# Couple Locked Up Boy During Packers Game **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 25, 2007, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037 "2007-07-25T01:50:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/1 "2007-07-25T01:50:24Z")
[OMFG!](http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070724/D8QILRDG0.html) All I can say is that not nearly enough jail time is involved. I’m thinking that since they’re such great Packers fans that they need to spend a season as blocking dummies for them. There are few things that get my blood up like abusing children. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/2 "2007-07-25T01:52:39Z")
Pfft, amateurs. When I was 7, the only babysitter I needed was a TV. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/3 "2007-07-25T01:55:16Z")
I could insert pretty much any standard packer fan joke here, but it’s not football season yet, and besides this is a serious port, it pisses me off no matter whose fans they are. But this: > [@](#): > > “What do you do?” he asked the judge. “Maybe this coming football season, lock them in a room with a bucket and make them watch Bears games.” Is just stupid, if I’m the judge and their lawyer stands up to make some stupid goddamn comment like that, I’m tossing him in jail with them, just on general principles. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/4 "2007-07-25T03:09:40Z")
I read that differently, **Bus Guy**. I did not think he was proposing an alternative “lighter” sentence; I got the feeling that their own attorney was calling them idiots. ---
**Author:** ![I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9fc29f/32.png) [@I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_m_Ron_Burgundy)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/5 "2007-07-25T03:16:36Z")
This is why having a dog is not necessarily a logical precursor to having a child. ---
**Author:** ![Gengis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@Gengis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gengis)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/6 "2007-07-25T03:23:59Z")
My older brother would do this to me, when he was “babysitting.” Give me a bag of chips and a bottle of soda, and tell me not to come out of my room, no matter what. Which was fine by me, as I wasn’t that interested in watching his drunken, drugged-out orgy anyway. At least not at that age. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tinkertoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@Tinkertoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinkertoy)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/7 "2007-07-25T04:53:24Z")
[QUOTE=Gengis] My older brother would do this to me, when he was “babysitting.” Give me a bag of chips and a bottle of soda, and tell me not to come out of my room, no matter what. [/QUOTE] You got soda and chips? Luxury. ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/8 "2007-07-25T05:25:20Z")
That’s outrageous, in a recreational sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/9 "2007-07-25T05:45:31Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] That’s outrageous, in a recreational sort of way. [/QUOTE] I’d like to propose that threads about bad parents become known as “Procreational Outrage”. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/10 "2007-07-25T05:55:31Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] I’d like to propose that threads about bad parents become known as “Procreational Outrage”. [/QUOTE] bwahaha ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/11 "2007-07-25T07:13:20Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] I’d like to propose that threads about bad parents become known as “Procreational Outrage”. [/QUOTE] A+ ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/12 "2007-07-25T07:48:34Z")
[QUOTE=Projammer] There are few things that get my blood up like abusing children. [/QUOTE] Over here in Minnesota, we consider allowing a child to see a Packers game is abuse! So locking them up away from the TV is appropriate. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/13 "2007-07-25T08:18:47Z")
I’m a father, but it seems to me like people have gone off the deep end about stuff like this. They left a 7 year old in a locked room with food and a bed for (presumably) the length of a football game. Yeah, it’s stupid and dangerous, and they probably shouldn’t be allowed to care for a child, but seriously…jail time? Are we all just trying to prove that we’re tough sons of bitches when it comes to crimes against kids? The bucket thing just reeks of sensationalism. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/14 "2007-07-25T09:14:38Z")
I know I’m going to seem like a horrible person, but I just don’t see what the problem here is. How long is a football game… 90 minutes or so? How is this any different from punishing a child by sending them to their room? Locking the kid up for hours and hours and telling them they’re stupid/worthless etc would be inexcusable, but just giving them food and toilet facilities and basically saying “Stay out of Mum and Dad’s way for the next two hours, and just to make sure you don’t bother us, we’re going to lock the door” doesn’t strike me as being especially, well, unconscionable. Then again I don’t have any kids, so I might be missing something perspective wise here… ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/15 "2007-07-25T09:28:59Z")
I thought the point was that they weren’t on the premises in case of emergency. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/16 "2007-07-25T09:34:06Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield] I know I’m going to seem like a horrible person, but I just don’t see what the problem here is. How long is a football game… 90 minutes or so? How is this any different from punishing a child by sending them to their room? Locking the kid up for hours and hours and telling them they’re stupid/worthless etc would be inexcusable, but just giving them food and toilet facilities and basically saying “Stay out of Mum and Dad’s way for the next two hours, and just to make sure you don’t bother us, we’re going to lock the door” doesn’t strike me as being especially, well, unconscionable. Then again I don’t have any kids, so I might be missing something perspective wise here… [/QUOTE] They left the house to go watch the game at a casino. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/17 "2007-07-25T10:32:24Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield] I know I’m going to seem like a horrible person, but I just don’t see what the problem here is. How long is a football game… 90 minutes or so? How is this any different from punishing a child by sending them to their room? Locking the kid up for hours and hours and telling them they’re stupid/worthless etc would be inexcusable, but just giving them food and toilet facilities and basically saying “Stay out of Mum and Dad’s way for the next two hours, and just to make sure you don’t bother us, we’re going to lock the door” doesn’t strike me as being especially, well, unconscionable. Then again I don’t have any kids, so I might be missing something perspective wise here… [/QUOTE] Most American pro football games can run for 3 hours plus, what with commercial breaks, time-outs, halftime, etc. And it didn’t say how far the distance was from their home to the casino, but let’s say a half hour to 45 minutes each way. That kid could have been left on his own for 5 or 6 hours easily. I’m assuming Packers home games are blacked out in Milwaukee, so they couldn’t watch them at home, but for crying out loud, if they were home, gave the kid some sandwiches and told him to stay in his room, but he could come out to use the bathroom, it wouldn’t have been so bad. If you want to see a game badly enough, and the only place to watch it is a casino, then go, but by all means, hire a baby sitter. A 7-year old isn’t old enough to be left alone, whether you confine him to his room or give him run of the house. I’d say jail time was appropriate in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/18 "2007-07-25T10:41:44Z")
I dunno, this sounds like another suitable case for sitting the perps in a big-ass oil drum and whacking the crap out of it with baseball bats for fifteen minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/19 "2007-07-25T10:56:29Z")
Ah, I didn’t realise they’d actually left the kid on his own in the house; yeah, that’s definitely not OK at all. Jail time seems a bit excessive, though, IMHO… ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037/20 "2007-07-25T16:00:02Z")
[QUOTE=Projammer] There are few things that get my blood up like abusing children. [/QUOTE] This used to be true for me as well. But after a few years of aerobic conditioning, I’m now able to abuse children without breaking a sweat. Maybe you should hire a personal trainer. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-locked-up-boy-during-packers-game/413037.md?page=2)