Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this prank call stuff made me think back to my day. We totally prank called people. But it was during the day, and it was usually people we knew. And it was like, obviously a prank like “is your refrigerator running?” nonsense.

But once my mom got a call and it was a male voice asking how her husband was doing “after that terrible accident”. My mom was like what?? And the person laughed and hung up. My mom spent time calling my dads work, eventually pulling him out of a meeting (this is all pre cell phone) to make sure he was ok. She was in tears.

There are pranks and there are pranks. Seven year olds knocking on a door at 2pm and then giggling and running off, that you can see through your window, to someone they know like a friends mom, ok. Fine. Fourteen year olds to unknown houses , in a pack, in the middle of the night ? No. And don’t pretend you don’t see the difference between these two “pranks”.

I see the difference: a seven year old wouldn't do that. A 14 year old would. It's normal, age-appropriate behavior.

Sorry but trying to frighten strangers sleeping in their homes at nighttime with a gang of your friends isn’t normal age appropriate behavior.

10:00 is not the middle of the night for most people. They aren't trying to frighten strangers. They don't think it's scary. I also don't think it sounds scary, but I understand (because I am older and more mature than the average 13 year old kid) why some people might think that.

Anonymous wrote:Op here again:

- it was definitely not a harmless prank. It scared people and put the kids in danger.

- this is probably the craziest/most dangerous thing that has happened in our HOA controlled and master planned community in the last few years where everyone has cameras all over their houses. I stand by the safety of letting them go down the street (these little pocket parks are basically lawns controlled by HOA in our walled in community in the suburbs) but I erred in trusting the kids’ judgment so that’s on me.

- I’m talking to the rest of the parents today. Some went home as a group.

Again it’s not about going to a park - it’s about going to a park at 10 pm, and without checking with their parents first when those same parents thought their kids were at your house.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this prank call stuff made me think back to my day. We totally prank called people. But it was during the day, and it was usually people we knew. And it was like, obviously a prank like “is your refrigerator running?” nonsense.

But once my mom got a call and it was a male voice asking how her husband was doing “after that terrible accident”. My mom was like what?? And the person laughed and hung up. My mom spent time calling my dads work, eventually pulling him out of a meeting (this is all pre cell phone) to make sure he was ok. She was in tears.

There are pranks and there are pranks. Seven year olds knocking on a door at 2pm and then giggling and running off, that you can see through your window, to someone they know like a friends mom, ok. Fine. Fourteen year olds to unknown houses , in a pack, in the middle of the night ? No. And don’t pretend you don’t see the difference between these two “pranks”.

In the spectrum between 1 (Is your refrigerator running") and 10 (How is your husband doing after that terrible accident), this is a 1.1.

A pack of unknown teen males knocking on my door at 10pm and then hiding in my yard waiting for me to open the door, if I were home alone, would not be a 1.1

I feel like you are unclear on the "ditch" part of this scenario.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this prank call stuff made me think back to my day. We totally prank called people. But it was during the day, and it was usually people we knew. And it was like, obviously a prank like “is your refrigerator running?” nonsense.

But once my mom got a call and it was a male voice asking how her husband was doing “after that terrible accident”. My mom was like what?? And the person laughed and hung up. My mom spent time calling my dads work, eventually pulling him out of a meeting (this is all pre cell phone) to make sure he was ok. She was in tears.

There are pranks and there are pranks. Seven year olds knocking on a door at 2pm and then giggling and running off, that you can see through your window, to someone they know like a friends mom, ok. Fine. Fourteen year olds to unknown houses , in a pack, in the middle of the night ? No. And don’t pretend you don’t see the difference between these two “pranks”.

In the spectrum between 1 (Is your refrigerator running") and 10 (How is your husband doing after that terrible accident), this is a 1.1.

A pack of unknown teen males knocking on my door at 10pm and then hiding in my yard waiting for me to open the door, if I were home alone, would not be a 1.1

Ding ding ditch… they run away not wait in the bushes.

OP seems to totally understand why this was all a bad idea from the start, I'm impressed. Most DCUMers would be arguing and insulting people left and right over some of these comments. I assume OP posted here because she wanted to know what others think of this, now she knows.

