Mom-of-the-year calls cops on son who opened "PlayStation GameBoy" pre-Xmas

As the PS3 crime spree chronicles continue to unfold, a zany mother in South Carolina apparently got a few wires crossed (and an incensed son, to boot) according to a recent police report. After claiming to purchase a "PlayStation GameBoy" for her mischievous 12-year old son to open at Christmas, the woman filed a petty larceny incident report to have the youngster arrested for opening it this past Sunday. Reportedly, the woman came home to a haphazardly opened box, and found the unit after the child claimed he "didn't know where it was," sending the mum into a fit which led to her son's arrest. While the boy was known to be a troublemaker in school, purportedly "attempted to assault a police officer" in the past, and has a thing for "stealing," the mother's soft heart still found it possible to purchase the coal-deserving brat an object that hasn't even been released (nor created). Whatever it really is, we hope it ends up on eBay so some deserving kiddo can give it a whirl.

[Via Digg]

[sandiegocali @ Dec 6th 2006 10:41PM]

YOUR RIGHT though, especially for boys.

[KRJ @ Dec 6th 2006 10:46AM]

Please get the facts right:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/05/christmaspresent.arrest.ap/index.html

The present was a gameboy.

It was in the kid's Great-Grandmother's house.

[Eddie @ Dec 6th 2006 10:47AM]

Wow. Just... Wow.

[Meltz; @ Dec 6th 2006 10:47AM]

Please, lady. At least make up a lie that makes at least a tiny bit of sense!! Who does this??

[splob @ Dec 6th 2006 10:49AM]

I think it's pretty clear she's referring to the PSP.

[Scottk @ Dec 6th 2006 10:49AM]

Every other story, and I mean EVERY other story, lists the gifted (and "stolen") item and a Game Boy Advance. Yes, a GBA exists. Do you guys even do research before you post these stories? Or do you just make things up to get a quick laugh?

[Michael @ Dec 6th 2006 12:11PM]

Yes, a GBA exists. No, a "Playstation Game Boy" does not.

Do you even read the post before you make a comment? Or, maybe this is your post on Craig's List: http://nashville.craigslist.org/laf/225803498.html

And yes, Engadget does do their research before they write: they got "Playstation Game Boy" directly from the police report.

I think the item is a PSP, that would fit the 'description' better, IMHO. But everywhere else says its a Game Boy Advance. Frankly, though, none of this makes any sense.

Merry Christmas to you too, Mom!

[Shawn @ Dec 6th 2006 10:53AM]

If you were to actually look at the included link, police report filed clearly says "PlayStation GameBoy"

[shirizaki @ Dec 6th 2006 10:55AM]

Clearly the noteworthiness of this story isn't the fact that POLICE OFFICERS CAN'T GET FACTS RIGHT, but that a WOMAN IS USING THE SYSTEM TO PUNISH HER KID FOR OPENING PRESENTS EARLY!

[Blah @ Dec 6th 2006 11:09AM]

Also, although the engadget summary does not say it, at the bbc site (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6213012.stm) it explains that he has ADHD, and the article does not give any indication that he is being medicated for this, which if true, is unfortunate for him. Also, the BBC article quotes her as saying "He's been going through life doing things... and getting away with it", which makes me wonder what the hell her parenting has been like. If you get away with something, you aren't punished. So the blame for lax parenting should really be with her. She shouldn't take a back seat and then ask someone else to get involved (police).

This, obviously, is based on the article being factually true. And considering that the machine is apparently described as a PlayStation GameBoy, it seems less hopeful.

[Gary Combs @ Dec 6th 2006 11:46AM]

I don't see how this is bad parenting. I think the kid may have had bad parenting as he grew up, but getting the police involved may initially seem crazy, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Punishments gotta happen sooner or later before reality sinks in and you teach your kids what happens in the "real world"

Oh and ADHD is total crap. What young boy doesn't have it?

