Would you let her...?

Simply Fated

Would you let your 14 year old daughter go to the opening of the mall on Black Friday with just her friend?

If you need more info:
-they'd be getting there at midnight, because although the mall opens at about 4 or 5am, some of the deparment stores open earlier.
-the friend is also 14


(This might be a post and run, but I promise to come back and read+reply tomorrow after I get home from work )

heather011

I wouldn't, but I don't really have a concrete reason why not.  Probably just because they're 14 and I know I wouldn't have been allowed to do that when I was 14.  Nor can I think of anything that a 14-year-old would need to buy that would actually be that discounted on Black Friday to be worth standing in line overnight for.  

squirrly

Nope.  Of all the kids I've dealt with, I can't think of a group of two of them who should reasonably be left at the mall at midnight with no exit strategy.  Even good kids.  If they're good kids, they aren't necessarily going to recognize trouble immediately, and if they're not good kids, well, then. . .

If it was that important that they go, I'd go with them.  At a minimum, I'd wait to drop them off once the full mall was open, and I'd ensure they had somebody who could get to them to pick them up within a reasonable amount of time.  But I'd really prefer that they have somebody who could drive with them. 

2dBride

My daughter was shopping for all her own clothes at that age.  So, yes, I would have let her go.  Of course, the mall around here is quite safe, and there would have been others spending the night before Black Friday there, too.

sister2groom

How much earlier do the department stores open? I can't imagine them opening before 2 AM, which would still leave them sitting outside for 2 hours.

Unless you're super close to the mall and can quickly pick them up if they need to call it a night, I would also be worried about the no exit-strategy.

And if they aren't many people there waiting, I also feel like it would be easier for something sketchy to happen to them, on the other hand, if there were tons of people there I would be worried about those stampede horror stories. I know, I'm going to be the most overprotective parent ever, but I don't think you'd be too overprotective to insist you not drop them off until at least department stores open.

squirrly

At a minimum, there needs to be a coffee shop, or the food court, or someplace like that open where they can sit down, inside, out of the weather, for an indefinite period of time waiting for other stores to open.  If it's just Macy's and JC Penny from 2 to 4 am, and nothing from midnight to 2, that's not really enough. 

JadziaDax

No. FI's sister is 15 and wants to get to the mall for black friday and i've been trying to talk her out of it. It's ridiculous. 14/15 is way too young and 12 is too late at night to be standing around some mall. Black friday is crazy as it is with all the horror stories we hear about people getting trampled on.

Y I Oughta

My kid is 13 and there is no way in hell I would let her go to the mall alone at midnight. Knowing my kid she would get some bright idea to walk to the local 24 hour diner and would be walking all over the place while waiting for the stores to open. Kids that age don't understand the consequences of their actions. They could easily be held up, assaulted, or worse. I think most people would automatically know they had cash on them because they are too young for credit/debit cards.

skippylouwho

A kid shopping for their own clothes is different than a kid being dropped off, with another 14 year old, to shop at a mall at midnight.  I would not even consider doing that for a minute and my DD was one of the most mature, responsible kids around. She also shopped for her own clothes, bought most of them because she liked earning her own money (babysitting) and figuring out a budget for savings and spending. I still would not drop a child, boy or girl, at the mall at midnight. 

sweetpea0911

It depends on who is going with them/her.  My FSIL, who turns 18 in a week, has been going Black Friday shopping that early every year since she was about 10.  BUT her aunts, usually her mother, and my FI go with her, so she has never been there without someone over the age of 18.

I would let me kid(s) and their friend(s) go IF there was someone over the age of 18 accompanying them.  If not....no way in hell. 

jcamm11

I know this is a little late since it's over, but isn't there a legal curfew for kids that age?

mgmlove

I don't think I would let my 14 year old go to the mall at midnight but there aren't any malls in our area that would allow that.
 
All teenagers under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult. If not, they are asked to leave the mall. I've seen kids waiting outside a store (inside the mall) asked where their responsible adult is when their parents were inside the store. They were told to go into the store with the parents.

14 year olds would not be allowed to stay at the mall without parents.

JanoBean75

I voted no because I work in a mall and all the teens that are left alone act like dumbasses all day. And so do many of the adults. I'd be worried some greedy biitches would take advantage of them and possibly knock them down.

That said, I've spent the night outside of the Kennedy Center for Messiah Sing Along tickets for my mom with just a friend when I was 14. It was no big deal.

Simply Fated

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_would-let-her?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:d0fe788c-e85d-4b23-9117-f9d483b3c16ePost:774a7c91-1201-47a7-a26e-98c061e04e4c">Re: Would you let her...?</a>:
[QUOTE]It depends on who is going with them/her.  My FSIL, who turns 18 in a week, has been going Black Friday shopping that early every year since she was about 10.  BUT her aunts, usually her mother, and my FI go with her, so she has never been there without someone over the age of 18. I would let me kid(s) and their friend(s) go IF there was someone over the age of 18 accompanying them.  If not....no way in hell. 
Posted by sweetpea0911[/QUOTE]
No one is going with them, just one of the girls' mother was dropping them off.

And, no, there is no curfew for 14 year olds in our area. And if there is, they certainly aren't enforcing it lol.

Thanks for the replies, guys! I was just wondering what you all thought. It was a hot discussion topic during dessert on Thanksgiving becaue one of the girl's mother was doing that and her sisters (the little girl's aunts) were shocked because usually she's really strict with her daughter.