A question for parents

[EternalSpark]

So I'm watching Underworld Evolution (bite me, I like it and the original, it's not bad for a vampire/werewolf movie), and there's a cliche in it that annoys me.

It's the "my son / daughter is a literally a horrible monster whose existence pretty much dooms everyone else to a fate worse than death, but they are my kid so I won't actually stop them" cliche. It happens in Underworld, but it's common in a lot of entertainment: no matter what the child has done, the parent who could have stopped it won't.

Given that I'm not a parent, it's easy for me to scoff at this line of thought and all it a cliche. Which is why I'm asking here.

If your child was the source of a Thing That Would Destroy The World, would the fact that it was your child make any difference on your actions?

[Winston]

If they would just have the courtesy to stop them from going berserk in supermarkets and restaurants, it'd be a great start.

[dannubis]

That is called an education.

[Winston]

Really? I thought it'd be common decency.

[MrFun]

The boy in the movie, "The Good Son" was not out to the destroy the world but if you want to see another film where the parents have a demented, sadistic child, you might want to check that movie out.

[Donegeal]

I don't know.

In order to know that your kid is going to somehow cause the destruction of the human race/Earth/whatever, you have to be able to know the future. Then it becomes a question of what is your opinion on time paradoxes.

[rah]

The real issue is whether the parent would believe that of their child.

[TheStinger]

I would say no stories at bedtime for a week, that normally works

[OzzyKP]

That movie is definitely chilling. Great flick.

Are you talking like fantasy level evil where some boy is like the chosen of the devil and destined to do something horrible to the world? If so then it becomes a difficult question of what to do. If you lock your kid up because you fear they are gonna go nuts, does that experience itself help drive him nuts? Ever see Butterfly Effect? The twisted kid is given free reign and turns into a monster, in another reality his ass is beat and becomes a monster because of it. Hard to predict how your actions will affect another.

[Fake Boris]

Would you kill baby Hitler?

[OzzyKP]

Actually just the other day I saw a Law & Order episode on this. A woman had a kid 17 years ago with her first husband, a serial rapist/murderer. She raised him alongside her other kids with her new (and normal) husband. That kid though ended up being a bad seed, getting into lots of trouble.

Fearing that he was ending up like his dad and would kill, abuse and rape women, the mother shot and killed her son.

It went to trial. She tried to defend herself by saying her son was a danger to society and she felt responsible by bringing him into this world.

There were lots of interesting twists and turns, but ultimately the mother was found guilty.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by OzzyKP
That movie is definitely chilling. Great flick.

Are you referring to Underworld Evolution or The Good Son?


Oh, and the Butterfly Effect - great movie.

[OzzyKP]

The Good Son. Never saw Underworld.

[dannubis]

Originally posted by Winston
Really? I thought it'd be common decency.

Give and you will receive...

[EternalSpark]

Originally posted by Donegeal
I don't know.

In order to know that your kid is going to somehow cause the destruction of the human race/Earth/whatever, you have to be able to know the future. Then it becomes a question of what is your opinion on time paradoxes.

I didn't say it in my OP because it's hard to explain, but my basis for asking this was practically based on the Underworld example: what would you do if your kid was Patient 0 for something that only one slipup in their whole life would spread it to everyone?

It's silly to assume it's something fantastical like vampirism, of course, but I think the question is easier to answer if the Thing Your Kid Has That Would Doom The World is something obvious and extreme. Something that my child couldn't control, or something that my child would need to spend his/her entire life trying to control.

Like I said, I'm not a parent, but if my kid somehow was Patient 0 for a 'disease' that causes him to rabidly consume others, who then go out to eat other people, I sort of think I'd be able to tell myself that my kid has to be stopped before he/she does slip up.