Okay….I was just going by what my straight-A, intelligent, class officer, non-trouble making, in bed by 11, gorgeous nieces do (with permission from their parents who drive them there)....they do go to the mall. It seems that a lot of people on this board have objections to that….I suppose in some areas going to the mall is probably “dicey”. I raised my own daughter in “mall avoidance” because we were sort of into alternative health, shopping and alternative (homeschool/unschool) education. So, for that reason, we didn’t go to the mall, when we could frequent smaller shops with Fair Trade or handmade items or ethnic items or even vintage things. However, that’s not how my brothers are raising their own teens. Hence the following:
My nieces do go to the mall——they go window shopping with their friends, and some of them are boys (that are coached by my brother and if any of them do anything, they won’t be playing ball!) They all know their boundaries because they were raised to respect their parents. The mall is (unfortunately) the only entertainment venue in a town that is out in the sticks. The movies are there and they can sit and have something to eat and chat and it is during the day, then, my brother or sis-in-law will pick the gang up and bring them over to their house where all of them spend Saturday evening, shooting hoops, bar-b-queing and just generally being teenagers. It’s all really great. My brother and sis-in-law know the boys (all of them) and their families and the one boy who is interested in my niece is also now part of the group, too….so it’s all quite harmless and fun and they get to keep an eye on them, too.
Just let the parents get to know the boy….and it will all be okay. Invite him to the house or invite him with a group of people.