[Josh @ Dec 6th 2006 11:15AM]

Hopefully they bill her for the cost it took the state to parent her own kid. The state cannot be used this way. This is really bad parenting all around.

[LittleJoe @ Dec 6th 2006 11:27AM]

I agree... this woman just blatantly publicized herself as an awful parent.

Take your kid over your knee and spank his ass if he is THAT god awful a child.

Take the PSP, Gameboy, whatever it is and all his other gifts for that matter... and make his ass drop them off at a children's shelter.


Show him REAL-WORLD consequences.

[JRA219psu @ Dec 6th 2006 11:20AM]

I'm pretty sure this mother or grandmother or w/e shouldn't have been allowed to procreate. EVER.

[Ray-- @ Dec 6th 2006 11:30AM]

getting arrested for stealing isnt a real-world consequence? seems right on to me.

[Revrant2394 @ Dec 6th 2006 12:51PM]

Amen to that.

[Jeff @ Dec 6th 2006 11:39AM]

The Great-Grandmother of this child is only 67 years old. So that seems to me like at least three generations of unplanned pregnancies.

[sean @ Dec 6th 2006 5:01PM]

and the mom is only 27.

[Ken @ Dec 6th 2006 11:43AM]

#1 DIGG sucks

#2 ADHD is a copout for fucked up families

#3 GBA? They still sell those?

[rawr @ Dec 6th 2006 3:02PM]

IMHO, ADHD is just your brain working differently than everyone else's as well as a different style of learning that is incompatible with today's school system. Yes its a cop-out but on the part of the schools, not the families.

Also, ADD is vastly over-diagnosed. Its not fair to ask young boys to sit still for eight hours a day, then label them with a disease when they fail to do so. Frankly, I'd be more worried about the kids that sit quietly for the entire day than the ones who don't...

[mespinosam @ Dec 6th 2006 11:43AM]

OK if i find out im receiving a "PlayStation GameBoy" i would definitively search and open it to know exactly what it was. don't blame the kid we all did something like this in our childhood.

Send grandma to prison.

[Gary Combs @ Dec 6th 2006 11:58AM]

We all did this as children? What? You opened up your christmas presents and tore up the box, then denied doing it?

Now, I can remember snooping for my christmas presents, I can remember finding my original GameBoy (way way long ago) and getting very happy. But I didn't rip up the box and start playing with it. If I did i'd imagine i'd be out of a christmas gift, among other punishments/chores that would be assigned to me.

[Rivet @ Dec 6th 2006 12:24PM]

ADHD is a real and diagnosable disorder. Yes, it's over diagnosed and often over-medicated, but so is chronic fatigue syndrome. That doesn't make it any less real for those that do have it.

If you need proof, go give a real ADHD kid some uppers and see what happens. I bet you instead of tweaking, he calms down.

[macstibs @ Dec 6th 2006 12:01PM]

Look at the arms on that kid... Hairy like nobody's business... I'd be calling the cryptozoologists not the cops!

[Ahmed @ Dec 6th 2006 12:17PM]

PEOPLE! this woman got her son arrested for opening his Christmas gift early!! that is insane.

[paul34 @ Dec 6th 2006 12:22PM]

These same officers probably missed an armed robbery, or a rape because of this. Good going mom!

[chenry @ Dec 6th 2006 12:34PM]

I love how everyone is harping on the accuracy of the article and missing the bloody point. Someone is using tax payer money, YOUR MONEY, to discipline her kid because she sucks as a parent.

[Brian @ Dec 6th 2006 12:57PM]

I'd rather have the the tax money go to setting him straight now, then to have it going to cover the jail cost he's in later, for breaking into a store or home.
But this is not the city's job; it's the mothers job; I agree on that.

[Brian @ Dec 6th 2006 12:46PM]

Todays modern punishment deals with lawsuits and money
Whatever happened to the "go fetch me a switch boa'" "I'll learn you yet!"

jokes aside
he kid needs family, friend help to set him straight; or he may turn out worse when he gets older. From the sound of it, he only has the mother taking care of him as a parent, and the father role is missing.
And based upon the grandmothers age (great grandmother to kid), this mom is young, maybe 19-25 or so; perhaps this child was not planned right (or early), and the mom is calling out for help.

