Children damaging saplings in the forest.

[WonderingWanda]

I'm interested to hear your views on this. 13y/o ds was waiting for me in the first car park, he saw some younger boys destroying a sapling and walked over and told them not to damage it. The boys ran off to tell their Mum who then came and told off my ds. She asked him where it said they shouldn't damage the trees so he asked where it said they could? She then told him she wasn't going to argue with him and it wasn't his place to question her parenting.

Personally, I'm rather proud of ds for saying something to the boys and have always instilled a respect for nature in my children. I told ds I thought he did the right thing. Bg the time I arrived the boys were booting their football at other people's cars and it struck me that their mother was rather ineffective at controlling them.

So YAIBU children should be allowed to damage trees in the forest, your ds should have minded his own business

Or YAINBU it is wrong to let kids damage trees and your ds is a hero amongst teens

YANBU, but make sure he knows that he should not challenge two boys his age or older in the future due to knife crime. He should quietly go and get you or another adult. It’s ok when it’s very young children sort of ten and below, but needs to learn how safely to pick battles.

Oops I ment to say children should be taught to nature the environment a lot more and also on TV should be tv Adverts etc, also even signs to let Joe public know about codes of looking after nature briefly ect.

L

@Onnabugeisha
Very good Point you made there.

Well, takes a special kind of parent to need a sign specifying not to damage the trees to discourage their children from doing so.

Your son was right, well done him. I'd echo what another poster said about making sure he's safe when challenging others, I feel a little bit helicopter parenty at the moment with so many nasty incidents between peers you wouldn't want him to challenge the wrong type of group.

I would massively bollock my kids for damaging trees so I’m with your son on this one. I also tell other people’s kids off if they are doing something obviously wrong (and don’t mind people telling mine off either!)

Wow, that’s quite a son you have there! I’m not sure I’d have the nerve to chastise somebody’s feral brats, and I’m in my 40s. Good for him. You’ve obviously instilled good values in him.

I’ve had similar problems. My local woods have been hacked into to make way for a new build estate, and kids from the estate have pretty much taken over what is left, to the point where I no longer go in there (I used to love walking the dog in there during Autumn). They ride motorbikes, smoke cannabis, and vandalise the trees. They’ve even dumped a Tesco shopping trolley in there. Why do kids like that have an urge to destroy beautiful things? I mean, psychologically, what is going on? They’ve burned some of the trees with a lighter, snapped saplings, and even drawn graffiti on them! I mean for god’s sake what is going in their heads? Who writes on trees?!

Curious as to whether you are the 1 person who actually voted YABU? When everyone KNOWS it's unreasonable to damage trees!😂

@Onnabugeisha thank you, that's a really good point, I will raise it with him.

@JoonT that's so sad, I hate seeing willful destruction by teens which is often on a daily basis as a teacher but somehow it is so much worse when it's a natural environment.

Well, takes a special kind of parent to need a sign specifying not to damage the trees to discourage their children from doing so.

Quite. I wonder if she has a sign on her house telling people not to burgle it - and, if not and she were burgled, would consider it completely her own fault for not notifying them that it wasn't allowed.

Of course, even if they did put up such a sign, the first rule of signs is that the only people who ever bother reading them are the ones who are not stupid, selfish or arrogant enough to need them in the first place.

How ironic it would have been if she'd returned to her car to find that one of the saplings' decades-older cousins had become uprooted/been cut down and crushed it! Unless she'd put a sign on her car to tell them not to, she could hardly complain, could she?!

@WonderingWanda
Youre welcome. It’s sad we have to tell our sons about these things but that’s the state of the world. It’s like how we warn our daughters about pervy men.

I thought it was obvious, I think OP just wants a pat on the back for good parenting 😀

I’m just waiting for someone to come on and blame the Tories for cutting services so the poor little darlings don’t have anything to do. 🙄

This is the first rung on the ladder. Mother (and I use the term loosely) condoning her brat damaging trees. Next rung on the ladder: kicking old ladies front doors and terrifying them.
Another rung or two and it will be carrying a knife.
This is how we reach the stage of children murdering children, for all those wondering why.......

Brilliant, I'd be proud of him as well. I work somewhere near lots of ducks and swans, can't tell you how many times I've confronted parents that think it's hilarious their future psychopath is trying to kick them. It starts at that age the need to teach respect and empathy and not entitlement.

I'm really impressed that he confronted them and stopped them - well done to him.

I stopped a couple of kids (aged about 6 and 7) digging up some bedding plants that a special needs group had planted in a flower bed in town ......... they then ran off to tell their mothers and teenage family members who then gave me a mouthful of abuse for telling the kids off (I didn't tell them off, just asked them to stop pulling the plants up) and they proceeded to follow me back to where my car was parked.
I felt really intimidated as I was on my own - not sure I would do it again.

The free reign that some people give to their kids in nature baffles me. Chasing pigeons, picking flowers, stomping on newly emerged daffodils. I've noticed it even on the walk home from school, and it tends to be boys. Is it 'boys will be boys' attitude at play? It seems like an almost gleeful destruction of something smaller, more delicate than them. It's shit.

He is a total hero. Good for him.

Good on him.

Heartily sick of kids (and some adults) thinking it is their right to destroy their surroundings.

This is what the problem is nowadays

They are out of order but won't accept it or lose face over it and then intimidate adults instead

Where does it say not to kick a football at people’s cars? (sarcasm)

If she has the ability to pull your son up about this she has the ability to teach her own children right from wrong.

Erm, no you won't, that's batshit

Well done to your son 😊

She asked him where it said they shouldn't damage the trees I laughed at this, what a wally the mum sounds.

Actually asking if there was a sign about damaging the tree shows how thick the parent was.

What a dick of a mother , where does it say he can't damage the tree , really are some parents really that stupid .