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AIBU?

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Original poster

My local train station is currently burning down

280 replies

thehardestpartis · 21/07/2026 10:44

Reportedly due to children being on the station at 5:45 this morning and setting fire to an equipment cabinet.

AIBU to ask where the hell are the parents?! This will cause chaos in the town, reduce holiday maker visits and just generally worsen an already run down town.

The parents should be punished for arson with intent to endanger life, as should the children.

OP posts:
Enrichetta · 21/07/2026 12:22

OhMelons · 21/07/2026 11:01

@thehardestpartisfrom photos posted on devon live it doesnt look like it spread to the line, I did hear its affected the signalling at Paignton though.

But it does make me wander if the parents know their children are out causing so much trouble in the early hours, or if they even give a monkeys. We have it in Exeter where the kids are out stealing motorbikes and breaking into cars and trying their luck with houses. The police wont do anything so its a nightly occurrence.

But if it is indeed a nightly occurrence it would be easy for the police to stand by and arrest them…… one would think - but maybe they just can’t be bothered?

friedaklein · 21/07/2026 12:21

@Dahliasrule Devon is really lovely. You will be fine if you do outdoor things.

OhBumBags · 21/07/2026 12:21

HelpMeNavigateThisPlease · 21/07/2026 12:19

"to be honest arson and kids is fairly pedestrian, it’s not unusual or new."

Really?! Is this true? It's absurd to me - I literally do not consider this normal behaviour at all - I find it quite shocking.

Do you mind saying where you live?

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Why does it matter where she lives?

Bored kids have been starting fires since the year dot.

I'm in my late fifties and the local yobs used to start them over the park, in alley ways, set alight to large bins etc.

HelpMeNavigateThisPlease · 21/07/2026 12:19

Backedoffhackedoff · 21/07/2026 11:17

I mean, you need to consider they might already be in care.

to be honest arson and kids is fairly pedestrian, it’s not unusual or new.

the difficulty with punishing parents is there is no support for parents who try to get help with their children before they do anything bad.

"to be honest arson and kids is fairly pedestrian, it’s not unusual or new."

Really?! Is this true? It's absurd to me - I literally do not consider this normal behaviour at all - I find it quite shocking.

Do you mind saying where you live?

glitterpaperchain · 21/07/2026 12:18

Happyjoe · 21/07/2026 12:14

She's right tho. The buck stops with the parents, not having clubs and whatever support is not an excuse. If unwilling or unable to raise children to be fit members of society then don't have them.

We are seeing an increasing amount of bad parenting.

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We are seeing an increasing amount of bad parenting.

Yes so maybe the defending of parental support (like I mentioned!) might have something to do with that??

If it were as simple as 'parents just need to parent' and 'kids just need to behave' then we wouldn't be seeing issues. Burying your head in the sand and blaming individuals instead of the systemic issues helps no one

friedaklein · 21/07/2026 12:17

I clicked thinking it might be a wildfire.
How terrible.

ParsleySageToiletDuckAndBinBags · 21/07/2026 12:16

MajorProcrastination · 21/07/2026 11:27

At 5.45am I'd guess most of the parents would be in bed? And the children have snuck out. Doesn't mean they're great parents or shit parents.

So just because they've brought up a child who hasn't learned by their age that arson is a terrible thing that you would never even dream about doing, they aren't shit parents?

They aren't sneaking out in the morning without their parents' knowledge to go and have a kickabout in the park or for a bike ride; they are setting fire to public property.

Dollymylove · 21/07/2026 12:16

This is what happens when authority is taken away from the parents, teachers, police and the courts and handed over to the children.
This has been a slow burn for the past 40 years and look where we are now. Feral children, no boundaries whatsoever. Children stabbing and murdering children.
Parents too busy on Tiktok to know or even care what their brats are up to, as long as they arent bothering them.
Who the hell ever thought that this wouldnt happen?

GisGasGus · 21/07/2026 12:16

Backedoffhackedoff · 21/07/2026 11:22

When I was a kid some local kids burned down a Tesco superstore 😱 it’s def not new

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Also not restricted to the school holidays, a similar thing happened near where my parents live about a month ago

Huge amount of damage, disruption to business, staff who can't work and maybe don't get paid

OhBumBags · 21/07/2026 12:15

I can't believe anyone thinks teenagers won't go out in the Summer rain.

