s/o: What would you do if your home were tp'ed in the middle of the night?

[Joanne]

I read the other thread.

 

If teens were tp'ing my house in the middle of the night, I'd go outside, give them one chance to completely clean it up OR I'd call the police (assuming I didn't know their parents or their numbers). If I knew those, I'd call the parents instead if the kids didn't clean up or took off.

 

I'd take or discover the names of the kids and contact the parents in the am or ASAP with a phone call.

[LibraryLover]

If it were just a bunch of nice kids, I'd tell them to come back the next day and clean it up. I'd leave it stand the night for the morning laugh.

[myfunnybunch]

Honestly, if I knew the kids I'd probably burst out laughing and tell them to come over and take pictures in the morning before they cleaned it up. TP'ing rates pretty low on the scale to me, annoying but not dangerous. My oldest dd has friends who are allowed to walk around the neighborhood after dark. (She was not, however, much to her chagrin.) So I wouldn't necessarily leap to the conclusion that the kids didn't have their parents' permission to be out, but I would probably call and let them know in the morning.

 

If I didn't know the kids, I might ask if they'd got the wrong house (and ask them to stop and clean up) or call the police, depending on how scary they looked.

 

Our neighbors are young men, early twenties, and out on their porch often late at night in good weather, so I think they'd be most likely to catch anyone tp'ing in the neighborhood anyway.

 

Cat

[athena1277]

I think I would be glad they only TP'd the house. Egging it would be a problem.....

[Renee in NC]

If I knew the kids I would stop them and make them clean it up and call their parents to come get them IF it were the middle of the night. Earlier in the night I would tell them to go home and call their parents the next day.

 

If I didn't know them, I would call the police.

[Meriwether]

I think it depends on the "culture" of the neighborhood. At our last home, it was common among the high school set. We lived in a nice part of town with lots of big, old trees and big yards. At certain times of the year, there was a tree tp'd almost every week. The family next door had a teenage daughter who was part of the crowd. Their house was tp'd a couple of times in the three years we lived there. One time our tree got some, too. The dad helped my husband clean it up. They chatted while they did it and then my Dh helped him clean some of his up. Another time it happed to my neighbors, the kids dropped their car keys while they were doing it. They rang my neighbor's doorbell in the middle of the night to borrow a flashlight.:001_rolleyes: It just wasn't a big deal because it was friends and homes belonging to their "set". They all did it and had it done to them. I think it would be very different if it was a group of kids being malicious or randomly tp'ing homes.

 

So to answer your question, at most I would just go out and shoo them away if I knew the kids and it was "all in good fun". If it wasn't someone I knew, I don't know... I'm not a confrontational person. It would have to happen more than once for me to call the police.

[calandalsmom]

I wouldnt do anything. Its a harmless youthful stunt. Its neither malicious nor does it require the intervention of the law.

[Danestress]

It would not be that big of a deal to me. I would not be mad at the kids in particular. I would expect them to clean it up.

 

But I don't think that the crucial issue is what *I* think. I think the crucial issue is what their parents think. If someone else knew that my child sneaked out in the middle of the night for any reason, I would really want them to let me know. I am a reasonable person and I don't need other parents deciding for me whether I need to know and can handle knowing that my child sneaked out in the night. I just think that when parents know, they can then talk to the kids, keep a better eye on them at night, and decide whether that is part of a general pattern of untrustworthiness or just a little prank to let pass by. But if I don't tell, and then the next person doesn't tell, eventually the kid has a pattern of sneaking away at night, and no one has give the parents an opportunity to talk to their kids.

[Tree House Academy]

I would think that if you walked outside, the kids would take off running like little bats outta hell. I would, if I was a kid. No way I would stick around to talk to the people whose house I had just tp'd or whatever. I think calling the police is really the only way to "catch" the kids in the act.

[lionfamily1999]

It would depend on the season. We get a lot of summer people here. If it was summer, I'd quietly call the police, let them have their frolick and let the cops find their parents. Non-holidays, I'd just quietly call their parents to come get them.

 

I'm not big on confronting people, but I would not sit and let kids trash my yard, because they wanted to have some fun.

[Jen500]

It depends on the neighborhood.

 

In one neighborhood I've lived in, I would go outside and tell the kids to clean it up NOW or I'm calling their parents and the police.

 

In another neighborhood, I wouldn't bother to see what's going on. People in my yard in the middle of the night? Call 911. Most likely vandalism and break-ins.

