12 year old arrested for opening gift early

[Paelos]

http://www.kcra.com/holidays/10467838/detail.html

Child Arrested After Opening Holiday Gift Early

POSTED: 9:26 am PST December 5, 2006

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What is the penalty for opening your Christmas presents too early?

For one South Carolina 12-year-old, the penalty was arrest.

A Rock Hill, S.C., woman called police and asked them to arrest her son who opened a Christmas present early after being told not to, the Rock Hill Herald reported. Police went to the house and arrested the boy and charged him with petty larceny.

The paper reported that the boy's great-grandmother had specifically told him not to open his present, which contained a Nintendo Game Boy Advance. It was wrapped and lying under the Christmas tree, the police report stated.

But on Sunday morning, the gift was unwrapped and the box was empty. So when the boy's mother found out, she alerted police, the paper reported.

"He took it without permission. He wanted it. He just took it," the 63-year-old great-grandmother told the Herald.

The women said that the boy lied to them at first, saying he was unaware of where the video game system was. After threat of calling the police, the boy apparently gave the toy back to his mother, the paper reported. But the upset mother called police anyway.

Two officers responded and charged the child as a juvenile with petty larceny, although he was not jailed.

The mother told the Herald that she didn't know what else to do with her son, so she called police. The paper reported she is a single mother and has been struggling with constant behavior problems from the boy. She said her son still showed no remorse when the police came.

"I'm trying to get him some kind of help," the 27-year-old mother told the paper. "He's the type of kid who doesn't believe anything until it happens."

She said he has shoplifted, stolen money from her, punched a police officer and is nearing expulsion from school. She told the paper that she hopes this arrest will be a wake-up call for her son, because she worries about getting a call someday telling her he's been killed.

The mother plans to have her son placed with the state Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia at his court appearance, the Herald reported.

A few really big things jump out at me about this article. One, a mother wants her 12 year old arrested for opening a gift. Two, the mother in question is 27, meaning she was only 15 when she had this kid. And probably the most disturbing of them all, the great-grandmother is 63. Notice I said great, as in three generations ahead of this 12 year old child. Simple math tells us that this elderly woman was a great-grandmother at the old age of 51, and a simple grandmother at the tender age of 36. Seriously, a 36 year old grandmother. My mind boggles.

I had a great grandmother until I was 5, I think she was 92.

[stray]

I didn't know my great grandmother. My dad is relatively old compared to other parents (I'm 29, he's 66). Grandmother just died, she was in her late 80's.

Anyways....

I don't know. I'm finding myself uncharacteristically thinking that such odd behavior might be a good thing for this kid. Even if the cops feel it's a joke themselves, it could do some good to scare the little brat by spending some time in a jail cell. Make him feel like he's in real deep shit, even though he probably isn't.

It's better than beating him at least.......Which is what my parents would have done. Heh.

On the other hand, it's a totally insane to do, and reeks of parental incompetence on a staggering level. She can't expect the police to do her job.....Even if the idea is kind of appealing.

[Roac]

Yeah, love my state.  Anyway, I think they key part of the article was this:

She said he has shoplifted, stolen money from her, punched a police officer and is nearing expulsion from school. She told the paper that she hopes this arrest will be a wake-up call for her son, because she worries about getting a call someday telling her he's been killed.

They're poking fun with the title, but it doesn't sound like this kid is someone you want to meet.  I doubt it's as much her wanting the cops to do her job for her, but her trying to do something to get some sense into him before they *will* do her job for her and haul his ass away for real. 

[Ironwood]

Didn't we have a story in here about a parent who arrested the son to 'teach him a lesson' and he got shanked in the pen ?

That was a giggle.

[Paelos]

Yeah, love my state.  Anyway, I think they key part of the article was this:

She said he has shoplifted, stolen money from her, punched a police officer and is nearing expulsion from school. She told the paper that she hopes this arrest will be a wake-up call for her son, because she worries about getting a call someday telling her he's been killed.

They're poking fun with the title, but it doesn't sound like this kid is someone you want to meet.  I doubt it's as much her wanting the cops to do her job for her, but her trying to do something to get some sense into him before they *will* do her job for her and haul his ass away for real. 

