Let me now bring before the court the case of the ungrateful child

August 8, 2026 — 5:00am

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A mother in Thailand has now dropped her legal action against her son – a son she’d accused under Thailand’s “Ungrateful Child Law” of 1908. Both sides have agreed to family counselling, so the venerable law will go untested.

What a shame. If only Australia had an “Ungrateful Child Law”, I could be first in the queue.

My two sons have now helped provide a squad of fine grandchildren, but their behaviour as children still rankles. I wouldn’t press for a prison sentence in either case – I’m not a monster! – but some sort of cash payment would help restore equanimity.

For a start, the court may like to consider the events of February 12, 1989, when the defendant – let’s call him Batboy – decided to “post” several pieces of toast into the slot of our video machine, requiring a visit to the video repair shop and a bill which left me broke for weeks. Sure, he was only 18 months old, but that doesn’t excuse such a brazen toast-based attack on our home entertainment system. Under the provisions of the Ungrateful Child Law, I would ask the court to also consider the waste of perfectly good Vegemite.

This son, now a chap in his late 30s, would not approve if his own child attempted such vandalism, so why shouldn’t he make........

© The Sydney Morning Herald