[Nakia]

I don't know what I would do, but I have a funny story. Apparently when my friend, S, was a teen, tp'ing was the thing to do. She and a bunch of her friends dressed all in black one night and drove over to the house of some "snobby" girl they didn't like. They parked their car a block away, and left the key in the ignition for a quick get-away. Then they set out for the job at hand. Just as they were getting done, they heard a car pulling into the drive-way. The dad had seen them, walked up the road, and got in their car and drove it to his house. My friend, S, was the brave one to walk up to the door to ask for their car key. The dad said he would gladly give the key back, after all the mess was cleaned up. So, they cleaned up the mess, got their key, and went home. :lol::lol::lol:

[fairfarmhand]

I'd probably have to pry my dog's teeth off of someone's leg.

[momofkhm]

It was a rite of passage when I was teen. Not to tp someone but to be tp'ed. I figure it would be done for one of my kids, they'd clean it up. If they knew who did it, we'd call them and have them come help too.

 

DH would probably have a fit. (He wasn't tp'ed in high school.)

[Caroline]

I don't know what I would do. However, this story always comes to mind when I hear about these stories.

 

A few years ago, some girls were tp-ing a yard around here of a girl they bullied. The dad came outside. The tp-ing girls got spooked and jumped into their car and drove away. They had a single car accident within a block where the car flipped several times. Only the driver survived. The dad had followed them in his car. He was charged with something, but found innocent. The driver was charged with vehicular homicide. All of this was a huge price to pay for tp-ing.

[Mejane]

I would let out the dog to chase them off. My husband would be cleaning it up early the next morning (he's anal about the yard.)

[Jan in SC]

I wouldn't do anything. It's very common here as a good luck/ way to go cheer.

My friend and her dh were on a short vacation while her father stayed with her children. The house was tp'ed while they were gone and her thrifty father cleaned it up and saved all of the tp for them to use!!! We still laugh about this!

[kewb]

On the night before Halloween all the kids on the block tp each others houses. All in good fun. Although one year the cops came to put a halt to it. They looked quite puzzled that we were tp'ing our own homes.

[LibraryLover]

I don't know what I would do. However, this story always comes to mind when I hear about these stories.

 

A few years ago, some girls were tp-ing a yard around here of a girl they bullied. The dad came outside. The tp-ing girls got spooked and jumped into their car and drove away. They had a single car accident within a block where the car flipped several times. Only the driver survived. The dad had followed them in his car. He was charged with something, but found innocent. The driver was charged with vehicular homicide. All of this was a huge price to pay for tp-ing.

 

 

I change my answer. I wouldn't even go out at all. Who cares. It's toilet paper.

[AlmiraGulch]

I wouldn't do anything. I think it's harmless. If I knew who did it I may call them out on it and have them come clean it up.

 

Earlier this week my aunt made her status on Facebook a public address to her granddaughter (my cousin's 14 year old daughter) thanking her for the lovely new tree decorations, and telling her that lunch would be ready and the pool nice and cold when she and her friends came over and finished cleaning up the little gift they'd left.

 

No harm, no foul, and everyone thought it was pretty funny. Apparently the teens hit their aunt and uncle's house, too, and went back and cleaned it up the next day.

[Irene Lynn]

I would call their parents if I knew them, if I didn't know them, then I would call the police. I would absolutely expect them to clean it up, unless I thought they would make more of a mess on our property by letting them run all over it.

 

Neither my dh nor I did anything like this as children or adults. I just don't get it. I don't like pies in the face or food fights or TPing. I have a sense of humor, but it does not include slapstick or doing things that will make other people waste time cleaning up after someone else caused a mess for them. The waste is also hard for me to laugh about. I truly don't get it. I know in my head that many people think it is fun and I can appreciate their fun, if it was taken all in fun, but I would not appreciate it in the least, if it were done to me or our property.

 

It would also bother me quite a bit to find that a bunch of kids had been running all over the property late at night. If it were the evening, I wouldn't be bothered as much. The lateness of the hour would make me think that they did not have respect for the law or for me. That would make me nervous.

[dirty ethel rackham]

The time of day would dictate my reaction. 11 pm - a harmless prank - I would be laughing, and taking pictures and telling them to come back in the AM to clean it up. 2 AM - a crime since we have a curfew. Plus, if they were young teens, it would be a violation of the drivers' license to be driving a car that late. This would mean me calling the parents or calling the police.

