My husband and I just returned from Vegas and were surprised at the number of children there. My husband thinks that the environment is wrong for children and that there are better places for family vacations. Would like your opinoin.

I have to say that I do agree. I'm no great moralist but I was frankly appalled at the number of very young children up at 4am, simply standing there whilst their parents poured money into the slot machines. They were basically being ignored apart from when their parents shoved a fizzy drink/some chocolate/McDonalds etc their way.

I think that it's probably a great place to go for daytime/early evening with kids as there are so many shows and things to do but nightime? Oh no. There should be laws against this type of neglect.

I don't care what anyone says, Vegas is NOT a place for children.

My husband & I go once a year to Vegas for a trade show. This year brother & sister-in-law, & their 3 children 11, 9, 5, meet us there for a visit. There is no way to keep a child amused all day & evening in Vegas. Okay, the pool eats up some time, but everything else is over very quickly & really expensive. Shark Reef at Mandalay. Admission for all was about $100,+ souveniers. 1 hour down, 10 more to go. Siegfried & Roy's garden at the Mirage--another $70 admission & more souveneirs-8 hours to go. It was exhausting just to keep coming up with things to do. I mean, you can't just leave them in the room! And, we discovered that many of the buffets did not have lower rates for the kids on the weekend, just weekdays. Never again!

Well, I have to disagree. My son just loved it there, when we went last August. We did spend alot of time around the pool in the day, but we also took trips to see the Red Rock Canyon...will defintely do the Grand Canyon next time. We also went to the Hoover Dam....very interesting.
My son loved seeing the hotels and there many free attractions that are geared towards children. We spent a great day at the MGM amusement park...hardly any line ups!
Remember, neglectful parents will be that way no matter where they are.
My son was asleep by 9pm each night.....and never left alone!

Well all you republican cake eaters can keep your moralistic rear ends up on your high horses where they belong but that isn't going to change the rest of us a lick. If my son wants to hang around while we gamble a little what's the big deal? Gambling is everywhere in this country from the lottery tickets at the convenience store to bingo parlors at the churches to all the 'office pools' for the Super Bowl and college basketball. Smoking? Where were all the complaints when I was a kid? Activities? Give him the controller for the video game unit on the TV and he's set for hours.

There are people who will take their children just about everywhere but the promotion of Vegas as a fun family destination stikes me as one of the more bizarre concepts.

The promotion of Vegas as a fun family destination stikes me as one of the more bizarre concepts to come around in a long time. There is no explaining some parental behavior.

Sure there are better places to take the family other than Vegas,,,
Even Vegas itself has started to steer away from the "family vacation" theme.
But.....as many have already said...it all depends on the parents,,sure, if they just abandon the kids in the arcade for hours on end,,,thats one thing,,,but as anyone who has been there knows,,,there IS alot to do and see besides the inside of the casinos..

Your right Hank my son would love to hang out and watch all the woman with their breasts hanging out, too.

Hey Lori, When you say "Vegas is NOT a place for children" are you referring to the entire valley or just those two roads (Las Vegas Blvd and Fremont St.)? You do realize that Las Vegas is a city with families, kids, schools etc. I was born there, and grew up there and that was before a single roller coaster existed. There are things for families to do on and off the strip, so try to broaden your horizons a little.

Hey me, why the defensiveness. I believe that Wayne was asking about taking children there on vacation. Not living there. I'm sure its a wonderful place to live - easy access to casinos, lots of jobs, traffic, water issues, etc. Just your average ordinary growth town. But I still wouldn't take children there on vacation. IMHO, there are far better places for children, just like there are far better places for adults. And don't tell ME to broaden MY horizons.....

Hank and Tom-You two should be castrated!!!!!

Too late there, "xxx". In fact, the little lady is pregnant with triplets at present.
Didn't you see the movie "What Women Want" with Mel Gibson? Ol' Mel grew up as a Vegas showgirl's son, hanging out backstage with all the lovely ladies, learning the real lessons of life at an early age. Then he went on to become a major stud ad executive in Manhattan, living the high life because he knew how to get what he wanted out of life.
Too bad we live a couple states away from Nevada. Vegas rocks!