When does a child become an adult?

An easy question, you may think, as almost everyone stopped in the middle of the street and asked the same question would inevitably say that children become adults on their 18th birthday. That’s certainly the case in terms of the law.

However, a mini investigation by the Jersey Consumer Council has discovered that our Island attractions and events approach the matter of age randomly. 

Our work was prompted by a reader getting in touch to say that their 14-year-old daughter had encountered a problem when going ice skating last week. The girl had deliberately booked and paid £9 for a child’s ticket (Under 12s). When she arrived with her friends and was checking in to the skating, she was told that if she was under 12 she had to have an adult with her. She, and her friends who had done the same, then revealed they were 14, to which they were told they should have paid for an adult ticket.  

“But we are not adults, so why should we select an adult ticket for skating on the website?” they asked. After some arguing they reluctantly paid the £4 difference for an adult ticket and went skating.  

Yes, that’s correct – the Jersey Development Company has decided that any Islander who is 12 years old or older is an adult and should pay £13 for a skating session. 

But it doesn’t stop there. Prompted by this reader’s comments, we decided to start calling around other attractions to see what their policies are. Here’s what we found: 

Adult at 12? 

Ice Skating, as we have mentioned above, along with Samares Manor, which does not differentiate between adults and children and simply states everyone over the age of 12 has to pay the full membership fee. 

Adult at 14? 

Cineworld claim that you become an adult at 14 – despite you still not being old enough to watch any films which are rated 15 or 18 for adults, and needing an adult with you if you wanted to watch a film that is rated in an age group higher than your actual age! 

Adult at 15? 

Jersey Bowl will charge you a full adult fee once you reach the age of 15. 

Adult at 16? 

The AquaSplash, Liberty Bus, Jersey Heritage and Durrell all count you as an adult once you pass 16 years of age. 

Adult at 18? 

Jersey Bulls has it right, and charges a discounted children’s ticket for under 18s, as does the National Trust and the Government of Jersey for use of public pools and sports facilities.  

It should be stated that some of the above, but certainly not all, do give a student discount if you are still at college or university. 

The Council feels that, in an Island where teenagers in particular are always complaining that they have nothing to do, the above attractions should review their age limits and reflect the rest of society and the law, and make life a little easier for teenagers and, more often than not, the parents funding these activities. 

In an Island where we are supposedly ‘putting children first’, it seems very wrong that so many children’s attractions have come up with different ages for when to charge full price.  

Countless surveys over the years have resulted in children – in particular, teenagers – continually asking for more things to do, especially during the winter. And hat’s off to the Jersey Development Company for managing to secure the fabulous ice-skating rink for almost all of the winter months. It seems a great use of the land which they administer and gives children and families something to do until Jersey and its beaches re-emerge from the winter.  

But really? Charging an adult ticket for some aged 12 just doesn’t seem right for what is, ostensibly, a family attraction. Some of these attractions might all look at each other first before setting the age limit, but why not apply common sense in the first place? A 12-year-old is not an adult in anyone’s eyes and, unlike Cineworld (whose policy is even more ridiculous when you consider what they offer) the JDC is a local company, so as long as it is covering its costs, it really ought to have a rethink. 

On the wider issue of age limits, perhaps some general guidance could be useful. While the Jersey Consumer Council could ask for adult prices to kick in at 18 (unless a full-time student) it might carry more weight if this were to come from the Children’s Minister, or Children’s Commissioner. For once, it appears that the Government of Jersey has set the gold standard and doesn’t charge adult prices until someone reaches 18. So it can hold its head high in this instance and should encourage others to follow its lead. 

For the rest of those attractions that have come up with some arbitrary age limit, the Council – along with thousands of families in this Island – would urge you to review it and help youngsters out in this Island. You never know – you could actually increase your visitor numbers and turnover.