What a TWIT.

I remember my father buying me a rather expensive walkman when I was in Grade 9. He warned me about leaving it anywhere, but stupid me left it in my locker, and lo and behold, it was stolen, likely by the seniors who were all around me. When I complained to the school, the basically told me "suck it up-this is why you aren't supposed to bring stuff like that to school"

My father didn't have much sympathy either.

I LEARNED A LESSON that day on how to handle my property, and what NOT to do. Losing a few albums and books to people who borrowed them also taught me a lesson. It's one of those things you learn growing up. What kind of parent acts like this? Actually, I don't think she deserves to be called a parent. A parent let's life teach it's own lessons.

What a lovely lesson to teach your child.

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An Ipod Nano costs less than half of $475. The child stupidly brought her very expensive ipod to school,and she should "suck it up", but the Ipod that was given to her by this anonymous benefactor was not worth even close to the same amount of the one stolen.

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I think it's wonderful that someone in the community would donate an iPod to replace the one that was stolen. Really, what a great gesture.

The mother on the other hand...well, if it was my child I would use this as an opportunity to explain the importance of being responsible and looking out for your things. The last thing that would *ever* cross my mind is suing my child's classmate. Forget the awful lesson it teaches your kid about entitlement and think for a moment how it will affect your child in school. How many kids will want to be friends with someone whose mother is suing their classmate?

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The girls have been less than careful with their possessions over the years. I say the same thing each time and it's never "let's get a lawyer". It's always "I'm sorry it happened; perhaps you'll be more careful in future".

Both girls were at fault. The Ipod never should have been there in the first place (or at least out of her sight) as far as I'm concerned and the other girl should have handed it back instead of leaving it. It's a lesson for both but to sue over it?

That's ridiculous.

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Yeah, there are very few children who really should have an iPod. They are just too expensive and too prone to terminal accident. I got my first Walkman in Japan right before they were released over here; I loved that thing. When over years it became dinged and battered from excessive use my parents bought me a new one, only because I had proven I wouldn't lose it or unreasonably destroy it. I was a special case, but there were other things I shouldn't have been allowed to do, like drive a car.

I gave my daughter my old iPod mini, which was really never more than a spare, a silly impulse purchase; this is probably the most indestructible iPod Apple has made. It's in her room somewhere, unused, because the battery is worn out because she refuses to keep it charged. She steps on it, pulls it around by the headphones, leaves the charging cable on the floor to be yanked on and stepped on. I knew it was a bad idea in the first place, she is a breaker, but it was a sustainable loss as it was just gathering dust.

I'm all for indulging my children, giving them what they want, but also for giving them only what they can handle. We've decided that Lauren probably shouldn't get any gifts that require upkeep for a while.

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I think that legal action is extreme in this case, but I'm kind of shocked by all these comments that seem to suggest that "kids will be kids" and stuff happens.

A child shouldn't be taking an iPod to school, no question. However, no matter how irresponsible a child is, it's not a reason to dismiss someone else's crime. Taking an iPod is stealing. Plain and simple. If it happened in a store, there would be reprocussions.

I think it's absurd to think that a mother should just give up and accept an iPod nano (which is addmittedly extremely generous of the anonymous person, but still isn't even worth half of an iPod) when her daughter had a regular iPod (presumably loaded with music) stolen.

One person's mistake doesn't mean that another person has a right to commit a crime. A man can't rape a woman because she's drunk. A kidnapper can't take a baby because the mom was distracted in the supermarket. A thief can't rob your home because you left a window open. A classmate cannot steal almost $500 worth of electronics because a little girl doesn't have the common sense to watch over it better.

I wouldn't sue if I were that mother (like I said before, it seems extreme), but I sure as heck would be doing everything in my power to make sure I got that iPod back or the money back.

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Yet again another teaching opportunity lost. The mother should have used that opportunity to teach about making better choices and have the daughter work to make the money to buy another one. . . .

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Annie, I'd agree if the girl who "borrowed" the IPOD was guilty of stealing it but we don't know that. From what we know it was nothing more than careless behavior on both sides.

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Annie, you seem to be assuming that this other child stole it-from this account, it went missing. The story is quite clear that the mother doesn't even think that the other 14 year old stole anything. It went missing.

If I lend something expensive to a friend, and it goes missing after they say, leave it on my porch (and this has happened) I'm not going to sue them. I'm going to call myself an idiot for setting the situation up as I did, and deal with the loss.

I don't lend things to friends because this type of thing happens. Should the other parents have attempted to meet them half way since it went missing after their daughter last had it? That would have been a nice thing to do. But no one can prove that this girl stole it, and that someone else didn't take it, or that the girl herself didn't lose it later, and make up the story. There are MANY variables.

