An 11-year-old boy's father says his son was detained by security for shopping by himself at Calgary's Lego store.

Doug Dunlop says his boy Tadhg went to the store Sunday to spend his own money, as he has done dozens of times before.

When Dunlop went to pick up Tadhg, he found a security guard watching over him.

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Dunlop says the guard and the store's manager told him children under 12 are not allowed in the store without an adult because of safety concerns.

He says they called him a bad parent for not accompanying his child.

Officials with Lego and the Chinook Centre mall were not immediately available for comment.