I got caught stealing a bottle of vodka from a shop, were my parents right to take drastic action with my punishment?

[prettypatricia]

3 days ago i stole a bottle of vodka from my local shop as a dair from my so called friends, it turned out badly i got caught, because its a local shop and the shopkeeper knows my parents she called them and not the police, when my parents turned up i was ashamed, the shopkeeper told my parents that she expects me to be properly punished, my parents said that i would be serverely punished, my parents said that they dont want me to go to prison, and its only right that they should give me a taste of prison life, i will be LOCKED UP every weekend for 4 weeks, this means when i return home from school on a Friday i will be escorted to my room and LOCKED IN , no tv no phone etc 9pm lights out and bed, the next morning 6am alarm call UNLOCKED then a shower then get dressed, after breakfast i will be locked in my room for the rest of the day i will be expected to study and will be set essays to write, i will eat in my room and will only be allowed out for the bathroom otherwise my bedroom door will be LOCKED with a key at all times lights out and bed 9pm ( PRISON ) my parents have sentenced me to 4 weekends imprisonment as my punishment for stealing, i have just served my first weekend and it was HORRIBLE i was so bored just looking at the ceiling and 4 walls, it was warm and sunny outside but i was shut in i know i have done wrong but surly i dont deserve to be punished like this?

Updates

6 mo

i have just got an invite from my cousin who is 16 next Saturday she is having her birthday bash at a safari bark then a big party and barbecue in the evening, both me and my 2 sisters are invited, my parents have said as i am on punishment i can't go , i have begged them to let me go as it will be so much fun, they refused and said i will be spending the weekend LOCKED IN my room, with nothing to do, my parents say my punishment is loss of freedom which means NO going out I DONT DESERVE THIS?

[Screenwriter]

If the shopkeeper had called the police and had you arrested, you would have spent time in jail until your parents bailed you out.

I don't agree with locking you in your room for punishment.

You are incredibly lucky you DID NOT enter the system and have a police record from stealing. In addition, who are these "friends?" They should ALSO be punished by their parents! And, I think I'd give them a wide berth in the future.

What FRIENDS encourage to steal liquor, or ANYTHING! I've heard of these shoplifting rites of passage. I think my punishment for you would have been to have you WORK for that shopkeeper every weekend for four weeks for 5 hours a day. Fri, Sat, Sun.

You should learn how hard it is to make money from owning a business, and how cruel and thoughtless you were to steal FROM SOMEONE YOU KNOW!!!

I hope you've apologized to this person IN WRITING and verbally. I think you SHOULD offer to work for them in repayment. And if you never talk to those friends again, it'll be too soon. Good luck.

[prettypatricia]

the reason my parents locked me in my room is because they want me to feel what its like in prison, my parents have made me write a letter of apology to the shopkeeper and thanking her for not calling the police, my parents also made me write two 4 page essays one on why its wrong to steal and another on unacceptable behavour and punishment, my parents say they want be to learn from being punished, do you agree with the essays? i HATE them

[Screenwriter]

The essays are OK. I think WORKING for the shopkeeper is much more effective. It's real-world boots on the ground work. Suggest that to them and see if the shopkeeper would be on board. At 16 with no record it is unlikely you've ever go to jail. I say you work off your idiocy with the shopkeeper. Sweep her floors, clean her toilets, wipe off the counters and dust her store. Watch how she runs her business. Real remuneration for your crime is far better than being locked in a room where you do no one any good.

[prettypatricia]

my parents say they will consider this but only after i have served my lockdown punishment ( WHICH I HATE ) they did say if i show remorse study and make a good job of the essays i could earn parole and get the last weekend off, i have done my first 2 essay but will be set new essays to write next weekend is this fair?

[Screenwriter]

THeir house, their rules. Was it fair of you to steal from that shopkeeper? It wasn't. So suck it up and take your medicine.

[prettypatricia]

next Saturday my friend is having a barbecue, I can't GO , the Saturday after is my cousins birthday party at a safari park and i am invited, I can't GO , i am going to miss out on so much fun , i dont like being locked up and having my freedom taken away why is punishment so misreable?

[Screenwriter]

To keep you from repeating the miserable mistake you've made.

There will be many more barbecues and birthday parties in your life. Be glad you didn't end up in front of a judge. Then you'd be on criminal probation, likely until you were 18 years old. This is small potatoes. Stop whining. You were WRONG. Accept the punishment and complete it!

And don't do anything like this again.

[prettypatricia]

i have told my parents i will never steal again and i am sorry , so why do i still have to suffer being punished for another 3 weekends , its so boring being shut in a room all weekend with nothing to do except schoolbooks and punishment essays to write, if you were my parents what could i do or say for you to let me off of punishment?

[Screenwriter]

One last time: Your parents have outlined what you have to do to make up for your mistake. Just do it and stop complaining. You did the crime. You do the time. Words mean little. Your actions of COMPLETING your punishment do. You can do NOTHING to get out of the punishment. The punishment is the POINT. If you don't understand this, it's clear this is why your parents are handling you in this manner.

Your words make it clear you don't understand the harm you've done, STILL. Personally, I think you should've gone before the judge and been arrested. Your head is as hard as a rock. If you were on probation, you would be on court probation, more than likely, for at least A YEAR, and in some cases, until you were 18.

You have gotten off
so easy, it's ridiculous. A month of not going out on weekends! After STEALING! You might've gone to juvenile lockup, or sat in jail until your parents bailed you out. You would be permanently traumatized after either of those occurrences. You have no clue what type of messed up juveniles from broken homes with families who are equally messed up and don't CARE what their kids are up to or how their kids turn out, because no one cared about THEM.