My kids are grown and unfortunately they have now revealed to me some of the things they did as teens that I previously had no idea about. I wish I didn't know at all. None are criminal but lots are disturbing. I was not a helicopter parent at all but I also was not going to let my kids do sketchy things with my permission.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this prank call stuff made me think back to my day. We totally prank called people. But it was during the day, and it was usually people we knew. And it was like, obviously a prank like “is your refrigerator running?” nonsense.

But once my mom got a call and it was a male voice asking how her husband was doing “after that terrible accident”. My mom was like what?? And the person laughed and hung up. My mom spent time calling my dads work, eventually pulling him out of a meeting (this is all pre cell phone) to make sure he was ok. She was in tears.

There are pranks and there are pranks. Seven year olds knocking on a door at 2pm and then giggling and running off, that you can see through your window, to someone they know like a friends mom, ok. Fine. Fourteen year olds to unknown houses , in a pack, in the middle of the night ? No. And don’t pretend you don’t see the difference between these two “pranks”.

In the spectrum between 1 (Is your refrigerator running") and 10 (How is your husband doing after that terrible accident), this is a 1.1.

A pack of unknown teen males knocking on my door at 10pm and then hiding in my yard waiting for me to open the door, if I were home alone, would not be a 1.1

The parents should be phoned -- not texted -- right away. So many ding-dong ditches when I was a kid. It is oddly scary to have it happen to you. But...they're kids making stupid decisions, like all kids have made stupid decisions.

The other parents should know right away. Something like the following phone call be 100% ok with me and I would have let my kid stay (unless your kid was a known troublemaker and I'd already gone against my better judgment letting him go to your house for an overnight): "The kids said that they were going to the park around the corner, but instead the group decided to ding-dong ditch. An officer brought them home with a warning. If you want to come get Billy, I completely understand. But if okay for him to stay, you have my word they won't be stepping foot outside anymore tonight!"

Or, if you're completely enraged that your kid was so stupid to participate, "The kids got picked up by police for ding-dong ditching. I've decided to cancel the overnight. I can drop Billy off at home within the hour."

Anonymous wrote:All this prank call stuff made me think back to my day. We totally prank called people. But it was during the day, and it was usually people we knew. And it was like, obviously a prank like “is your refrigerator running?” nonsense.

But once my mom got a call and it was a male voice asking how her husband was doing “after that terrible accident”. My mom was like what?? And the person laughed and hung up. My mom spent time calling my dads work, eventually pulling him out of a meeting (this is all pre cell phone) to make sure he was ok. She was in tears.

There are pranks and there are pranks. Seven year olds knocking on a door at 2pm and then giggling and running off, that you can see through your window, to someone they know like a friends mom, ok. Fine. Fourteen year olds to unknown houses , in a pack, in the middle of the night ? No. And don’t pretend you don’t see the difference between these two “pranks”.

In the spectrum between 1 (Is your refrigerator running") and 10 (How is your husband doing after that terrible accident), this is a 1.1.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this prank call stuff made me think back to my day. We totally prank called people. But it was during the day, and it was usually people we knew. And it was like, obviously a prank like “is your refrigerator running?” nonsense.

But once my mom got a call and it was a male voice asking how her husband was doing “after that terrible accident”. My mom was like what?? And the person laughed and hung up. My mom spent time calling my dads work, eventually pulling him out of a meeting (this is all pre cell phone) to make sure he was ok. She was in tears.

There are pranks and there are pranks. Seven year olds knocking on a door at 2pm and then giggling and running off, that you can see through your window, to someone they know like a friends mom, ok. Fine. Fourteen year olds to unknown houses , in a pack, in the middle of the night ? No. And don’t pretend you don’t see the difference between these two “pranks”.

I see the difference: a seven year old wouldn't do that. A 14 year old would. It's normal, age-appropriate behavior.

Sorry but trying to frighten strangers sleeping in their homes at nighttime with a gang of your friends isn’t normal age appropriate behavior.

They were asleep at 10 pm? At 2 am I would be pissed, but come on, at 10 pm they were watching TV. No doubt they went to the door, saw no one was there, looked at their camera footage and thought, "We've been pranked." Not that big of a deal for a normal person.

Yes some people are asleep at 10pm. Parents with a newborn? The elderly? Someone working a 6am shift at the hospital? Which is exactly why doing this to STRANGERS AT NIGHT TIME is incredibly rude

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this prank call stuff made me think back to my day. We totally prank called people. But it was during the day, and it was usually people we knew. And it was like, obviously a prank like “is your refrigerator running?” nonsense.

