Got Some Good News And Some Terrible News

[Juggler75]

You may be right but I see so many cases where parents say the right things to avoid trouble but don't follow up.
Some kids benefit from a short sharp shock and a visit from the police might be enough to wake them up.

It did me

 

[soybean]

You may be right but I see so many cases where parents say the right things to avoid trouble but don't follow up.
Some kids benefit from a short sharp shock and a visit from the police might be enough to wake them up.

Precisely - I have a cousin that got a telling off from an officer after scratching some cars, put the fear of god into him, he's never played up again. Smashing a tank would never result in a prosecution but that's not the point.

People may laugh at mentioning the police - fact is, relative or not, if someone stood in my house, causing distress to a pet, damaging my property with a hammer, and swearing at me, I'd report them. Nothing would come of it but it'd show them they can't get away with such behaviour. That's just my view.

Cancelling Christmas... yeah right!

Still, you get a new tank.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Man! If that were me, both them boys would have been over my knee getting agood ol' southern style WHOOPIN! I'd even have em go outside and pick their own switch!

Sorry to hear that they did that to you . That's horrible!

 

[TropicalLad21]

Sound's bizarre... did you watch while he smashed your tank up?

If they were in my home & cracked eggs in the tank they sure as hell wouldn't get the chance to smash it up they would'a been straight out the door.

Police won't do nothing - there useless at the best of times & it's not really the biggest deal.. as far as crime goes anyway.

They should have been brought up with more respect.

 

[Akasha72]

I know what I'd do. I'd take his most prized pocession and smash it in front of him. You break something of mine I'm gonna break something of yours to show you how it feels ... Childish mentality maybe but sometimes it's what you have to resort to with kids these days

Hope your fish will be okay

 

[This Old Spouse]

Which starts a whole cycle of violence.

I'd make him get a job working with handicapped children or some such thing. Every dime he brought home would go toward your new tank and fish.

Oh, heck. He's too young, right? Well, then his privileges taken away until he is old enough to work it off.

 

[Greg_DS]

TBH I'd punch the boy square on the nose, what a child!!

 

[tmh0921]

If the parents aren't going to do the job (and I'd say by the behavior of this child they AREN'T), someone needs to care enough to step in and try to set him straight...and better that it be a relative who cares than a stranger.

This is willful and criminal distruction of property. If a stranger did this, you'd call the police. Why not now? I'm telling you, a kid that will do this while having adults around certainly is headed for worse....swift and direct consequences are needed. If taking away all of his electronics and tv, etc. is the standard punishment and this is the result, that's not working....time to scare the kid straight.

My husband had two brothers....he was the oldest, there was a middle brother, and a younger brother. My mother in law was very strict on my husband and the middle brother, middle brother ended up committing suicide (got himself in a situation he thought he couldn't get out of). As a result mother in law took the exact opposit approach with the younger brother....let him get away with anything because she was afraid he'd kill himself if she didn't...he knew it and used it to maniulate her...that brother is a drug addict and an alcoholic. He's been in and out of jail more times than I can count. She's now raising his son, who also has anger issues and is getting into a lot of trouble. She baby's him because mom and dad pretty much abandoned him. If she doesn't do something soon, he'll be headed the same path his dad is on.

If the PARENTS aren't going to do what needs to be done, then someone should. The police don't mind stepping in (as long as the family follows through, otherwise don't waste their time). They'd rather deal with him now and give him a good lesson to remember, than have to deal with him later when he's a well known member of the system.

When I was a kid growing up, if I were to do what this kid did my parents would have:

1. Beat my rear so hard I wouldn't sit for a week (and yes, with the switch I had to pick out)
2. Made me personally apologize and CLEAN UP THE MESS
3. Made me PAY for the damages - and do work to earn the money to do so
4. Taken away ALL of my priveladges for a VERY LONG TIME.

Parents today don't do this...they're more interested in being friends with their kids than being a parent.

It's not high and mighty to suggest calling the police when someone has caused willful and criminal distruction of property...family or not. The kid needs to know this won't be tolerated. Period. And he needs to be taught that now, before his behavior progresses to the next level. I agree with the OP, guarantee the kid gets christmas and birthday, and I'll even guarantee that you pay to replace your own tank.