STOP complaining. And finish. You only have two weekends left, right? Wrap it up and you're done.

[Anonymous]

I showed my parents this question. They said being locked up every weekend like you are is a little extreme. If it was me they would've grounded me for a month no phone no friends. I'd have to write a letter of apology to the store owner and work for free in the store for the month on weekends. I work on weekends in a supermarket as a cashier so I'd probably lose that job because I wouldn't be able to work there and at the store that I stole from. I stole a pack of gum when I was 8 and they made me bring it back and apologize to the cashier. I was so embarrassed but I definitely learned my lesson about stealing.

[prettypatricia]

the reason my parents locked my bedroom door is i always sneak when grounded so they locked me up, i have written a letter of apology to the shopkeeper , i also have to write two 4 pafe essays per weekend , i had to write one on why its wrong to steal and another on unaceptable behavour and punishments, being locked up is a HORRIBLE punishment i DONT like it, i dont want to serve another 3 weekends locked away, punishment is very hard and boring?

[Drumlin2001]

In some countries they would cut your hand off.
You have to stay in your room for a month, suck it up, stop moaning and grow up. Stop being a theif and learn to be a better citizen

[prettypatricia]

but i dont like being locked in my room its so boring its a misreable punishment why can't i be given another chance and let off of punishment?

[Drumlin2001]

You deserve everything. You were robbing the shopkeeper of a living, you need to grow up. Time to learn actions have consequences. You should be grateful it's your parents and not the courts, cause if this had been reported to the police you could be sitting in a cell with plenty of other criminals around you

[prettypatricia]

oh i HATE being locked in my room its HORRIBLE , its not fair that i am being locked up like a common criminal, i REALLY REALLY want to go to my cousins birthday party, i but i will be locked up why is punishment so hard and misreable?

[Drumlin2001]

Tough.
You're really sounding like a spoiled, entitled brat. Do you really not understand what you did and that it was wrong? You're not a kid anymore. You're on the verge of adult hood and the responsibilities that come with it.
Let's flip this, imagine someone stole your phone. They get caught, and the next weekend you see them at a big party, gheynhaven teen punished at all, won't have learnt a lesson. Would you think that was fair?

[ChicoFromThe305]

You got it easy what you mean, you got saved from actual jail time 😂

[prettypatricia]

i dont think i got off easy i will have to spend another 3 weekends locked away in my bedroom , i will have NOTHING to do except schoolwork , the boredom is terrible, i dont like this form of punishment?

[ChicoFromThe305]

You know in jail people rub their shit on the walls and floor right? And cops make you clean it up, if you got a jail like the ones here they give you some thin ass sandals and you gotta clean it with them shots on, but in jail for shop lifting you wouldn't get for than a week, but the beds aren't as comfortable and the food is shit 😂

[ChicoFromThe305]

More*

[prettypatricia]

that doesn't make my punishment less harsh ?

[ChicoFromThe305]

It would if you spent time in jail, were you expecting no punishment, just eat it bro, or learn to finesse better lol

Or best choice of all, don't steal

[_Maya_]

Wow so that's pretty drastic yeah? Just one thing though. I don't buy a word of it. Your parents have you on lock down but yet here you are posting this. You can't even do anything but look at the walls yet somehow they didn't take away your phone or computer. You of course see how ironic this is that you can come on GAG but aren't allowed to do anything but have supervised bathroom trips? I don't know what made you dream this story up but this didn't actually happen.

[prettypatricia]

today is Monday so i am not on lockdown, its only at the weekends that i am being punished?

[DryGermanGuy]

@_Maya_
It’s a fake story from the Locked-In-Troll. Just look at the same story over and over again from the users bouncybecky, lucy12newbury, badbilly2, goodgirlbecky, patrick123456 …

[exitseven]

If the storekeeper called the cops you would have spent some time in a real jail cell. Then there was the whole thing with going to court. The judge would probably make you pick up trash by the side of the road. I think your parents are giving you a fair punishment. Take your punishment and try to learn from it. Those kids are not your friends.

[DryGermanGuy]

@all
It’s a fake story from the Locked-In-Troll. Just look at the same story over and over again from the users bouncybecky, lucy12newbury, badbilly2, goodgirlbecky, patrick123456 …
Troll, get professional help for your weird fetish.

[RedInnocent68]

Is that a thing? Weird.

[Anonymous]

Yeah they’re right. Play stupid games win stupid prizes. Now you might think twice before doing something idiotic like that again. Enjoy the coming 3 weekends.

[prettypatricia]

i spent the whole weekend locked in my room with nothing but schoolbooks, i could see the sunny weather from my locked bedroom window, my parents even made me write essays and a letter of apology to the shopkeeper, i am going to hate the next 3 weekends its HARD very hard?

[RedInnocent68]

If it is legit, seems appropriate. Not fun getting a hand cut off.

[prettypatricia]

i dont like being punished it hurts big time, i just want to be let off why can't i just be let off of punishment?

[RedInnocent68]

Okay, so fake now. What’s your kink? Would you rather be spanked? 😂

[prettypatricia]

no not really, but my punishment is long dull and very very boring, why can't punishment be less painful?

[Anonymous]

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

[prettypatricia]

i must be honest i can't do the time one weekend locked up was enough i can't stand another 3 weekends being punished, why can't i just serve one weekend?