London Olympics girl, 18, ‘trashed cop car’ (Was One of London's Teen Ambassadors)

The Sun ^ | 08/12/2011 | Neil Syson

[Frank_2001]

Let me guess which Olympic sport... Hammer throw?;) Probably one of those crapola “sports” like synchronized swimming or rhythmic gymnastics/s;)

[Frank_2001]

“The girl has got some arms on her for sure...”

I think she took a couple of steps forward with it in her hand before letting it fly. DISQUALIFICATION!/s;)

[odds]

As you point out, it’s no good to be ‘overprotective’. She is also 18 yrs old. I’d say a bit odd that her parents didn’t recognise ‘peer pressure’ on her before she began hurling rocks through shop windows & attacking the police cruiser. That’s extreme behaviour.

Did they not know about her peers? Or, her circle of friends? Did she have a history of similar behaviour, or what we usually call teenage ‘rebellion’? Also, that type of behaviour thru peer influence doesn’t begin at 18 yrs of age. Nor suddenly manifest itself. It usually begins during formative yrs. 11 onwards, and end at 18 or 20 yrs at the latest. 8 out of 10 young adults (18 to 25) I have worked with, had a history of anti-social behaviour due to family issues. Their ‘friends’ often acted as catalysts to bring about that behaviour, but were not the cause. About 50% came from well-to-do families, not necessarily overprotective ones.

Academic achievement & excelling in sports are not indicative of social adjustment, nor emotional intelligence. In fact, those kids who are very much encouraged to be over-achievers, tend not to develop their emotional intelligence. Besides, most parents like to think they’ve taught their kids to do the right thing. Not knowing her family personally, nor her circumstances, except what is written in the article, leave much room for speculation, so I couldn’t say more. But, I’d guess that Miss Chelsea had other issues, which either weren’t recognised or weren’t dealt with before her recent actions. Should she be punished for her bad behaviour? Of course. How should she be punished is a different question.

Anyway, at 18, she is legally considered a young adult. So, relevant & suitable punishment are in order. Though, I think helping her to work through her issues with her family in order to readjust are more important than simply deciding to hand her in to the authorities for punishment.