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Does Chuck E. Cheese's Kid Check Program Work?

POSTED: 6:26 pm MST February 5, 2008
UPDATED: 2:31 pm MST February 15, 2008

The popular Chuck E. Cheese pizza parlor and playroom has a system where you and your children get stamped and that stamp is supposed to help keep your child from leaving with a stranger. KFOX put that system to the test in a hidden-camera-investigation.

Indoor playgrounds like Chuck E. Cheese's offer games, rides and food catered for kids and their parents.

"I take them to Chuck E. Cheese's because I have three boys, I can sit down and concentrate on one of them and I would think they can go out and play because they'll check them before they go out," said mother of three Erica Medrano.

Medrano is talking about the kid check program. Chuck E. Cheese's policy is everyone who comes together leaves together.

The kid check is why a lot of parents choose Chuck E. Cheese's over other indoor playgrounds. But what we discovered about the kid check program has some parents shocked.

Air Date 2/5/08

Using a hidden camera, KFOX tagged along when Medrano took her 6-year-old son Sylas to the Chuck E. Cheese's on El Paso's Eastside one busy Friday night. As they walk through the kid check station, they are stamped with the same number. A few minutes later one of our KFOX employees walks in by himself and since he doesn't have a child with him, he doesn't get stamped. About 30 minutes later our employee takes Sylas to the security checkpoint and even though his hand isn't stamped, he's allowed to leave with a child that isn't his.

  • Check out the Undercover Video in East El Paso Chuck E. Cheese's Kid Check
  • KFOX tried the same test at the Westside location. Candice MacBlain and her 2-year-old daughter, Arielle, get stamped as they walk inside the Chuck E. Cheese's. Then a KFOX employee walks in later. While no one is manning the kid check station our employee takes Arielle out of the restaurant.

  • Check out the Undercover Video in West El Paso Chuck E. Cheese's Kid Check
  • "There was nobody at the kid check numerous times when we were there. What's more disturbing is people order pizza right across from the kid check, there's someone standing there that could be potentially the person that is the last one to ever see my child and that is very scary," said MacBlain.

    We spoke to Chuck E. Cheese's officials about what our tests found. Their written response reads: "It is our policy to have our Kid Check station staffed at all times. It is possible during slower business periods that a cast member needs to take a break. During these occasions our front counter staff is watching the Kid Check station and should immediately assist guests entering or leaving. We apologize for the incident you experienced involving our Kid Check station and have addressed it with the management of this location. Please be assured that the safety of our guests and their children is our top priority."

    After we warned the company of what we found we went to the Las Cruces location. In the first attempt there, we were successful once again in walking away with someone else's child and it happens in front of two security guards near the kid check. But in the last attempt, a watchful Chuck E. Cheese's employee refused to let our man walk away with a child whose stamp did not match his. While all parents agree that the ultimate responsibility to watch kids is theirs, some parents also agree that when a so-called safeguard like Kid Check is in place, they count on it.

  • Check out the Undercover Video in Las Cruces Chuck E. Cheese's Kid Check
  • "I think they give you a false sense of security when they stamp your child, you think you have that added security of someone is going to be checking at the front," said MacBlain.

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