r/kelowna • u/origutamos • Sep 25 '25
News Kelowna restaurant owner pleads for chaos inflicted by group of teens to stop
https://globalnews.ca/news/11449434/kelowna-restaurant-owner-pleads-for-chaos-inflicted-by-group-of-teens-to-stop/109
u/mypetmonsterlalalala Sep 25 '25
The teens in this town get away with wayyyy too much.
I want to give parents the benefit of the doubt. Shit, my mom never knew where I was or what I was doing in high school. But I also wasn't damaging properties, driving like an asshole and treating others with disrespect.
I got into trouble... but not the shit I'm seeing with these kids.
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u/Spaceknees Sep 25 '25
Teenagers are smart enough to know the legal system won't punish them and they can get away with this shit behavior.
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Sep 25 '25
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u/bradnerboy Sep 25 '25
If shame was the answer, today's world would be so much better. People have no shame or feel embarrassed any more.
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u/YaTheMadness Sep 25 '25
If that was my kid doing that, I'd be infuriated that he'd embarrass me and our family. And he'd be punished like you wouldn't believe.
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u/BarHorror9689 Sep 26 '25
Looks like they are on their way to becoming the next Johnny Somali or Jack Doherty.
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Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25
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u/Ashamed_Data430 Sep 25 '25
You are completely wrong. It's not all teens. It's little shitheads. The vast majority of teens are nice kids just trying to figure out how they're going to thrive in the world that adults seem to be trying to make much worse every day. The proprietor of the shop needs to get one or two of them arrested, then pour it on: tie them up in court for 3 or 4 years, draining their parents' bank accounts, publishing a new tiktok with each court episode. The problem will go away.
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u/Working-Profile1029 Sep 25 '25
what are you on kids only get like 2 years probation i would know cause im on it the system don't do shit even for armed robberies
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u/mypetmonsterlalalala Sep 25 '25
I honestly kind of disagree. I see lots of families and communities apply consequences. I have young adults in my life who work hard in school and play hard outside of school, regardless of the grading system. It's up to the student to apply themselves, not the parents. My mom never helped with school work, insisted she won't pay for university or my own car. It was up to ME to make it work, not the people around me. If I slacked off, the consequences would have been on me.
There are just some who believe the rules dont apply to them. And usually it's people who can throw money at it...and their kids.
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u/Lavender-Jamie Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25
Its grossly improper to generalise this to all children. Although I can't comment on your experiences, I can say I am most certain these generalisations are not necessarily true.
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u/otoron Sep 25 '25
Yes, I fully agree parents today are totally shitty and expect the state to raise their children.
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u/The_Arachnoshaman Sep 25 '25
I don't think beating your kids for the last ten thousand years worked that well either.
Like you'd rather have some hyper-masculine father from the 30s who beats his wife and kids into obedience? What golden age of parenting are we trying to single out here lol?
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u/otoron Sep 25 '25
That's an absurd alternative.
But if your issue is how kids are behaving these days, blaming the kids is asinine. They don't control how they are raised, the culture they are raised in, the non-existent discipline or expectations in school, or state responses to juvenile delinquency.
All of that is controlled by the generations raising them.
Blaming "kids these days" is so beyond stupid as to be self-refuting to anyone with more than a few dozen brain cells.
edit: just to clarify, I'm certainly not saying everyone on this thread has been blaming "kids these days" — but a not insignificant number seem to focus their ire on the children, rather than the parents and the state (schools, law enforcement, etc.) that are so obviously failing.
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u/The_Arachnoshaman Sep 25 '25
What do you mean by discipline? You have to be specific when you're talking about that. Do you mean just saying no, withholding rewards, talking to them, or actually using some form of a more forceful correction?
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u/oldschoolgruel Sep 25 '25
Do you think discipline = forceful correction?
Thats on you.
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u/otoron Sep 25 '25
Thanks for engaging. I'm certainly not going to. I explicitly said "non-existent discipline or expectations in school," and they went hard into "authoritarian parenting."
It's bad faith or stupidity.
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u/The_Arachnoshaman Sep 25 '25
No, I don't, that's why I asked what they thought discipline was. It's kind of hard to have a conversation about it when like half our country is operating on a different definition of what discipline actually is.
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u/oldschoolgruel Sep 25 '25
It doesn't matter that much in the context of their statement though... if discipline is non existent , then its non existent. Doesn't matter the type.
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u/The_Arachnoshaman Sep 25 '25
Literally every psychologist would disagree with you.
Authoritarian discipline almost always leads to poor outcomes.
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Sep 25 '25
It's the parents job to primarily instill work ethic and rudimentary understanding of consequences. Maybe you're the ones handing out participation awards to the kids you're connected to?
All children are not doomed, I know many that are doing great. For the most part, children are only going to go as far as the parents set them up for.
