dazedandconfused asks: I’m a teenage girl, with a boyfriend. His parents always liked me and mine always liked him. His parents never let him stay over at my house, but the other night he told his mom he was staying at a friend’s, and instead came to my house. Around 10 his parents guessed he wasn’t at his friend’s and started freaking out, and my mom had no clue he wasn’t supposed to be there (she thought he was allowed). So as soon as she figured that out, my mom drove him home. It was around 10:30 when he got there. His parents were really mad. I don’t blame them, but his mom is claiming she’s gonna call the cops about it all. I’m worried to talk to my mom and dad about his mom wanting to involve the cops, but I know I have to. My question for you is, legally, is there really anything the cops can do? My boyfriend willingly lied to his parents and came to my house. It’s not like me or my mom forced him – my mom didn’t even know! Can the police technically get involved with this or would it be seen as a personal “deal with it yourself” thing? If they can, how serious do you think the punishment could be for me, him and/or my parents? And do you think his mom is pushing it too far?
Hi dazedandconfused –
Of course I’m just a dog, and don’t know all the laws where I live, much less for everywhere in the world (and of course I don’t know where you live!). But I can generally say… No. Certainly you and your parents have done nothing wrong at all. And the fact that your mom drove him home the second she found out what was going on proves that she was completely innocent. And even your boyfriend… the cops probably will tell him to obey his parents, but they don’t stick teens in jail for disobedience to their moms (with all the economic problems the world’s governments are suffering right now, they’d all go completely bankrupt if they had to do that!!!).
But this isn’t necessarily good news for your boyfriend! You see, police are restrained by laws; if he was arrested, they’d have to treat him with a certain amount of respect, since he’s a nonviolent citizen. Whereas his mom? She has no such leash! She might well make his life completely miserable for a long time, and no court, no ACLU, no UN, is going to dare to get in her way! What he did was romantic, exciting, and kinda dopey. I hope he is able to spend some time with you, but the odds are he’s facing a grounding like mine when I rolled in cat poo, and Handsome wouldn’t let me into the house till I’d had three baths (and I hate baths!).
So is there a good side to this? Actually, there is. You see, most parents of teenage girls worry a lot about the boys their daughters date, and what sort of values they’re brought up with. If nothing else, through this experience, your mother has learned that your boyfriend’s mother is going to enforce rules that keep you very very safe. And because of that, your life is probably just a bit easier now.
Cheers,
Shirelle