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Kids will be kids.
The expression is not an excuse for bad behavior. It's an admonishment to remember that children have different tendencies and capabilities than adults.
There is a reason that a waitress might have to sweep under a table after a toddler was eating crackers. There may be the occasional outburst of inappropriate giggles during a long church service. Do you feel like you are being mocked in inexplicable middle school slang? Well, kids will be kids.
That doesn't mean there shouldn't be consequences on the children's side. They just have to be tempered by understanding and guidance from the grown-ups.
That brings us to the hardened criminals Olivia and Brooke Huss.
The sisters, 10 and 12, spent some time on the mean streets of the Springdale Veterans Memorial Park playground.
A typical small town recreation area, it has spots for pickleball. It's adjacent to fields for baseball and other sports. It has playground equipment -- and that's where things go off the rails.
In May, the Huss girls were playing on a seesaw swing, riding on it, while other children twisted it around so it would spin.
Doesn't exactly sound like "Ocean's 11," does it? It's the kind of thing that happens on playgrounds every day while frustrated mothers yell "I told you not to do that! You're going to break your neck!"
The chain of the swing eventually broke, and the dastardly gang ran to avoid responsibility, in typical "kids will be kids" fashion. After reviewing some video, Springdale police showed up at mom Katie Huss's door, explaining what happened and noting a cost of $59 per child to fix the equipment. Mom agreed.
But when the invoice was presented, it was for $400 and delivered only to the Husses, with instructions for her to handle with the other families. She declined, wanting more information and not wanting to take responsibility for the whole event.
A statement from Springdale police Chief Derek Dayoub and the borough solicitor says the three other families did pay their portions. That left the Husses as the holdouts. In July, they ended up in court, charged with criminal mischief.
Yes, two children, playing on a swing, were charged with a crime because their mother didn't pay for repairs.
The judge found them not guilty in their second appearance. The reason wasn't because the damage couldn't be proven. It was because guilt in any crime has to include an intent to cause harm.
These girls didn't throw a rock at a window to watch it break. They were playing on a playground. Perhaps it wasn't as the manufacturer intended, but it was consistent with the way kids have played on swings forever, whether glossy professional equipment or a tire and a rope.
Does this mean the Huss Gang is off the hook? No. The judge admitted this was a civil action, and borough officials will pursue it as such.
But aside from the idea of culpability, there is also an ugly retaliatory aspect.
When the borough didn't get the response it wanted from Mom, it took literal children into criminal court. Imagine your car insurance company fighting a claim and police showing up with handcuffs -- not because of the accident itself but because someone else haggled over a bill.
There are lots of things children shouldn't do at a playground. They shouldn't climb up the slide. They shouldn't jump off the swing while it's high in the air. They shouldn't throw sand.
But they will. And it should be handled appropriately, with time-outs and grounding and grumbled, teary apologies.
Because kids will be kids.