A group of \~12 year olds (about 6 of them) ran up behind my partner and I (late 20s) while we were walking to chipotle. One of them asked if he could cut through the middle of us, under our hands. We thought it was cute/funny so we lifted our hands up and allowed him to pass under. We all smiled and briefly laughed about it. 3 seconds later one of the other kids splashed a whole cup of soda across our backs. The kids laughed at us, and the one who threw it said “oh sorry, I must have slipped!”. I took a couple steps towards them and they all ran away, laughing. My instinct was to grab the kid by the wrist and idk call the cops or something. Instead, we just shook it off and kept walking, cleaned ourselves up in the chipotle bathrooms.
What should I have done in this situation? I feel like it would be wrong to react by chasing down or grabbing a kid’s wrist just for being a brat. Ultimately, I’m sure he’ll do something to the wrong person and learn his lesson. It was an isolated incident, and not that serious, but it doesn’t stop me from thinking, should kids just be allowed to get away with that kind of stuff all the time?
44 comments
I have social anxiety so i would’ve done the same tbh, though i’d be thoroughly pissed off
They do it expecting a reaction, but you’re right: one day they are gonna get the wrong reaction out of someone. If there is like mall security or something around then talk to them, but ultimately not your monkeys not your circus…
It’s honestly just TikTok influence, one can hope they grow up or something.
This is so infuriating!!!!!!! I’d be so angry, humiliated, etc. Especially as it sounded cute and playful until they poured the soda on you. Such a cute moment turning out to be so terrible makes me mad!
But you probably did the right thing as they were looking for a freak out
Just walk away. It’s not worth laying hands on a minor, good way to end up with court / jail time
Insert child, head first, into the nearest trash receptacle. Just keep saying “it’s a prank bro” while you’re doing it.
Personally if a 12 year old asked to run under my partner and I, we’d probably both decline. That’s more like “underdog” for swings for little children, not preteens.
I had something like this happen to me. I grabbed the kid and told him I was going to call his parents to give me their phone number or I was going to call the cops because I already had their number and he could pick. I imagine they would almost always pick the parents such as this kid did. When they answered I asked the name of their child to verify and when they told me I explained to the them what had happened while the kid begged for me not to tell them. At the end I told the parents I accepted their kids apology and went on my way.
Some will call this too harsh. But as you said, I would rather this outcome than doing it to the wrong person and getting assault on their record or getting beat up or something. Never saw them again but I hope they learned a valuable lesson that day that didn’t ruin their life
Those little shits need to learn respect. They’ll learn the hard way by pissing off the wrong person.
I don’t know how I’d act. I know how I’d want to act though. I’d quickly assess my surroundings and determine how to proceed.
Not sure what would be best in the moment, but after the fact you might consider posting on Nextdoor. People in my area post about misbehaving kids pretty often on there, hoping their parents will see it & discipline their children. Sometimes it actually seems to help (garden decor has been returned, etc).
The audacity as well as the action needs to be swiftly and harshly punished, and that will either be illegal or look bad when they record you. This is why they roam in a gang. So any just retaliation is very risky. Feels like crap to be so helpless and not be able to defend yourself. This is how bullies operate.
Calling them human garbage is an unaffected serious tone is the most accessible option.
I wouldn’t try to confront or detain them (not sure what qualifies for kidnapping) but I’d do my best to try and get a picture or video if I could be fast enough. I’d probably try calling 911 and saying it’s not an emergency but that there are kids harassing (vandalizing?) people in public, and offer the photo or at least a description.
While nothing would probably come from the call, you never know. I got lucky as a kid being at a family event one day when my regular group of friends got up to no good and decided to burn old textbooks in an old bike tire on a playground, they panicked and tried pushing it off down the slide but the burning rubber tire stopped it midway and the slide melted a huge hole in it. Several hours later a cop saw them riding their bikes and they matched witness descriptions and they got hit with community service and splitting the cost to replace the slide. So it’s not impossible that they’d be caught and get in trouble…
I don’t know what you should have done in that situation. I know what I would WANT to do in that situation, but I also know I’d end up in jail… so I’d probably just vent about the little shits on the internet. What a fucking little shit.
I had a friend back in middle school who would do something similar. When he crossed the road at a crosswalk he would tap a little beat on random cars’ hoods, he thought it was hilarious…until one day he did it to a dude’s Lexus and the guy jumped out and beat him up. He never did it again after that.
Kick it
Kids are coddled so much now a days that even if you did call the parents, there’s a 50% chance they’d be all, “My child would never do such a thing!”
Give them the Peoples Elbow!
Tell on the kid. All you can do. I did to a kid that kept disrupting a movie. The mom let him have it.
I don’t know what the right thing to do is but I’d imagine after they start running I’d have given up and be annoyed for a while and remember it randomly making my day a little less good.
I’ve just recently got a job involving driving a truck and was driving through a tight road so going slowly. 3 kids from a good distance away walking on the road just don’t move to the side. 3 kids playing chicken with my 5 tonn truck they end up centimeters from my truck and slap the front of it as if it was cool to do so.
I wish I could punish them somehow for being complete idiots but now its just an annoying thought that I think about more than I should.
Kids are dumb, also I get a lot of highschool kids pretending to cross the road as I’m driving past and they laugh as if it’s so funny. I just don’t understand
teach them a lesson they will never forget…like respect
honestly I would have not been the grownup adult I should be and throw water in their back aswell 😅
Best to de-escalate the situation with children, especially those that you don’t know.
Maybe this is just me being south east asian but my initial reaction is a light swing with my palm heading to the kid’s face
Might want to check the laws with regards to hitting a minor, cus I’ve had several cops tell me it doesn’t matter if the punk is a minor or not, people have the right to defend themselves if it’s warranted.
