"Parental Guidance Required" sign at Towson Town Center in Towson, Maryland.
I consider this youth escort policy to be a misguided attempt at reducing bad behavior in the shopping mall, because it alienates potential customers at the same time. When I see signs like this, I say to myself, "No wonder malls are dying." After all, malls have done so well over the last couple of decades in making younger shoppers feel unwelcome in their facilities, and now that they're in their prime shopping years, they're shopping elsewhere. So I can't say that the malls didn't make their own bed with policies like this.
Ben Schumin is a professional photographer who captures the intricacies of daily life. This image is all rights reserved. Contact me directly for licensing information.