I just read about a zillion messages on not taking kids to Las Vegas. I have been checking on the internet and find a lot of things to do there that seem kid friendly enough. When you as the adult have very widely spaced (age wise that is) children with grandchildren even and you are looking for a place to take the whole family (overdone California) what is wrong with Las Vegas. I am a responsible parent (my teenage son has boundaries; and have responsible children with their own children. We figured we could babysit while some of the younger adults take in the exciting night life and one day the guys can watch the little ones and us girls can take in the Bob Fosse show; and one day we could do the rafting on the river thing....Is there something wrong with our plans? If so what would you suggest?

I love Las Vegas. It is one of most favorite vacation spots for my husband and I. We have four children and I have not taken them there yet, but would like to someday. For our family it would be too expensive just taking in the shows for a family of six, plus we would need two hotel rooms, airline tickets(travelling from Canada) plus food and the exchange rate is a killer. I say go for it! If I could afford to take all the kids I would. It is not Disneyworld, but there is plenty of things to do besides gambling. Go horseback riding at Red Rock Canyon, Circus Circus, Wet and Wild, Shows that are kid friendly. Lots to do. I was in Vegas this past Presidents Day weekend and you wouldn't believe the amount of people with kids. I asked a few if the kids were having fun and they mostly said yes. Go for it!!!

I am not a parent so in some respects that invalidates me from the debate, however, here goes. Basically Las Vegas seemes to have actively marketed itself as a "family friendly" destination that may be fine and well, but honestly Las Vegas is known for and has a great deal of vice, prostitution, gambling and alchohol, which don't really jive with many people's ideas of a "family" vacation. People don't like the idea of children' loitering around casinos while their parents gamble the night away. It's not uncommon for young men to be solicited via printed materials or verbally for prostitution or strip shows etc. Vice IS a big part of Vegas no matter HOW you look at it. I think most people assume you would be better off going to a destination that has river rafting, camping and kid friendly activities but not quite so much vice. Bottom line. My parents took me to Vegas as a child, before it was so "family" and I got sick from cigarette smoke and ended up sitting on a barstool for 4 hours while old men hit on me, at 10 years old to boot!.

Pam: LV is fine for kids. Our son's grandparents have lived in LV for 40 plus years. When our son was a little guy, I silently wished that they lived somewhere "nice". I WAS SO WRONG. When our guy got older, I bought the book Las Vegas With Kids and did not have enough time to do a slice of the GREAT suggestions. With age the Circus Circus and MGM "rides" were not avoidable. We all had a great time at those places and then seeing the outside "shows" at Treasure Island, The Mirage and so on. We were their last week for 4 days after 4 days in LA at Disneyland. We had great fun in Disneyland but, had a blast in Vegas. Disneyland is SO expensive, I really wonder if they realize that the family "dream" is out of reach for MANY families. Disneyworld is 10x's more expensive, another story at another time.
There are so many activities for teens and kids in Vegas and you do not have to look far. I played the nickel slots for as long as my two handfuls of nickels lasted. I keep making money and stopped anyway. Our teenage son actually "picked" my machine. He kept moving and my husband would leave and go walking with him. Our son is a fabulous person, student, christian and friend to many. Our time in Vegas has not "hurt" him.
Now, my husband and I were REALLY disturbed by the number of kids sleping and nodding on the benches waiting for parents whom we could not locate. At the risk of being judgemental, I found this criminal. We decided that these kids families probably did not have the money to get a room for the kids, where they would probably be left unattended as well...Its tough, I think it is a gray line between deciding at a glance which families are on vacation and which ones are trying to strike it rich with the family in tow. Hope my perspective helps.

Pam, Stay in Las Vegas! Not only do we live here but I am a travel agent and book many families to Vegas. Stay at MGM. They have the lazy river, an amusement park and a lion expo. Stay away from Circus Circus, not fun for adults at all. There is so much to do during the day, and at night they offer kid's camp if you prefer!!! COme and see for yourself, it is not the Vegas of 25 years ago or even 10 years ago, there is so much to see and do!! They will love and you will feel like you had a real vacation, not just a "family" one!!!

Definitely go for it!! I think as long as you don't look upon it as the ultimate destination spot for a family, you are fine. We took both are 15 and 17 year old for 1 week last year and they would go back in a heartbeat...they have been fortunate enough to visit many places, as well. I think it is the adults that go there to gamble and play it up with no kids that take offense to kids pounding on their turf!! You will have a great time.

