At What Age is It OK To Leave Your Child at the Mall?

Many parents find that as their kids get closer to their teen years, the desire to hang out with their friends becomes much more desirable than hangin' with mom and dad, both in a social situation and a "going on vacation" situation. This begs the question, when is it OK to drop them off at the mall without adult supervision?

I checked a bunch of different sources like lohud.com and circleofmoms.com along with my memories when my kids asked that dreaded question, "Hey Dad, could you drop me off at the mall?" Here's what I found.

Child experts, parents, and kids echoed the same answer that it depends on the maturity level of the kid. Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself as a parent before you make that decision.

Has the child had of history of getting into trouble at school or in the community? Does she or he have a track record of trustworthiness? Is there a level of respect between you and your child?

A popular suggestion was to have them ride with you to the mall and then set a time to meet back at an agreed upon location, so they have that freedom to roam and meet some friends without you watching their every move.

Some warning signs you might like to be aware of are, if your teenage daughter is taking along a change of clothes, something's up, or if your teen has a "one hitter" in his or her pocket, something's up.

Here is the one thing we did learn as our kids were growing into teendom, "You can't follow them around every minute they are not in your site. Even if you're watching them like a hawk, they will find a way to do "whatever" you don't want them to do." With parents, it's always, "Different ages, different issues!"