I followed a kid home once for throwing rocks at my car. I told him I was going to follow him until he took me to his house. Told the mom at the door and she took care of it. Now, I probably wouldn’t do that. I’d be worried that the parents could react badly. I would give them a stern talking to.
I saw a video where a kid was making a mess in a restaurant in the US. He had around 12. He was very annoying calling names to adults and employees.
Eventually, he was kicked out of the restaurant, but he kept making a fuss until a guy lost their patient, and simply took the kid and threw away to the sidewalk.
Nobody helped him.
He stayed at the sidewalk crying his ass off, claiming he got injured.
After some minutes, when nobody gave any kind of attention, his mate called him to walk away, riding their bikes.
Kids who don’t treat others with respect, especially adults, can become any kind of sociopath – from lower levels as assholes to the higher levels (assaults, robbery, and so on).
It is not ok to throw things towards people randomly on the street. It is probably not the first time.
An alternative way you should grab him and demand appropriate apologies, ask for his parents together with a police force. It would be a lesson he would never forget.
I’d put my hand near my waist and advise them that some people carry guns
It took me a few minutes but I just realized what you should’ve done in that moment when he sprayed your back and said I slipped. Kids are usually wired by nature to respond to commands from adults. So you should’ve, put on an angry but serious and calm face, and said, “Come here!” while doing that finger point and curl thing, something like this (🫵🫰). It’s boomer as hell, but it’s the only thing that would make them get serious for a little bit. And then you explain to him to never do that again to you or anyone else, or else the police will be called the next time it happens.
If the kid who did it feels any genuine shame or regret, then you tell him to apologize to you and your partner. You could also ask him where his parents are at so you can have a talk with them but if he doesn’t want to give any information about his parents whereabouts then at least you got an apology from the kid.
Now if the kid comes up to you but is still not acting serious or is still in “bully mode” you tell him, “how would you feel if my kids did that to you or your friends and got away with it? You wouldn’t like that, now would you?” If he’s still not serious no matter how many times you try to explain anything then he and the rest of them are a lost cause.
And they’re also a lost cause if he or the friend group doesn’t obey your command to come over in the first place.
Also that’s as far as you can go to feel any sense of justice or self-respect for yourself because kids are a protected group in society. Well actually all of nature.
But anyways there is one lesson learned here, and that is to never do any stupid favors for a group of kids.
This happened to me when I was in 2nd grade, some other kid ran up to me unexpectedly asking if I was scared of water it happened suddenly I didn’t react and was splashed by a water bottle lol then he said guess not and ran away
Chasing after them
I learned to snowboard this past winter, in my mid 30s. It was a learning curve, so I wasn’t very great.
Never been to ski resorts until now, and one of the reasons was because I learned growing up in the area the people who go to them are generally pretty shitty, entitled people. My outside belief was confirmed once I spent months at ski resorts. Mind you, it’s ALWAYS skiers, but I digress. I just wanted to give some context.
I was strapping in, and someone whizzed by me, super close to spray me with snow. I was in an area where people get their gear on, so he obviously was doing it on purpose, given he had more than enough room, and it was dead at the time. I yelled “thanks asshole!” before looking up. All i knew was it wasn’t one of my friends.
On the ski lift he kept looking back and waving at me, clearly smiling. He yelled “hey” but I ignored him. When I got to the top, I realized it was a teenager (14-15 maybe). I asked him why he was being a dick. He played stupid. I said he sprayed me with snow, and he knew it. He apologized and said he didn’t mean to. So I told him, he clearly did mean to and wasn’t sorry, because he spent time on the chair lift waving at me and smirking, so he knew what he did.
He said sorry again. I told him to stop being a fucking asshole, go have fun, and be safe. Then I left.
He definitely didn’t expect to get called out, and I could tell he didn’t have that happen often, because he shut down immediately while being confronted. He either learned something or didn’t. I’m absolutely pro calling people out for being shitty, even if they’re kids. Shitty kids become shitty adults.
Personally, I think that grabbing the kid and calling his parents is the best response, but we can’t always think of the best response in the moment.
Shit heads like this need consequences.
In the real world? I would lecture them calmly but firmly. In an imaginary virtual world? Mortal Combat-style Flying Kick to the butt.
Could that be assault, the same as spiting on someone, if they pour their drink on you.
I’ve realized from reading this thread, that I am not a tolerant person. Those kids are lucky they didn’t assault me. I’m sorry that you experienced that.
idc what the law says beat the kids ass
I dunno what world most people grew up in but in my case I woulda been chased down and hit a few times.
Probably woulda called the cops and had me arrested for assault and got my ass whipped 2 and then again by the cops and a third when I got home to momma.
I dunno this world today most people I come across are just conniving and don’t stand any kind of ground or have any kind of morals.
Slap the shit out of them.
Trip them and say “oh I must have misstepped”
Punch them right in the throat.
Some light physical aggression. Take his jacket and pee on it, rub on the dirt. I don’t know. But I’d get PROPORTIONALLY physical.
Punch them in the fucking face
Once I had a 13 year old throw dog shit (or some form of shit) at my head at night at the beach , I was able to get a hold of him , I saw he had some expensive nikes I took them and got to my car he was sobbing yelling “give me my Nikes , give me my Nikes!!!!!!!” As he’s trying to figure out how to bash my window, flailing his arms at it. I opened the window a bit to tell him to cry to mommy to buy you a new pair . Hahahaha I sold the shoes for like $200 online 😂. Bet he learned his lesson . I didn’t hurt him physically and I didn’t cus at him so win?