Yes, as per usual though there's no mention of a father or father figure at all in this story on any front. It's pretty obvious by the age alone that this is a single mother. Want to take a bet on how many of the three women involved in this issue: mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother were single mothers? History repeating itself and all that. It just doesn't work well for raising well-adjusted children, especially males.

[Engels]

Are you saying that single parenthood is hard, or that women are somehow inadequate? It sounds like the latter, but before you get flamed to a cinder, I figure I'd offer you an opportunity to clarify.

[sinij]

That women are somehow inadequate? It sounds like the latter.

Only at parenting?

[HaemishM]

What it sounds like is this family has an inherited condition called teh stupids.

[Sky]

I'll start the flames. In the name of my single mother who busted her ass to raise me properly: fuck off, monkey boy. You don't need a penis+vagina to raise a well-adjusted kid, no matter what religion may tell you. You need nurturing people of any combination. I thought better of you, Paelos.

[sinij]

Thats the spirit! On other hand you are significantly undermining your own argument by presenting yourself as an example of well-adjusted individual.

Ok, poking fun at Sky/Engels aside. It is not a causation relationship, being single mother does not necessary mean bad parent. It is correlation - among single mothers bad parenting much more prevalent than in 'traditional families'. Additionally there is much to be said about 'gender appropriate model', if you read TFA it mentions single *male* kid in a household with multiple females.

[Rhonstet]

In the name of my single mother who busted her ass to raise me properly...

You need nurturing people of any combination.

Indeed.  Someone who calls the cops when little Timmy finds his christmas presents early probably isn't the kind of person who is nurturing and busts their ass. 

You don't call the cops on family members, not if you have anything resembling a functional family. 

The women said that the boy lied to them at first, saying he was unaware of where the video game system was. After threat of calling the police, the boy apparently gave the toy back to his mother, the paper reported. But the upset mother called police anyway.

That is pretty f'ed up.

"Did you take a cookie out of the jar, Timmy?"
"No mom."
"Really?  Let's see how that story holds up downtown."



On a different note, this is why you don't give children Christmas presents three weeks early.  Even good kids have trouble being disciplined enough to resist temptation.

[Morat20]

It's not uncommon -- according to the officers I've talked to -- for kids to get arrested for car theft for taking the family car. Most of the time the parents actually thought it was stolen, the kid spends a few hours in jail until it's straightened out. A few parents know the kid has the car and deliberately reports it stolen, and the police find that a real pain in the ass unless the kid already has something of a record. (In those cases, they're happy to make life fucking miserable for the kid in the fond hopes that he'll act right just to avoid the cops).

Obviously this is a little beyond that.

[Sky]

"Did you take a cookie out of the jar, Timmy?"
"No mom."
"Really?  Let's see how that story holds up downtown."

[Paelos]

I'll start the flames. In the name of my single mother who busted her ass to raise me properly: fuck off, monkey boy. You don't need a penis+vagina to raise a well-adjusted kid, no matter what religion may tell you. You need nurturing people of any combination. I thought better of you, Paelos.

Nice try, but I'm not the fundy nutball you think I am. I'm saying single parent (male or female), doesn't trump two parents (in any combination of genders). The idea is purely economical and logical. Two can carry the substantial burden of child rearing better than one in simple terms. Two men living together doesn't make me feel icky, and I really could care less as long as children who would otherwise have no love find it somewhere. My personal beliefs of morality don't trump the logic of a necessary family unit. So to you, I politely say, fuck off as well.

I do think males in society need male figures, otherwise they search for them. I think this has been a problem where I live in Atlanta, a highly black cultural city, where the men are being raised by combinations of mostly women. Where are these young boys going to find male role models? Brothers? Gangs? Teachers? Who is the mentor for telling you how the real man acts when the "real man" left? In the Atlanta metro area, single mother families are more prevelevent than married couple families with kids. http://atlanta.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm.

It's not impossible to raise a well-adjusted child in a single parent home at all. It's hard as shit though, and there is a correlation to the trends repeating themselves when that happens.

