Mall bans unsupervised kids/teens

[Crystal0608]

I wish they would do it at Four Seasons too, pretty scary there. The kids group in 15-20 and won't move if asked. Oak Hollow is nothing but teenagers anymore running through the mall, literally.

 

[imabrat]

i kind of feel bad for the kids who aren't being annoying to other mall patrons, yet still get kicked out.

and i've never been to salem, but are there a lot of places for kids to hang out? if not, isn't a public mall certainly better than having them out roaming the streets?

That would be me. I go out to the mall with my friends, but I like to go on my own too. I'm 16 and it would put me off.

 

[Art 1]

Good idea.

 

[Art 1]

i kind of feel bad for the kids who aren't being annoying to other mall patrons, yet still get kicked out.

and i've never been to salem, but are there a lot of places for kids to hang out? if not, isn't a public mall certainly better than having them out roaming the streets?

The mall is a business, it's there to make money. It is not there to be a place for minors to hang out.

 

[Rora]

I can see both sides of this situation but I'm more for it than against. Our mall has been overrun by them- they shoplift, make scenes, etc. It makes me not want to go to to the mall.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

We've had a similar policy in place for the past 5 - 7 years at our largest mall (and really the only mall to do any serious shopping). Smoking is also prohibited on property.

 

[DVC-Don]

There is a mall down near Albany that did this. Not so many gang fights now.

 

[luvmy3]

Our mall does this and I think its great. I avoided the mall on a Friday night because there were a ton of loitering kids and alot of them were trouble makers or much worse. Now they are gone

 

[RitaZ.]

I wish they would do that at Four Seasons. If I need to go to the mall, I go first thing in the morning.

That's what I do.

 

[disneygals]

Our mall has this, too. I find it annoying when I'm out shopping with my three teens and they aren't allowed to go ahead to another store by themselves.

I wish there was some way you could get wristbands or something to show that you are there in the mall with them. But I'm sure that's too much work and people would ruin that too.

It's annoying, but we live with it and mostly try to go to the mall on Sunday.

 

[golfgal]

A similar rule has been in place at Mall of America for 14 years. After hours, security guards stand at the entrances and check that the minors are accompanied.

Yes, and it is very nice

People seem to forget that malls are not public property and they can make up whatever rules they want. Malls are owned by various corporations/business. They need to do what is right for them. I know at the MOA it wasn't so much the shoplifting as it was the fights that were breaking out at the mall. I worked at the MOA when they instituted this policy and it wasn't very popular at the time. I remember a group of kids all dressed up for prom that had dinner reservations at one of the restaurants there and they got turned away because they were underage. They ended up calling a parent that had to go with them to the restaurant.

 

[pilotwife_02]

There is (at least) one mall around here that has done it. There is a large movie theater there and of course they are allowed to go there, but I believe they can't be hanging around other areas for a long period of time.

I can see how it would stink for the teens that don't cause trouble, just another case where a few bad ones ruin it for everyone. But I agree with PP who say that the stores are there to make money not to provide a hang out for kids. If the teens are driving away adults who are going to shop and spend money I guess this was their only solution.

I never really hung out at the mall as a teen unless I was there to shop, so I don't really see appeal of it anyway.

 

[mjkacmom]

My DD15 & all of her friends (all of her friends are 16-18yo, she is the youngest by far) spend their weekends hanging out at each other's houses. They rotate, taking turns. We just had movie night at our house about a two weekends ago.

Dd13 and her friends do this, too. They're at a different house every day after school, and on the weekends, have a 7 - 10:30 at someone's home, and it rotates. Generally, if they're not out and about during the day, they're at someone's home. Sometimes they'll find a nice parent to take them to the mall (parent stays), or drop them at the movies or restaurant.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I hung out in the mall a couple of times as a teen--but really only on Saturday afternoons. The lure was not there for me. I mean--if I need to buy something, then that is what I go for.

The mall isn't really intended for babysitting teenagers with nothing else to do on the weekend.

I'm in favor of such resrictions in places that have them.

If a teen really needed something badly enough after curfew on a Friday or Saturday, then mom or dad could take them. But I can't really envision something that drastically important that had to be purchased in those time frames only.

 

[damren]

The Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, NC has just instituted a new policy that goes into effect on March 5th. On Fridays and Saturdays, anyone under the age of 18 MUST be in the company of a parent or guardian after 6pm. The punishment for not heeding the new rule...BANNED from the mall.

Unruly teen behavior was the catalyst.

Your thoughts?

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

I believe teens need a place to congregate and interact in a safe environment. I do not believe that environment is the local mall.

There is a mall on SR 50 in Ocoee, FL, The West Oaks Mall. It's nearly deserted directly as a result of gangs of teens marauding and committing crimes (personal attacks, theft, ect.).

Yes, unfortunately, I think that in those cases where teens have been shown to be a danger to the operation of the mall, and to the people who go there to use the mall for its original intent, their access needs to be controlled.

Of course, in a perfect world, in a society that truly cared about teens, there would be a viable alternative for their socialization.

 

[Planogirl]

So many of the workers in our mall are teens that I don't see how this would work here. Luckily, our mall seems to be under reasonable control...so far.

 

[Heidict]

Good idea and I wish they would do it around here at some of the malls. A lot of teens think the mall is a playground, running around, yelling, fighting, throwing things and of course stealing things. Granted, they all aren't, but as normal, the few bad apples have to spoil it for everyone.

The shops in the mall need to make money and if people are worried or afraid to go because of unruly teens just loitering because they lack the creativity to do something else, then they got to do what they got to do.

 

[Heidict]

So many of the workers in our mall are teens that I don't see how this would work here. Luckily, our mall seems to be under reasonable control...so far.

I believe I read that they could still work there, but once their shift was over then they had to leave. No hanging out or shopping.

 

[luvmy3]

I believe teens need a place to congregate and interact in a safe environment. I do not believe that environment is the local mall.

There is a mall on SR 50 in Ocoee, FL, The West Oaks Mall. It's nearly deserted directly as a result of gangs of teens marauding and committing crimes (personal attacks, theft, ect.).

Yes, unfortunately, I think that in those cases where teens have been shown to be a danger to the operation of the mall, and to the people who go there to use the mall for its original intent, their access needs to be controlled.

Of course, in a perfect world, in a society that truly cared about teens, there would be a viable alternative for their socialization.

Thats really an unfair statement. There was once a time when the mall was an alternative to letting teens hang out, but unfortunately they ruined it for themselves. There have been many places that teens could go to and hang out, unfortunately they all end up with similiar rules because of the behavior of those teens. Society has given them their alternatives, now its time for parents to step up and make sure their kids don't end up as teens that act like thugs.