Menards Not Allowing Children Under Age 16 in Stores
Retailers are taking unprecedented measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
Home improvement store Menards recently announced on its website that due to the COVID-19 crisis, it will no longer allow children under the age of 16 inside stores. If a customer looks like they are under the age of 16, they will be asked to show a driver’s license as proof of age before they enter the store.
The Menards website also states that pets are prohibited from entering the store although service dogs are still welcome.
These stores offer special hours for vulnerable shoppers and frontline responders!
And children under 16 all rejoice.
Lol
Someone enlighten me. When was there a case of COVID in a dog?
Maybe a month ago. There has been at least one more since that too.
Jennifer, do you have a source? I just researched that and read from quite a few reputabel sources, as recently as yesterday, that there were no known cases in dogs. Cats are a different story.
This was all I was able to find so far…
“The researchers inoculated five young dogs with SARS-CoV-2 and found that two excreted viral RNA in their faeces, but none contained infectious virus.”
There were several dogs that tested positive in China, and I just read where someone’s cat died of respiratory arrest while they were in the hospital. The cat was not tested, but was suspected positive.
I think their concerns are not the dog (animal) itself but rather the droplets that might be on their fur. So the dog could be the carrier. I might be wrong though.
On the NYT The Daily podcast they discussed dogs testing positive, but they did not exhibit any symptoms of having the virus. I think it was on “A Kid’s Guide to Coronavirus”, but I’m not 100% certain. I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts. 😂
I think it is to clarify that Menards never allowed pets in their stores (except service animals) unlike Home Depot where you can bring your pet. I appreciate that Menards do not allow pets in their stores, large dogs scare me as I have been bit too many times by a dog.
The Menards here in my town absolutely lets all dogs in as long as they are on a leash.
I was just thinking that not allowing pets in the store seemed kind of normal. I have pets, I love them, but I don’t feel the need to take them shopping with me.
What is the reason for not allowing children under 16 in the store?
Tom, it is a simple less people in the store exposing others (and themselves).
They want to limit families from shopping in large groups – because some think that shelter in place means let’s go shopping. I applaud Menards. I Wish more stores would do this.
Yes, this! My son works at Menards. The people taking their entire family shopping are ruining it for everyone. Kids coughing around the store.. running around without parents. Reducing the number of shoppers is ideal, duh. Wish more stores would do this! Other than that.. use common sense which is soooo lacking these days! So tired of the single parent thing… if you have no choice you have no choice. You gotta do what you gotta do! Don’t shop at menards then! Better for the employees anyway. Entire families don’t need to be shopping, and teens and kids shouldn’t be running around the store in packs like they have been.
I’ve seen children running the isles, laying on the floors and getting in the faces of store employees.
Kids have been known to be “super spreaders.” They show no symptoms but spread it to others. This is to limit the amount of people that go in at one time.
Any store that does this will never get my business. How exactly are single parents supposed to do their shopping? Are they expected to leave their kids home alone or locked in the car? This is ridiculous.
I agree with you.
I agree. This is absolutely ridiculous… kids are not a cesspool of infectious disease. Smh.
Agreed! It’s not just single parents either. Anyone who has to care for a child without immediate back-up would be affected by this (military spouses, grandparent who provides childcare, spouse of essential workers who may be putting in even more hours than usual, etc.). I can understand tightening behavior requirements for everyone of all ages (if you’re running around, unnecessarily touching a lot of things, leaving things where they don’t belong, etc. a manager can ask you to leave and have signage stating such) but not allowing an entire age group to enter a store is ridiculous. If we had any in Florida I’d be tempted to avoid shopping there even after all this is over. In a difficult time they’re making things unnecessarily harder on some people.
Yep. People are so scared they’re forgetting what this is…imagine if it said all women are barred bc they touch merchandise while shopping. Or all seniors are banned bc they cough too much. People are setting low standards for the future of our society.
We are focusing on the present so that the most amount of people can have a future 😉 This will not last forever. Please be patient.
Totally agree. It’s discriminatory. Anyone can carry the virus- not just kids. And what about parents who have to grocery shop and have no one to help babysit the kids? That’s like saying those 65 and up can’t shop there. Ridiculous!
I absolutely agree with you. We are fortunate that my husband was ordered to work from home, if not I would have no choice but to bring my kids to get the essentials we need. With the shifts he works the stores would be closed by the time I have him to stay with the kids.
I applaud Menard’s for doing this. I have seen entire families leisurely strolling while I’m trying to get in and out. The reason for kids is because they are the ones most likely to be asymptotic. This isn’t about connivence anymore. This is literally life or death for something people that do get sick.
I think this is a wonderful idea. Kudos to Menards!