[fivetails]

I'm truly amazed at how many people take this so lightly!

 

I'm not saying that to be rude either...maybe it depends where you live?

 

I wouldn't go out to 'chase them away' or anything - strange people in my yard, at night, throwing toilet paper everywhere - making a huge disgusting mess that I'll end up having to clean? Darn right I'd call the police.

 

I've never known anyone who has had this done to their house..never even seen it, except on television. Like I said, maybe it depends where you live... maybe it's viewed differently in various places...someone said something about it being for good luck in their neighbourhood? So strange. Good luck, wish you well, have fun picking soggy toilet paper bits out of your tree... :001_huh:

[aggieamy]

It depends. If DH was at home I'd let him deal with it. Here's the scenario I'm seeing though. Our house is a bit out, no street lights, big lots, and very dark. I wake up in the middle of the night and hear people on our property and it's just me and the little girls home alone - I'm going to call the police. I'm not going to leave two little girls alone inside while I investigate who is illegally on my property in the middle of the night. That's for the police to sort out.

Edited April 5, 2010 by aggieamy

[dirty ethel rackham]

I'm truly amazed at how many people take this so lightly!

 

I'm not saying that to be rude either...maybe it depends where you live?

 

I wouldn't go out to 'chase them away' or anything - strange people in my yard, at night, throwing toilet paper everywhere - making a huge disgusting mess that I'll end up having to clean? Darn right I'd call the police.

 

:001_huh:

 

I guess this was never a case of "strange people" in my yard, but usually people we knew. In high school, we would TP the houses of football players before the homecoming game. Sometimes the parents would come out and help. Dh and his buddies used to TP the house of their favorite high school teacher. Sometimes, he came out and helped. Of course, they often received a few extra physics problems for their efforts:). It was almost a badge of honor to get TP'd. When it happened to me, I went all Sally Field - "they like me, they really like me."

 

Yeah, it's a pain to clean up. That's how parents kept it from getting out of hand, requiring clean up.

[Carrie12345]

It depends. If DH was at home I'd let him deal with it. Here's the scenario I'm seeing though. Our house is a bit out, no street lights, big lots, and very dark. I wake up in the middle of the night and hear people on our property and it's just me and the little girls home alone - I'm going to call the police. I'm not going to leave two little girls alone inside while I investigate who is illegally on my property in the middle of the night. That's for the police to sort out.

 

I'm in a similar situation so, if it were to happen to me, at this house, at 3am, on a night dh isn't home, I'm going to call our security officers (they'll call the regional police, but they'll beat them here by 30 minutes), mostly b/c I doubt I'll even be able to see what's going on in the dark, and we have sketchy people in our neighborhood.

 

In a suburban situation where I feel safe at 10pm? It's toilet paper, not beer bottles and condoms.

[Denisemomof4]

I'd laugh. IMO, tping a house is good, clean fun. I did it all the time as a kid, and we never got in trouble. If someone were truly being nasty, I think they'd do something more sinister. Like maybe the time I put a pile of dog poop in a nicely wrapped gift box, and then set it on fire.

:ohmy::blushing::blushing: We wanted to watch our neighbor stomp out the fire. Now that really wasn't nice.

[Desert Rat]

I'd figure it was payback for the time I tped a house and laugh. On the scale of vandalism, this one is light. If I knew the kids, I'd probably have them come over and take pictures then help me clean it up.

[cathmom]

I'm truly amazed at how many people take this so lightly!

 

I'm not saying that to be rude either...maybe it depends where you live?

 

I wouldn't go out to 'chase them away' or anything - strange people in my yard, at night, throwing toilet paper everywhere - making a huge disgusting mess that I'll end up having to clean? Darn right I'd call the police.

 

I've never known anyone who has had this done to their house..never even seen it, except on television. Like I said, maybe it depends where you live... maybe it's viewed differently in various places...someone said something about it being for good luck in their neighbourhood? So strange. Good luck, wish you well, have fun picking soggy toilet paper bits out of your tree... :001_huh:

 

:iagree:with all you said. Never done it, never had it done, think it's odd, would call the police ASAP!

[Danestress]

Not to hijack or anything....

 

I wouldn't care so much about the TP. For me, the concern would be that other parents are asleep in bed assuming that their children are also in their beds, but the kids are actually out driving around - or maybe just running around.