To then turn down the kindness of strangers-that's asinine. I don't see how this woman is proving any kind of point other than she's only after money, and doesn't trust her's child's friends. And if she's that concerned about the money, why did her 14 year old own one of these? Where's the common sense in that decision?

Most parents teach these lessons with cheaper items for a reason.

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I'm normally against suing, but really, a Nano for a fullblown iPod is a fair trade? Um, no. Not even close.

And why are we blaming the mother for allowing the girl to put the device to it's intended use? You certainly don't get an iPod so that you can sit in your room and look at it. And how exactly was the owner being careless, other than in the fact that she was generous enough to allow her friend to see it? She didn't leave it anywhere. And she did what we tell kids to do from the moment we first introduce them to possessions--she *shared*.

The girl who "returned it while she was in the washroom" however...Now that was irresponsible at best and a likely story at worst. If I'd been that mother, yes, I think I would have been obligated to do something about the missing item. And maybe I'm casting aspersions or have a negative view of human nature, but I have to question that story. Honestly, how stupid, not to place an item like that back in the hand of the owner.

I think the fact there's a lawduit over this is appalling. But not because the mother is a grasping troll, but because the other family didn't step up and take responsibility for their child's actions.

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I never said that I assumed the girl in question actually took it, nor did I say the mother should be hounding her like that. However, it seems someone DID steal it. And I think that the mother of the girl who lost the iPod has every right to try and find out where the iPod is now.

It seemed horribly unfair to me that everyone here is throwing out the baby with the bath water: she shouldn't sue, therefore she should just let it go because she was stupid enough to let her child take an iPod to school. We don't even know the background information -- maybe the girl wasn't allowed to take the iPod to school but did anyway. Perhaps it was a shared family iPod and now the mom has lost all her tunes too. Making rash assumptions about her financial situation is unfair as well -- perhaps the iPod was a special treat. I am a college student, and I have an iPod, but I don't have the money to buy another one right now.

And yes, perhaps it did just "go missing" and is lodged somewhere weird in the school right now, but it's also entirely likely that the thing was stolen. My car stereo cost less than $500 dollars, but when someone took it from my car, I reported it to the police.

I think the mom should calm down and NOT sue some little girl, but I also feel that she has every right to be upset about the loss of this iPod and try to find it. That's all I intended to say the first time -- not that she should be some huge moron and alienate herself and her daughter from the entire school.

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If my child had been the "borrower", I would have offered immediately to help replace it. Possibly not the entire cost but I could have helped and then taken it out of my kid's allowance.

I've done it when my girls have broken or lost someone else's toy. Never one worth that much though.

Nothing is safe in the schools here. I don't send money (more than a dollar) to school with the girls. I take their "picture" money straight to the office. The younger two share a cheap cell phone (my husband's) now and I've cautioned them to never let anyone know they have it.

It's a sad commentary on the times.

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My kids share an iPod. This is a good story to share with them- thanks for contributing it. They know they aren't allowed to bring it to either of their schools. 1) It's against school policy, and 2) if it gets stolen, I ain't buying another one. They are also not allowed to loan it to anyone. This isn't really an issue since most of their friends have some version of the iPod anyway.

And for the mother suing the classmate? Ridiculous. This is a lost opportunity to teach her child about personal accountability. You bring something expensive to school and stupidly loan it out and lose it? Too bad. You want it back- you better find out where yours went. As a parent, I'd be furious- at MY child for losing it and breaking my rules.

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I'm with the "suck it up" group, although if the parent gave permission for the iPod to go to school, I'd be saying it to the parent. Especially in that case, the donated iPod is pretty cool and probably more than she deserves. This parent is, of course, way out of line.

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I am in 7th grade and saw this story while I was on the internet. I own a iPod mini, and I am allowed to take it to school. Our school rule is that you are only allowed to listen to walkmans etc. on the bus, so when I get to school, I put it in a special place in my backpack so I always know where it is. I leave it in my locker the whole time so no one will steal it. I think this teaches great responsibility, because I really like my iPod and would hate to lose it. My mom's rule is that if I lose it, she isn't buying me another one. It makes me take better care of it, instead of letting someone borrow it and then go to the bathroom.
As for the mom, she is just way over the top. She should not sue the girl because it wasn't all her fault. Her daughter should not have went to the bathroom, and she shouldn't have told anyone she had it with her. I think that the mom should just accept the anynomus Nano and $50. In my opinion, the nano is better: small, stylish, and it has great color on the screen. My brother has one, so I should know. My friend has a iPod, and it is very big, and who needs that much song memory? If the mom just took the Nano, the girl would be happy, and she wouldn't be left out because people thought her mom was "weird" or "crazy" for suing. But that is just my opinion.

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