It's believed that one of the very first lemonade stands to open in the U.S., was in New York City back in 1873. Shortly after that, media reports suggest that by 1880 there were lemonade stands all around the city and they soon spread elsewhere.

Because of the popularity of the lemonade stand over the years, as a starting point for many young entrepreneurs to learn the value of a dollar and to get started in business, the lemonade stand venture has been described as a symbol of the American dream.

However, in recent years lemonade stands have been under threat. What may have at one time been a simple endeavor, has become a complicated mess today. In many regions around the U.S., you're required to obtain a variety of licenses or permits before you can legally operate your lemonade stand. If you don't obtain these various peddler permits or licenses, you could be facing hefty fines.

Young children have had their lemonade stands shut down across the country.

In Georgia, Oregon, New Jersey, Texas, Colorado, Maryland, and other areas. Children have had their stands shut down and been forced to pay fines for operating without the appropriate permits. Some jurisdictions, like Utah have taken to passing laws that permit lemonade stands, to try and serve as a solution to this problem. These stands have even been shut down when the children were operating them in an effort to raise funds for charity.

A Different Approach..

Surprisingly, officers who get calls from concerned neighbors and others, about young children selling lemonade on a hot summer day, don't always respond in the same manner.

Sure, you find many of them are ready to exercise their authority in quickly shutting down the business endeavor but sometimes that isn't the case. For example, when the police received a phone call in Minnesota recently, about a young boy who had his lemonade stand earnings stolen, rather than bother him with questions for his permits, they offered to give him funds to replace the earnings that had been stolen and support him by purchasing some lemonade (see image above).

In another example,..

Just recently, police in Missouri recently responded in the same fashion by purchasing lemonade from a stand that was run by an 8-yr-old boy.

It's alleged that one customer had questioned whether or not the boy had a permit, and was interrogating the child over his failure to produce his papers. After the cops were called eventually though, rather than shut him down the police took to showing support. It wasn't just police either, it's reported that fire and emergency medical services also also showed up to show their support for the boy.

They also gave him a permit..

At a time when children around the nation are having their various business endeavors shut down (water bottles, lemonade stand, grass-cutting) it's nice to see authorities display some discretion as they've done in the incidents above, and show support rather than try to infringe upon the selling efforts of the children.

Pics:
Pic 1-Pixabay
Pic 2 – MarkAllenNewbauer via InsideEdition
Pic 3- Gladstone MO Police via Wichita Eagle
Pic 4 - Kansas City Star