What's a parent to do?
There are times when you know exactly when and how to discipline your child, with timeouts, groundings, taking away privileges/cell phones/Gameboys, and the like. Timeouts (or the "Naughty chair," that we picked up from SuperNanny) and groundings are the way we go with our kids. A recent effective punishment for our teenager included loss of a cell phone for a week along with grounding.
What do the parents of the kid in Manalapan -- who accidentally set his house on fire Monday -- do? Lots of us were guilty of boneheaded kid actions -- in this case, it was burning school papers in a fire pit in his backyard to celebrate the end of Middle School, the day before graduation. The boy and his friends put the fire out with a hose, but apparently not enough. Some embers were carried by the wind to his back porch. Half of the home's interior was destroyed. Check out the details in http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060613/NEWS01/606130396/1004
What's a parent to do in this case? I actually feel sorry for him, almost as much as his parents. It's going to take all of them a long time to get over this. In a decade or so, it'll be the family story at holiday gatherings and embarassing "Did we ever tell you about the time Joshua burned the house down?" retellings for future girlfriends.
Fortunately, no one was hurt. But his family now must scramble to get their lives and home together because of his carelessness. It doesn't appear as if any charges will be filed, so it's up to the parents. I suggest their own version of community service: have him put some volunteer time in over the summer. And he's 14. He can get a summer job. That money can be used to help the family out until the insurance matter, cleanup and reconstruction are done.
What do the parents of the kid in Manalapan -- who accidentally set his house on fire Monday -- do? Lots of us were guilty of boneheaded kid actions -- in this case, it was burning school papers in a fire pit in his backyard to celebrate the end of Middle School, the day before graduation. The boy and his friends put the fire out with a hose, but apparently not enough. Some embers were carried by the wind to his back porch. Half of the home's interior was destroyed. Check out the details in http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060613/NEWS01/606130396/1004
What's a parent to do in this case? I actually feel sorry for him, almost as much as his parents. It's going to take all of them a long time to get over this. In a decade or so, it'll be the family story at holiday gatherings and embarassing "Did we ever tell you about the time Joshua burned the house down?" retellings for future girlfriends.
Fortunately, no one was hurt. But his family now must scramble to get their lives and home together because of his carelessness. It doesn't appear as if any charges will be filed, so it's up to the parents. I suggest their own version of community service: have him put some volunteer time in over the summer. And he's 14. He can get a summer job. That money can be used to help the family out until the insurance matter, cleanup and reconstruction are done.
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