Your 13 year old holds a party and there is $60,000 worth of damage

[yvr girl]

What would you do.

(This happened in Greater Vancouver this weekend.)

edit to add:

And the police rushed the 13 year old to the hospital with alcohol poisoning.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

1. Beat the $60,000 out of them.

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. Find out...

How many kids were there, and their names. Divide 60,000 by the total number. Contact their parents and say 'your kids contributed to the destruction of my house. You're partly responsible, because you obviously weren't supervising them. You owe me X dollars.'

And send the kid off to a strict boarding school.

[yvr girl]

4. About 200 kids

But it could be argued that you weren't doing a very good job of supervising yourself. (The dad was out of town, I'm not sure where the mom was.)

[WeRQ4U]

17. And perhpas you'll then coax them into counter suing you.

And suggesting the state open a deprivation lawsuit against you for leaving your irresponsible 13 year old son home alone without supervision of any kind.

[Squatch]

3. I would wonder why I wasn't invited.

Selfish bastard.

[ProfessorGAC]

25. He's Not Selfish

Geez, there were 200 people invited. Maybe YOU are the reason you weren't invited. Didn't think of that, now did ya?:evilgrin:


The Professor

[ThomWV]

5. Make That Kid's Life Miserable For Quite A While

But I certainly would not hit the kid.

I am about 60 and have had a hand in the raising of a number of children, my own and others. I have never laid a hand on any child and I never will. There's no need for it and besides that, I could do serious damage even if that was not my intention - and I'm not just talking about physiological either.

Actually pretty much the same thing happened to us. It wasn't 60 grand worth of damage - we never had 60 grand worth of shit that could be destroyed - but it was one of the most trashed houses you ever saw, with breakage and theft about what you'd expect.

One thing for sure, money will not be a part of the answer. It never is when kids are involved.

[graywarrior]

6. Chores without allowance til the kid is 15. Then a part time

job til he pays of his/her share. Keep track of payments on a chart so the kid can see how long it takes to pay off a certain amount. No tv, iPod, computers for months.

[Mizmoon]

7. I remember something like that from my high school

A kid, who I didn't know, had a big party because his parents were away. By the time my friends and I got there, the place had been totally destroyed - holes in the walls, glass in the picture frames broken, giant holes burned into the rugs, etc. The kid was just sitting around with everyone laughing his head off about it.

All my life I've wondered what his parents did to make him hate them so much.

If it was my kid I don't know what I'd do. The property damage, as horrible as it would be, would be the smallest worry. Why my kid did it - why he hated us/me - would be the priority.

[Midlodemocrat]

8. I am speechless. I can't imagine that happening to me.

Not that I am the world's greatest parent, but Good God, everyone knows you don't leave teens unsupervised.

[matcom]

10. that is why you have me

for 'supervision' purposes

[Midlodemocrat]

11. Oh, right. Forgot about that.

and THANK YOU, matcom. I sleep well knowing that you are watching out for precious and her pretty little friends.

[LostinVA]

15. How's Midlodemkid doing with driving? I amy go to Short Pump tomorrow

Just wondering if the coast will be clear...

[Midlodemocrat]

30. Pretty well. Not ready for major roads, however.

She has been so busy with show choir the last few weeks, she hasn't had a chance to go out driving, so you should be safe.
:hi:

[Gormy Cuss]

22. Yes, it would be smarter to let a five year-old play with matches

than leave a teen, especially a young teen, unsupervised. They may not need a babysitter but they do need to know that someone is paying attention to how they are behaving.

I hope that 60K is a pittance for the parents because it would be a shame for the kid to feel guilt about bankrupting the folks. Perhaps between the notoriety and the hospital trip the teen sees the light.

[China_cat]

9. I don't know about Vancouver

but here you would be going to jail as the parents who left a child under the age of 14 without adult supervision.

[Burma Jones]

12. I'd take it out of his college fund

My kids have them........

[gollygee]

13. The parents are partly responsible

Did they leave a 13-year-old alone for a weekend or something? That's crazy.

But I'd make the kid pay off at least half of it - have them get a part-time job and keep track of how much they'd paid back. It would take a few years but it would still be their responsibility.

[RumpusCat]

26. Why not leave a 13-yr old alone for a few days?

I stayed a week by myself at that age once--then again, I was a big nerd and was highly unlikely to throw any kind of party, and my older sister checked in with me a few times. I guess you just have to know your kid. I'm just saying, it's not entirely unreasonable. :shrug:

If this was my kid I'm not sure what I would do. I suppose I'd sell all of their stuff aside from their most basic non-hip clothes and furniture. Jesus--I can't even imagine having 60K worth of stuff to break in the first place! :crazy:

[gollygee]

27. It's illegal in many states in the US

http://www.nccic.org/poptopics/homealone.html

The specifics depend on the state. I don't know what the law is in British Columbia or wherever this happened.

