Mom Calls Cops on Son: What Would You Do?

Today, we reported on the arrests of two suspects (one of whom was only 15-years-old) in connection with the earlier this month.

Police say they got a lead in the case when the mother of one of the suspects discovered "very expensive looking things" in her home and called the cops on her son, who later turned himself in.

Police say up to $100,000 in skateboards, video cameras, clothing and sunglasses were stolen from the store, and that so far, they've recovered about $37,000 worth of the missing items.

As a mom-to-be, I have to wonder: would I have done the same thing? Question is: would you?

Our Kennesaw Mom columnist, Kristi Vinson, recently of her  youngest child and ultimately, came to the conclusion that sometimes you just have to pick your battles and overlook some of the more frustrating habits of your children.

Of course, Kristi spoke of spilled grapes, mysterious Sharpie stains and missing sheets. And a stockpile of dishes hidden under the bed hardly equates to discovering thousands of dollars worth of stashed goods.

While I can't specifically comment on the above incident, my first reaction is to applaud any "tough love" mom who would have the strength to encourage (nudge? force?) her child to turn himself in after committing a crime. However, my own bundle of joy is yet to arrive, so I don't have the parenting experience to truly gauge what I would have done in a similar situation.

As a parent, would you ever turn your child in to police if you knew he or she was guilty of a crime? And for those of you who aren't parents, could you call the cops on your darling hypothetical problem child?

Of course, every situation is different depending on a number of factors: is your child still a juvenile, how serious is the crime, what charges do they face?

Then again, maybe not.

Once your son or daughter crosses that legal line, do the responsibilities of discipline automatically pass from the hands of the parent to the handcuffs of the state?

And how willingly do you, as a parent, give up that control?