They don't dissolve!

Seahorses26 · 21/07/2026 12:15

youalright · 21/07/2026 12:12

The parents need to be charged damages then they will suddenly care

The parents need to be charged OR have their benefits removed…

Happyjoe · 21/07/2026 12:14

glitterpaperchain · 21/07/2026 12:02

What's your excuse?

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She's right tho. The buck stops with the parents, not having clubs and whatever support is not an excuse. If unwilling or unable to raise children to be fit members of society then don't have them.

We are seeing an increasing amount of bad parenting.

youalright · 21/07/2026 12:12

The parents need to be charged damages then they will suddenly care

LoveItaly · 21/07/2026 12:11

OnlyMabelInTheBuilding · 21/07/2026 11:32

What has the weather got to do with it? Parents need to parent and not let their kids be vile brats. There’s no excuse for this behaviour

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The trouble is that their parents are probably just as bad. I know several primary school teachers in other parts of the country, and it’s depressing and worrying how many of the parents behave. Their offspring stand no chance.

Happyjoe · 21/07/2026 12:10

BringBackCatsEyes · 21/07/2026 12:08

Well yes. I don’t think the local youth are going to be stopping to admire my lush hanging basket though.

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Ha ha, made me smile.

Happyjoe · 21/07/2026 12:09

HopeIsAScaryThing · 21/07/2026 12:00

Unfortunately, it's not going to happen. We have a shocking number of so called 'adults' in this country who wanted children but didn't want to actually be parents. They are two very different things and we can 100% see it in our local schools. Behaviour is abysmal because the parents don't parent and have no interest in doing so.

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Yes! Parenting is hard, really hard to do well.. Nice idea having kids but the reality is lotsa work and people can't be bothered. See the same attitude even on a lesser level with how pets are looked after and trained.

Backedoffhackedoff · 21/07/2026 12:08

thehardestpartis · 21/07/2026 11:52

Gentle parenting is the cause though. It’s just a fact.

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How is it a fact? You thinking something doesn’t make it a fact 😂

it’s always happened so it’s not related to a change in parenting

BringBackCatsEyes · 21/07/2026 12:08

Happyjoe · 21/07/2026 12:06

Help with the garden though! :-)

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Well yes. I don’t think the local youth are going to be stopping to admire my lush hanging basket though.

Happyjoe · 21/07/2026 12:06

BringBackCatsEyes · 21/07/2026 12:05

No thanks. I don’t think it pelting down with rain for 6 weeks will help the nation.

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Help with the garden though! :-)

Happyjoe · 21/07/2026 12:05

thehardestpartis · 21/07/2026 11:52

Gentle parenting is the cause though. It’s just a fact.

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Is gentle parenting the new name for shit parenting?! Very PC.

OhBumBags · 21/07/2026 12:05

The youth clubs closed in my area due to the vile little shits smashing them up, fighting outside and damaging cars in surrounding streets on the way home.

BringBackCatsEyes · 21/07/2026 12:05

LagerLady · 21/07/2026 11:02

The school holidays have only just started. We need the weather to change.

No thanks. I don’t think it pelting down with rain for 6 weeks will help the nation.

BringBackCatsEyes · 21/07/2026 12:02

OnlyMabelInTheBuilding · 21/07/2026 11:55

You can behave without having a local youth club. I loathe the excuses made for vile little shits.

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Of course, but we all know the correlation exists. We talk about all the positives of having things for young people to get involved in.
Our local open basketball court has been taken over by the council and you now have to pay and book it. How is that benefitting our kids?

glitterpaperchain · 21/07/2026 12:02

OnlyMabelInTheBuilding · 21/07/2026 11:55

You can behave without having a local youth club. I loathe the excuses made for vile little shits.

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What's your excuse?

SummerHols2026 · 21/07/2026 12:00

thehardestpartis · 21/07/2026 11:52

Gentle parenting is the cause though. It’s just a fact.

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As far as I can see online the cause hasn’t been published?

Whether or not children are responsible doesn’t factually correlate to those children being raised using gentle parenting techniques. Pretty sure, as others on this thread have alluded to, this behaviour isn’t new. Children have been setting fire to things long before the concept of gentle parenting even existed.

Passive parenting, neglectful parenting, absent parenting? All possible causes. Gentle parenting? Not so much.

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