Joyriding

[writer811]

What do you do if your kid likes to steal your car (Or worse, other people's cars) and drive it around just because he likes driving? How do you discipline in a situation like that and would you send him to a juvenile correctional facility if he refuses to stop?

 

[Dan]

I don't think even a judge would send him to juvie the first time he was picked up by the cops. I think having him picked up by the cops would safe both of you a lot of problems down the line. Hopefully it would straighten him out.

 

[Lorenzo]

How old is your kid? If he's mature enough, I think he would know that it isn't good to drive someone's car without asking their permission first. Maybe if you could talk to him about it, he might understand what he's risking when he's "stealing" someone else's property.

 

[Michael]

Man, but this is a real problem. I don't know of anyone with a kid who would do something like this. I'd better knock on wood. I did know someone with a child who kept stealing from his own parents. Good luck, Bud. I feel for you.

 

[Foster]

If any of my children were taking my car without my permission I would phone the police and let them deal with it. I imagine that would teach them a lesson and they wouldn't do it again, if they weren't old enough to drive I would also sit them down and explain to them that there is a legal driving age for a reason.

 

[polamalu43]

Wow, I don't know. I'm glad I don't have to deal with this yet. I would say if my child kept doing it then I would call the police and report my car stolen. At first I would just talk to him though.

 

[Don]

If one of my kids stole someone's car, I would let the police deal with it. I'm not sure what I would do if it was my car, but that would be hard for them to take because I always have the keys with me.

 

[tommymac]

I would say that, catching him once, you give him a grounding and a stern lecture. If he does it again, call the cops. Even if it's your car the second time, you don't have to press charges.

 

[writer811]

He's not my kid, Lorenzo, I'm just helping out a friend but he is fourteen and he's stolen his parent's car twice. I would suggest letting the police deal with it but I don't know if his parents would go for that (I'm not just being nosy, his parents are close friends and they genuinely want my advice).

 

[joeldgreat]

If my kid would do this someday, I think they'll also be bold enough to face its consequence. The fact that they are bold enough to risk their lives and broken all possible laws that can slap on them. But I'm sure if one of my kids do it, it was surely a result of "peer pressure". Something we all parents already had been through.

 

[writer811]

Ugh, I hate peer pressure. I swear, nothing good comes of it. Smoking, swearing, sexual activity, drinking, joyriding, being disrepectful... I would bet money that most, if not all, of these get started because their friends think it's cool.

 

[Miller]

This is pretty serious business. Sometimes parents just have to let the court and law system come into play. We're living in a real world with real consequences.

 

[R. Paradon]

My kids were pretty good and did not get into very much trouble. What I did do when they were in their early teens was to take them to the police station and they were given a "nice" tour of the jail. My ex yelled at me for hours but the kids never wanted to go back!

 

[flfsurveyor]

Wow, i used to steal my dad's car when I was 12! Good thing he did not sic the cops on me. Anyway, I got a good dressing down and suspended allowance for a week! It is the parents' responsibility to discipline their son. What have they done , so far? If the kid steals someone else's car, then it's juvi-court time for him.

 

[JRDeep]

If he gets arrested for it, I'd let him stay locked up for one night. If the kid refuses to stop you have to do something to scare them into seeing the error of their ways.