“My 12-year-old daughter keeps getting into stolen cars”

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Cassandra, a Christchurch mother, has opened up about her distressing ordeal as her 12-year-old daughter repeatedly becomes entangled in stolen car incidents across the city.

Her story is not just a personal struggle, but she says is an illustration of the challenges facing many households in today's digital landscape.

Her daughter's journey into this lifestyle began through connections made on social media platforms, leading her to join groups of youths engaging in car thefts across the city.

"She has been getting into trouble since December last year and through social media, primarily Instagram, has found kids all over the city, from Shirley to Hornby to wherever to get into cars with."

A recent incident Cassandra shared involved her daughter and five boys being apprehended in a stolen car after a car owner, noticing his vehicle's smashed window, confronted them.

"Over a week ago, they were found in a stolen car in the middle of the day."

Cassandra's frustrations are compounded by what she perceives as a glorification of criminal behaviour on social media, where youths boast of their escapades.

"This spurs on more activity with this, they film themselves being taken away in police cars, stealing the cars, being followed by the police and so on, and it is completely glorified."

The consequences of her daughter's actions weigh heavily on Cassandra and her family, leading to sleepless nights filled with dread.

"It has been a gruelling past two months, awful, sleepless nights, wondering if we are going to end up with the police at our door to say, either our daughter has been killed, or has injured an innocent bystander."

Cassandra's concerns extends beyond her immediate family crisis to the broader societal implications of youth crime and the lack of effective deterrents.

"For many of these kids, there are no consequences.

“We have tried grounding her and she just runs away, whatever we do is met with either hostile resistance or she simply takes off - sometimes for days.

“Then we have had kids come up to us furious, saying we are abusing our daughter because we grounded her! They really believe this, because many of them have no rules in their households.

“They can stay on their devices as long as they want, vape, smoke marijuana, go out all night.

“There are households where often a single mother gives into her children because she is too afraid to discipline them, so you are getting households run by kids who are just 12 to 13 years-old.

"I am deeply concerned about the well-being of many of our children, who find themselves engulfed by the allure of social media.

“This obsession leads to self-harm, feelings of alienation, and a disconnection from mainstream society.

“The critical question we face is the potential impact on our society if we fail to engage in meaningful conversations about these issues."

Cassandra is not her real name, but this name has been used to protect the identity of her daughter.