DanDan78 :
Like, I get what the parents are doing, but making kids afraid of cops is not a good idea. What if they, heaven forbid, somehow get lost or are in need of an officers assistance but they now are so scared because of these interactions they don’t seek out help. I think even the police ask that parents don’t do this for this exact reason. Like I say, I get why they’re doing it, but there are other ways to teach a child right from wrong. When I was little I stole some sweets from a shop and, because I was about 6 and not a hardened criminal, my mum found out. She took me to the shop after school and made me give the manager of the shop the money for the sweets. Little did I know she had been in to the shop beforehand to prep the manager and told her to tell me if I did it again she would have to call the police.(Which I understood was the policy for shoplifters because that’s what my mum did for a living. But I didn’t really understand that it didn’t apply to 6 year old stealing a packet of sweets that cost 15p.) I couldn’t look up the whole time I was in there, and if I had I would have seen the manager looking at me with pity and mouthing “awww” at my mother behind me, who then had to urge her to do as she had been instructed to do. Anyway, as I’m now 48 and I remember this as clear as it was yesterday, it obviously stuck with me, and my mother and I have discussed it and laughed about it since. Hence I know the shop manager felt awful. Was worth it though, the sweets were delicious.
2026-08-31 13:48:20