11-year-old boy takes parents' car onto highway after GTA V gaming session

[lumbeeman]

Could it be a case of terrible parenting? sure. It also could be a case of a "bad seed", some kids will do things no matter the consequences. I know at 11 I knew better than to do things like that. Then again look at society today in general, people do not use critical thinking skills much anymore.

 

[Adhmuz]

So you think had the kid told the cops he was playing "Generic Driving Simulator" this would have been a headline? My money is on not at all, however because he said GTA V, allegedly (is there actually any proof this is what the kid said in the first place and not what the cop said? Maybe he said Gran Turismo or Forza), parents are going to get up an arms about it.

In reality the kid should not have been playing the game in the first place, second the kid should have been put in bed hours ago, third how hard asleep are these parents to A not notice the kid is still up and B not notice the car starting and leaving the driveway. So not only are they terrible parents, they might also be partially deaf and or blind, although the ladder might explain how the kid wound up with GTA in the first place.

 

[cliffordcooley]

In reality the kid should not have been playing the game in the first place, second the kid should have been put in bed hours ago, third how hard asleep are these parents to A not notice the kid is still up and B not notice the car starting and leaving the driveway. So not only are they terrible parents, they might also be partially deaf and or blind, although the ladder might explain how the kid wound up with GTA in the first place.

Is there any thing in that paragraph, you are not assuming?

Not everyone sleeps with their car just outside their window. And not everyone has vehicles you can hear startup from 6 blocks away. Many vehicles even sound much like a neighbors. They may have put the kid to bed, and they may not be light sleepers. That doesn't make them are deaf or blind. The kid in general may not be that noisy, especially when trying to avoid waking the parents. And the gaming session spoken about more than likely was the kids game, but it could have also been a friends game.

You are so quick to jump to the conclusion the parents were bad. This very well could have been the first major incident. An incident that they may very well put an end to. You are passing judgement without knowing how the parents have been or how they will be. There is not enough detail to pass such judgement, and that is for certain.

What you are suggesting borders the thought, that good parents never find need in punishing their kids. This kid was caught doing something stupid. We all did something stupid, that doesn't make all our parents bad. In fact I would even go so far as to say the better parents train their kids to be smarter when they do their stupid ****. Not intentionally I will add, but that is usually the way it works out. The harder the parent tries, the smarter the kid gets at hiding.

Personal note:
I don't play GTA, nor would I want my kids to. That doesn't mean I will label anyone that does a bad parent.

 

[Kunming]

Never seen so many geeks discuss parenting strategies.

 

[Puiu]

Those aren't parents. just a bunch of *****s who can't be bothered to care about their kid. an 11 yo playing GTA? why not just give him a loaded gun directly?

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

In my day a strap on the buttocks was the perfect solution for unruly and disobedient kids at home and at school, it has been so for forever, until recently. Why change something for something far less effective and for the worse?
We (older folk) brought our kids up the same way we were brought up and nobody is any the worse for it. I didn't love my parents any the less and my kids feel the same way about us. We all got the strap/belt because we deserved it.

 

[Adhmuz]

Is there any thing in that paragraph, you are not assuming?

Not everyone sleeps with their car just outside their window. And not everyone has vehicles you can hear startup from 6 blocks away. Many vehicles even sound much like a neighbors. They may have put the kid to bed, and they may not be light sleepers. That doesn't make them are deaf or blind. The kid in general may not be that noisy, especially when trying to avoid waking the parents. And the gaming session spoken about more than likely was the kids game, but it could have also been a friends game.

You are so quick to jump to the conclusion the parents were bad. This very well could have been the first major incident. An incident that they may very well put an end to. You are passing judgement without knowing how the parents have been or how they will be. There is not enough detail to pass such judgement, and that is for certain.

What you are suggesting borders the thought, that good parents never find need in punishing their kids. This kid was caught doing something stupid. We all did something stupid, that doesn't make all our parents bad. In fact I would even go so far as to say the better parents train their kids to be smarter when they do their stupid ****. Not intentionally I will add, but that is usually the way it works out. The harder the parent tries, the smarter the kid gets at hiding.

Personal note:
I don't play GTA, nor would I want my kids to. That doesn't mean I will label anyone that does a bad parent.

Relax, it's not like I'm calling you out as a bad parent... Why are you so offended in the first place? Did your kid take your car out for a joy ride and you got a bunch of flack for it when they got caught, I certainly hope not...

Are you suggesting the parents are great people for letting their child allegedly play GTA V in the first place? You even go on to say you wouldn't let your kids play it, so your better than these parents, however this doesn't make them bad parents, what logic. We do not actually know what the kid had been playing, but I'm merely basing my assumptions on the information, or lack there of, in the article. The cop claims the kid said he had been playing GTA V, I mentioned this in my first paragraph, and more or less base my assumptions off of this. Because regardless of the parenting involved no 11 year old should be playing GTA V, let alone be up late unsupervised playing it, to the point where they take the car out for a joy ride.

Bad parenting or not, if an 11 year old child goes as far as taking the car out and getting on the highway something went wrong somewhere, and most likely the parents have something to do with it. I may have been too quick to make my assumptions but your way too forgiving for what could have wound up leaving people in in the hospital and possibly dead, the kid could have easily lost control of the vehicle and killed themselves, seat belt or not, fortunately it was the dead of night and no one got in the way.