 

If you knew that for whatever basically "good clean fun" reason, kids had sneaked off with their friends and were at your house or you saw them out somewhere, would you just keep that to yourself? Let's say it 1:00 in the morning and you know who these kids are. Would you feel like you should just laugh or would you feel like maybe the parents would want to know and deserve to know? Would it make a difference if the kids were 14 vs. 17? Driving vs on foot?

 

As a Mom, would it concern you more if there were boys and girls both out at that hour together? If the kids just were meeting up in the woods to "hang out" in the middle of the night, would that bother you more than doing it to go TP someone?

[Jennifer in MI]

I used to do this as a kid. It was always to someone we liked (a boy or a teacher or coach). It was never meant to be mean. We always did it before curfew.

 

We also used to "fork" people's lawns. You put forks into the lawn all over! It looks hilarious! Again, good clean fun.

 

A funny story - we used to hit one girl's house more often than others because her brother was training to be a policeman (and he was cute!!). Anyway, he caught us once and handcuffed us!! He was kidding but we all thought it was in fun!

 

If kids were doing this to my house before midnight, I'd think nothing of it. If they were doing it at 3 am, I'd go outside and try to figure out who it was and I'd tell the parents (I'd sure want to know if my child were out that late!!). But no, I'd not call the police.

[Guest Katia]

We've been tp'ed several times. It's all good fun. We let them have at it, and in the morning we go out and take pictures before we clean it up.

 

One time, the weather was warm so our windows were open, and I woke up to whispered voices.....so I sat at the window and watched the kids tp'ing our house, whispering how nice it looked at how surprised we'd be in the morning, etc. When they were just about finished, (starting to throw it up in the upper tree branches where it's hard to clean off) I said, "Hey, looks like a good job!" The kids all screamed and ran. It was really funny!

 

I can't imagine anyone getting huffy about it or calling the police. It's just toilet paper!

[Joanne]

Not to hijack or anything....

 

 

As a Mom, would it concern you more if there were boys and girls both out at that hour together? If the kids just were meeting up in the woods to "hang out" in the middle of the night, would that bother you more than doing it to go TP someone?

 

The mixed gender issue for the purposes of TPing wouldn't bother me. Other outings, it might. I lived in NJ growing up, and we made regular rode trips to NYC. That WOULD bother me today as a parent.

 

There would be consequences for the breaking of house rules regarding curfew and car.

 

And, yes, if my kids were out in the middle of the night, I'd want to know. I'd evaluate it in each circumstance, and perhaps even for each child differently.

 

I just don't think that TPing a house in the middle of the night, including the sneaking driving = gateway to worse behavior. (Maybe they weren't trained properly in the pew :lol::lol:)

[HRAAB]

We've had this happen. It was my dd's friends. Neither my dh or I were upset over it. My dd took pictures and then she and a couple sisters cleaned it up. Believe it or not, they had fun. Dd wasn't mad. It was done in fun. We accepted it as teenaged fun. Probably, because I remember what a ritual this was for me when I was in high school - especially during homecoming week.

 

Personally, I do not consider it vandalism. Nothing was damaged or broken. It was toilet paper. Toilet paper doesn't damage. Make a mess - yes; damage property - no.

[Prudent]

I would call the police. Period. I wouldn't check to see if I knew the kids, or check the clock to see the time.

 

If someone were a guest into my home and vandalized my house they would never be invited back and there would be no laughing about their prank. Why is the outside of my house different? I really don't understand what is ok about throwing pre-sewage material on my landscaping.

[justamouse]

I would take pictures and tell them they missed a spot.

 

*shrug* I'm sorry. I just don't get bent on that stuff.

 

As for being out after curfew? I don't do curfews because I haven't had to yet.

[Danestress]

I just think that sometimes kids fail to appreciate that tragedies happen when people aren't doing anything particularly horrible. I just imagine these kids jumping in the car when someone comes outside, speeding off to avoid detection, and driving into a fire hydrant.

 

Actually, I think most of the time nothing bad happens at all. I just would be sort of annoyed as a parent if someone knew my kid was out doing anything, really, in the middle of the night when I thought he was home in bed. I am not particularly punitive, and might do nothing other than just talk about it with my kid. But I would want that opportunity at least.

[Carrie12345]

For some reason, I can't seem to quote properly.

 

"If someone were a guest into my home and vandalized my house they would never be invited back and there would be no laughing about their prank. Why is the outside of my house different? I really don't understand what is ok about throwing pre-sewage material on my landscaping."

