Teens Gone Wild

There was an article in the paper last week about fights breaking out at The Marketplace. Teenagers converge on the shopping center in droves on the weekends to hang out. (I’m sure the business owners are thrilled the kids have chosen that spot to gather.) This weekend there were more fights and five kids were taken to jail. The shopping center increased its security from six to nine, but it still isn’t enough to supervise all the number of kids present.

A couple of years ago Paul and I went to Edwards to see a movie on a Friday night. I was shocked at the number of kids wandering around. As we walked to the car a pack of younger kids, probably around 12 or so, came barreling down the walkway, tackled another kid, and began hitting and kicking him. Right in front of Rite Aid and right in front of a security guard who looked to be about eighty. He just looked on with a sort of bored disinterest, so I began yelling at the kids to knock it off (much to Paul’s horror.) I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

I don’t understand why parents allow their kids to hang out there. I mean, I know they need somewhere to go, and teenagers are going to do what they want for the most part, but really, parents need to do more. They shouldn’t just let their kids run wild like that. It’s just not safe. I’ve got it easy; my kid doesn’t even want to hang out at The Marketplace.

Of course that’s probably because he knows if he did I would go with him.