While driving with our 4 year old grandson yesterday he saw some graffiti on the outside wall of a business establishment and asked what it said. His question opened the way for a teaching moment. We tried to explain that whatever it said it wasn't good to write on peoples' walls and that it caused many problems for the building owner. It looked awful and the building owner would have to pay to remove it or repaint the wall because if they didn't it would probably attract more graffiti.
On Thursday two teens were charged as a result of the vandalism they committed at the Brookside Hall on New Year's Eve. Calling it significant vandalism is a bit of a misnomer for from the photos of the scene it looks like out & out destruction. Unfortunately the boys charged as a result of this vandalism either didn't listen to their parents or were never taught how destructive and costly it is to all involved, including the boys themselves.
There are teachable moments and this article could well be one of them.