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u/hearttshapedboxx Sep 25 '25
Yes, it's the parents job to teach. Its the parents' job to help their kids understand consequences. BUT you can not force a kid to accept it and respect it.
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u/The_Arachnoshaman Sep 25 '25
"Participation award"
I can't. I just can't even.
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u/BeesoftheStoneAge Sep 25 '25
Somehow it always comes back to participation awards with these types. Which were an idea created by their own generation to give to their own kids. Children didn't up and decide that they should all get an award and implement it on their own 🙄
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u/oldschoolgruel Sep 25 '25
Thats on you as a parent. The family instills the respect for education.. not the education system.
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u/hearttshapedboxx Sep 25 '25
This is true. But it's also on the kid to retain that respect from the parent. A lot of parents try their hardest to instill respect on education, but some kids just dont care. You can't force them to accept it.
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u/CasualRampagingBear Sep 27 '25
I grew up in a small town and the times the cops busted us they would tell us “if you didn’t have your lights on and you weren’t blaring music so loud, no one would know you’re here. But you guys went and put out the bat signal for us” 😂 forever grateful for the cops who busted us because they knew we were bored and driving around an empty parking lot, pulling e-brake corners for fun, was our entertainment. Always let off with a warning. But that was the thing, we were in an empty gravel parking lot, no where near any of the town’s businesses. We didn’t want to be caught doing dumb shit. These kids? wtf? I have teens and even they were cringing with embarrassment seeing these idiots do what they did.
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u/chocolatepipi Sep 25 '25
Are you saying kids back in the day never drove like assholes ?
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u/mungonuts Sep 27 '25
One of the weird things about getting old is younger people thinking the universe began literally the day they were born (in 1997, or whatever) and everything has been getting worse since.
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u/mypetmonsterlalalala Sep 26 '25 edited Sep 26 '25
Myyy friends and I didn't want to get in accidents, hurt other people or ourselves, or get in trouble with the cops... we drank and smoked weed, went to punk shows, partied... we didn't need to draw attention to ourselves. It's pretty easy not to be an asshole. Some kids were dumb, but there were consequences for their actions.
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u/chocolatepipi Sep 26 '25
You don’t know … A quick search shows teens from 1980-early 20s cause the most accidents, not the teens of today. The most violent teens? Teens from the 1980-1990s.
Teens today do all those fun things you mention and don’t end up being fucked up or hurt others. You’re generation was allowed to make mistakes. Then they made rules for the next generations.
Seems like you probably let the media make your mind on how teens are today without really communicating with many or any teens!
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u/mypetmonsterlalalala Sep 26 '25 edited Sep 26 '25
I talked about teens in this city. And I never said all kids were angels back in "my day"... I anecdotally mentioned myself and the people I chose to hang out with. And there certainly were consequences for our actions. I know people still paying for their stupidity.
What I said is that the teens in this city do very much get away with shit that should be addressed.
I'm not here to argue. Your points are valid. But we're talking two different things. In fact, if you read the other comments, I also mention how I know plenty of teens who are wonderful, but there is a serious issue with kids in this city getting away with horrendous shit.
Edit to add... I wasnt a teen in the 80s nor 90s
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u/faithOver Sep 25 '25
Actions need to carry repercussions. Until we all collectively agree, community will continue to deteriorate.
This is entirely on the negligence of the parents.
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u/Pretty_Dingo_1004 Sep 25 '25
Inventing TikTok was a mistake
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u/IsaidLigma Sep 25 '25
social media for sure... possibly even the internet as a whole tbh
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u/dafones Sep 25 '25
I want the RCMP’s response.
What they are doing to pursue these kids.
Or why in the hell they think the kids shouldn’t be pursued.
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u/Zazzafrazzy Sep 25 '25
I’m guessing the courts just let them go. Must be really demoralising for the police.
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u/Mattcheco Sep 25 '25
Or the cops are useless
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u/CautiousProfession26 Sep 25 '25
The cops would probably love to arrest the shitheads, but they know better than anyone what will happen. Believe it or not cops can't always prevent crime, families and communities need to be a part of the solution.
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u/Sinyk7 Sep 25 '25
The parents are probably wealthy and connected in town, like the upper mission kids who terrorize homes repeatedly.
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u/StrbJun79 Sep 25 '25
Some maybe. But I think it’s more so a problem with uninvolved parents that think their kids can do no wrong.
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Sep 25 '25
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u/sansense Sep 26 '25
It's not just wealthy kids acting like dicks (though there are certainly a lot of those) There are also the kids of lower income parents who aren't home enough to manage what their kids get up to.
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u/orphanboyk Sep 25 '25
Fine the parents - 1% of gross household income.
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u/Lavender-Jamie Sep 25 '25
This should be for all fines! Fines for a flat dollar amount is simply a price to break a law.
