Ding dong ditching and cops brought home

[Anonymous]

I don’t get it. They weren’t doing anything illegal. It isn’t a crime to ring a doorbell and walk away. So the police brought them home- bc they shouldn’t have been out at that hour unsupervised.

Did they sneak out at 10? Did you know they were out roaming? If so- that was a super poor decision on your part. I don’t think this warrants a patent phone call immediately, but I’d tell each parent personally in the morning what happened. If you knowing let them go out roaming at 10,
I probably wouldn’t be letting my child come back to your house

[Anonymous]

^and I wouldn’t think anything of them going out at 10pm. It wouldn’t occur to me they would ding dong ditch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. I went to bed with no responses and now this.

Op here obviously.

I agree that the cops arriving with them at my house was the best outcome in terms of teaching them a lesson. They also needed to hear from them the danger of what they were doing at 10 pm at night. There are definitely people in this community who would meet this incident by bringing a gun to the door if not worse. Most of the kids were white but one friend is black and yes my heart was in my throat thinking about it. He is the one most concerned about wanting to tell his mom himself. I can imagine.

Yes I knew they went to the park and I was ok with it. These kids are 13. It's safe. It is on me that I underestimated their poor decision-making skills.

I will definitely let the parents know after the kids have a chance to speak to them. If I had called them all and sent them home they would have been more upset at me than their kids at that point. The cops were not mad, they were mainly concerned for the kids' safety. Which is crazy but totally realistic.

You need to grow up and be a parent, not a friend. It should not take the police to talk to these kids. What consequence did you give your child? It’s not ok at 10pm to go to a park. You should have gone with them. It was your poor decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^and I wouldn’t think anything of them going out at 10pm. It wouldn’t occur to me they would ding dong ditch.

The the PP. I would. What would they possibly be up to at 10 pm outside that isn’t trouble? I wouldn’t allow it. If they want to hang out outside at 10pm, they can stay on the patio and around the yard. Not roam around the neighborhood

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader had friends spend the night. They went out to the park down the street (very safe master planned community) around 10 and about 30 minutes later my doorbell rang and it was 2 cops and my kid and his friends. The cops let me know they got a call and found the kids walking. The kids admitted and were honest and kind of in shock. I couldn't believe they would be so stupid but I realize the collective wisdom of 6 8th grade boys is actually dumb and risky. The cops told them they were putting themselves in a lot of danger because people around here wouldn't hesitate to use a gun in a situation like that in this day and age. They were not wrong. The kids definitely learned their lesson.

How would you handle this with the other parents? One kid already told his mom. Others told me they want to be the ones to tell their parents in the morning, which I understand. I should follow up with a text to the parents later in the day to see if they have spoken with their kid, right? I would want to know and I don't want the parents to think I am not taking responsibility.

Who cares if the kids want to tell the parents themselves? You should tell the parents the minute it happens. I would be very upset to know my child had contact with the police and I wasn’t made immediately aware.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^and I wouldn’t think anything of them going out at 10pm. It wouldn’t occur to me they would ding dong ditch.

The the PP. I would. What would they possibly be up to at 10 pm outside that isn’t trouble? I wouldn’t allow it. If they want to hang out outside at 10pm, they can stay on the patio and around the yard. Not roam around the neighborhood

OP here. I guess in my mind walking to the park (basically a small little pocket park) half a block a way at 10 pm is not roaming. Again, it is on me for thinking they would just do that and I should have kept a closer watch. I will be honest and say that I tend to approach things like this from a POV of letting kids feel some sense of freedom and fun rather than one of constant suspicion. These kids didn't warrant concern in that way. That is on me, yes. Honestly, I was just glad they were not cooped up in his room gaming. Now I know better.

[Anonymous]

snitches get stiches.

[Anonymous]

10 pm is too late to be going to the park, one kid or many.

Our neighborhood park (in a nice suburban area) is bordered by woods and several backyards. The park has a sign that states Park Closes at Dark. If teen DS goes out on a run or walk in the evening, I've reminded him not to cut through the park just in case those homeowners get concerned that someone is in their backyard.

