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

I (with a very heavy heart) agree with this. It’s awful because he did the noble thing but scum turn into dangerous scum at a very young age. I also agree that OP just posted to hear how good her DS is - there’s no genuine curiosity is there? But no harm no foul, we all want to brag sometimes.

I've seen this type of behaviour quite frequently; in locals woodlands, on public footpaths etc.

This weekend I saw 2 small children running through the rock gardens at the RHS garden Wisley . 2 men (presumably their fathers) were standing on one of the paths watching the kids and chatting. The rock gardens at Wisley are on a steep slope with waterfalls/a stream running through them, and contain loads of small rare plants. Other times I have seen children running through areas of spring bulbs at National Trust places, and also trampling/pulling up bluebells in woodlands and gardens.

I can't understand why this happens, especially at at gardens. Surely if you're willing to pay the entry price to get a family into these places, you have some understanding of why people visit? If all the plants are trashed what's the point?

Surely if you're willing to pay the entry price to get a family into these places, you have some understanding of why people visit? If all the plants are trashed what's the point?

Parents like this think it's all put on for their kids, or don't care if nobody else gets to experience it as long as their kids do.

You can be rightfully proud of your son, and of yourself for raising a good person. People like that mother (and others described in this thread) are disgusting and there should be some way to hold them accountable without having to fear retaliation.

poor kids
hopeless parents

i walked home from school with a family, the mum was totally unconcerned that her dd simply dropped litter on the way home,
in fact i was the one who told her off for picking bluebells

Hate littering too

Feral kids and scummy parents who keep breeding. Just telling it as I see it. Feel free to report, I just don't give a shit.

YANBU. You son took the moral high ground and seems to have handled himself well during the confrontation.
I've not seen many signs saying saying 'Please don't damage XXXXXX' So the mothers point of view if very weak, common sense tells you to respect nature and other people's property.

The Countryside Code says

Care for Nature
Do not cause damage or disturbance and leave no trace of your visit.

Your son is a hero! Good for him. I help to manage countryside including woodlands. Trees can live for many years, providing ongoing generations of habitats and sustenance to all manner of animals, plants and fungi. The wanton destruction for such senseless reasons has lasting consequences. Your son was being very reasonable indeed.

I agree with you!

I told two kids who were deliberately jumping up and down on plants in a flowerbed to stop it.

their mother went ballistic and called name an interfering old bag - but then she had been standing there, watching them with a proud smile on her face. I told her that I would always react to deliberate vandalism.

these kids don’t have a hope in hell with parents like that

your son was quite right and has a good social conscience.

unless more people stand up to vandals, they won’t ever stop.

Preen away OP, your son was very brave and she was a complete and utter twat.

I'm am also proud of your son! Well done to the both of you.

She HAS raised a great kid! Op should be extremely proud of her parenting that gave her son the confidence and moral compass to say something.

Even if the op just wanted a pat on the back for her son, she bloody deserves it.

I think it's nice to brag about your children being good people.

It might make other people reflect on how their children behave too.

I see no downside of this thread other than people like you.

Thanks everyone and keep up the good fight all of you who stand up for nature!

Oh my word, I cannot believe that mother!
Your son was absolutely in the right, and good on him!

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.......

Some people will say you're ridiculous, but you aren't: you're absolutely right. Serious crime and anti-social behaviour never appears in a vacuum; it always sets in with relatively small acts and then boundaries get pushed further and further.

I hate it when you see little children being 'parented' without care or boundaries in such a way that you can see what they're very likely to turn into when they're teenagers. They'll become 'lovable rogues' and 'rough diamonds' who terrorise whole neighbourhoods and leave innocent people living in fear.

No they should also be educated by their parents. Schools cannot do it all. Particularly now.

Depends how he said it.

Great your son knows about respecting nature etc. Not sure it is great for him to talk to younger children he doesn't know , telling them what to do or not and I wouldn't want my child to feel responsible for dealing with other children's behaviour . The parent was around and what ever he said would not have ended well. So I would tell him, sometimes it is not a good idea to get involved even if you are in the right.

No they should also be educated by their parents. Schools cannot do it all. Particularly now.

This - everybody always tried to make school responsible for teaching children everything; but if your children are beyond toddler age and they still haven't been taught not to mindlessly destroy things (that don't belong to them) by default, there's really not a lot more that any school is going to be able to do to counter your 'parenting'. If anything, those parents should go to evening classes, as it's impossible to teach children very basic lessons and principles if you've clearly never learned them yourself.

It's very true what PP said: more people need to understand that 'parent' is a verb as well as a noun.

Your son is my hero this morning, well done young man!!