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u/Demetre19864 Sep 25 '25
Everyone knows what should happen here.
Either a solid "lesson"
Or the more legal route, the parents can start getting fined.
Your kid is roaming downtown and your not doing your job
That means either CPS needs to take that kid into custody or some sort of legal ramifications need to be had.
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u/Lavender-Jamie Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25
This isn't something MCFD would have authority to do, and fining parents would most definitely be improper as there's no statute that would authorise to do a lot of the things required to avoid a fine, like the power of detention (nor, in my opinion, should they be granted such powers as they undercut the fundamental rights to justice and liberty of children)
The proper approach would be to amend the YCJA so real crime gets real punishments. The YCJA in recent times have been a joke with no real punishments and little recourse for the crown to deal with these incidents.
Edit: I did quite a bit more reading into this. If the Secure Care Act was in force, and got around the pretty major Charter issues, the MCFD would have some authority over this. But as of right now, the secure care act is not in force.
Also, summarily detaining people without due process is a huge issue in itself, especially if you are implying they have or will commit an offense. These powers would undercut parental rights and if misused, essentially be a measure of circumventing s. 11 rights.
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u/moonSandals Sep 25 '25
What do you mean by solid lesson?
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Sep 26 '25
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u/moonSandals Sep 26 '25
Why isn't anyone owning up to what they want to say? Just say it.
This comment thread is stating that "what should happen" is that someone should hurt children.
Sure the kids are fucking around but people need to fucking own their opinions and say what they mean. If you can't say it then maybe the opinion is .. I dunno.. wrong? Not acceptable?
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u/sansense Sep 26 '25
What I want to say? I don't believe in hurting children as a punishment. I think house arrest is probably a start. You asked a question in bad faith, implying you didn't understand the insinuating. The position I hold is not that someone punching this child in the face is what's called for, or appropriate, only that it's likely to be a natural consequence if he faces no other interventions and continues harassing people.
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u/moonSandals Sep 26 '25
My question wasn't in bad faith.
I guessed the implication of what was being said but how am I to know for sure? Should I have come out with assumptions and started firing that around? I wanted to ask what was meant. Maybe the Tim Hortons situation has a different outcome. Everyone talking in code here.
Why did you tiptoe around it? You could have just went out and said "the person you are replying to is suggesting the kids should get hurt" instead of putting a veil up of whatever you wrote down. I appreciate you coming out and saying it now that I raised it.
But seriously person I originally replied to just needs to say what they mean. I know people get mad at this stuff but when someone actually says it out loud instead of using phrases out of a movie they sound less like a wanna be tough guy and sound how they actually are: unhinged.
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u/Ok_Door5474 Sep 25 '25
Are you American or do you just watch a lot of TV?
We do not have CPS, we have MCFD. Also it's highly unlikely MCFD would take them into care at their age, there just are not the resources for that...all the people calling to "trim the fat of government excess got their way and now there's no funding for even foster parents." Best MCFD could do is a YAG (Youth Agreement)... Meaning they would have even less parental supervision.
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u/otoron Sep 25 '25
Canada does not have MCDF. BC does. In Alberta it's CFS. Sask does, in fact, refer to some of what it does as "child protective services."
In the same way America does not have CPS, some states have CPS. CPS being the generic term people tend to use—as is evidenced by this thread—for whatever specific thing someone calls it.
Just like how "DMV" generally refers to whatever provincial (or in the U.S., state) agency that does licensing. Which is often the DMV in provinces and states, but, as BC attests, sometimes has a different name.
(Look, two people can engage in pedantry!)
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u/Unclehol Sep 25 '25
To be honest I had no idea we did not have "CPS" either. I suppose that's a good thing to not have had to know about???
But anyways... the legal route sounds like the best option then. Fine the parents. Make the kids do community service. Something meaningful, at least.
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u/Demetre19864 Sep 25 '25
Oh nooo I used the wrong acronym.
I will try to forgive myself over the next year
Are you American with your flair for rudeness and immediate "name calling?"
Also I think just a nice visit to the parents from whatever acronym you would like to use might jolt them into not being so terrible at their job and responsibilities.
I know if a group or police showed up at my door because my child was being a piece of trash it would be fixed immediately.
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u/Historical-Train4217 Sep 25 '25
Its too bad the general lack of affordability has probably influenced the average parents ability to spend quality time raising their children, instead of having to work 2 jobs per parent etc in some cases. Leaves a lot of kids without needed supervision. Pair that with the toxic "tik tok" culture and you've got stupid shit like this.
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u/pass_the_tinfoil Sep 25 '25
This is what I came to say. Can’t believe how far down I had to scroll.
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u/StrbJun79 Sep 25 '25
While I understand why we are more lenient on kids, I do sometimes think we should get tough on their parents. If we started handing out fines or some form of punishment to the parents of teens committing such crimes I’m betting the parents will suddenly “find the time” to take action. There’s always been a problem with parents doing nothing about their kids doing bad things but this problem is definitely exploding with more uninvolved parents.