[Riggswolfe]

I notice you guys are mostly harping on her parenting skills and how much of an over-reaction it was to call the cops but still, the most important part of the whole story was the end:

The mother told the Herald that she didn't know what else to do with her son, so she called police. The paper reported she is a single mother and has been struggling with constant behavior problems from the boy. She said her son still showed no remorse when the police came.

"I'm trying to get him some kind of help," the 27-year-old mother told the paper. "He's the type of kid who doesn't believe anything until it happens."

She said he has shoplifted, stolen money from her, punched a police officer and is nearing expulsion from school. She told the paper that she hopes this arrest will be a wake-up call for her son, because she worries about getting a call someday telling her he's been killed.

The kid has issues and they sound like they're getting worse. Basically, she's taking the scared straight route with him and reading between the lines I think the Christmas present thing was basically the straw that broke the camel's back.

The women said that the boy lied to them at first, saying he was unaware of where the video game system was. After threat of calling the police, the boy apparently gave the toy back to his mother, the paper reported. But the upset mother called police anyway.

It's not like the kid opened it and was sitting on the couch playing. He totally disregarded her wishes that it remain unopened and then lied about where it was. Combine that with his other behavior and what I get from this story is a mother that has clued in to the possibility that unless she takes drastic action her son's life is going to be one of crime and violence. She's trying to stop the kid, I don't think he respects her or any other member of the household and she probably feels overwhelmed. Doing it now, when he's 12, is better than waiting until he is in his teens.

[Murgos]

The kid has issues and they sound like they're getting worse. Basically, she's taking the scared straight route with him and reading between the lines I think the Christmas present thing was basically the straw that broke the camel's back.

Of course, the only real lesson the kid has learned is that when he gets arrested by cops it's not really a big deal to him and he gets lots of attention.

[geldonyetich]

The trouble I have with a lot of Useless News posts is that they lack a certain level of detail.

Maybe said 12 year old was a genuinely nasty juvenile delinquent for whom a visit by the cops was fully deserved.

Or, as I'm sure the mom would say, "You'd understand if you were his mother!"

[Roac]

The trouble I have with a lot of Useless News posts is that they lack a certain level of detail.

Maybe said 12 year old was a genuinely nasty juvenile delinquent for whom a visit by the cops was fully deserved.

Or, as I'm sure the mom would say, "You'd understand if you were his mother!"

Maybe reading the article wasn't enough.  Nor was blocking it off the first time I quoted it.

She said he has shoplifted, stolen money from her, punched a police officer and is nearing expulsion from school.

He's a juvenile, so records can't be checked, leaving little way to verify her statement.  Without reason to think she'd lie about such detail, it seems he is a genuinely nasty juvenile.  And this is at twelve years old.

[NiX]

Twelve and thinking it's ok to hit a cop? Cop Beatdown: Taser Edition V.12 years old!

[Paelos]

Twelve and thinking it's ok to hit a cop? Cop Beatdown: Taser Edition V.12 years old!

Yeah, he's 12. That's still in the age gap where you can take all their shit away to teach them a lesson. Granted I never punched a cop, but my big punishment was taking away every gaming console in the house when i was a kid. Also, we were never allowed TV's in our rooms as kids, just books. I liked that one looking back. If I wanted to get away from the annoying issues with my parents I had to entertain myself with reading or nothing.

Remember, kids don't have rights, you can search their rooms. Don't treat them like adults! 

[Roac]

I don't want to go too far second guessing the mother because I don't know the history, but yeah, hopefully she's already gone down the road of grounding/punnishment.  My initial reaction was in wondering why a kid like this needs to get a game system anyway.  Opened it early, and it's an indication of a deeper issue?  Ok, it goes back to the store.  You really do get a lump of coal this year. 

Then again, my sister was a serious hellion, but still didn't and wouldn't have hit a cop. 

[stray]

No TV's in rooms Paelos? Heh, that's a far stretch that what we should be talking about here.

This kid needs some shaking up, for sure, but he doesn't need to be Amish either.


I should admit one thing about myself though... I stole my dad's truck at around 14, and then to top it off, pulled a prank by having one of my friends point a capgun outside the window at another group of friends in front of a supermarket. They didn't realize it was us, and they, along with the whole parking lot went into a panic. Almost immediately, the cops were out on a hunt for me. I ended up getting surrounded, gave up, etc..

