test the law!
Q: What is the curfew in Las Vegas?
A: The county curfew law applies to anyone younger than 18 years of age who is not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. They must be off the streets and out of any public areas from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, and midnight to 5 a.m., Friday and Saturday, legal holidays and during summer vacation. On the Strip and streets surrounding the Strip, the year-round curfew hours are 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Friday, Saturday and legal holidays.
Las Vegas Police issue as many as 3,000 citations for curfew violations each year. The curfew on the strip is different than that set for off the strip. There are even curfews for certain times of the year. No I don’t know how a person is supposed to keep up with it all. But it’s like any law. They make them and even if you don’t know about them or understand the you are REQUIRED to abide by them.
In 2008 there was a special curfew on the strip beginning at 6pm on December 31st and ending at 5am January 1st.
There is also a curfew for driving and special curfew laws that apply to employed minors with work permits.
Metro Officer Barbara Morgan says police will not budge on the rules. Aside from New Year’s Eve, she often has to remind parents that is always a curfew for children under the age of 18 when it comes to driving. Teens under 18 years old are not supposed to driving after 10 p.m.
City of Henderson Curfew
The City of Henderson’s curfew ordinance states that “it is unlawful for any child under the age of 18, without being on any lawful business, or engages in any lawful occupation, not accompanied by his parents or guardian or other adult person having legal care, custody and control of such child, to loiter, wander, stroll or be upon, in or about any of the public streets, avenues, alleys or other public places in the city at any time between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. of the succeeding day, seven days a week. However, on Friday and Saturday, all school holidays, and during summer vacation, the hours of curfew shall be extended to midnight.” This law is strictly enforced in Henderson. If a juvenile is picked up for violation of curfew, they will receive a citation for this offense and then must be released to a parent or guardian. If a parent or guardian cannot be located, the juvenile is transported to Westcare in Las Vegas, where they will remain until a parent or guardian can be located. After receiving the citation or being picked up from Westcare, a court date is scheduled for the juvenile to appear in front of a judge at the Clark County Juvenile Court. This court appearance also requires the appearance of the parent or guardian.