Mall Curfew for Teens

[NoMoreRetail]

So this is something that is being done at one of the high end malls in Dallas. What do you think about it?

http://1037litefm.radio.com/2012/05/...eenage-curfew/


As someone who has worked in a mall for the last 10 years, I totally agree with the curfew. I don't know how many times I have had to call security because teens were causing a disturbance, whether it be fighting, yelling, cursing, attempting to play hide and seek from their friends or the worst shoplifting. I have had families leave because teens had been too rowdy. This of course was at the kids store and maternity store.

On the downside this curfew could kill business for all of the Junior stores. I was the store manager for a junior apparel store for 2 years, most of my customers were college aged or 20 somethings looking for cheap clothes to wear to the club, how ever I did have quite a few teens that were really shopping. So had this curfew been active while I was working, it could of really hurt my business, especially on Friday nights.

[HYHYBT]

6 PM!? Ridiculous.

[Rapscallion]

Part of me says that the mall isn't a playground, it's a retail centre. Part of the appeal for shoppers is a relaxing and rewarding atmosphere (did I just type that with a straight face?), not a playground for unruly teenagers.

Another part of me says this is wrong - they should deal with those who are misbehaving, not those who aren't.

A third part is far more strident - what evidence is there to back this up? I can't imagine too many shops being overly happy about potential customers being thrown out, so I can only suspect there's a fair amount of actual misbehaviour by the target group. I'd like to know more, though, before passing any sort of judgement.

Rapscallion

[jackfaire]

I think as a mall to mall thing it could make sense. In my mall it wouldn't work because a good percentage of the buying public are teenagers and they aren't usually causing a problem so having them leave the mall at a certain time would severely hurt businesses.

However if you have a mall in an area where the teens are more hanging out, not spending money and being rowdy then along with mall curfews you should also look to invest in places the teens can hang out.

I have never really been Christian but when I was a kid I would go to Wednsday youth group because we could hang out, play pool, arcade games, volleyball, snack bar etc.

If places existed where teens could do that kind of stuff in a secular way I think it would help solve everyone's problems. As adults we have the freedom and the money to go do things ourselves and hang out. Teens have less ability to just run from place to place.

[Ginger Tea]

for under 21's the mall I was told was nigh on the only hang out, those over 21 could go to pubs, I'm not saying lower the drinking age, thats a whole different thread. But yes, a dry hang out for those between a certain age could/would solve the just hanging around the mall aspects.

[bex1218]

Yeah, if my city implemented that law, the malls would be so empty. It would go out of business.

And I agree that they need to make more spots for teens. There is one here, but you need a Y membership to go to. Not everyone can afford that. And the youth groups here sucks.

[DrFaroohk]

Sounds good on paper. In real life, what will happen is no one will actually deal with the problem kids. They'll just take out their frustrations on the kid who's there at 6:02 to get a copy of diablo 3.

[woodensunshine]

The malls in my area have curfews for teens. I think it's eight or something like that. Unless they're with a parent or guardian.

I made the mistake of going to the mall on a Friday night around six and will never, ever do that again. Lots of small preteens running around, bumping into other people, and just being unruly.

When I was younger, I thought the curfews were silly, but I can kind of see the sense behind them.

[Rageaholic]

6 PM!? Ridiculous.

That's nothing, I know of a mall that has a 5PM curfew. All kids who are there past 5PM need adult supervision. It is ridiculous though.

[Greenday]

On the downside this curfew could kill business for all of the Junior stores.

I honestly don't buy that for a second. How many of these 16 and under kids are really spending tons of money at the junior stores? I'd wager the extreme majority of purchases at these stores are made by the kids' parents. They'll barely lose any business and it definitely won't come close to killing the businesses.

The only places that will really feel the impact is maybe the food court.

[guywithashovel]

I was one of those teens who typically didn't do a lot of the unruly things that teens are stereotyped for doing, and it always stung to have to get punished with extra rules and stigmas because of a handful of my cohorts. I have to wonder why they can't just deal with the ones being unruly and leave the well-behaved ones (there is a fair number of those as well) alone.

And in case someone might be thinking "Well, you just think that because you've never worked in a mall," it's true that I haven't worked in a mall, but I did work at Wal-Mart for five years (stay with me). In the small town I called home at that time, Wal-Mart was the biggest store in town, and since we didn't have a mall, that was the place many of the local teens treated like a mall. On Friday and Saturday nights (and the rest of the week when school was out), we'd have teens coming in and loitering around, sometimes running around, cranking up the stereo speakers in the automotive and electronics departments, filling up carts and deliberately leaving them around the store, and getting into other random mischief. What did we do? Well, we just dealt with the ones who were causing the problems. The teens who came in and behaved themselves were treated like any other customer.

[NoMoreRetail]

A third part is far more strident - what evidence is there to back this up? I can't imagine too many shops being overly happy about potential customers being thrown out, so I can only suspect there's a fair amount of actual misbehaviour by the target group. I'd like to know more, though, before passing any sort of judgement.

Rapscallion

I can't find anything other than the mall saying it is because they are trying to make it more "family friendly" I honestly suspect it has a lot to do with the type of customers who shop there. (noses stuck up so high they touch the ceiling)

Here is a link to the store directory... http://www.northparkcenter.com/storedirectory_alpha.php

While there are some teen shops, they look to be the more expensive than the crappy regional stores, like the one I worked for. At my store you could easily get two complete outfits with shoes for $75-100 bucks. The majority of the stores listed here that are geared toward "teens" you would be lucky to get a top and pants for $100 bucks.

[daleduke17]

The time is ok (a little early, but, it isn't like 3p). I would say anyone 15 or under. the 17 and under age limit is a bit too extreme. What happens to the 16 y/o mall worker who gets off at 7p? Is she going to get kicked out?

[Peppergirl]

Hmmm - I'm on the fence. Even back in the dark ages of the 1980's, we did this and I was one of these obnoxious teens.

We were horrible - but it was also a high-end area and we had a lot of disposable income (spoiled brats, some of us) and spent ALOT of money. The girls, at least.

[blas87]

I was a "serious" mall shopper as a teen, and spent nearly all of my income on clothes.

Oh wait. I still do.