[Anonymous]

OP, what did you think they were going to do at the park at 10pm??? It defies logic that 6 teenagers want to leave the house at 10pm to…be quiet and well behaved somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No, I am pretty easy going about letting kids be out & about, but 10pm is not safe. If one of the parents was nearby in the car playing on their phone, fine.

I understand. It is half a block away and they had their phones so I was ok with it. That is on me, yes, for not making sure they stayed there. I have 2 older boys so maybe my judgement is skewed since this is the youngest.

I just talked to the one parent who already knew and she basically said, "yes he told me haha boys." I know not all the parents will feel that way. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the varied responses here though.

This is how we end up with a country full of Brett Kavanaughs. “Haha, boys being boys! Banging on peoples doors at nighttime as a group , no regard to how that might make someone in that house feel to see a group of teenage boys look like they’re trying to lure you outside, or enter your home! Because, boys!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^and I wouldn’t think anything of them going out at 10pm. It wouldn’t occur to me they would ding dong ditch.

The the PP. I would. What would they possibly be up to at 10 pm outside that isn’t trouble? I wouldn’t allow it. If they want to hang out outside at 10pm, they can stay on the patio and around the yard. Not roam around the neighborhood

OP here. I guess in my mind walking to the park (basically a small little pocket park) half a block a way at 10 pm is not roaming. Again, it is on me for thinking they would just do that and I should have kept a closer watch. I will be honest and say that I tend to approach things like this from a POV of letting kids feel some sense of freedom and fun rather than one of constant suspicion. These kids didn't warrant concern in that way. That is on me, yes. Honestly, I was just glad they were not cooped up in his room gaming. Now I know better.

Kids can have freedom to roam the neighborhood during daylight hours. Your kid is the kid who is going to be vandalizing the park and the school in a few months without any care as to who will have to clean up after him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, what did you think they were going to do at the park at 10pm??? It defies logic that 6 teenagers want to leave the house at 10pm to…be quiet and well behaved somewhere else.

They had a football and there are natural climbing elements. I know now that I used bad judgement in this case thinking more about giving them a sense of freedom.

As to the other pp about BK - ITA. I get it.

[Anonymous]

OP do you really not envision a scenario where a group of teenage boys, at nighttime, sneaking around someone’s house/ doorstep would elicit fear and panic in someone who is perhaps home alone, or home alone with young sleeping kids? Think for a moment that you don’t know who is out there and you’re home alone feeding your baby at 10pm and you just see a bunch of what look to be young men sneaking around your yard and then knocking on your door. Think how you might feel or react. And I’m not talking about someone shooting them. I am talking about the effect it would have on that person who is home alone. I’m frankly upset that the police said they were worried for the teens safety. I would rather they be worried about if the people in the homes who have been scared are ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s crazy that the police brought them home. I don’t think this is nearly the big deal people are making it out to be, other than going to the park at 10 was a dumb idea.

This. It's overzealous policing. Police stopped and picked up kids for walking around? That's ridiculous. What law was broken? Even the ding dong ditch - someone called the cops? Because of . . . why exactly?

That said, even though it was an overreaction, because the police were involved you need to let the other parents know immediately.

And where do you live, OP, that people would open fire because of this?

As an aside, the kids obviously are white, because otherwise we'd be reading about this in the paper, and a few of them would be dead.

Totally agree with everything here. We did far worse things in middle and high school and we all turned out to be well functioning and law abiding adults.
Is ding, dong, ditch a crime in some jurisdictions?

Also, remind your kids that a lot of people have Ring doorbells so they are likely going to get caught.

Yes. Probably not in OP’s since the kids weren’t charged, but it is illegal in some areas.

What is the crime, exactly?

[Anonymous]

To all the parents thinking a group of teenagers playing Ding Dong Ditch is a harmless prank, aside from the gun issue do you not realize the behavior escalates?

Earlier this month in my neighborhood, a ding dong ditched escalated his behavior And threw all the garbage from someone’s yard (weeds and what not) onto the front porch.

In a different neighborhood, a group of boys killed a goose.

I have no problem with whoever called the boys for playing ding dong ditch. Scare them straight before their behavior gets worse.