My son was 6 or 7 when he took a toy from a store. I didn't see it until after we left. We needed to be at his dad's. So, I took him to his dad's, had him tell his dad what he had done and then took him back to the store to return the toy and tell them.
He went through a time of having a really bad temper. A couple of times I thought he might hit me. I told him that if he was going to treat me like that he shouldn't come back from his dad's. I was his mother and he needed to treat me with respect. I also told him that if he touched me in anger he would end up in jail (I would have followed through).
He's 24 now and we are very close. He is in the Army Reserves and has not gotten into any trouble.
I agree with other posts that said you have to take into consideration the age of the child and the crime.
The child should be held responsible, but for young children (such as the 6 year old) I think the responsibility should rest on the parent to teach the lesson, rather than the police.
All really good stuff here...heavy stuff...I agree it depends on the situation and severity of it. Age doesn't matter.
Dennis- I got caught in Yosemite CA. I bought a ring and stole one. My dad was informed of my mis-deed. I had to return the ring, :glow: the Rangers were called (scary) and I had to do trash detail for a whole week in the camp grounds...xo
dear folks, i read about a mother who called the police on her child, i think it was a 6 year old for shop lifting..
if your child committed a crime would you do the same?
ole cattle
1st of all my thoughts would be the child is six years old. Does their brain function mentally like the punisher.
I would not turn my child in being the child couldnt be that good at shop lifting surely to not get caught on his own. Camera's usually are in every store. If it happens that he did walk out of the store of not paying for it. Then why? Was the parent suddenly ignoring they took a child in the store and forgot to watch the child in the 1st place. Normally a child ask and begs for you to buy the merchandise. I dont think the child is rated a common criminal. The child should get some sort of talking to what is right or wrong. By educating the child the child is born to be teached and is here to learn what right and wrong so please just start by teaching it. Do you really have to go as far as making your child pay for what you probably neglected to do in the first place? I dont know but I would have to turn my self in 1st....I am a Mother and I think I would probably be the first to take the penalty. Just my thoughts....GivenLife
There are so many undisciplined offenders out there.....people who, like you said ,Arch, are raised without boundaries. As parents we must be role models and discipline from the time they are toddlers.
My unsaved husband thought nothing of taking extra plasticware, sugar packets, etc from fast food places when our kids were small. Drove me crazy because our two sons saw this. One of our sons thought nothing of taking candy from a bin until I caught him eating candy in the car on the way home (age 5). I drove back to the store and he apologized and we paid for the candy. When he was 17 I got a call from a department store security officer. He had stolen a bracelet for his girlfriend's birthday! This broke my heart. When I went to the store security dept. my son was sitting there crying his eyes out. The officer said this kid really isn't their normal type of felon and he really could see how this bothered him. It was the best lesson, as he had to pay $300 on his own. Kids need to be held accountable for what they do and so do parents! In a day of both parents working and families having little time together, things get out of balance. Keep God in the middle. He disciplines and we have Him as our example.
I pretty much agree with spri1458 on this. I feel that there is a certain age where children really don't know well enough or haven't learned things that they need to be taught. A little child might think it is perfectly acceptable to take a pack of gum from a candy store. Without having been told otherwise, why should they think it's wrong to do so? To report such a kid to the police would be silly. Simply talking to your kid and making him or her apologize is the best course of action.
Now if your kid gets to be around the 14+ age, I would say that they are DEFINITELY able to think for themselves and should not be committing any crimes. Even still, were it a minor crime I would suggest that it be worked out with the parties involved. If my 14 year old son/daughter stole cookies from the cafeteria, it's nothing to call the police for. However, if they have severely vandalized property, mugged somebody, or worse, then I feel that reporting them would be the best course of action.
