It used to be teens only needed chaperones at events like proms or for overnight field trips. But soon they will need one to get into a popular New Jersey mall on weekends.

Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, is joining other large brick-and-mortar retail centers across the nation in setting new restrictions on teens' access to their premises. In this latest example, visitors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or supervising adult 21 or older on Friday and Saturday after 5 p.m. at Garden State Plaza, which is the second-largest mall in New Jersey. The mall is closed on Sundays because of local blue laws.

Garden State Plaza said its new policy, posted on the mall's website, was prompted by "an increase in disruptive behavior ... by a small minority of younger visitors."The policy, which takes effect on April 28, is broader and more far-reaching than policies at other malls.

"I have read of numerous other malls taking a similar route to try and combat issues resulting from unsupervised groups of young teens," Brandon Svec, national director of U.S. retail analytics for CoStar Group, said in an email.

The stiffer restrictions show how more malls are implementing so-called "parental guidance" or "youth supervision" policies to prevent unruly behavior by gatherings of youths, who in some cases are posting videos of brawls and other dust-ups at malls on TikTok and other social media. It's part of a trend of malls stepping up security after increasing episodes of violence and crime, including shoplifting, at retail properties. The nation's biggest mall, Mall of Americain Bloomington, Minnesota, briefly tested installing metal detectors at its entrances last year. It decided not to permanently install them, but earlier this month the mall conducted a media tour to show how it was stepping up its security efforts after several shootings at the shopping mecca.

It's unclear what effect, if any, the new policy at the Garden State Plaza will have on the sales at the mall, which has been ranked as one of the nation's biggest revenue-generating retail centers. Malls are a fixture in the North Jersey suburbs, where they often serve as popular destinations for youths to congregate and socialize. And there are concerns the new chaperone rule could turn off potential future shoppers to Garden State Plaza or other malls.

"I get it, there are a lot of TikTok pranks filmed at malls and they get disruptive," Nicole Larson, manager of national retail research for Collier's, said in an email. "But teens usually have their learners permit around 15 to 16, and to me this will leave a sour taste in their minds and will likely cause them to take their future dollars elsewhere."

On the other hand, the new policy could make shoppers feel safer about coming to the Paramus mall, according to Svec.

"Malls that feel it necessary to enact these types of policies are doing so in reaction to a problem that is likely already impacting perception (and by extension sales)," Svec said. "Thus, if the policy is successful in its intended consequence, it should eventually have a positive impact on sales. It is hard to see it having a significantly negative impact on sales resulting from reduced foot traffic on weekend nights by individuals under 17, given this is not typically a cohort that drives significant spending."

U.S. malls several years ago began instituting policies mandating that teen visitors be accompanied by adults during certain times. ICSC, the major trade group for retail real estate owners, doesn't track exactly how many malls have placed restrictions on teen access, according to a spokeswoman for the organization. While teen restrictions at malls have been in place for years now, they are becoming more common though they sometimes aren't enforced.

"Often called 'parental escort policies,' this type of policy is not new to the mall industry," Amanda Lai, a director at the retail consultant McMillan Doolittle, said in an email. "My hometown mall, Mall of America in Minnesota, was among the first to implement this rule in the 90s. Most commonly, this policy applies only on weekends, but we've observed the policy expand to holidays such as Black Friday and even weekdays in some cases, to mitigate unsupervised teenage crowds."

Mall of America's sister property, American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, also requires adult supervision for teens during certain times. Those two malls are owned by Canadian developer Triple Five. For Mall of America, youths under 16 must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older from 3 p.m. to close daily. American Dream, the only mall in New Jersey bigger than Garden State Plaza, mandates that youths under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older from 4 p.m. until close.

Also in New Jersey, the Deptford Mall has a parental guidance policy that requires those under the age of 18 years to be accompanied by a parent or supervising adult age 25 or older on Friday through Sunday night after 5 p.m. That mall is owned by Macerich.

Beyond the East Coast, the Mall St. Matthews in Louisville, Kentucky, mandated adult chaperones for teens in 2016, as did the Jefferson Mall, also in Louisville, in 2019. In September 2021, the Lenox Square mall in the Buckhead area mandated that all visitors under 18 had to be accompanied by a parent or adult — someone 21 or older — after 3 p.m. That mall is owned by Simon Property Group and was the site of several shootings.

“We are committed to providing a safe, welcoming and fun environment for our guests to enjoy while shopping, dining or attending an event at Westfield Garden State Plaza,” Wesley Rebisz, the mall's senior general manager, said in a statement. “After careful consideration, we have decided to implement a parental guidance policy on Friday and Saturday evenings to ensure everyone feels comfortable in our shopping center and can enjoy their experience. We want to emphasize that all guests are welcome."

The mall's owner, French retail giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, didn't respond to a phone call and email from CoStar News seeking comment.

Garden State Plaza has been the scene of several disruptions. In one instance last month, a fight between two women was recorded on video and posted on social media, bringing police to the retail center. And several brawls have taken place in the mall's food court.

The mall's parental guidance includes a code of conduct that bans offensive and disruptive behavior "likely to provoke a disturbance or infringe on the rights or peace of other patrons in the center, including gestures; obscenities; slurs based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity; sexually explicit language/conduct; excessive noise or music."

The code says that patrons must wear shorts and shoes, and can't wear clothing "that obscures, disguises, or conceals the face unless worn for medical or religious reasons."

To enforce the requirement for a chaperone for teens, Garden State Plaza said it will have police officers and mall security guards at all its entrances to check IDs. One adult aged 21 or older can accompany up to four youths.

Teens covered by the new policy who are dropped off without an adult, won't be allowed into the mall and must contact their parent or guardian to either pick them up or accompany them during their visit. Special zones have been established for those waiting to be picked up.

"Wow, those are some tough restrictions," Colliers' Larson said.

Garden State Plaza said its parental guidance policy will be in effect for the common area of the mall and its so-called inline retailers, with restaurants and department stores setting their own rules. The policy is not in effect inside the AMC Garden State movie theaters at the mall.

Those young enough to fall under the new policy who entered the mall before 5 p.m. without an adult will be asked to contact their parent or guardian to either pick them up or accompany them to the mall, according to Garden State Plaza.

Chuck Lanyard, president of The Goldstein Group, a retail brokerage based in Paramus, told CoStar News he expects it will be difficult for the mall to enforce the new policy. Patrons will be stopped by security at the mall's entrances, and there may be backups at times to get in, he said. And all the attention now may make shoppers weary of visiting Garden State Plaza because they've been told there have been incidents there, according to Lanyard.

"I understand the concerns [of the mall], But I'd be really worried about the optics," he said.