Criminal Mischief?

[whiskeyranch]

Ok, let me give you some background......

Daughters are 13, we live in a very small town in the country, and this type of thing has been going on forever!

The other night my daughters, friends, mom called and asked if she could take the girls out Saturday night to wrap the other cheerleaders houses.

At first, the mom thing kicked in and I was shocked, but quickly remembered the fun of it. I said ok. Even the cheerleader sponser thought it was fun and said her house gets wrapped every year!

Well now, one of the moms said it's criminal mischief, and blah, blah. Now it's cancelled.

There are worse things they can be doing,

and have probably thought of doing.

So last night after game, I took my daughter and her friend out on the 4 wheeler and we "wrapped" the trees over the bridge by our house. THEY HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THOSE 4 ROLLS OF TP!!!

Anyway, what do ya'll think???

HARMLESS TEENAGE FUN OR CRIMINAL MISCHIEF????

 

[minimomNC]

Harmless teenage fun, TP is biodegradable anyway and will go away with the first rain. Personally I prefer it to shooting people or dropping things off freeway bridges or doctoring candy with poison or sharp objects. There are worse things kids could be doing and at least they would have adult supervision with this. I say just leave out the offened mom and have fun. Just make sure you know who won't mind and who will. Or have a crew offer to help clean up if neccessary.

 

[showoffs]

Oh how I remember those days! My friends and I used to go TPing every Halloween after the younger kids were done trick or treating. Then again when our high school football team would play our rival.

My friends and I would pull so many pranks while in high school, but unfortunetly, if my daughters tried to pull most of them now they would get in so much trouble.

People just do not have a since of humor anymore.

Your right, there are so much worse things that kids can do.

Shannon

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Ask the local sheriff what it is. End of story....have fun!!!

 

[shminifancier]

Harmless many small toons still do this and ours just went through it a few ago at Homecoming time.. No Big Deal...TP just vanishes after the first rain Have Fun

 

[lilhorseladie]

Geesh such a petty thing...If they buy the paper themselves...not steal it from the park totty...then how is it criminal. It doesn't hurt paint like eggs...I suppose it is waistful, but there doesn't seem to be a law against that. Also, if it isn't malicious, but in fun...Seems there is a party pooper in every bunch!

 

[Ashley]

Well I do know if you were to do in up in our neck of the woods, and a cop catches you you get a ticket, and your tp taken away. Found that out when I was in high school.

Now forking the lawn is the best thou.

 

[susanne]

Well...I did my share of this in high school, and I remember hiding from the cops one time...

It is harmless, but I would look into the laws in your local jurisdiction. You may consider it to be just fun, but if the laws say otherwise, then you are encouraging your kids to do something that is illegal. Kind of like allowing them to stay out after curfew...you may know that your daughter or son is perfectly responsible, but they still have to follow the law. Or jaywalking -- just because your child knows to look both ways before crossing the street, it is still the law to cross at an intersection.

What if they were to get a ticket or get hauled in for something you said was okay? What if you got hauled in, too?

Wow...I sound like a fuddy-duddy, but it IS important for kids to learn that they are part of a community and that they need to follow that community's laws.

However, if it is not a problem with local law enforcement, and you know that the homeowners are not going to come out with a gun, then have a blast!

 

[minisaremighty]

Well, personally, I don't care much for it. Having been the "victim" of the crime, it's a royal pain the butt to clean up. Yep it biodegrades, but do you know how long it takes? Not fast enought for my taste.

Do you consider mailbox bashing harmless, too? Seems it's been done just as long at TPing has been. Just got both mine smashed to pieces last night. It's going to cost me $45 to replace both of them plus the cost to reinforce them (probably about another $75) so this doesn't happen again. I live on a dead end street too.

I know my kids won't be TPing, mostly because I've taught them to respect others property and we never go on anyone's property without being invited (or if it's an emergency). To tell them it's ok to go and do something like that, I would be teaching them the contrary of what they've learned all their life. That's just my perspective on it.

Waiting for the Sheriff to call me back to file a report. Yep, you betcha. There were at least 50 boxes smashed on our rural roads last night. Hopefully they catch the "good ole boys" who done and they get to cough up some money to pay for replacements.

OK, putting my flame suit on and ducking out now.

 

[opie7441]

[SIZE=14pt]I've been on the recieving and the giving end of this, its all good fun. As a matter of fact, getting was sorta a social status thing

in our school. Usually who gets it the most is liked. If they use eggs, hated.......[/SIZE]

 

[shminifancier]

Nobody said anything about smashing mail boxes.. Yes that is not only a criminal offense But a Federal Offense as well... the topic here was te pe'ing. And that is harmless, and yes in our area it is also a status symbol when get get "wrapped"

 

[whiskeyranch]

Well, we Did it!

