NJ threatening to take boy from parents - for twirling a pencil in class

Ethan Chaplin got in trouble with his school after a classmate claimed he was spinning his pencil like a gun

Ethan’s father received startling communication from New Jersey’s Department of Child Protection and Permanency and Department of Children and Families... ...saying they had found an incident of abuse or neglect regarding Ethan because I refused to take him for psychological evaluation

the state is now demanding further evaluation and threatening that if Chaplin doesn’t comply, they will terminate his parental rights and free Ethan up for adoption

Source 1
For more sources, Google "Child Protection Services Threatens To Take 13 Year Old for Twirling Pencil in School"


A thirteen year old boy was sitting in class one day and decided to fiddle with his pencil by twirling it around.
Apparently someone felt he was "twirling it like a gun", so now the state of New Jersey is demanding psychological evaluations and threatening to take the child away from his parents... Literally because he twirled a pencil.
I've read alot of cases of schools acting ridiculously, but this just defies any explanation. This kid is being forced to undergo psychological and medical evaluations and facing the possibility of being taken from his parents... Because he twirled a pencil.
What's going to happen next? Will SWAT teams get sent into schools every time someone clicks a pen, because if you think about it, it might just be someone practicing blowing up the school with a handheld detonator? Seriously.

People need to call in, email, do whatever to make it known that this is NOT acceptable. I think harassment charges should be brought against everyone who is involved in this.

You can write to the NJ governor HERE

This is really one of the dumbest things I've read in awhile. I'm surprised kids are even allowed to have pencils anymore. They can poke.

The response to the 'incident' was so over the top I'm amazed anyone authorized it or took it seriously. Asking the kid to submit a urine sample and a blood test? Threatening to take the child away?

I really hope this is one of those cases where there is a lot more to the story, but so far I haven't seen anything to indicate any action taken was justified.

They need a psychologically evaluated foot up their arse IMO. WTH is wrong with people?

We are slowly moving in a direction where the government has complete say and control over our children. Everyone that does not scream to the rafters every time something like this happens is only helping to promote that movement/agenda.

As a mother myself, I find things like this not only asinine and absurd, but a wee bit scary as well. It's like they are holding children for ransom in cases like this. Do what we say, do what we think is right, or lose your child. It's a real life hostage situation FFS, but since the government is doing it... we can't call it what it is.

There are some heads that need to be examined for sure... but not a damned one of them is this child from what I read here.

a reply to: Kangaruex4Ewe

They need a psychologically evaluated foot up their arse IMO.

"Tell me foot, how does it make you feel knowing you will soon be up someone's ass?"

It is scary. I can usually at least understand motivation for things, but in this case I'm at a loss. Yeah, I kinda get 0 tolerance policies, don't agree with it but I understand the purpose. This is just absurd and should terrify any parents out there. I can't think of much that would be as horrifying to a parent as the threat of taking a child away, and all because some little snot nose used the 'G word'.

The Father seems like a reasonable guy, or at least he certainly did in the interview I saw earlier. I'm not sue happy or a fan but if that had been my child I would have outright refused and lawyered up immediately. I'm actually getting pissed just thinking about it. Jimmies = rustled. It's a kid, even if he was a little smart mouth and kept on twirling involving CPS is just beyond messed up. The language used in that letter was messed up. Yeah, perhaps if a kid is clearly in need of medical attention or has committed some heinous act there need to be repercussions for parents that don't seek help, but come on.

a reply to: Domo1

Have you ever been so pissed off that you stuttered when you tried to talk? That's about the same as I get when I see these things. Seriously. I understand fully your jimmies being rustled. Most of these parents handle it much better than I would. I would probably have been put in jail before the sun set.

I have always been the type that would ask my daughter what she did to cause whatever reaction she would be talking about when she came home from school. Here in my house, she is a perfect angel. I am not so old that I do not remember being an angel in my mother and father's house and acting out when I was in school. So I would go to bat for the teacher over my daughter any day of the week if she was in the wrong.

I am not one of those parents that go to the school every other day asking why the teacher looked at my child cross eyed, why they didn't let her turn her homework in late, etc.

BUT - I will also be the first one to go to bat for my child if she was wronged or mistreated by the teachers. This would be one of those occasions. I do not make a habit of showing up at school and I have only had to do it 3 times in 12 years, but I would have shown up for this and hell would have had no fury. She has 2 years left to graduate. I watch the news daily hoping that she can last those 2 years without incident. I don't want to have to pull her (and she does ask to be pulled) out during her junior and senior years.

School shootings will start happening between the parents and teachers if this shiite keeps escalating. I would bet money on it. A lot of people will take being walked all over that will not stand for the same happening to their own children.

I think they really need to start realizing that "one size fits all" is neither fair nor right, and that needing to control every single aspect of children's behavior/mannerisms is not going to accomplish anything positive from the children or parents. People are not machines and chicken nuggets, pop tarts, and pencils are not firearms. At this rate any movement made by a child can be determined to be threatening and that is just ridiculously so far off the charts stupid it isn't funny.

Geez.. Apologies Domo... I just went on and on. Sorry.

The government needs these stupid cases to go forward to set legal precedent....
Once established they have such authority they hire even more goons to enforce the extra mile they just took, as well as advancing some other assenine case to set us up again.....