But once my mom got a call and it was a male voice asking how her husband was doing “after that terrible accident”. My mom was like what?? And the person laughed and hung up. My mom spent time calling my dads work, eventually pulling him out of a meeting (this is all pre cell phone) to make sure he was ok. She was in tears.

There are pranks and there are pranks. Seven year olds knocking on a door at 2pm and then giggling and running off, that you can see through your window, to someone they know like a friends mom, ok. Fine. Fourteen year olds to unknown houses , in a pack, in the middle of the night ? No. And don’t pretend you don’t see the difference between these two “pranks”.

I see the difference: a seven year old wouldn't do that. A 14 year old would. It's normal, age-appropriate behavior.

Sorry but trying to frighten strangers sleeping in their homes at nighttime with a gang of your friends isn’t normal age appropriate behavior.

They were asleep at 10 pm? At 2 am I would be pissed, but come on, at 10 pm they were watching TV. No doubt they went to the door, saw no one was there, looked at their camera footage and thought, "We've been pranked." Not that big of a deal for a normal person.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm in my 50s and was, as were all my friends, free range kids. My parents had no idea where I was during the day. Yet, the rule for us and all the kids I hung out with were that we had to be home by dark. In the summer time where I grew up, that was about 9PM. Just why do you think that was? Even in the 'good old days', our parents knew nothing good came of young teens being out after dark. I can't believe your naiveté and poor judgment.

80s kid. We always had to be home when the street lights came on.

This has zero to do with free range parenting.

How did you hunt for nightcrawlers before dark? How did you catch lightning bugs before dark?

Lightning bugs are best caught at dusk and worms in the morning after rain.

Not nightcrawlers.

How about flashlight tag?

These kids weren’t playing flashlight tag. And they’re almost in high school. If your teenage son and his friends say they’re heading out to play flashlight tag after the adults go to bed, I have a bridge to sell you.

Anonymous wrote:People used to get their houses and trees "rolled" when I was a teen. It usually was a sign that there was an attractive teenage girl living there.

I still see houses TP's every now and then. Teenagers do stupid s***. Always have, always will.

Yeah I see nothing wrong with a TP’d house of a girl you have a crush on. Different than sneaking up on a strange house and luring the inhabitant to come to the door.

Also- did people really ever TP the house of a total stranger? No it was always a friend or someone from school. If my kid TPd the house of a total unknown- who could be an 80 year old woman living alone who now has to try to clean it up- that’s entirely different and I’d be livid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this prank call stuff made me think back to my day. We totally prank called people. But it was during the day, and it was usually people we knew. And it was like, obviously a prank like “is your refrigerator running?” nonsense.

But once my mom got a call and it was a male voice asking how her husband was doing “after that terrible accident”. My mom was like what?? And the person laughed and hung up. My mom spent time calling my dads work, eventually pulling him out of a meeting (this is all pre cell phone) to make sure he was ok. She was in tears.

There are pranks and there are pranks. Seven year olds knocking on a door at 2pm and then giggling and running off, that you can see through your window, to someone they know like a friends mom, ok. Fine. Fourteen year olds to unknown houses , in a pack, in the middle of the night ? No. And don’t pretend you don’t see the difference between these two “pranks”.

I see the difference: a seven year old wouldn't do that. A 14 year old would. It's normal, age-appropriate behavior.

Sorry but trying to frighten strangers sleeping in their homes at nighttime with a gang of your friends isn’t normal age appropriate behavior.

People used to get their houses and trees "rolled" when I was a teen. It usually was a sign that there was an attractive teenage girl living there.

I still see houses TP's every now and then. Teenagers do stupid s***. Always have, always will.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm in my 50s and was, as were all my friends, free range kids. My parents had no idea where I was during the day. Yet, the rule for us and all the kids I hung out with were that we had to be home by dark. In the summer time where I grew up, that was about 9PM. Just why do you think that was? Even in the 'good old days', our parents knew nothing good came of young teens being out after dark. I can't believe your naiveté and poor judgment.

80s kid. We always had to be home when the street lights came on.

This has zero to do with free range parenting.

How did you hunt for nightcrawlers before dark? How did you catch lightning bugs before dark?

Lightning bugs are best caught at dusk and worms in the morning after rain.

Not nightcrawlers.

How about flashlight tag?