12-06-2006, 12:47 AM
As potentially controversial as this is going to sound, I can think of a number of juveniles I've dealt with through the years who might have been better served by parents who took a hard line approach like this mother did. I'm sure there's much more to this story (starting with the fact the mother of a 12 year old is only 27 herself!), but just the additional information about his criminal history before this incident indicates somebody needs to do something to get his attention. Sadly, the juvenile justice system is occasionally the only option for some people, especially those with low incomes and no access to social services.