I think it's terribly irresponsible to leave a child that age home alone overnight.

[redwitch]

43. to pay off $30000 at say, $8/hour = 3, 750 hours

THAT oughta keep him busy for a while!

[gollygee]

47. $30k Canadian so not quite that bad in US dollars

but it would take a while - through college even. It would be a good lesson about what serious debt means too.

[AllegroRondo]

14. Thats Canadian dollars, right?

What is that in American, about $50?

:sarcasm:

[LostinVA]

16. Not anymore!!!

[Benfea]

18. Kill him and sell the organs to make up for the $60,000. :D -nt

[bridgit]

19. explain to them with great & earnest parental empathy, your concerns...

that they'll need to be at peace with the very real possibility of flipping burgers for the rest of their 'professional' lives.

[JitterbugPerfume]

20. in the first place

no 13 yr old of mine is going to throw an unchaperoned party


what the fk is wrong with these people??

[GirlinContempt]

21. This guy I knew I think maybe cause my littlesister went to school with

him, a few years ago he threw this party. At his parents home. Damage in the MILLIONS. Dunno what they did to him, but yeah, MILLIONS.

He'd already turned into a cokehead at that point so I guess it makes some sense.

[kick-ass-bob]

23. Drink the leftovers.

:hangover:

[anarch]

24. sell the kid into slavery

I don't know if you can get $60 grand for a 13 year old these days...but it's worth a try.

[Ron Mexico]

32. That was actually my first thought too, LOL (n/t)

[ghostsofgiants]

28. $60,000?!?!

[miss_american_pie]

29. I bet it's not that hard to do

If the family had nice furniture that could have easily cost $10,000.

And if they put holes in the walls? By the time you replace drywall and paint, plus labor costs. And if the walls were plaster? You don't want to know what it costs to hire a skilled laborer to do that.

200 kids? Bet they could do that in under an hour.

The joys of homeownership. ;)

[yvr girl]

37. It was way more than just furniture and stuff

Almost every room in the house will need to be re-drywalled. They were head-butting the walls...fun game.

[miss_american_pie]

45. We had to drywall our basement when we moved in

That stuff adds up.

Wonder if homeowners insurance has any exclusions for obnoxious teens?

[pitohui]

31. check w. my homeowner's

they might actually provide some coverage, altho i'm sure they'd also drop me like a rock when my coverage came up for renewal

then i would try to see if there was a legal way to divorce the brat but i think you're stuck, you know, people who have kids are v. brave, there is no guarantee you are going to get a good one

[Deja Q]

33. And I thought it only cost $60,000 to raise a kid from birth to college...

[Mojambo]

34. Contact Pauly Shore's agent and start writing the script, of course. n/t

[MrSlayer]

35. Smack myself for being dumb enough to let a 13 year old party unsupervised

Sorry but 13 is way too young to be staying home alone.

[Rabrrrrrr]

36. I would seriously reconsider my ability as a parent

Obviously, I would have been insanely derelict in my duties as a parent, and completely and utterly negligent in caring for my child.

I would have to seriously consider whether I was worthy to be a parent, and whether my child would be better off with parents who fucking gave a shit about him.

[GOPisEvil]

38. hook my computer up to a barbie doll...

/weird science

[tjwash]

39. This may sound like a stupid question, but...

...how the hell can the parents leave a 13 year old home alone long enough to do THAT much damage?

[yvr girl]

42. Apparently, it didn't take long

200 kids.

The real damage happened in under an hour...after the police broke the party up.

[Radical Activist]

40. Brush up on my parenting skills.

:shrug:

[TallahasseeGrannie]

41. Not let the child out of my sight for about two years

and that includes taking her out of school and homeschooling her.

Or they could always do what my parents did...send me to a convent high school.

[xchrom]

44. if it had been me that was the 13 year old...

i'ld a gotten a good beating -- forever and ever amen.

and then i'ld a had to pack my bags for a military academy{that would not have been punishment}.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

46. If that happened without me knowing about, which it never would, but if...

it did, the kid would come home to an empty bedroom. There would be a matress on the floor, but everything else would be gone. There would be an alarm clock and his school things there, but that would be it. After 6 months of washing the car, scrubbing the floors, doing the dishes, washing the walls, etc, he could start slowly earning back his things and privilages. You can't fuck around with shit like that. And if you're retarded enough to leave your 13 year old alone, you deserve to go to jail.
Duckie