“911, What’s your emergency? I’m sorry, what?”
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 4:00PM Most children will listen obediently when their mom or dad tells them it’s time to turn off their video game and go to bed. Some kids or even adults (guilty) will put up a bit of a fight, but ultimately concede, put down the controller and call it a night. Then there are some kids that need the long arm of the law to force them submit to their parents wishes.
Enter the world of a Boston woman who, unable to get her 14-year-old son to turn off his video game last Saturday at 2:30 a.m. and go to bed, called 911 for help. Despite the strangeness of the call, two police officers were dispatched and were able to convince the young pup to simmer down and go to bed…because that’s what police officers should spend their time doing.
Now I have this crazy theory that the calling of 911 is reserved for emergencies only. Emergencies. Only. You see a drunk driver swerving all over the road – call 911. You see armed men masks storming out of a bank – call 911. You see a meteor clash land in the woods near your house and hear sounds that could only originate from hostile alien life forms – call 911.
Surely the boy’s mother was at the end of her rope, and in her mind this was a serious enough situation to call the authorities. I can’t imagine that it was the first clash she’s had with the boy over his obsessive gaming. But what I see is a parent’s inadequate and ill-timed attempt to reign in their child’s unhealthy gaming habits; allowing the problem escalate to the point of calling the boys in blue. Don’t even get me started on the fact that this whipper snapper was playing a game (Grand Theft Auto) that is rated for ages 17 and up…
I do feel sorry for Boston mom, I really do, but she’s part of the legions of parents that don’t take adequate steps to control their children’s gaming habits until it’s too late.
So parents take note: if your child is developing a bad habit, nip it in the bud before you snap, call 911 and make a fool of yourself in the national media. And unless you’re witnessing a crime, medical emergency or alien invasion, do your community a favor and don’t tie up emergency phone lines.
Reader Comments (2)
Maybe her 14 year old son WAS an alien, Brent. Have you thought about that? Huh?
All true, but why would the 911 dispatcher actually send this out to the officers? Shouldn't she have been able to explain (nicley or not) that this was not an emergency?