The refusal of a 14-year old to turn off his videogame system in the wee hours of the night resulted in his mother calling 911.
The Boston Herald has the story, which begins with 49-year old Angela Mejia noticing a light on in her son’s room around 2:30 AM on Saturday, hours after she apparently told him to go sleep. Finding him playing a videogame, she called 911 rather than simply turning off the videogame console. Police responded, told the boy to “Chill out” and to “Go to Bed,” which the boy then did.
The boy was playing a version of Grand Theft Auto, which the mother, further demonstrating her lack of prowess in the parental arena, rightfully disapproved of. Mejia said she has no problem with sports videogames, but said about GTA, ““I would never buy that kind of video. No way.”
Grand Theft Childhood co-author Lawrence Kutner even weighed in a quote for the piece, saying, “Clearly, it’s a very, very rare situation for someone to call the cops. That she went to the extreme of calling the police tells me more about her level of frustration than anything else.”
|Image via FailBlog|
Comments
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
As a 911 Dispatcher I can tell you that this happens a lot more often than you think. It is annoying and it does pull officers from real emergencies. However I highly doubt that she would be charged for misuse or abuseof the 911 system. Unless she is a habitual caller for these types of things, then she could. The worse we had was a woman in our area who had called 911 well over 150 times in a 2 night period. All she really got was a slap on the wrist.
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
When I was younger, had I tried to tell my mom to get stuffed when she told me to turn it off and go to bed she wouldn't have called 911. But she may have had to call an ambulence.
-Ultimately what will do in mankind is a person's fear of their own freedom-
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
I lived with my grandfather and he was pretty laid back about rules. But if you pushed him enough you bloody well knew it.
Hunting the shadows of the troubled dreams.
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
This woman should be charged with misusing 911. Calling the cops to do what you should be doing as a parent shows your own idiocy, and buying your 14 year old kid an M rated game proves it.
When Jack Thompson runs his mouth, does anyone really care what he has to say anymore?
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
The mother has no control over her son & on top of that, yes the game, console & TV are a priveldge. If I had kids that didn't listen to me, I would do the same thing my mom did to me. I would tell my kids they get no Christmas presents & that would be his Christmas present - playing GTA (all night).
"It's better to be hated for who you are, then be loved for who you are not." - Montgomery Gentry
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
There's one thing here That I have to say. 911 is FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY, PERIOD. not for somthing like trying to put your child to bed.
Watching JT on GP is just like watching an episode of Jerry springer only as funny as the fights
Watching JT on GP is just like watching an episode of Jerry springer only as funny as the fights
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
"I would never buy that kind of video. No way."
Oh great we got a real tech-savvy mother here.
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
Isn't that the calling card for the 'anti-gamer?' Calling it a 'Video' and not a 'Videogame'?
- W
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
One question: Why are people like this allowed to reproduce?
"Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend. Do it in the name of Heaven, Jack Thompson'll justify it in the end." - nightwng2000
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
Because they have this moral quam about mandatory sterilization.
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
There are some people that just should'nt be parents. If you need to call 911 to stop your kid from playing video game then the problem is not the kid its you. The police should have fined her - what waste of resources! The police could have been out catching real bad guys instead there called off to placate some idiot mother who has zero parenting skills.
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
I have to agree with those who say it's a grab for attention to be honest. First off, calling 911 because your child won't stop playing video games is pathetic and it drives the police from actual emergencies to deal with your shitty parenting skills.
As for the kid having access to GTA? Well someone must have given it to him. If you're not prepared to look after your child and to discipline them well then, quite frankly, you shouldn't have had sex in the goddamn first place.
If you can't handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
-- Randi Tastix
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Randi Tastix - http://randomtastic.com
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
Is this the same woman that called 911 for a babysitter?
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
Isn't it like a misdemenor for calling 911 for non-emergencies? I mean DAMN!
Hunting the shadows of the troubled dreams.
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
There is a number you can call that is not a 911 number for non-emergency calls.
"It's better to be hated for who you are, then be loved for who you are not." - Montgomery Gentry
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
Depending on the reason, it can become a felony. The more trivial the cause, the more likely for the upgrade.
Arguing with the police that you phone doesn't help matters either.
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
Wow. I just don't know what to say. A 14 year old boy doesn't want to listen to his mother... and that warrants a call to 911? Simple solution, tell him to save his game and quit. Give it five minutes, then throw the circuit breaker for his room (the five minutes is incase he saves and doesn't quit, you need him far enough along that he loses his progress). Next day, while the kid is at school, remove the console, game and TV from his room (these are a 'priviledge', not a right). Tell him he can have them back when he learns respect for his parents. The key is to offer them back at a later time, too many parents just go for them "you can't get them back" but in which case, why should the kid try and improve. In this case, I'd think it was just a mother who has lost control of her children and doesn't really understand the next step. In my opinions, I don't think this was a good next step. She has basically lost all respect from her son at this point, if she hadn't earlier from similar issues.
As for him having a game she said she would never have gotten for him, that should have been solved some time ago. I would have gone into the 360 (or similar console) and set the pin for M rated game as soon as he got the system. All these people calling for video game bans forget that "final mile", the part where having the game doesn't mean squat if the kid can't play it, and they need a console and a TV to do that. These are in your house, and you SHOULD have control of them, even if they are in the kids room. Set the PIN, and keep it to yourself.
An R rated DVD can be played in a million different places (like any school computer), but a 360 game can only be played on a 360, so lock your's out of M rated games if you disapprove of them.
Re: Boy Won’t Stop Playing Games, Mom Calls 911
RE: The article: This woman is getting what she wants. People who do this just want to see thier names in the paper. Why else would someone call 911 from a Mcdonalds because they were out of stock of what they wanted to order.
RE: The picture used. A couple years back, I was rearended by a woman who wasn't paying attention the fact that I'd stopped for a Pedestrian. The collision was HUGE, lots of damage. She had a child not much older than this one, in her backseat, belted in a similar fassion. It's amazing the child wasn't killed.