Veritaserum Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 After we finished our nature walk through the marshy/wooded area of the park, we ran into some neighborhood kids. For starters, I thought it was odd that they weren't in school given the time of day we were there. The group was an 11yo girl, her 9yo brother, their 3yo sister and three other kids aged 4 - 6 with no supervising adult that I could see. That wasn't the most disturbing part, though. The 9yo boy said he had a frog. My girls, of course, wanted to see it. He put it down on the ground and we all gathered in close. I saw that it was attached to some fishing line somehow and asked him if he'd tied it on. He said that it was attached to a hook that was stuck through the frog's eye. I asked him if he'd tried to get it out because that would hurt the frog. He said no. He then *repeatedly* lifted the fishing line so that the poor frog's legs were dangling and couldn't reach the ground. I told him *repeatedly* not to do that because it was hurting the frog. He didn't listen and I hustled my kids out of there. I should have confiscated that poor frog so that I could try to get the hook out or at least give him a painless death (car exhaust perhaps?). I feel bad that I didn't. :( This kid and his older sister have played at our house a few times. I did have to ask him to leave the last time he came over because of pushing and grabbing toys. He and his older sister always show up unannounced and and sometimes at inappropriate times (like at 9pm???). I'm starting to wonder what's going on in their home life. I've met their mom in passing a few times. I don't know her name or how to reach her, but I do kind of wonder about saying something along the lines of "Hey, I met your son during school hours torturing a frog in the park. Is he ok?" What would you do? :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springmama Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I don't know what I would do if I were you, but If I were that kids mom I'd want to know exactly what you saw. I've heard some people would rather not be told though. I don't get that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I would have taken the animal. One thing that burns me is someone being mean to animal. That mother would have heard about it shortly after. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I would have been outraged also. Talk to the mom and then don't let them hang around with your kids at all. Cruelty to animals is a big warning sign for serious problems later in life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I would have taken the animal. One thing that burns me is someone being mean to animal. That mother would have heard about it shortly after. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I would have called the police. I can't imagine an 11yo being in charge of all those kids. If I had seen the frog like that I probably would have puked right on the poor thing. That would have scared the little torturer away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Ideally, I would get in his face and free the animal right then and there. I don't know that I would tell the parents in this situation (not knowing them well, poor supervision of kids overall, etc). A family I knew, yes, I would definitely tell them. It would all come down to my gut feeling on whether the parents were a bit loony or not, ie likely to react like raving lunatics. If I did tell them, I would mention the frog incident only, and not bring up that it was school hours. The kids around here have days off school at apparent random, and the parents will have enough to be defensive about without adding that into the mix. Tell them when it was, and leave it up to them to connect the dots if the kids were skiving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 I'm not sure when the next time I'll see him or his mom, but I'll let her know about the frog incident if I can. I don't really know much about their family situation, but they don't seem to get much supervision. :sad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 That child would not return to my home ever. Google homicidal triad and see why. As an attorney we see a lot of reports from child psychiatrists, social workers etc and this behaviour should scare you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Most concerning to me is a child that would be cruel to an animal. The statistics on that are alarming - I think it (meaning severe cruelty to animals) is on one of the top ten "red flag" lists for serial killers or something else equally disturbing. That would bother me in regards to having the child in my home. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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