One Way To Stop Kids From Opening Presents Early: Have Them Arrested
from the modern-parenting-techniques dept
It's holiday season, and for many kids, part of the tradition is trying to figure out what gifts their parents bought them -- though, sometimes that results in kids getting a little too overanxious and jumping the gun by opening their gifts early. In an age where kids expect pretty much instant gratification, perhaps that's not too surprising. In one case in South Carolina, apparently a 12-year-old boy was so desperate for the Nintendo Game Boy his great-grandmother bought him that he opened the package a bit early (she warned him not to open it). Now, there are all sorts of ways to teach your kids a lesson, but this particular mother decided to call the cops to have them charge the kid with larceny. The police complied, though, apparently they have their limits, never putting him in jail: "We wouldn't hold a 12-year-old" (say it in your best "we're not monsters" voice). Still, it seems like these days basic parenting lessons such as not opening your presents early should be doable without involving the authorities -- such as by putting the gifts up for sale on eBay for other children.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Memories... sweet memories..
"Still, it seems like these days basic parenting lessons such as not opening your presents early should be doable without involving the authorities "
He already has a pending court date for assaulting a police officer and dear sweet mommy plans on sending him to juvie(so says the linked police report), I'd say calling the cops is exactly what this kid needs. That, or a spanking in front of all his friends at school.
Oh, and 20 days before Christmas is not "a bit early" in my book. :)
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Not a bad idea.
It probably will help to set some boundaries, and that yes, there are consequences.
Especially around that age, start at 10 or so.
If you are willing to threaten, you are going to need to be able to follow it up.
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Parenting
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Re: Parenting
Children know the difference between right and wrong far earlier than that. In fact the problem is in so many folks assuming that 'Oh well they're too young to know the difference...' and excusing unacceptable behaviour.
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Re: Parenting
What? You're kidding me right? You must come from a real stupid family if they can't understand what they did to get arrested. Then again, it is this very attitude of making excuses for people who do the wrong thing, empowering them to continue their behavior. I say bring caining into American justice. :)
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Re:
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Don't believe everything you see in the media.
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The present may hae been meant for the boy, but it certainly wasn't HIS just yet, and he has an obvious disrespect for authority and rules.
So let him know he blew it, and give it away. Give the boy socks for Christmas.
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Not stealing?
Their solution might not be my solution, but they are trying to find a way to exercise disipline for a child in a world that Dr. Spock so totally screwed up with his idiot permissiveness toward children and penalties for parents for exercising normal discipline (and which the courts, and you and I, have allowed to worsen).
We are reaping what we sewed, and it won't change until we, as voters, tell the courts that their days of meddling in affairs of the family are over.
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The little brat deserved to be arrested.
Excuse me while I vomit.
If my parents hadn't spanked me, I dread to think how I might've turned out. I'm not saying beat the child within an inch of their lives, but as the old saying goes, "Spare the rod, spoil the child." Not everyone agrees with spanking, capital punishment in a child's eyes, but in some cases a child needs to have boundaries set and its place in the pecking order established firmly. If not spanking, then some form of serious punishment, and early on. Any good dog trainer will tell you, the longer you wait to establish who's boss with a new dog in your home, the harder it will be to "break" him kater on. The same with children. If you continue to baby your child when they are past the point of babying, they will become expectant of indulgence. Kids are walking Ids.
This boy is in a dangerous spot in his life. The mother is at fault because she was irresponsible enough to get pregnant at 15. The mother is NOT at fault because she is working hard to better herself and is unable to be around as a normal, older, "established" woman would be able to and tend to her child. The boy is at fault because he is willfully defiant and unruly. The boy is NOT at fault because due his mothers absence, a presence of discipline and social instruction has not been as present as it should be.
Of course I could be wrong and the child is just mentally unbalanced.
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Wrong Solution
These police are nothing but paid enforcers of the state/commnuity/etc; working to fill the coffers.
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Re: Wrong Solution
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oh man I cannot resist this
Yeah, its immature but so is calling the cops for something like this.
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Nothing Beats
I disagree that our nation is dying because of a loss of civil liberties.
Our republic is in peril because parents will not discipline their children. Shag states that we should set up boundaries, starting at age 10 or so. My friends, if we wait until the child is 10 to provide boundaries, we've lost the child. (Shag, no offense intended)
Habits begin when the child is young. Very young. Painful stimuli, lovingly applied, encourage children on the right path. My kids had boundaries from the time they could crawl. They're now gifted, intelligent, and creative kids. My oldest asks his mother or I questions about hard issues, because he trusts us.
Do note that the application of discipline needs to be done with great care and love. The line between discipline and abuse is not overly thin, but when anger is involved, it is easy to go from discipline to abuse.
When a parent has to resort to an outside agency, as in the story, it's generally a sign that the parent has pretty much done a rotten job. That the complainant was the great-grandparent makes me wonder even more. Is the great-grandparent stepping in because the parent never did?
If our children cannot manage themselves, they'll find it difficult to manage their businesses, government, and other institutions necessary for a safe and productive society.
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Re: Nothing Beats
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Bah, dont be wimps
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OPENING XMAS GIFT EARLY
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Hooray for Gifts...
what this lady did may be a bit drastic, but iif you looked at the police report ( im not sure if its true or not but i did see it on the police report ) it said that earlier he was kicked outa school and is being tried for assult
was it drastic?? or not drastic enough?? this lady needs to get a handle on her kid...and this kid ( 12 years old or not!!!) needs to get it together. every thinks that oh..he's only 12...to hell with that....he knows right from wrong along with the rest of american preteens as well as teens. Why give us teens the right to go out and do whatever the hell we want...its not right...and many adults are paying for it unfortunately..
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Odd
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You Can't
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Right and Wrong?
The sad part of all of this is that many times the police don't get involved when they need to, and at other times they get involved and over react where no true hazard exists. There is definitely room in our judicial system for a bit more definition on what, when, where, how, and who should be involved. Just last week I reported a drunk driver who had just beat in someone else's car and the police let the drunkard go. They said they couldn't do anything about it. It is my opinion that it is who you know and not what you know that counts. Had I been best friends with the DA, and made that known, I'm sure some action would have been taken. So definitely room for better definition judicially. Maybe we need police to police our police! And oh yeah, maybe people need to quit worrying about it and just give their kids the good spanking they deserve. I had a lady in the store tell me I couldn't spank my kid. And I told her I certainly could. I told her to mind her own business or I would spank her too! And like I tell my kids, if you ever think I've gone beyond disciplining and have entered into the realm of abuse, feel free to pick up that phone and call the police. Because I'm sure "the system" could do a better job of raising my kids than me as a concerned parent who isn't afraid to lay down the law. NOT! The system is notorious for producing social misfits and failures. What kids need is a good parent who wants to parent, knows how to parent, and isn't afraid to interact and be an adult. Nuff said!
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also, don't wait till they are 10 or so, start when they can crawl for Christ sake. children begin developing ideas about life well before 10 years old.
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All of you missed something
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Remember the other ones...
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Shut the hell up
Parents today screw their kids up just as much as parents did in the 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's. Nothing changes, you are a parent, of course you are going to screw you kids up, that's part of the job of parents.
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Re: Shut the hell up
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i think you completely missed the point of the article was response to this comment
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It is one thing to go and have a look at the presents before thaey are wraped up, or to poke them a bit to see what's inside if they are in your own house, but it is another matter altogether to break into a neighbor's house and steal an item just because you thought it would be given to you for Christmas. Still, some parental discipline might have helped.
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dont like it
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N O no
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Re: N O no
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