Highland resident and mother of four, Carole CrimiVaroli, was not entirely enthused when the policy went into place in Poughkeepsie. “We had a 19-year-old friend living with us a few years ago and she wasn’t allowed to take my 13-year-old son to the movies,” said CrimiVaroli. “She had lived with is for a few years and to my children, she was their sister. There needs to be guidelines that are reasonable.”
No mercy for young parents in Poughkeepsie
Many adults and parents who were questioned were in support of the parental escort policy, but were concerned for how it would be implemented, such as in the case of a 20-year-old mother shopping with her kids. Poughkeepsie Galleria security told the Kingston Times that if a mother or father is shopping with her or his children and is under 21, she or he would unfortunately be asked to leave. Poughkeepsie Galleria mall management did say that kids under 17 may still work in the mall on those weekend nights; however must be prepared to show identification, and go straight to work and leave the mall straight after work.
Parisian said an underage employee is exempt from the policy as long as they are wearing a name tag and are on the clock. “As for young parents, as long as it’s a parent or legal guardian, and as long they are not causing any problems they can stay, because we do have a behavior code.”
New mother and middle school math teacher Jennifer Puzio-Wright is in favor of the policy. “Yes it is ageism, and yes, I love it as a parent but would have hated it as a kid,” she said. “And yes kids are not how they used to be. However — I like this policy — I find it to be a responsible movement to protect the shoppers and workers and at the same time setting boundaries so that minors do not get into trouble.” Emphasizing that 17 and under are minors, Puzio-Wright said kids ought to be accompanied in a public place like a mall. “People do not realize how dangerous malls are. I think in today’s world this law is a fantastic thing for our youth. And if they don’t like it — tough shit! We grew up in a world with boundaries, rules, and consequences. They, too, should learn to adhere to them.”
I think it is sad but needed.some parents think your security guards are a free babysitting service
.some teenagers are too disruptive and scream out look at me i am an [expletive deleted by editor].most parents are responsible as are most teenagers but it only takes a few to make everyone run for cover.
that place was a “crap” hole when i was a teen and with the way kids are now with hyper sexuality and violence influencing them im not surprised this is nessasary even though i no longer live in the area im glad this is being put in place
It’s about money not supervision. Bring back IBM–oh, that’s right, those nasty teenagers who turned into government and political people–that unruly crowd–won’t allow that. Why? It’s all about the money. How much more is about the money? How much more money in the area is required outside of government and schools to support the local economy? That’s the real question here. If they closed the mall, all of a sudden now we have a real crisis where some notable national business might be brought in besides Wal-Mart. Crises bring results–the first rule of human behavior. Well ok then…how about a Jesuit Seminary or a Catholic college? Hmm…how is it no one was ever able to consider doing that? The late comedian Steve Allen had a word for this….”DUMBTH”.
I think it’s sad that a policy has to be placed such as this because of bad parenting. I really wish parents would be more involved on their children’s lives and teach them how to act in public and why respect of others and property is so valuable. It’s unfortunate that all kids are being placed in the same category but it’s the only way to be done right now. Shame on the mall however for not looking outside the box and being creative with ways to help these kids that don’t have the best parenting. They pay a decent amount of money to the cops to watch during these hours. How about asking the teens what might interest them and pay for that stuff instead. I’m not pretending to have all the answers but one thing I know for sure is power to lay down the law is not always the right avenue to take. Try helping the community by being an active participant within the community.
This is retarted bc half of us teenagers go there and buy things but i guess you guys dont care like me i go there walk around and look in stores….u just cant kick all of us out like honesty!
You should stay home and practice your spelling.
What about adults? There are adults that are just a rude and disrespectful as teenagers sometimes worse.
I feel a little saddened by this. I remember hanging out there when I was a teen. We could smoke in the mall at that time. It is crazy to think about. It was the Mall on Friday Nights then FUN Way And Wooden Wheel On Saturday Night. Fun way was a big trouble area. There was always fights, drinking…. There was never anything else for kids to do. Teen pregnancy was pretty rampant. Now that I am a mom, I don’t allow my teen there on weekend nights. So when I say I am saddened, It is for nostalgia’s sake. I wish there was some kind of other place to hang out and have fun. But the Kingston area is truly lacking in safe/fun teen activities. To The “woman” whose only comment is to make a snide remark about a young girls spelling: STFU and get a life.