I might be wrong about this working as a retailer in a mall location, but many malls have specific rules about truancy stating that a child must be with a parent on a school day during those hours, as well as policies saying that children must be accompanied by a parent or adult after 7 pm. any day. If they're not with someone, they will be asked to leave, or a parent will be called depending on their age. I personally checked to see if my current mall had this policy and was disappointed that it did not! You wouldn't believe how young children are that are just left at the mall to be picked up later. I also run a primarily women run store, and people assume we will be babysitting while they do their shopping.

What I'm trying to say, is that perhaps they have a policy like that in place. While your son might be very well behaved, MANY children are not, and unfortunately they ruined things for your child. And, it's not a few decades ago, where kids could roam free safely. There are scary people out there, and I'd personally be glad that someone's encouraging me to keep my child safe.