Long story short, my dad left me in jail. It was a good thing in retrospect. I had been let off the hook for worst things prior to that.

[Big Gulp]

Seriously, a 36 year old grandmother. My mind boggles.

Shit, I'm 32 and I still haven't (and hopefully never will) gotten around to even being a father.

As to this mother...  Maybe if she weren't ghetto trash (and her preceding forebears) her kid would have a chance, but as it is, nope.  This kid will end up in a penitentiary and probably spend most of his life there.  Furthermore, parents need to discipline their kids not with "time outs" and other mamby pampby bullshit, but with ass whoopings.  Act like a jackass in the supermarket?  My mother had no compunction about whooping my little ass and embarrassing the holy hell out of me in public.  Later on when I was too big for my mother Dad was always around to scare the shit out of me.

Parenting is about love and a healthy dose of fear.  We're fucking up our children by ignoring that last part.

[Strazos]

So uh...Stray....WTF were you thinking? I don't know how you even conceive some of the shit you've done when you were young.

[stray]

I had the truck, heard some friends were at a nearby store.....Happened to have this cap gun on me. 2+2 = Fun

And y'know, it was fun for a second there.  It was hilarious seeing my buddies run like a bunch of little girls.

Wasn't so fun having a real gun pointed at my head though. Makes me shudder when I think "what if one of those cops got nervous" and just pulled the trigger. That shit happens all the time. Wasn't fun sitting on a rubber bed that stank of piss. Wasn't fun having to do community service for a year (at a dog murdering pound of all places).

[Strazos]

I'm curious as to how the notion that stealing your parents' truck (probably without their consent or a license) pops into your head as being a good idea.

[stray]

Oh, that part.

Yeah, that's completely stupid. I was a fucked up kid. I took my parents' cars a lot. What can I say? And I'm not bragging here (please don't mistake me), but I did far worse than that. Like, being involved with real guns and real assaults.

So it's kind of funny that my most dramatic encounter with police was due to a cap gun.

[stray]

I should also point out that my back looks like the back of Jesus. I don't think physical punishment really taught me the value of things, people, and the future very much. There are better ways to open the eyes of a kid (authortarian and otherwise).

There could be some good things about a little physical reinforcement, of course, but when people "cherish" the idea, and value fear and dread, I like to say that they're full of shit. More than likely, you'll just create a hard ass, a menace, or both.

[edit] Yeah, I just offered up myself as anecdotal evidence to counter "R. Lee Ermey's Rules for Parenting" (read: Big Gulp). 

[Big Gulp]

[edit] Yeah, I just offered up myself as anecdotal evidence to counter "R. Lee Ermey's Rules for Parenting" (read: Big Gulp). 

I'm not saying it works 100% of the time, my brother is walking, talking evidence of that.  A complete hellion who got the same discipline I did, but he just had a compulsion to get caught.  We pulled the same bullshit, but I covered my tracks.  I am saying that a healthy respect (or fear, whichever you prefer) can go a long way to making a kid think, "Is doing this really worth my old man using his ninja-belt wielding skills against me"?  And my old man had one of those funky 1970's era wide, thick leather belts.  Not fun.

[stray]

Fair enough. I had a reverse situation. My brother wasn't much of a fuckup, I guess (well...kinda.....hmm....no, I won't get into that).

When you put it that way though, yeah, it makes a little more sense.

[sinij]

And my old man had one of those funky 1970's era wide, thick leather belts.  Not fun.

Have you ever considered that perhaps your father was into BSM and enjoyed spanking you with that belt? Maybe your mother too, while you boys were away at the scouts camp.

[bhodi]

Have you ever considered that perhaps your father was into BSM and enjoyed spanking you with that belt? Maybe your mother too, while you boys were away at the scouts camp.

Why are you trying to get banned by posting stupid offensive shit in the middle of the night in random threads?

[sinij]

[Roac]

I guess this is your take on drunk dialing?

[Llava]

I think the worst part is that this kid is getting a Gameboy Advance as a Christmas gift in 2006.