Thursday
19Feb2009
Parenting Semi-Adults: Mom I Got Carded
Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 12:00AM I was a little surprised when my 19 year old told me she has been carded. She doesn't drink or hang out in bars so I was a wee bit confused as to where this carding could have occurred.
At the mall…on Friday night! It turns out, you are not allowed in the mall on Thursday, Friday or Saturday after 5PM if you are under 18 unless you are accompanied by an adult.
Hence the carding…
Honestly I sort of think it is a wise policy.
My 17 year old smuggly pointed out that he has not been carded.....hmmmmmm
What do you think about the mall's policy ?
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Reader Comments (8)
As someone who went to the mall nearly every night, including the weekend, when I was in high school, I don't think it's a reasonable rule. The mall I went to had a rule that "groups of four or more youth will be dispersed." Since I always went with just one other friend, that rule didn't affect us.
Would you believe I went to the mall so much because I ate at Outback almost every night? My friend and I could split the chicken finger dinner off the kid's menu by ordering one extra side. We only had to pay $6. That's just amazing to me now. My family of five can't get out of there for under $50 now, which explains why go only once a year. If they'd just let me go alone...
I remember hanging out at the mall on the weekends but there wasn't the kind of gang mentality like there is now. The mall is an unpleasant place to be on the weekends now. With this rule in effect, I would gladly go and shop!
The mall must have been having trouble with its patrons being bothered by some of the youth acting unruly. Unfortunately the good kids have to suffer for the actions of the bad few.
We don't go to the mall because we are about a hour away from any mall, plus I have boys. I think they might go into hives if they had to go to a mall. I think if there has been a problem in the malls that not having the younger kids there is a good idea. I wonder what trouble they were into?
As someone who was a kid who hung out in malls and was also briefly a rent a cop who worked in malls, I think it is a good idea, but whole be a pain to enforce. I can well imagine that there are irate parents stomping around complaining about this rule, as there are people who seem to be of the opinion that no one should ever tell their kids to do anything. Of course, they are often the kids that need the telling the most.
Strange. Could that rule also be illegal?
I don't agree with this rule at all. Where are teens supposed to go if they don't want to stay in or see a movie. Malls have food courts and room to walk around. If there are a few troublemakers, that's why there are security guards.
But if she's 19, it wasn't even justified. I gather she took it in her stride, but having been a very young-looking teenager, I can remember the frustrations of being refused entry to places I should have been allowed perfectly legitimately. It was most incredibly embarrassing at times.