 

[Tizer]

*wall of text crits eyes for 1000 damage*

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I would absolutely tell their parents. At 12 and 14 they know better than to do something as stupid as that. If they were 4 and 6, then maybe I wouldn't worry tell, but 12 and 14... while it may not have been truly malicious, but it certainly wasn't done with any innocence either.

 

[Juggler75]

*wall of text crits eyes for 1000 damage*

WOW

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Well they had a good talking to but the 14 year old boy was rather rude saying 'There just fish, I wanted to see if they would eat it, I dont care about them, there stupid things with no feeling and they can *******************'' The following words I cannot repeat because it was disgraceful, Im lost what to do, I told their parents and their on their way to get them, When they get here they we will discuss a suitable punishment, not only did he mess with my tank after I told him not to, he used disgraceful foul language to me in my house and refused to apologize.

What would you do?

I didn't see this part. I'd have probably just gone after the kids throat. He didn't disrespect your fish, he disrespected you. It's not that he messed with your fish... he messed with your possessions and didn't show any remorse. I would probably not associate with him any more, and cut him out of all future activities until he learned some respect. Honestly, he sounds like a punk and is the victim of some pretty lack luster parenting. This type of attitude is a reflection of a lack of discipline from way back. Kids don't just turn out to have no respect for life, it is slowly cultivated through a variety of methods. I salute your restraint in not getting violent with the little punk. Personally, I'd go the police route at this point. You tried to deal with it privately, but it is crime - destruction of property. If he still doesn't care, I'd actually take him to small claims court and sue him for the cost of the damage and the disruption to your life. It is no small thing. If he did this type of thing to a dog, what would people say? Wouldn't the SPCA be looking at criminal charges?


I just read the rest about the broken tank... I probably would have thrown him through what remained of the tank. What a punk! I don't think there is any question that this is a crime at this point and he should be put through the criminal process. From the sound of it, either it will scare him straight or it will be the first of many times for him. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably be the one going off in hand cuffs. This kid needs a serious reality check to realize that he is not the center of the universe and that his actions have consequences. Apparently, that has never happened.

 

[willowstwin]

oh.... my... word.....

I don't think it's a waste of police time in shocking the little so and so and hopefully preventing future problems. They say that the majority of murderers, when put under psychological evaluation, tortured animals as children...

One child I knew:
*Killed 7 chickens down the allotments by cutting off their heads and watching their bodies move around after decapitation

*broke into a guys back yard and murdered all his rare newts that he'd just put in the pond he'd spent 2 months building and sorting out

*took my nieces guinea pigs out of their hutch and caved their heads in and left them outside the back door for us to find

*kicked a stray dog so hard he broke its back

*threw HIS OWN cats kittens into the nearby pond

the list goes on, but it's making me feel sick... this boy is now a guy who is a drug addict who beats his girlfriend/babies mother. If she was found dead, it wouldn't shock me and we'd all know who did it. The problem is, people were and still are too scared to call the police. It makes you wonder that if he'd had that scare, would that have put a stop to it? Of course, parenting comes into play - you need to ensure that their parents really are going to take away all his things and ignore his birthday... There are too many empty threats with kids nowadays.

Tell them you want a brand new top of the range tank, and that you need all the things to go with it (stand, filter, etc) because it all has to slot together perfectly, and that you also need a new carpet as this one is water damaged. I'd seriously contemplate calling the police, just so that there is a log of the incident - and I'm a tax payer, so feel free to use my tax money to scare the little ....! I'd rather it go towards that than benefit scum.

 

[trianglekitty]

Sound's bizarre... did you watch while he smashed your tank up?

If they were in my home & cracked eggs in the tank they sure as hell wouldn't get the chance to smash it up they would'a been straight out the door.

Police won't do nothing - there useless at the best of times & it's not really the biggest deal.. as far as crime goes anyway.

They should have been brought up with more respect.

That's what I was wondering...how did he manage to get a hammer and break the tank without anyone stopping him?

If someone came into my home and tried to KILL my pets, yeah, I'd be calling the cops. I'd be calling them even faster if it were a family member, but if they're willing to hurt someone in their own family, they aren't worth much.

 

[araluan]

can you get insurance on possessions like fish tanks when you get a new one?