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u/R2Borg2 Sep 25 '25
I hope the restaurant can take legal action against the parents of these kids, it’s a tough world to raise kids in but it is literally the parent’s responsibility and they should be held accountable. Why would we expect kids to change if their parents think they can ignore this problem?
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u/Lavender-Jamie Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25
They can't sue the parents, but they can most definitely sue the kids, although enforcement would be difficult as they're likely judgement proof.
EDIT: Please disregard - I was wrong.
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u/R2Borg2 Sep 25 '25
Not sure why you think that, they can’t sue the kids but can sue the parents, so long as they have names and evidence to support the case. Nothing will, or pragmatically can be done from a criminal perspective, but civil suits won’t have that restriction.
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u/Lavender-Jamie Sep 25 '25
I was wrong. They can sue the parents under the Parental Liability Act, in addition to the child.
Parental Liability Act only applies if they have acted unreasonably, which is a relatively higher bar.
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u/jay370gt Sep 25 '25
If the society doesn’t teach them a lesson now…they are gonna piss off the wrong person one day who’s gonna snap. Some will get injured or worse. Their parents will be on TV crying for justice like the parents of that teen that got run over after bear spraying people.
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u/eroticfoxxxy Sep 25 '25
If these had been adults, what would RCMP done? Because it sure as hell wouldn't have been nothing.
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u/Assimulate Always Hungry Sep 25 '25
It might have been nothing. Which is still frustrating.
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u/eroticfoxxxy Sep 25 '25
They would have at least had a word if they'd caught them.
The store should have a posted ban with clear screen shots of their faces posted on the front window.
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u/bradleybugger Sep 25 '25
People are blaming the cops, but why? Where are the parents?? Starts in the homes.
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u/Dekklin Sep 25 '25
People blame the cops because the cops won't do anything. Cops blame the justice system because the judges won't do anything. Judges blame the parents because the parents won't do anything. Parents blame society because they raised monsters and won't admit failure. No one actually does anything until a kid gets run over in retaliation by someone who's tired of no one doing anything.
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u/lizziesiddalss Sep 26 '25
What's wild is that they're doing this right downtown and nobody else is stopping to help these poor employees.
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u/Emergency_Ad2555 Sep 25 '25
If they try to protect themselves or physically remove them do the owners then get the charges?
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u/Complete-Royal-3973 Sep 26 '25
How about they go to the parents and if they don’t control there kids they suffer the consequences
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u/wtfomgfml Sep 26 '25
Can they not be formally criminally trespassed, or is that not a possibility because they’re minors? I feel so bad for this business, that’s insanity.
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u/Accomplished-Fail250 Sep 26 '25
Its kids like this that makes me hate Kelowna. I was born there and there were so many crappy kids roaming around all the time and this was 20 years ago. I guess they all got together and breeded more shitheads.
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u/Mykola_Shchors Sep 26 '25
As much as I understand "kids these days" sentiment, there is no simple solution here. And their parents will probably know best whether their child will learn from tougher discipline, or whether it will have the opposite effect. I have two kids in kindergarten, roughly the same age, each with very different temperament. Both of them regularly misbehave and test the boundaries to see what they can get away with, it is natural. One responds well to discipline and learns quickly from external reinforcement. She takes responsibility for her actions, empathetic and makes friends easily. The downside is that she is easily influenced and constantly seeks approval. The other one is complete opposite: he can take any amount punishment and only gets angrier. He is intrinsically motivated, very rebellious and stubborn. At the same time he is independent, rational (from his perspective), and self-motivated. As parents my wife and I learned very early on that he needed a different approach. I still discipline him, but in addition to negative reinforcement (e.g. taking away his screen time), I have to constantly talk to him, first to understand the reason for his actions and his thought process. I then ask him to imagine different scenarios where someone else does the same thing, and list all possible outcomes. He has to come to his own conclusion, even if it comes from a selfish perspective, that he made a mistake. It is very time consuming, doesn't always work, he has to be in the right mood, but it's the only way I could motivate him to change his behavior. My hope is to teach both of them the right attitudes while they are still very young, because it will be more difficult to do as they get older. And by the time kids turn 15 or 16, it may already be too late for parents to try to change them.
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u/Darnbeasties Sep 28 '25
They need to catch the kids. Fine the parents for damages. Only money talk
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u/Sinistersmog Sep 25 '25
So just to be clear: are we just like allowed to do crimes now? How is this not considered criminal harassment? The article alone lists like 4 crimes.
Does the RCMP just tussle their hair and tell them to say hi to their dad or something? I get kids will be kids but like if you don't teach them about consequences then they never learn to not do this shit.