[blueerica]

I guess I have little faith in kids today - and that's in large part due to the attitudes of my sisters and their SoCal/Orange County/Big Attitude friends that don't see the repercussions to any actions they might take. Talking to kids seems to do little, especially since they're largely dismissive. Of course this is a case-by-case situation; some kids listen better than others. I don't believe that kids today take responsibility for their actions, especially when the blame gets passed around things are fixed with money. I think that's why, and it's not necessarily what I would do, I rather liked the idea that the kid needs to go through something as drastic as losing some of his or her possessions. Something more drastic than a "talking to" anyway - because to me, this is only a peak in a long string of kids getting away with crap - it's a sign of parents and money solving issues that teens and pre-teens need to learn to feel accountable for.

I think something I would look at would be mandatory community service either related to the SoCal fires or with any other non profit that deals with this sort of scenario.

Oh, and I'd move the threads, but I'm short on time and I am too lazy to weed out which threads go where.