Pam- I am planning a trip to vegas with my teens this summer. My children enjoy lots of things going on and I am sure they will enjoy Las Vegas. I also read the book "Las Vegas with Kids" and feel that it was quite helpful. When my husband and I go by ourselves, we only go for a night or two because we don't like to be away from our family that long. We are going this summer for 5 nights and I am looking forward to doing some exploring outside of town. That is something we've never had the time to do before. My kids love to hang by the pool and love any water rides. I'm trying to figure out which casinos have the best pool areas. Lauren's suggestion of the MGM Grand might be the best. We went last year and loved the Rainforest Cafe and so will our children. We stood forever and watched the lions play. I can't wait to show them. The water fountains at Bellagio are one of my favorite things. I think they'll like that too. Our itinerary will be quite different with our children along. We would never make them sit on a bench and wait for us to finish gambling. As a matter of fact, I don't really expect to be able to gamble much at all. Perhaps, since they're old enough, we might get to sneak away for an hour or so. But I think it will be fun to show them all the sights. Well, that's my two cents. Hope you have a great time if you go!

Pam, don't be afraid to take the kids to Vegas - there is plenty to do without being "tainted" by the gambling (although the casinos are somewhat unavoidable if you're staying on the strip) and you sound like a very responsible parent who won't leave the children alone in Sin City to fend for themselves! But the previous poster is correct about some of the sleezier aspects to the place, be prepared to answer some questions about what the hand-outs are and what the billboards are advertizing! Besides taking the time to walk around and experience all the different amazing "themes" at the various hotel/casinos, and although not inexpensive, here are some "non-vice" suggestions besides enjoying the hotel pool areas: Take the Boulder Dam tour at Lake Mead, some friends of mine really enjoyed the river raft day trip down the Colorado, drive out to Red Rock Canyon, they have a nice visitor's center there run by the park service, do the drive through the area, it's beautiful high desert, and look for the roaming wild donkeys (but be very careful if you open the car window, they do bite!) older kids love the roller coaster at New York, New York, and something no one else ever mentions (which I believe is still there) is the Coca Cola exhibit which is located right on the strip (look for the glass-wall enclosed huge coca cola bottle at the entrance and don't miss the fountain wall with the flying cola waters! and taste - complementary - all the different types of sodas the company is making around the world), for anyone who is interested in Star Trek and ever wished to be on the deck of the Starship Enterprise, the "Star Trek Experience" at the Hilton convention center is very well done, not cheap but a truly outstanding event to splurge on. A kid-friendly big production show is "FX" at the MGM - or not too expensive is the dinner show at the Excalaber with horses, knights and josting. The Luxor has an IMAX theatre and other kid-friendly things to see and do, too. Also, don't miss the Forum Shops at Ceasar's Palace (located between Ceasars and the Mirage), an amazing place to walk around (hint: enter at the Mirage and exit thru Ceasars - you can't enter from Ceasars, they want to guide you into the Casino, not leave it!) Don't miss the "talking statues" at the mid-mall fountain (watch for the crowds to know when to get in place for it - it's only once an hour or so, I think, and get up close, it's hard to see if you're short!), the FAO Schwartz toy store there is great, too. Besides the Pirate Ship show at Treasure Island, there is the exotic big cats exhibit at the Mirage ($10 pp?) or go to the viewing window at the exit and see the white tigers (for no charge) in their pool enclosure, although they aren't very active during the heat of the day... Whew, that should keep you occupied! Have a good time.

But don't you hate it when your kid wins more at blackjack than you do? Or gets crazy at one of those niteclubs? Or buddies around with Don Rickles in a hot tub?

Sandy, did all the things you mentioned and more with our kids last year and they had a ball. The Coke place shut down the tour though and it's just an overpriced gift shop now. No free samples.

We've got young kids and have taken them to Vegas several trips, and had a blast. Babysitting is too expensive, so plan to cover yourself somehow. There are plenty of sights and sounds for kids. The mall (mid-strip) has great prices, and most of new properties have malls, attractions, and game rooms. Casinos don't allow minors to linger near gambling, but you can walk through. Take the kids, you'll have a blast.

Me and my husband love to gamble, and Las Vegas is the cheapest vacation for us, the low room and food prices(sometimes free even, when my husband plays big hands), and the short drive from Southern Calif. makes it the most injoyable and cheap vacation. However, we no longer go any more with our 3 boys I noticed that my 3 boys as they hit their teens were getting more and more curious about the gambling expects of Vegas more so than the amusement park aspect of it. And we heard too many scary stories of college age kids driving down to Vegas when the parents think that they are studing at their dorms/apt.s, I don't think people should get expose to Vegas until they are in their mid twenties or more. I don't think children should have family vacation memories of their parents spending alot of time gambling away at the Casino (to your children if you are away for 40 minutes gambling, this will feel like 4 hours of waiting for their fun while Mom & Dad gambled away)

Pam

Vegas is the "adult entertainment" capital of the world. Take the kids to Mickeyland.

Thanks for all the advice and help...I do appreciate the different views. With the comment on "adult" entertainment the funny thing is that three of the "kids" are adults! It is my 13 year old son, 4 year old granddaughter, and 1 year old grandson that are the little ones...I personnally don't gamble or drink so figure I would be doing a lot of the babysitting with my grandchildren who I hardly ever get to see....Anyway thanks again. If we make it there I'll let you know how it turns out...

Several years ago, we went as a family to Las Vegas--our kids were, I think, 9 and 12. They remember it fondly and had fun--we stayed at the MGM because of the onsite amusement park.

I know these aren't the ages of the kids you'll be traveling with, but I say this for other readers, too. I thought Vegas had a real mixed message for families. It bills itself as a family vacation spot, and yet it sort of pretends that gambling isn't happening while it's happening everywhere. When we walked through the vast casinos at the MGM on the way to room elevators, we'd hear the ka-ching ka-ching of the slot machines, and see people sitting there from the night before. Gambling was everywhere--and yet the kids weren't allowed to stop and look at it. If you stopped anywhere along your route into or out of the casino, the security guards would be there in a moment to move you along. My husband stopped to point out to the sports gambling to my son, who is a baseball lover. Sure enough, a guard came and said, move along, he can't look. What's with that? And yet, if you take your kid to the kiddie area of the hotel for activities, it's different arcade games. You play them and win tickets to trade in for prizes. Kiddie gambling. Go to a place like Denny's for breakfast, and there are slot machines there, too.

We had just come from a week visiting the Grand Canyon and Bryce and Zion canyons. When we were at the Grand Canyon, our kids one night left us lingering over dinner and walked back to the Lodge on their own. One night at the MGM in Las Vegas, we wanted to go downstairs and leave them in the room for half an hour. They didn't want to be alone there. I asked them later what the difference was. It was very clear to them that they felt safe at the Grand Canyon, and they knew exactly where we were (two buildings away). At Las Vegas, they said, they felt some of the people were creepy, and they wouldn't know how to find us. I thought this was very telling--but they'd love to go back.

If you have to ask, perhaps you feel it IS wrong to take the kids to Las Vegas.

With all the other places to go in the world and with this sense of guilt in the back of your mind you SHOULD go elsewhere.

The arguments against going to Las Vegas. To go to Las Vegas sends a subliminal message of approval and teaches children
1) Covering up smut with big lights and glamor is OK
2) Gambling is OK
3) Prostitution is OK, as long as you do it on vacation
4) Weddings at Las Vegas are OK, a committment is not really serious anyway
5) Going out at night alone in a smut infested, drug infested, gambling, drinking, rewarding for spending money only to lose it type of town is OK

Other places to have fun in the US
Florida Orlando
San Diego California
New York New York
Any Beach
Savannah Georgia and Georgia Beaches

Search your heart. Is it right to go to Las Vegas with the kids?

Pam, looks like you got sucked into what Las Vegas advertisers want you to believe. Sure, there are some places for kids to "play", but really what is Vegas all about, taking your MONEY. As a frequent gambler in Vegas, it saddens me to see very young children, at 2:00 am in the morning, being pushed around from casino to casino by their parents. Gamblers find it very distracting when a parent walks through a casino with a screaming kid in the stroller. It blows me away that the parents don't have a clue or simply don't care. I've even seen frantic mothers screaming and crying out for their lost children in casinos. And do you really want to babysit while your on vacation? Doesn't make sense to me. My advice, find a safer place to take your children and the entire family will have fun together. Go with your gut instinct!Ü

Why not go to a place where the "WHOLE" family can enjoy everything together, instead of splitting up?? That spoils the fun of a "FAMILY" vacation. You'll be constantly on a schedule, always watching the clock for babysitting switcharoo?? My advise, find something (vacation) where everyone can do things together. Just my opinion..
Good Luck!

Dear 21 and over;
If you want to see someplace that's expert at separating a sucker from their money, go to Disneyworld. I've been to both and Las Vegas could learn something.

Vegas = where America's trailer trash vacations. And where the alcoholics of America call home!

Enjoy~