Teen Pranks Gone Too Far

It seems as though everyone has heard about the teens in American Fork that went through the drive-thru at McDonalds, rapped their order, and then had the cops called on them, according to a recent National Public Radio story (www.npr.org). Are these consequences too harsh just for rapping an order at McDonalds? Maybe so, but this raises awareness to the fact that what may seem like a harmless prank could end up being not so innocent.

In the world of high school, pranks and jokes are a normal, familiar sight. And for the most part, teens keep pranks under control. But what happens when these pranks go too far?

These problems are occurring all over the world. According to the Independent website (www.independent.co.uk.), certain couples are being denied permission to adopt or foster children because of juvenile pranks they pulled decades ago. Because of regulations intended to protect children from abuse at the hands of adopted and foster parents, any prospective parent that has been convicted of a crime against a child can’t even be assessed. This applies to any crime, no matter its nature or however old the conviction.

Some teens are having charges pressed on them for seemingly harmless things. One of these cases was stated on the North of the City website (www.northofcity.ca.). In Oregon, a 13-year-old teen is going to spend the next 12 years of her life in jail, says the Progressive EU website (www.progressiveeu.org). She put rat poisoning in two fellow classmates’ milk. Prior to this, the two victims had put whipped cream in the girl’s hair at a sleepover. Because of this thirst for revenge, the girl will waste 12 years of her life in jail for attempted murder, something which could have easily been avoided.

However, there are some measures to help prevent these kind of situations. Tatyanah Powell, a customer service representative at the prank store, Prank Place, reveals what the store does to ensure their gadgets are safe.

“All of the toys we make are tested by many people before they are put in production, and they all follow the guidelines set by toy manufacturing and safety regulations,” Powell said.

But safety guidelines and tests aren’t enough, at least not for teens of today. Is it really that hard to simply think through a prank? Teens need to take some thought before they pull a prank. But don’t be too afraid to pull any pranks at all. They can still be fun, as long as they’re reasonable.