[010111 @ Dec 7th 2006 12:01AM]

"And based upon the grandmothers age (great grandmother to kid), this mom is young, maybe 19-25 or so"

19 with a 12 year old son? you sure about that? you really want to stick with that guess? seriously?

personally i don't see many 7 year olds getting knocked up.

[010111 @ Dec 7th 2006 12:01AM]

"And based upon the grandmothers age (great grandmother to kid), this mom is young, maybe 19-25 or so"

19 with a 12 year old son? you sure about that? you really want to stick with that guess? seriously?

personally i don't see many 7 year olds getting knocked up.

[everrette powell @ Dec 6th 2006 12:48PM]

in my house growing up i would wish my mother would call the cops instead of punishing me. if he lived in my house he got off easy...

[Nick Charlton @ Dec 6th 2006 1:16PM]

Show me a case of ADHD that isn't a kid from a failed parent or a spoilt one and I will believe it exists. Before then, no. This is just another case, on the whole of a failed NHS, end of story.

Nick

[sandiegocali @ Dec 6th 2006 1:21PM]

I guess the mom never heard of a wooden spoon ? My mom didn't need to call the cops. lol.

[ptrix @ Dec 6th 2006 1:22PM]

i wonder if the kid could get acquitted on that petty larceny charge because the officers filed a report with an inaccurate/improper description of the not-so-stolen property? (I say "not-so-stolen", because it was a gift FOR him to begin with, and all he really did was avail himself to "recieve" it a few weeks sooner than intended. It would appear that the mother is pretty much claiming that he stole his own property, which is so inane of an accusation that the court should throw it out, and bill the family for the costs to the city/police service/courts for having wasted their time.

[Gary Combs @ Dec 6th 2006 2:04PM]

"Not so stolen property" Okay seriously, its not "his" property. That'd be like me taking money from my parents and claiming it is technically part of my inheritance. Just because he got arrested doesn't mean he'd be taken to court. Again, it was not his property.

[Matt @ Dec 6th 2006 1:54PM]

Nice parenting skills and a great waste of taxpayers dollars.

[Jason @ Dec 6th 2006 2:01PM]

I think the people moaning the loudest about what a horrible woman the mother is have never dealt with a truly damaged or difficult child. ADHD certainly does exist, and yes, it is over-diagnosed far too often. I've actually seen teachers demand a child be medicated simply because they were "too difficult" to deal with, which should be criminal. Actual ADHD kids, however, are a nightmare for both themselves and their parents. I've dealt with a few and if you don't believe it's an actual condition or that it makes parental life hell, you should do more actual research instead displaying a blind bias.

While it's certain the kid's guardian(s) have no small fault in the development of the child (right down to genetics, since almost all behavior we exhibit can be traced there), at some point you have to decide enough is enough and try something radical to get the kid to listen and respect authority that he clearly is otherwise oblivious to. Child therapists would probably agree with the mother's action given the glimmer of background information on the kid that can be read into this story. At some point with very difficult kids, you need a grand gesture to show them that actions have consequences.

[sublicon @ Dec 6th 2006 2:08PM]

If everyone here read the CNN article, they'd maybe see what the woman was trying to do. And personally, it makes sense as she was just trying to teach her troubled son a lesson.

It wasn't the opening of a present, it was the fact that the kid is spoiled and gets into trouble all the time, and seems to get away with it pretty often.

Read the CNN article above!

[sketchguy @ Dec 6th 2006 2:39PM]

$10 says we'll see this covered on an upcoming Boston Legal...

Denny Crane!

