Is your Target store cracking down on minors?

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May 20, 2025
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My store has recently banned all guests under the age of 18 with a sign saying “All guests under the age of 18 are not allowed in this Target store”. My store had an issue with teenagers acting up in the store and this resolved it.

Essentially, at my location, if you’re under the age of 18, you can no longer enter the store even if you’re accompanied by an adult. As an employee, we have had numerous issues with teens, such as teens fighting, knocking stuff, using slurs, and disrespecting employees. One guest came in and said that they loved this new policy.

But, what do you think about it?
 
My store did this for like a month and stopped. They dont' have the coverage to enforce it all the time and I'm sure guest got angry getting carded when their obviously over 18. Personally, I don't think it's fair for those who aren't unruly getting banned. I would rather they ban all the junkies and homeless people coming in.
 
I love this rule personally. I wish more locations would do this since teenagers are an issue at many locations. They don’t buy anything they just treat it like it’s their personal playground or something.

Nothing is wrong with having a Target that’s 18+ only. It’s the parents who buy stuff anyways. If the parent has a young kid, the kid can be babysat at home if the parent is single. Or one parent can go to the store at a time. This policy isn’t that bad. In fact, I think it’s great.

My store has signs that say “All guests under the age of 18 are not allowed in this Target store”. My location definitely needed this.
 
My local store is fine. Several high schools and colleges nearby. We have never witnessed any such misbehaving in any of the 3 stores in a 10 mi radius. I am in a middle-high income area and the kids are respectful. The only thing I have ever seen is a couple of teen girls opening and smelling cosmetics and hand cream etc. Not a big deal. Most of the college kids are fooling around on their phones and loading the carts up with shit for their dorms. Avg home price is close to if not > 400k with a mixed demographic. Lots of Teslas and pick-ups. A shall-issue state. If you're clean you get a carry permit, period.
 
If that includes kids younger than school age, it would absolutely demolish business at my store. I suppose it might be worth it if the offending teens were costing the store THAT much in shortage and sales lost on guests refusing to shop in a zoo.
 
I'm torn on this. On the one hand, not having to deal with whining, crying, screaming younger kids (seriously, why do they WHINE so much?) as well as the disruptive jerk teenagers would be AMAZING.

On the other hand, not letting anyone under 18 in even with a parent is kind of wild. What about back to school? Kids need to try on clothes. Seems draconian.

But if my store implements it I won't complain. The fitting room would be so peaceful.
 
The next store closest to mine has this policy because teens and someone's "angels" would ALWAYS try to tear the store apart and steal just about everything. Allegedly, AP at that store had the mindset of "just don't let them burn the store down." It doesn't help the store is pretty close to a highschool that is known for how bad the kids are, but this store has it on lock with the policy. They certainly have enough AP to enforce it along with a police detail (which I think is overkill). Still, shopping at that store is WAY nicer now - you don't have to worry about getting hit with a rock or nerf ammo anymore
 
There’s another location near my Target that requires minors to be accompanied by an adult in the store, but my location doesn’t let anyone under 18 in at all.

Also, if you don’t want to deal with babies, young kids, or teenagers, then you’ll like this rule. Most young kids are supervised unless they have very bad parents.
 
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Some people say older people are bad at Target, it’s not the older people that I’m having trouble with. I occasionally get a verbally rude older person but it’s not often and most are nice and kind.

Most boomers who come in the store are just as good as the other adult shoppers.

The age group of adults I’ve mainly been having trouble with is younger adults (like 18 to 25)

While when this place allowed teenagers, they were rude in every way. Throwing stuff, pranking strangers, spraying shaving cream, disrespecting employees, saying mean things to elders, riding bikes, throwing balls, skateboarding, and screaming in the store.
 
OK, so I gotta call bullshit on a store that doesn't allow any minors, at all, into stores. Given how much Target has deliberately cultivated the mom demographic there is zero chance they've banned all kids from stores. Unless your store is one of those small-format stores in a location where there aren't really kids, anyway, and then what would be the point? Or do you work in the liquor store?

I've seen a number of articles about locations banning unaccompanied minors, and as someone who worked at a store where Target was definitely the place to be on Saturday nights among the teenage crowd, I can't object too hard to that policy, but banning all kids would torpedo their sales even worse than walking back the DEI stuff has. A store that banned all minors would be out of business within months, if not sooner.
 
My store did this due to disruptions caused by teenagers. A location near my store requires them to be chaperoned. My Walmart also banned anyone under 18 without an adult.

90% of the disruptions in my store were caused by teenagers (13-17), teenage boys were the worst, but teenage girls also acted up and I caught some teen girls stealing Stanley Cups. I get young adults stealing and being rude at my store somewhat often but not a whole lot, about 80% of the young adults who come in the store are kind and nice. While for teenagers almost all were rude.

For older adults, again I very rarely get rude older adults, despite other users. But some of the older adults I get in do get confused or kindly ask me for something.

I once had a group of teenage boys somehow hack the speakers to blast inappropriate content in the store, putting shaving cream everywhere, and even toilet papering the store. Was tired of it. I loved that they finally banned teens. Now it’s so much better.

Baby boomers are probably the chillest customers I get. Most of the college kids that are ruthless at my store are probably in the late teens, not early 20s. Customers in the early 20s are mosr likely.
Boomers, surprisingly, seem pretty chill in the store too. The chillest people I get in the store are probably older adults.
 
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Any idea how many young moms I see shopping with young children in tow or in the cart's child seat? And their carts of full of things like diapers, groceries, cleaning supplies. They're in my area so the kids can pick out their new toothbrushes and get stocked up on vitamins etc.
Our sales would crash with this rule in place.
Although I wouldn't mind a "no unaccompanied minors" rule.
 

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