Penalty for unwrapping gifts early: Arrest

[Robb]

A mother convinced Rock Hill police to arrest her 12-year-old son after he unwrapped a Christmas present early.

The boy's great-grandmother had specifically told him not to open his Nintendo Game Boy Advance, which she had wrapped and placed beneath the Christmas tree, according to a police report.

But on Sunday morning, she found the box of the popular handheld game console unwrapped and opened. When the boy's 27-year-old mother heard about the opened gift, she called police.

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

Amazingly, more here

[tigereye]

1. um, that's over the top!

why put it out there - it's like a terrible temptation. I can see grounding, or putting it away for a long time, but arrest? :wtf:

[WhollyHeretic]

2. "On Monday night, the mother said she had her son arrested because she didn't know what else to do."

How about a little parenting?

You never put out presents for kids that early.

[Book Lover]

3. Poor thing - and I mean the mother

I can see where one would be at one's wit's end with a troubled kid, and calling the cops would make sense. If this were a smaller town where the police knew everybody, I would feel more sanguine about this, though...

[necso]

4. 27 - 12 = 15 /nt

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

5. Yeah...I'm 23. I can't imagine having an 8-year-old.

I've dated people with kids, but I can't imagine actually having one. Crazy.

[necso]

7. Imagine having a 3-year-old at 18.

Bad timing.

[Deja Q]

8. Tragic.

:(

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. Game Boy Advance?

Isn't that a five year old system?

What, did she pick it up at Goodwill?

[necso]

9. Could well be.

(That is, picking it up at Goodwill -- or as a hand-me-down. But I wouldn't know about gaming systems.)

There are many people who are just scraping by -- or living off of their futures, which promise to be even less bright.

[Fuzz]

10. We have some presents under our crooked tree now and the kids

leave them alone. They, of course, stare at them and are intrigued, but would never even consider opening them.

Although, I would like to have them arrested sometimes for other infractions. ;)

[Roon]

11. When I was in High School

I knew of a kid whose Mother called the cops because he wouldn't wash the dishes. HE'S OUT OF CONTROL!!!

[skygazer]

12. That's just a sad story all around

Do the math. Mom was 15 when the kid was born. The kid's great-grandmother is 63 which means she was all of 36 when her granddaughter (the mother) was born. Which would mean that she was probably young when she had the boy's grandmother and the grandmother was probably young when she had the mother.

Children raising children and not one of them having a clue as to how it's done. Generation after generation. :cry:

[Downtown Hound]

13. That's freakin' insane

The cops should take the boy away for his own protection.

[Radical Activist]

14. Anyone want to take bets on when this kid will end up in real jail?

I'm thinking before age 16.