Garden State Plaza in New Jersey is joining many other malls and shopping centers around the country in requiring all children under the age of 18 to be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or “chaperone” over the age of 21. The requirement will only apply on Fridays and Saturdays after 5 pm. The reasons are obvious and they involve something you’ve probably seen if you’ve tried to go out shopping on the weekends. Large mobs of teenagers have been starting fights, stealing, or just generally cluttering up the food courts and other central areas while not doing any actual shopping. And they’re driving away paying customers. There are people protesting the decision, but most adults seem to support the policy thus far. (Associated Press)

Starting April 18, Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey — the second largest mall in the state — is requiring anyone under 18 years old to be accompanied by a chaperone at least 21 or older on Fridays and Saturdays after 5 p.m.

The move, according to the mall, follows “an increase in disruptive behavior by a small minority of younger visitors.” That included a reported brawl in the food court last year and a fight in March that brought swarms of policemen to the center but ended up being a smaller altercation than initially reported.

Sepulveda of Passaic, New Jersey said she was fine with the new policy.

I’m not exactly sure when “hanging out at the mall” became a thing for teenagers, but it didn’t use to happen where I grew up back in the day. Also, if you were caught scuffling with a mob or stealing things in my household, you would have trouble sitting normally for a few days. But it definitely became part of our culture at some point, for better or for worse.

There definitely seems to be a generational gap on display related to these policies. The AP interviewed one mother and her teenage son, asking them their thoughts about it. The mother described the mall as a “madhouse” on Friday and Saturday nights. Her son said he was “sad” about the new policy because that’s where he liked to go to “roam and hang out” with his friends.

This isn’t really a new concept, though. As noted in the linked report, the Mall of America has had this requirement in place since the 90s. They start the policy even earlier, at 3 pm on Fridays through Sundays.  They’ve also noticed that sales are down among younger people and thefts have been increasing.

These shopping malls in particular probably don’t feel as if they have any other choice. Things have gotten considerably worse since the pandemic shutdowns ended. Check out this brawl at a mall in San Francisco that just took place in March.

Some of these mobs of teenagers are pretty much indistinguishable from street gangs. And the root cause is probably the same. If you’re a parent and your teenage child is out running wild at the mall on Saturday night, you are very likely not providing enough supervision nor imparting good values to them. Children shouldn’t be allowed to grow up in a “free range” environment, but the parents or guardians have to bear some of the responsibility when their kids go wilding.

Opponents of the policy claim that these restrictions are dangerous because they will reduce opportunities for peer socialization for teenagers and potentially lead them to spend even more time staring at screens. But there are plenty of opportunities for other forms of social engagement that are clearly more productive. (Sports, scouting, or public service projects.) And the kids hanging out at the mall are mostly staring at their phones half of the time anyway.

There’s one other option some of these parents might consider. New Jersey has a huge problem with students not being able to read at grade level. Maybe you could spend the evening at home helping them study.