 

I can understand certain aspects of the whole thing that would upset people, but this is the type of statement that makes me giggle. It just makes me wonder if visitors would be offended by being served "pre-sewage material" on their plates.

[Tap]

I would be mad if my house was TP'd because in our area it is done out of malice not friendship. It is a form of vandalism and not fun. We live in a wet climate so it doesn't come out of trees easily. Unfortunately we also live in the county (not w/i city limits) so it would take a while to get cops to come by.

 

If I saw kids while they were doing it, I would call the police and chase them off to minimize the amount of clean up we would have. If I recognized the kids, I would call the parents, no matter what time day/night and tell them what their kid was up to.

[Tidbits of Learning]

I haven't read all of the replies, but I don't think tp'ing is harmless fun.

1. You are trespassing.

2. You are violating someone's home.

3. You are being a vandal. vandalism-: willful or malicious destruction or defacement of public or private property.

4. It is illegal. You can have charges pressed against you by the police.

 

The truth is that if I woke up in the middle of the night to kids tp'ing my home. I would call the cops and I would press charges.

I have seen some kids get by with tp'ing and they up the anty every time. They add in shaving cream, eggs, spray paint. Vulgar words on doors. I have seen condoms and beer bottles as well.

It is a contest to see who can do the most damage. I don't see it as good, clean fun. The kids that tp don't stick around to clean up and it is almost always done as payback for something a kid has done or said or just to be a bully b/c the kid whose house is tp'd isn't popular.

[lynn]

Honestly if it were kids I knew, it really would not bother me. I'd have a good laugh and put the boys to work cleaning it up with their friends.

[swellmomma]

Depends on who was doing it and why. If it was one of my neighbor boys or their friends I would let it slide for the night and let them know I expected it clean before noon the next morning or their would be heck to pay. If it was one of their friends I would assume they did not realize it was actually 2 homes(we are in a duplex that looks like a single family home). And again let them know the scoop. This is mainly because those boys while they make really stupid mistakes are pretty decent kids and know my rules on things. Their friends all know me as I am the adult involved in their lives, know the comings and goings etc. SO I know they would respect me telling them to clean it up.

 

If it was anyone else I would call the cops and let them deal with it, especially if it was the kids of ds's stalker.

 

In the new house who knows what I would do. Would depend on the neighborhood, who was doing it, how well I know them etc. Likely I would call the cops unless it was years down teh road and it was neighbors that I otherwise had a good relationship with.

[Chris in VA]

It doesn't bother me. I think it has to do with the culture of the neighborhood.

 

Of course, if my neighbors tp'd us, I run screaming down the road. We live next to a cemetary--they're our only neighbors. :lol:;)

[Remudamom]

If it was my house I'd get them with some eggs. If it was someone else's house I'd join in.

[Denisemomof4]

It doesn't bother me. I think it has to do with the culture of the neighborhood.

 

Of course, if my neighbors tp'd us, I run screaming down the road. We live next to a cemetary--they're our only neighbors. :lol:;)

 

:lol::lol::lol:

[Mommyfaithe]

If it were just a bunch of nice kids, I'd tell them to come back the next day and clean it up. I'd leave it stand the night for the morning laugh.

 

I agree. i would probably just laugh. It is kind of funny.

 

~~Faithe

[TravelingChris]

I would call the police. I consider it vandalism and trespassing. We have never been tped but have been egged and also had our mailbox bashed. I don't consider any of this fun. I would think that all of you who do might want to consider teaching your children differently because there are plenty of people like me who will call the police and others who will do things like come out with guns or sic their dogs on them. It isn't fun and games.

[Joanne]

I would call the police. I consider it vandalism and trespassing. We have never been tped but have been egged and also had our mailbox bashed. I don't consider any of this fun. I would think that all of you who do might want to consider teaching your children differently because there are plenty of people like me who will call the police and others who will do things like come out with guns or sic their dogs on them. It isn't fun and games.

 

I don't consider egging and mailbox bashing in the same category.

 

Dogs and guns? If you knew it was toilet paper? Really?

[mirth]

Well, first I don't think we don't know anyone who would do this and think it were funny.

 

Anyway, if I saw shadowy figures jumping over our 6' fence to even gain access to our yard in the dark, you can bet I would be calling the police even if they have toilet paper in their hands. People should not jump a fence obviously meant to keep people out and still call it a joke for any reason.

[Joanne]

Well, first I don't think we don't know anyone who would do this and think it were funny.

 

.

 

Your username and this post will have me laughing. :lol: