Just a heads up that my 13-year-old was able to buy a 6 inch flip knife on temu.com. I called Customer Service and got his account deleted but when I asked to be transferred to a supervisor to figure out how this even happened they put me on hold for over an hour, and then I gave up. There’s no identity or background checks at all. There’s been a couple articles about this in the news but just a warning to parents.
@chrisard I wouldn't think twice, but where I live, everyone carries a knife. My son got his first one in cub Scouts in 2nd grade and has collected a few more over the years. He's received some gifts from dad, grandpa and uncles. They are handy when you need to cut or open something and obviously can be used in defense. They also are not in any way illegal here. I own several kitchen knives that are bigger and sharper than anything we carry, except maybe the Ka-bar...
But I lol'd the most at calling Temu and asking for the supervisor. It's like a crappier, Chinese version of Amazon. Do you think they are going to do anything?
@angeluna Yeah I think it would be totally different if he had knife safety class/skills. I’m looking for classes now. I definitely “Karened” my way up to one of their lawyers. Was in corporate tech world for 25 years. I know how this shit works.
@laurapalooza We got him one of those teen debit cards where you can put money on and I saw a few Temu transactions but he told me they were for iphone cases and Halloween costumes, which I did see him get. We took the card away now.
@misshendry Yeah obviously that’s the bigger issue. This is second time I have found a knife in his room. He says he just likes having it, it makes him feel safe. I can’t get anything more out of him about it.
@chrisard It's hard when they won't talk. If there's someone specific he feels he needs to stay safe from then that's obviously an immediate issue. If it's just to feel generally safe then there are better ways than carrying a knife. Maybe he needs to think about the possibility of someone wrestling the knife from him and using it on him. There's nothing safe about introducing a weapon to a fight, regardless of who starts off holding it.
While it's obviously awful that Temu are selling these things with no checks, where there's a will there's a way. Your only hope is persuading him that it's really not a good idea and trying to find a plan B for whatever his fears are.
@misshendry Thx this is great advice. We live in a super safe area too. The only thing I can think is he read something on the news that made him scared. I’m wondering if some self defense classes would help.
@chrisard If u live in the UK.. then u have a right 2 be worried teenage boys carry knifes .. we just had a stabbing down the road from where I live at the wkend .. where 1 brother stabbed the other over some stupid row .. and the younger 1 died .. that family list 2 sons that day ! Thqnx 4 posting this .. can I fb share .. if u block out your info x
It's like a crappier, Chinese version of Amazon. Do you think they are going to do anything?