None

[angeltouch]

None

[Ebola]

From someone working in an LE field. That's an example of no use of discretion, and pure power-tripping wannabe-ism.

But to be fair, how old is your "little son". The police wouldn't be reading him anything unless he's over 12, so he's not that little?

Upon further review, a ban seems fair, seeing as your "children" seem to be functional intelligent young people, and as such I question why they need to take balls our of their packages and walk around the store playing with them.

[westernartic]

I do not beleave the rent a cops should be treating kids this way.I have seen this many many times and it makes me sick.However i aslo don't think a 14 year old should get off with out anything.I don't think a criminal record is the key.is a ban from the store that i think is very fair.I have seen many teens steal from stores a few time i even asked them about it.They say they want to do it and they will get away with it.

[Narci]

While I agree the security guards were on a power tripping spree..is it really wise in this day and age to let your 12 year old run around in a department store by himself?

[B Prime]

I'm in agreement with what has been said above.

Any type of store is not your kids playground where they can run around and open whatever they choose no matter what age they are.

Also why did you not stay and talk to the police with your son....don't you think that would have been a good idea instead of going to an appointment that you could have called and rescheduled?

[kcorscadden]

I have to agree with everyone thus far.

Even though you are disabled, this does not give you the right to allow your kids to go running around the store. Yes kids will be kids, but come on use some common sense here. Perhaps in the future you should keep a closer eye on your kids. No offense but that was your one and only mistake that was made. Had you been with your kids the whole time, you would have been able to prevent your "little" son from opening the tennis balls. Your other problem was that you lost track of where the "older" son went. You assumed that he went to the car, but you weren't 100% sure, that isn't good parenting. He could have easily been abducted by a stranger. Had you known where he went, you wouldn't have had to send the "little" son out to the car to see of he was there. So basically you made 2 HUGE mistakes that really count as 1. Again I am not trying to offend you, but seriously come on.

As for the security guards, yes they could have and should have handled it differently. It was simply a power trip on their behalf. However, what you need to understand is that Wal-Mart is an American owned company, therefore they have American policies. Theft is a huge offense in the USA, and the security guards were probably following the policies straight from the book that they were trained from. From what I have seen, MOST Wal-Mart's operate the same way in this instance except for the mocking you part which is questionable since you are the source.

[RLP06]

I skimmed through, and I think that kids are out of control these days, at 12, you should have been taught not to take a ball out of a store, or to open up wrapped up stuff.

Though he did not deserve the treatment he got, he was still wrong in opening the package and taking it out of the store. I'd understand if he was 6, but hes probably in Grade 6 or Grade 7...

You keep refering to him as the "little one" but hes not very little.

[westernartic]

OP
You say where you come from there was no law.Do you think what your child di was fine and no big deal.

[thechampion116]

its hard to say for this situation but the guard was on a power trip and doing his job.


12 year olds can be overactive at times, but they should always be watched and not left to run off freely unless with an older sibling.

The problem the guard probably has, is that he saw your son with the toy the whole time, and you never actually took the toy from him and put back where it belong. That is probably where the problem may be, and it makes it seem as you thought it was ok for him to play with the ball around the store, and eventually let him take it home.

[apvm]

No offense but there is an old saying Parents always look upon their children as small.....My mother used to treat me like a little child even tho I was over 40. I don't hug my 12 years old daughter anymore unless she ask me to....I don't think 12 years old is tiny and a gang of them can do lots more damage than you can imagine and as a responsible adult, you shouldn't even leave your minors in public places in the 1st place.

IMO, I think you forgot to teach your children when they were really small and tiny to respect other people's properties and to behave in public places...those kind of stuff.

Running around and trying out all the toys in Walmart....hmmmm I don't suppose when you're at Best Buy, you run around and open up all those play things to try them out...

Once again .... no offense.

[RLP06]

Running around and trying out all the toys in Walmart....hmmmm I don't suppose when you're at Best Buy, you run around and open up all those play things to try them out...

Agreed, one time this guy at CT was trying to open up a MP3 player to give it a try before he bought it, but the sales rep kept refusing him, so the customer kept arguing to open it... long story short, teach your kids they can't open up sealed stuff, it costs the company which in turn costs OTHER consumers like US, who have taught our kids to not open sealed packages

[WildPegasus]

Can't do the time then don't do the crime!

[Narci]

What if your 2 sons were playing willian tell in the sports department with an archery set? Do you blame the store if your little one had an arrow in his eye? What if your little one tried to kick the tennis ball and ended up head first into a sharp corner?

Kids, especially boys, need to be watched (14 year old watching a 12 year old isn't much different then letting them run amok themselves) and I agree...children are playful, but there's a time and place for everything and a department store isn't a place to play..it can actually be quite dangerous. One time, i was about 10, I was chasing another kid around the department store. I round the corner and whammo, I ran into a corner of a shelf and cut my upper eye lid/brow open. I had to goto the hospital and get stitches. My mom was telling me it was a deep cut and fat was gushing out of the wound A cm lower I could have lost an eye.

[Canuck_2005]

I skimmed through your post, I also read almost every post in the lablaws watermelon thread this summer, and in comparison your situation is much different. Just in the way you describe your son, I would say your side is extremly bias sounding

12 years old is not "A little one" at 12 years old, I was stacking hay (some days 1200 bails a day) in my moms farm because my father passed away and it needed to be done and i needed to be resposible to help my mother.

Second, your kid opened a package to play with the ball. By doing this he just cost wallmart money. If i go to purchase something already opened I would expect a discount.

Third. you told your son to put the ball back. He didnt listen to you, he ignored you and kept the ball and took it out of the store.

Maybe the guard was on a power trip, but he is doing his job and cheap things such as a ball can add up and equal thosands in losses.

[CSK'sMom]

All I can say is wow.... and not to the part about the security guard either. It's pretty irresponsible in this day and age to let a 12 yr old run wild in Walmart. He could have been molested for gawd's sake! The 14 yr old is just that, 14, not his brothers keeper (or babysitter). Supervise your kids and teach them when instructed to do something (like put the tennis ball back) to do it. I have 3 kids (ages 12 and up) and they have never done anything like that, it's not the norm. They know how to behave in public and especially in stores. They do not open packages of merchandise that doesn't belong to them. It is stealing!