Girl calls 911 in panic over Elf on Shelf: https://t.co/xTL6R3nSTX pic.twitter.com/2MhW5qt0cZ
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 23, 2015
If you’re not familiar with how The Elf on the Shelf works, the premise is simple: Parents place an elf doll somewhere in their house, it watches over the kids, then reports back to Santa on whether they’ve been naughty or nice. It’s not at all creepy. It’s simply one more way for parents to wield a sort of passive-aggressive power over their children through forced consternation and fear, and is also tons of fun for the whole family.
Sometimes, though, the premise works a little too well, and results in a little girl calling 911 out of fear she won’t get any presents for Christmas. Such was the case for young Isabella LaPeruta, a 7-year-old New Jersey girl who called the police after “accidentally” touching the elf, which is a definite no-no. NBC New York obtained audio of the 911 call, which offers a bit of insight into the mindset of a horrified grade-schooler.
“Hello?” the 911 operator says.
“It’s Isabella,” the girl says.
“Hi. Hi, Isabella. Why are you calling 911?” the operator asks.
Suddenly, the girl panics.
“Don’t come to my house!” she shouts. “Don’t!”
Of course, the police are not allowed to ignore a 911 call simply because the caller suddenly had a change of heart, so they sent a patrol car to the house to investigate. Once there, the officer found Isabella’s mom just waking for a nap, and her young daughter hysterical.
The officer was able to calm Isabella down, and afterwards showed no hard feelings for the ruckus she had caused. “To her, it was an emergency when she touched the elf,” said Old Bridge Police Lt. Joseph Mandola. “[She thought she was] going to ruin Christmas, so that was her emergency. In her mind, she did right, and it was fine with us.”
Hopefully this episode will prove to be a valuable lesson to parents everywhere: Make sure your kids understand the proper uses for 911, Elf on the Shelf is silly, and don’t take naps, especially if you have an imaginative child like Isabella.
(Via NBC New York)