I feel really bad for all of those single parents out there with littles. I don’t usually take my kids to the store with me (so nice to have teenagers that can watch the younger ones). I remember a time when it was really hard to go shopping since I had no help.
I do not usually take children in the store unless needed . However if u have no one to watch your children you cant shop there … sometimes the other parent is working or what if a person is a single parent ? Then they should allow free carside pickup if children are not allowed inside .
Kudos to Menards! Many kids don’t understand not to touch everything, and many adults aren’t even sure of what 6′ looks like much less kiddos.
True…
Thanks for posting! I have only been carrying minimals cards and personal items into stores, but I’ll be sure to bring my ID so I can prove I’m really 30!
I think this is a wonderful idea. Kudos to Menards!
Menards has been in trouble recently for price gouging (bleach & face masks) and for enticing shoppers to shop for non-essential items in my State (Michigan)👎
Yes, I was just going to post that. I’m in SE Michigan. They are enticing crowds of people into their stores, during a shelter in place state order.
I wonder if it is ok to leave 6 kids in the car? My oldest is 11. I need to grab some things from the store but I hate to leave them in the car or home alone. Do you think ut is ok the run in and shop whith them in the car. What age do kids start to babysit?
Check your state laws. Seriously, I’d use common sense to evaluate the situation if I saw kids in a car, but some busybody might report you and you should know your rights. I’ve had two friends where the police were called on them; w/o going into the boring circumstances, it was legal in both cases, but you can’t plead ignorance if you’re wrong 😕
My daughter is a mature almost-11yo. If it came down to it, I think she’d be safer home alone than alone in a car. She’s a great help with her younger cousins during family get togethers or when we babysit them but I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving her to take care of them alone. You know your kids best though. As another poster said, check your state laws. In Florida I believe it even depends on whether you leave the keys in the car (or maybe the car running). I’d also be careful of temperatures – cars can get very hot, very quickly. I’m not familiar with everything this store sells but couldn’t you get what you need from a store that lets you bring your kids? Sanitize the heck out of the cart, all sides and make a game out of not letting go of the cart for the younger ones? Or even sanitize 2 carts (one for kids, one for purchases)?
I have a family member that works at the Menards where my family lives.. She has said that Menards has looked like Black Friday every day!! It has not been just 1 person shopping alone, as advised…not 2…but families all inside the store browsing around. Its ridiculous.
This is how it’s been in my grocery stores. Entire family leisurely strolling.
I wish more stores would follow suit.
Stores are not playgrounds, and unfortunately few parents discipline their kids nowadays.
And what about the parents that do discipline their children and have no choice because there is nobody to watch them? Any store that does this will lose my business.
What’s really stupid is that they want to see the license of anyone under 16 🙂
Well good thing I don’t shop there. Because they definitely aren’t getting my business now! I am a widowed, single mom with no family close. Sometimes, I MUST take my daughter with me on shopping trips. I limit it as much as possible, but sometimes this is impossible. So keep on discriminating.. you don’t always know someone’s situation.
Many stores are having problems with teens using their stores as hangouts. Also many kids that going shopping with one parent just letting their kids run all over the place in stores. Yes, a few have ruined it for all. Most hardware stores will be following this policy with in the next week or so. The stores will still offer pick up, so you can shop on line and pick up at door or curb.
Class action against Menards for age discrimination of single parents and our children?
Every day people are discriminated against, and now, if has reached single parents and our children.
Even though there is fear mongering going on through the media, doesn’t mean our liberty goes out the window. Turn your tv off and life becomes simple and clear.
Please comment to me your email if you would like to join in.
Remember, there are more of us than there are of them. We are stronger when we unite together. It is no longer about color, sex, or nationality, it is about our rights as human beings.
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Sign me up. Its discrimination, pure and simple. I must take my kids everywhere i need to go. But i keep them close and they are well mannered. But i can’t get certain supplies anywhere but certain stores. So being told i had to leave was highly infuriating and discriminatory .
Sign me up. I was highly embarrassed when I was asked to leave and told I couldn’t enter with my 2 and 11 year old children. That is age discrimination and a business owner cannot just rewrite that law over night.
This is age discrimination. If they can disallow a 16 year old they can disallow any age. Age has nothing to do with coronavirus as the virus is not concerned with someones age.
This rule is not about limiting the amount of people that shop there. If that was the case they would be doing the same thing my local Walmart does, and have a person outside counting the people who come and go from the store. How am I supposed to buy lumber off of a website. It is getting absolutely ridiculous, don’t tell me I cant shop somewhere because I have no one to watch my child right now.
For all the people whining about it, get over it! If you don’t like their policy, don’t shop there. They have the right to set rules for their store which is private property. Besides, how much merchandise does Menards really carry that caters to those under 16? So tired of everyone being a victim!