Could you shop your children to the police?

[FairyFluffbum]

After a middle aged man was attacked news year eve after saying happy new year to his neighbour he was attacked by a gang of youths.
He is in intensive care but at the moment is stable

As it stands they youths have yet to be identified and the police are asking for information.

Surely ONE parent must have a suspicion or know and is keeping quiet.

Now I've just read about the two girls putting superglue on a toilet seat for a "joke"

I think children are becoming bolder in these years as no one disciplines them anymore and if anyone else dares to, the parents have a go.

So this brings me back around.

If you found out your child had done criminal activity, would you tell the police?

I look at my two and I know they trust me more than anything in the world but I would be the first to call them. I do accept "but they are children"

As j child I never attacked an adult, robbed a shop, mugged another child or even thought about/threatened rape.

[Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost]

I say I would be I think you'd have to be in that situation. Hope its something I never have to face though

[alltouchedout]

Sexual offences, significant violence, exploitation of vulnerable people, yes, I would. Other things... I really do not know. I don't know at all.

[Ragwort]

I hope I would but I don't think you really know until you are in that situation ..............I know a couple of young people whose parents have reported them to the police for stealing/drug offences and to be honest very little was done about it and the youngsters are still involved in criminal activity .

[WeAllHaveWings]

If his behaviour was out of control or consistently bad and/or it was serious/violent I hope I would but like Skip would have problems with dh who would veer towards fixing ourselves.

If it was a small one off mistake/naivety but still criminal - receiving stolen goods, drinking underage, first shoplifting, possession of cannabis I would hope my punishment/bollocking/utter disappointment would be enough worked when dad caught me for all the aforementioned.

[Obs2016]

This is the complete opposite of what I would expect from mumsnet. most MN'ers are so completely child orientated and would live and die for their children I was expecting most post to say :no,never.

[Doves]

No, I'd never turn my own child in, unless I see it as a purely vicious and hateful crime.

For example, I wouldn't turn my child in for murdering someone of their own strengths/age. But, if my child was to molest their child/any child etc, I would turn them in. If they were to hurt someone vulnerable, such as a mother and child/elderly person, I'd turn them in.

If I had a son and he murdered a woman, I'd turn him in.

[Branleuse]

I just care about my own children more than anything else, including society and laws. Im not saying I dont care about those things - I care about them well enough, and I do my best to bring my children up to be good honest people and to not harm others. However if push came to shove, id hide them - hell, id hide a body for them, and whether a group of mumsnetters are horrified by it or not, im more surprised that so many of you WOULD shop your own kids for relatively little, and for things that are your own family responsibility for sorting out imo.
Shopping your own family seems rather 1984

[Doves]

Bran in my family, you look after your own and you lay down your own laws when disciplining your children. I can't say I don't agree with you.

Some things are best kept within the family.

[Savagebeauty]

Is your surname Kray?
You'd hide a body for them?

[fitforflighting]

Another who absolutely would report my children if they did anything even close to what happened in the OP.

[Branleuse]

well obviously id hope it wouldnt happen, so its all theoretical. I would be bloody devastated if any of them turned out bad people. I wouldnt be bloody smiling about it, but if they got in trouble with the police, it wouldnt be me that had called them.

[Hihohoho1]

In my experience as a parent for 26 years the teens who got into trouble were the ones whose parents excused then and defended them at a younger age at school and with other parents when clearly they were in the wrong.

That sets the pattern that they can do no wrong and mummy and daddy will sort it out when they are older.

Big mistake.

Control the toddler and child and teach them empathy, self control, respect for others and kindness and then teenager demonstrates it. .

[Branleuse]

I hope its not coming across that people who wouldnt necessarily shop their children to the state, would just excuse them and defend them and think they did no wrong? I dont think thats got anything to do with it.

[knobblyknee]

If it was a violent crime I would, but I'd feel like shit doing it, and I'd feel upset and wonder where I'd gone so terribly wrong.
If it was a non violent crime I actually dont know. I cant imagine turning a blind eye and there'd be repercussions in our relationship.

I dont get parents who use their kids for crime, I cant imagine living like that. I dont see that turning a blind eye is any better.

[chrome100]

It would depend what they'd done.

Murder - yes, rape - yes, but for things like selling/taking drugs, a bit of shoplifiting no I wouldn't. I would hope they would reform themselves without the need for a permanent record.

[TheExMotherInLaw]

I once hand-held a friend reporting her ds to the police for something. He was about 16 at the time. I happened to know the officer who arrived, and won't say here what I told him (which was all true), but ensured that the lad was taken away in handcuffs and spent a very sorry hour or two in the cells before being released, I think with an informal caution. It worked reasonably well, and that kid never ever crossed anyone again when I was around!
It's damn hard, tho, and I'm glad my kids never pushed me to that point.

[Borninthe60s]

I would. I have.

[StillDrSethHazlittMD]

I am hugely disappointed that theycallmemellojello says they wouldn't ever turn their child in, no matter how bad the crime.

Sorry, but any parent who would permit their child to get away with assault, rape or murder is basically as guilty as their child as far as I am concerned. It's failing in their duty as a parent and as a decent member of society.

If I caught my child stealing from a shop, I might not go to the police but they'd be frogmarched back to the shop to return it/apologise and if the shopkeeper chose to prosecute, so be it. Anything beyond that, I'd shop them.

[Qwebec]

I think it's a bit like saying would you leave if your DP abused you or would you save a drowning child? Out of the situation it is relatively easy to say yes, but when it happens it's a different story. All kind of emotions pop up.
Someone I know witnessed two children nearly drowning at the beach, 40 people watched, parents included. No one made a move. In the end 1 person dived in and saved them. There are numerous examples of this kind of behavior. We all have the best of intentions, but we never know until it really happens.

[StillDrSethHazlittMD]

Chrome you say you wouldn't shop your child for selling drugs but would for murder. What if the drugs they sold were responsible for someone's death?