On February 5th, Medway Middle School in Medway, MA, sent letters home seeking help following the terror a dozen or so students raged in a local grocery store. As the parents soon learned, some of their little angels were knocking down merchandise displays, turning the paper towels into makeshift forts, and being pests in general.
Via email, Principal Amanda Luizzi told parents what happened.
“Over the weekend, I was contacted by the director of Shaw’s Market, who shared alarming information regarding a troubling trend involving our middle school students who visit Shaw’s on half days. It was reported that a growing number of students are engaging in disruptive behavior while visiting the store. This includes building ‘forts’ out of paper towels, riding in carriages and electric carts, knocking over displays, and even stealing merchandise. These actions pose a risk to the students involved and customers of Shaw’s. They also reflect poorly on our school community.”
In response, a spokesperson for the West Bridgewater-based grocery chain expressed to Boston 25 that they, too, had noticed the problem. “Shaw’s strives to provide all of our customers a safe and welcoming shopping experience. Because of the close proximity of our Medway store to the local school, large groups of students have been visiting the store. Unfortunately, a group of these students engaged in disruptive behaviors that negatively impacted other customers’ shopping experiences.”
Sadly, a change is not likely to happen short of banning the minors. While that has yet to occur, stores nationwide are notating a persistent increase in kids simply acting out and doing whatever they want. The people who created them act more like their best friends than their parents and fear putting consequences on their children. Parents who police their kids don’t have to worry about them being there as part of the problem.
