More businesses require teens to be chaperoned by adults, curbing their independence

For many teens, roaming shopping malls, hanging out at amusement parks, and watching a movie at a local theater with their peers have been long considered the rites of passage to adulthood. But in the recently, that independence has been curbed. An increasing number of malls, amusement parks and other public places where teens gather to meet their friends, have implemented policies just ahead of the summer requiring them to be accompanied by adult chaperones at least for certain times of the day. Requiring an adult chaperone is not new to some malls, but experts say there’s been a renewed push there, and the trend is now spreading to other types of establishments as businesses grapple with increasing rowdy teen behavior.