[cocopuff @ Dec 6th 2006 2:39PM]

the kid has some problems-he did PUNCH A POLICE OFFICER on a previous occasion. If he was this bad he wouldn't have had anything that nice under the tree to begin with. I remember once around Christmas my siblings and I were fighting and wouldn't listen and the next day ALL of our presents and stockings were gone! We eventually got them back on Christmas morning, but that was the longest 2 weeks of my life!

[froggy @ Dec 6th 2006 2:50PM]

NINTENDO 64!!!!!!! OH MY GOOOOODD!!!!!

[sandiegocali @ Dec 6th 2006 4:09PM]

ADHD = APD... APD = Acute Paddle Deficiency

[Matt Dusza @ Dec 6th 2006 5:23PM]

What I find more unshocking that the Mother is 27 years old. and her son is 12. so she got knocked up at 15. No wonder why her son isnt the greatest kid

[Bertie242 @ Dec 6th 2006 5:46PM]

Personally, I think this mother did a good thing. She'd obviously tried to change her son's behavior in the past, with no luck. So when he does something out of line, she takes the opprotunity to teach him a lesson. Sure, she could beat him, but what would that teach him? He'd just grow up pissed off at her because of that, and get even more rebellious. I'm hoping that he comes off better because of thise.

[marcus @ Dec 6th 2006 7:02PM]

parents, please beat your kids

[VAXinate @ Dec 6th 2006 9:29PM]

ADHD is real. Sorry people. It is extremely often used as a copout by school systems who fail in teaching and discipline. But as a person who has suffered from ADHD my entire life and in 23 years of dealing with it I have never found it easy to cope with. The disorder causes many problems with organizational skills which make it difficult to keep a daily routine so for some, remembering to take medication daily is a very difficult task. Especially if you live a very hectic and unscheduled life. Of course growing up with the disorder, i never had serous behavioral problems. The obvious trouble sitting still, completing timed tests, and not being able to keep my mouth shut. ADHD is not a cause of poor behavior for all but for some who suffer from it the anger from the difficulty of living could often be shown in some other way like bad behavior. I do not come for a bad home... my parents are divorced but they both love me, and they were decent parents (no one is perfect). So please don't act like you know about ADHD until you have been close to someone who TRULY SUFFERS from it. Now I also must agree that at some point as a 27 year old single mother (where if you were impregnated at 15 it's quite likely that the father is in no way involved) which the article mentions no grandfather either so it sounds like this child has no male influence on his life. This can screw a kids whole world up. So if the mother has tried everything she can how else to control this child who is obviously on he path to a life of crime (how many twelve year olds have the balls to try to punch a cop) The kid obviously has some SERIOUSLY HUGE problems which a single 27 year old woman and her mother (who also don't seem to have much money to put the kid into therapy if a $250 (assuming it was a psp... quite possible it was a DS too... remember that small town cops don't play video games and his grandmother and mom probably aren't geeks either they know play station and game boy... so they decribed a portable gamesystem of some sort to a cop) gift was on layaway for months). So maybe her only option was to call the damn cops. Have a heart people not everyone is as perfect as you

[sandiegocali @ Dec 6th 2006 9:54PM]

Geez, it's a GAME BOY ADVANCE people. Read the report it was listed as having a value of $65 or $85 hard to read, but that sure is not a PSP or DS.

[sandiegocali @ Dec 6th 2006 10:02PM]

Yeah, I agree... I know ADHD is real, although grossly over diagnosed. I worked as a child/adolescent psych tech as an undergrad.
It's real, although I would say I only saw a HANDFULL of REAL cases out of hundreds of kids and never saw an ADHD kid from a "normal" home. From reading the report it does sound sad and the boy obviously has problems, probably number 1 would be the lack of a strong + male role model. But obviously the parents, grand parents are trailer trash. Pick another reason to get the cops involved if you really need to, wait till he breaks a window or something. This was just LAME and the cops should be embarrassed for even taking the report. *shakes head*

[Andy @ Dec 7th 2006 11:45AM]

Haha, this was on Conan yesterday.

"The boy says he no longer believes in Santa, but he does believe his mother's a crazy bitch".