When I was a teenager, say about 14-15 years old I was starting to become interested in boys, was busy listening to music, starting to get into musical theatre and hanging out at stage door and the furthest thing from my mind was how to make a quick buck.
This weekend my Mum and Dad's house was robbed, they smashed a window, damaged two doors, pulled everything out of the wardrobes and drawers. Pulled things off shelves and threw them on the ground. They also stole some items, nothing massive, but enough to be a nuisance and they caused enough damage and mess to make the clean up a big effort.
The thing that bothers me about it though is that the police think it was most likely amateurs, kids at that. Their theory on this is that the things they stole were small, portable and easily sold for cash, a quick buck. To quote 'if they were professionals, they would have cleaned out everything'.
So for my Mum and Dad's sake it's a good thing it was amateurs as it could have been a lot worse. I find it sad though that kids would break in to a house, make a massive mess and take what they could. What turns them to this? What makes them tick? Who raised them to have a values system where they feel they can do this? Are there older people guiding them, coaching them, fencing the things for them? Do they even think about who's house their invading and whose privacy they're violating by going through their things?
For me this robbery has raised lots of questions. Did teenagers back when I was one do this? Or has society changed and robbery is getting younger like most other things?
The hard thing though has been trying to explain it to the Muddy Kids, why someone would come into Nana and Grandpa's house and take things that are theirs. Why someone would throw their clothes around and make a mess. Two things that I try to instill in my kids are that they don't take or damage things that are someone else's and to clean up any mess they make! Obviously the young robbers were raised under a different parenting system to mine.
Have you had to explain robbery or property damage to your kids? How did you explain it?
No haven't had to explain it my children as yet. I think thou it is just a matter of time.
ReplyDeleteHowever was a victim of children breaking into my house in my 20's. They took biscuits and cool drink and the change tin. However made a huge mess and tossed clothes around and urinated in them. It was awful. Police found them down at a local park drinking cool drink, eating biscuits and counting out the change tin.
We also had 4 children aged between 10 and 12 break into our business and cause 25 thousand dollars worth of damage a few years back. They just trashed the place, didn't take anything. We caught them in the act - called the police and they collected them but of course couldn't lay charges and we footed the bill. No response from the parents. There is no action taken, no reprecussions.
I still recall my brother being with a group of children who stole a chocolate from a deli and were caught by the shop owner about 25 years ago. My father had my brother put behind bars for the day and one night at 11 years in the local police station to teach him a lesson - he never mixed with the wrong crowd again. Can't do this sort of thing nowadays. So no wonder children without supervision are running riot.
So very sorry your parents had to suffer this. I feel for them. It's an awful feeling, and it is very hard to explain to your kids, who have been taught morals and honesty, why someone would do this.
ReplyDeleteWe have a excellent guard dog now, but before we had him, we had 3 break-ins in less than 6 months. Kids and teenagers mostly - but they stole a lot, made a mess and one time did it while we were still in the house. When my dog recently bit someone who stuck their hand through our gate, I was sorry for them, but just explained that we have to live this way otherwise we are open slather. The dog is perfectly fine if you are invited into our (walled and gated) yard, but if you are not invited he will bite.
How awful we have to live this way because there are parents who can't/won't parent and a society that is so limp wristed that there are no consequences.
Oh no Nat! That is just awful. I am so sorry for your poor parents having to go through such a horrid ordeal. There ARE so many questions to be raised when things like this happen to us or to people we care about. I wish there were some definitive answers, but I fear there may not be.
ReplyDeleteScott and I often discuss how the younger generation seem to be deteriorating when it comes to respect and values... of themselves AND of others. It infuriated me when our car was broken into, not once, but three times when we lived in our unit. And similar to what the police said to your parents, they also told us it was most likely junkies, who were 'known' to police, but unfortunately without proof, nothing could be done. Kinda scary too, thinking about the little scoundrels being in your home or going through your hard earned possessions when you're not there. Just disgraceful.
xoxo