Part of the anti-gun agenda must be messing with these kids heads. Live a part of your life, where you're learning social skills, and any thought of possession exposes you to ostracism on a scale unfathomable to a child. You may not win their hearts, but you will end up controlling their minds.

He should thank his lucky stars he didn't do a 'rubber pencil' trick. Who knows what that could have been misinterpreted as!

When I was in the 1st grade, some chap actually stabbed me in the eye with a sharpened pencil. It missed and struck me just below in the fleshy part of the eyelid. I walked to the nurse's office trailing blood. After all was said and done the principal just told him to apologize to me.

I bet that kid would have been locked in Juvie until 18 had we lived in this new world of Draconian rules and hyperbole reaction. It's just getting more ridiculous every day.

Oh yeah. And once this kid actually brought a friggin' machete (I'm not joking) in his backpack to elementary school. I told the teacher because he was showing it off in the playground. He was just asked not to bring it back.

Things are weird. We went from extreme laxity to extreme fascism.

a reply to: trollz

ABSOLUTELY OFF THE WALL OUTRAGEOUS . . . but just the sort of thing that bureaucracy froths at the mouth and fingers over . . .

the sort of thing that gives so many of them wet dreams . . .

the sort of thing that causes them to salivate eagerly anticipating another round of tyranny upon the sheeple . . .

the sort of thing that causes them to exalt that they have finally risen yet again above their Walter Mitty measly existence . . .

the sort of thing that triggers waves of dopamine highs . . .

= = =

Sigh.

originally posted by: Snarl
You may not win their hearts, but you will end up controlling their minds.

I just fear that that's the whole point

originally posted by: NarcolepticBuddha
When I was in the 1st grade, some chap actually stabbed me in the eye with a sharpened pencil. It missed and struck me just below in the fleshy part of the eyelid. I walked to the nurse's office trailing blood. After all was said and done the principal just told him to apologize to me.



I bet that kid would have been locked in Juvie until 18 had we lived in this new world of Draconian rules and hyperbole reaction. It's just getting more ridiculous every day.

Man im not so sure of that, the bullies seldom face any repercussions then or now..its only the innocent that seen be penalized.

Man i am sorry, really i am. I felt compeled to turn you into the authorities for all this talk of pen detonators and blowing up schools with it. Its for the greater good ya see. If you see that gay cake baker there, wherever they take you types, say hi to him for me. Again, i am sorry but obama gave me a new phone and the guy at the welfare office told me there are alot of these right wing crazies running around and to look out for suspicious behavior. And to turn them into the authorities. And if they have kids with them they are probably pedophiles so i did it for the kids. For the kids man. a reply to: trollz

How many truly needy children are being neglected for some politically motivated social worker to act like an idiot ??

How do you spin a pencil like a gun ?????

but but...how does one twirl a pencil like a gun? LOL sad state of affairs, libtards are going to run is into dust

Outrageous, beyond outrageous. Were I parent my kids would be no where near a public school. If they don't get caught up in a shooting they are being treated like they are practicing for it. Freaking lovely.

So let me guess; Now days shooting a spitball at someone is assault with a deadly weapon?

Can't imagine how much trouble a kid would get in for playing army at recess. We used to have bazookas and machine guns.
Somehow I got through life without ever joining the army or shooting anyone with a machine gun.

The worlds gone wonky and there is nothing I can do about it but hide.

Idiocy is the order of the day there now .. without a doubt .. its normal behavior for people to twirl pencils/pens ..
The ones who ordered the psych eval are in serious need of one themselves followed by a nice long stay in a padded room with white wraparound jacket and suitable dose of thorazine ..

All the more reason to homeschool kids these days rather than put them through a state indoctrination center.

Had it been my kid would have laughed and told them what they could do with their psych eval ..

Damn glad I dont live in the states as i have a low stupidity tolerance ..

How the heck do you twirl a pencil like a gun? Unless the kid was pointing it at other people shouting "Bang bang" you would have to have an over active imagination to see it.

What I think really happened? Mom or dad offended some social worker. Maybe mom cut in front of the social worker in line at the grocery store and they overheard the moms name. Social worker tells a friend at the school, "find something, make something up because mom offended my overly inflated ego by cutting in front of me and I want revenge because she didn't realize my self importance."

While that may not be what really happened, I wouldn't say it is far fetched either given the absurdity of the accusations.

originally posted by: Expat888

Had it been my kid would have laughed and told them what they could do with their psych eval ..

That is exactly what they want. Then you to can be classified as a trouble maker and they can then make it even worse for you and your kid.

My friends everywhere you look you see where we lost control of this government . This is yet another example staring us in the face of a government gone wild.

I have seen freedoms vanish over the years. I have grand kids and I am terrified of whats life going to be for them. I may not see it but can imagine last 50 years the next 50 is frightening . To turn this around for me its to late . Just like the lefts mantra for the children if we dont stop this now its our children and grandchildren who will suffer even more. If we dont do it now we are condemning our children to even worse situation.

a reply to: Mamatus

Like said further down .. makes me glad I dont live in the states couldnt pay me enough to ever live there again .. maybe visit some day in the far future if they ever return to sanity and how it was years ago .. left to get away from things like that .. saw back then how it was going .. feel sorry for those who cant leave and have no choice but to try and survive the idiocy ..