Going to the mall just got a little bit lamer.
At least that's what Miami teens will probably tell you, as, starting tonight, they'll have to be accompanied by a parent if they're headed to Aventura Mall after 9:30 p.m.
That means you'll have to see that midnight showing of "Jackass 3-D" with mom or dad, kids.
The new rule comes on the heels of a brawl that started at the movie theater and ended with 16 people being arrested, though Joe Szymaszek, vice president of retail operations for Turnberry Associates, which runs the mall, said that the plan had been in the works before the incident.
"We're committed to giving our customers a family friendly shopping, dinning and entertainment experience," Szymaszek told the Miami Herald, "and we believe this new policy supports that initiative.''
Other teen-laden malls have implemented chaperon rules and other guidelines to help curb the riff-raff. The Shops at Sunset Place, for example, doesn't allow those under 18 to rove in groups of more than a few.
Of course, old timers and teens have different opinions about the new rule.
"It will make my movie-going experience as an adult so much more pleasant because I won't have all of the nonsense these kids bring into the movie theater,'' Andy Cunningham, 44, told the Herald.
Rebecca Sonn, 17, however, said that "the kids that are mature shouldn't be punished for what a few immature kids did.''
Either way, mall security may find the new rule hard to enforce, as simply checking IDs won't determine whether a child is with his/her parent. We can hear the excuses now:
"Oh, she's in the bathroom."
"He's chugging a beer at the Cheesecake Factory."
"I'm an orphan."
Excuses aside, let's hope the new rule at least prevents another incident of mass violence.
After all, at the end of the day, everyone wants to just watch Johnny Knoxville get kicked in the balls by a bull in peace.
