Illustration: Peter C. Espina/GT

 What would parents or grandparents do if they felt powerless to stop their children from running out of control? The popular solution in recent years has been "threatening to call the police." A few days ago, a grandma from Chongqing called 110 for help, claiming that she was verbally abused by someone who was about to beat her in any second. But when police showed up, they found that nothing had happened to the old lady. As it turned out, she was quarreling with her eight-year-old grandson, who refused to eat his dinner. Ironically, at the end of the day, it was the grandma, who wanted to teach her grandson a lesson, got a firm lecture from the police. It's true a few parents have no idea what to do when their authority is challenged by their kids, but maybe it is time for them to turn to other measures instead of sticking to this old trick. After all, if something urgent really happens to their children one day, the youngsters should run to the police, instead of being scared of them.