We found out that the seniors have given everyone the opportunity to buy TP insurance for 10 bucks. You buy the insurance, they clean it up.

The girls did 4 houses, one of which we got caught, but the cheer mom and daughter helped us finish and make it worth her insurance.

Sorry for those of you who have kids do destructive things, but we never planned on and don't condone (sp) anything that would damage property.

.

 

[Sonya]

I guess if you are doing it to "your friends", it may be ok, but my parents got it last year - all their children are grown, so it wasn't "friends" doing it. The kids made a real mess and my parents are not spring chickens and it was alot of work for them to clean it up. It takes a long time for the stuff to biodegrade (sp?). And my 65 year old father (who has COPD) was up on a ladder trying to pull the stuff out of trees. So I don't like it at all. In my parents case...yes I think it's criminal mischief.

I too think it is wasteful.

 

[CAM]

I too would never allow my kids to do it. I think it is teaching them to disrespect others' property. Your situation may be different if the victims know it is coming and don't mind but I still wouldn't allow by kids to be involved period. JMO.

 

[SunQuest]

I too would never allow my kids to do it. I think it is teaching them to disrespect others' property. Your situation may be different if the victims know it is coming and don't mind but I still wouldn't allow by kids to be involved period. JMO.

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I so agree with this. While it may seem like harmless fun, you are teaching disrespect for other people's property. It is not the fellow classmate that has to clean this up. Most of the time the other family members are inconvienced and that is not right. But then again, my parents were very strict about enforcing respect of other people and their belongings.

Also, it is littering in my books even if it is biodegradable.

Of course maybe my thoughts are that way since I have been on the receiving end from someone that I never found out who it was and I had to spend my time cleaning it up...

 

[whiskeyranch]

Ok, before the flaming and insinuation (sp) that I don't make my children respect others goes any further, let me make it clear to everyone that these were other cheerleaders, and all the moms knew.

We aren't letting them runamuck wrapping old people, people with no knowledge of the situation, we are not allowing them to throw eggs, destroy mailboxes or put any poo on folks porches (no one mentioned that one yet)

My teenagers are straight A students, yes sir, no sir kids, who have chores, work in the summer, volunteer their free time, participate in sports, drama, choir, and cheer among other things.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Ok, before the flaming and insinuation (sp) that I don't make my children respect others goes any further, let me make it clear to everyone that these were other cheerleaders, and all the moms knew. We aren't letting them runamuck wrapping old people, people with no knowledge of the situation, we are not allowing them to throw eggs, destroy mailboxes or put any poo on folks porches (no one mentioned that one yet)

My teenagers are straight A students, yes sir, no sir kids, who have chores, work in the summer, volunteer their free time, participate in sports, drama, choir, and cheer among other things.

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I agree there is so much worse kids can do these days and do do ... this is something that has been going on for years and for the most part is harmless. Here it is tradition for the cheerleaders to do the football players house.

Yes it is a pain to clean sometimes but I agree with you doesnt mean your kids are awful and disprespectful

 

[Sterling]

At the risk of sounding like a grump on this topic...I agree with the fact that it is alot of work to clean up. My farm is not a spotless manicured landscaped property, but we take pride in keeping it clean and clutter free. I have too many other things to do to than to wake up the next morning to clean and try to get toilet paper out of my trees and bushes.....besides with the wind we've been having lately, with my luck some of that stuff would blow into my horse's corrals and they'd end up eating it......then the vet would have to come out....blah, blah, blah.....

 

[minisaremighty]

Ok, before the flaming and insinuation (sp) that I don't make my children respect others goes any further

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I'm sorry if you felt you were being attacked. You DID come on and ask opinions and opinions were shared, they just didn't all agree with yours, even though more than half did agree with you. That's ok, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

In my opinion, just because something "has been done forever" necessarily make it right to do so. Not necessarily referring to this situation, but I've heard this line too many times and it just doesn't fly with me. In most cases when I hear this phrase, it's being used as a justification.

If my hubby were to reply, he'd side with those who think it's harmless.

We happily agree to disagree on it.

It's something I would NEVER have done as a kid, and something he would have. I'm betting my kids will be following in MY footsteps though! LOL!

 

[CAM]

If my hubby were to reply, he'd side with those who think it's harmless. 

  We happily agree to disagree on it. 

  It's something I would NEVER have done as a kid, and something he would have.  I'm betting my kids will be following in MY footsteps though! LOL! 

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Mine actually sides with me on this but there are many things we "agree to disagree" on.

I know that many smart, educated, well-rounded kids do these type of things but I still would not allow my kids to do it. I just set certain limits when it comes to things of this nature. I believe it sends the wrong message. JMO