Holiday Hell: Teen Refuses To Stop Playing, Mom Calls 911
A Boston-area teen's love of gaming drove his mother to dial 911 last Saturday when the 14-year-old wouldn't put down GTA at 2:30am, hours after he'd been told to go to bed.
Single mother Angela Mejia "snapped" and called the cops after unplugging the kid's PlayStation. The police who responded talked the boy into acquiescence but didn't appear to make much of an impression upon the younger Mejia, who described the encounter thus:
"They (police) were just like, 'Chill out. Go to bed,' "
The last time a cop told me to chill out and go to bed, it was the start of a very entertaining long weekend - but something tells me lil' Mr. Mejia didn't exactly learn his lesson.
Something also tells me his mother hasn't exactly learned her lessons either, judging by her apparent lack of involvement in her son's gaming choices:
Mejia said she approves of athletic-themed videos, but as for "Grand Theft Auto," she said, "I would never buy that kind of video. No way. I called (police) because if you don't respect your mother, what are you going to do in your life?"
"Sometimes I want to run away, too," Mejia said, breaking down in tears in her immaculate apartment. "I have support from my church, but I'm alone. I want to help my son, but I can't find a way."
It's a shame to see games bring heartbreak to a family, and doubly so just days before Christmas - but the ESA and its daughter entity, the ESRB, provide multiple tools that, used properly and consistently, can prevent many of these types of situations. Ms. Mejia's lack of involvement in her son's gaming life no doubt contributed in some way to the brouhaha - but to answer her question a-la Socrates: if you don't raise your son to respect his mother, who will?
That's not a zinger - it's a serious question that seems to go unasked - and unanswered - far too often.
The 911 on video game obsession [BostonHerald]
tiny dancer
Posted to on 22 December 2009
· Comments (9)
Other stuff like this: 911, boston, mom, police, teen
For the editor:
When using stock photos like this on, there should be a caption that explains that it is a stock photo and not the mother in question.
That's some heartbreak?
My mum and stepdad split up last weekend because all he did was sit in his bedroom playing Call of Duty. He didn't even speak to my mum, or his daughter. I was appalled and still am.
Oh well, if this makes video games news it must be worse than it sounds.
Surely you can't call the police because your kid won't go to bed without getting into trouble?
Pathetic. I sure as hell hope they fine her for that shit.
So how many rapes, robberies, and murders occurred while the cops were busy trying to get this little jerk off to bed when his idiot mother should've never let him have the game to begin with? Sorry bitch, you get no sympathy from me. I'm with you on the fining, Splashchick.
Find the plug, pull it out, and tell the kid to go to bed.
And you all think you're acting better by saying things like "sorry, bitch." Wrong. You just proved that you deserve just as little sympathy as she does. And let's see *you* try to raise a defiant kid alone. And no, until you've actually tried it, you can't say you know or imagine what it's like because you don't know a damn thing about what you're talking about.
I agree whole-heartedly with Lauren. Regardless of the challenges single parents face, there is no excuse for calling 911 for a non-emergency. She's a complete tool and should be fined.
You know what Topher? I actually DO know what it's like to raise a defiant child all by myself, thank you very much. I was tasked with raising my younger brother after my father died and my mother was out with her new boyfriend for days at a stretch, so don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. If my brother wanted to play games and not do what he was supposed to do, the games went away. End of fucking story.
I'm really tired of these idiot parents who won't do their damn job then throw their hands up in the air when their kids won't behave. She says she never would've bought a game like that, why is it in her house? It's people like her who try to lay the blame on video games, heavy metal and comic books when their kids go shoot up a school. She's the parent and she needs to be the responsible one, and that means disciplining the kids and teaching them what's right.
Don't like that idea, Topher? Then please don't have kids.
Lauren, being a child therapist, I'm pretty sure I'd make a better parent than you would imagine. And I'm pretty sure I know the many ways in which to handle a defiant child. I wasn't saying the mom was right in this situation, but what I *was* and still *am* saying is that to offer her no sympathy at all is horrendous. ESPECIALLY if you can relate to her the way you do.