What Should You Do If Your Child Gets In Trouble With The Police

We all want our children to do well and stay out of trouble. However, sometimes people do make mistakes, especially when they are young. It must be every parent’s worst nightmare to get a phone call from the police telling them that their child is in trouble. And the first instinct is to panic, I’m sure. But if you were ever to find yourself dealing with such a situation, it’s important that you react in the right way to ensure that your child is safe and that they learn from this experience. It could of course impact the path that your child takes in the future. So, what should you do if your child gets in trouble with the police? 

Talk To The Police 

The first thing you should do is talk to the police and find out the full story. They will tell you exactly what happened from their point of view, and you can get a clear picture before you start jumping to conclusions. They will also tell you what the next steps are and if further action will be taken. It’s important that you get contact details for the officers, so you can follow up if you need to. 

Get Your Child’s Side of The Story 

The next step is to talk to your child and find out what their side of the story is. Make it clear to them that they are in a very bad situation and it’s important that they are honest with you. They might have an explanation of some kind and it’s important that you hear them out. Understanding why they engaged in the bad behaviour in the first place will maybe help to avoid the same situation in the future. It also helps you decide the best course of action for disciplining them. 

Consider Seeking Legal Advice 

Depending on the nature of the offence, your child could be in some serious legal trouble. In that case, you will need some capable criminal defense attorneys to defend any charges in court. It’s important that you seek legal advice right away in order to best support your child’s case. Legal professionals will be able to advise you on how best to proceed, so you can clear things up as soon as possible. 

Dealing With Your Child 

Once you have dealt with all of the legal issues, you need to consider how to deal with your child. For some children, the shock of getting into trouble with police might be enough of a consequence for their actions. Plus of course there is any punishment by law to take into account too.

But it is important to remember that this is a turning point for your child; you can take this opportunity to teach them life skills and set them on the right path. When deciding how to approach dealing with the aftermath, you need to strike a good balance. They need to know that there are serious consequences for their actions. But if you are too harsh, you could drive them away, which leads to more bad behaviour.

This situation is everybody’s worst nightmare. However, if you deal with it in the right way, you will eventually come to remember it as a bump in the road.  

*This is a collaborative post