Kindergartner handcuffed, taken to police station after allegedly throwing tantrum

Originally posted by artistpoet

Originally posted by MattNC

Originally posted by artistpoet


I have worked on projects with so called wild out of control kids - It is how you deal with them that affects their behavior. If I had called the cops they would have laughed at me - quite rightly too.
If you can not deal with a naughty 6 year old - you should not be in the job.

edit on 17-4-2012 by artistpoet because: (no reason given)

The violent and destructive behavior had gone past naughty. That's clear to any intelligent person.

Any intelligent person would not have allowed it to get that far clearly

yes, should have expelled the child long ago.

reply to post by MattNC



Oh so now you are judge and jury - What sparked the incident in the first place?
how we she spoken to - why was she obviously so upset - No just call the cops or expel her problem solved the lazy way

Funny how all the bleeding hearts on here want to blame everyone but the child and the parents, and pretend all the kid needed was a 'time out'.

These are the same parents who will sue the school if the teacher discipline the child.

If this is your philosophy of 'parenting'. to blame everyone else and never discipline your child, please dont have kids, and PLEASE dont send em to public school if you do.

reply to post by AshleyD


I agree, and I haven't got a big issue with the part where they restrain her by putting handcuffs on. At least they didn't manhandle her and force her to the ground. This was a non-violent and calm response on the part of the police officer, at least that's what I gather from the article and the police incident report.

However, I do not see the need bringing the child down to the police station and raising criminal charges against her. This is an absurd reaction to a childs temper tantrum, it could and should be resolved quietly between the school and the parents.

That said, the school should've handled this between themselves and the parents in the first place. Contacting the police on the count of a small temper tantrum is escalating a managable situation to the extremely absurd. If there was any serious issues regarding replacing or paying for the damages she caused, they could've taken legal actions at a later time.

Originally posted by Droogie
the school should've handled this between themselves and the parents in the first place. Contacting the police on the count of a small temper tantrum is escalating a managable situation to the extremely absurd. If there was any serious issues regarding replacing or paying for the damages she caused, they could've taken legal actions at a later time.

Calling the parents was likely the first response.

But if they arent around, what other option is there?

Other than drugging or 'time outs' of course, as others suggest.

reply to post by Droogie


Yeah, I was confused about putting her in a holding cell. That seemed to be a bit too much.

However, she won't be charged, the article states.

I guess they had to take her away from the school and put her somewhere after numerous attempts to get in touch with the mother failed? I personally would have held her in an office if she had calmed down or even the police car if she was completely destructive.

I feel bad for everyone involved including the child, the parents, the school staff, and the police.

Originally posted by artistpoet


Oh so now you are judge and jury - What sparked the incident in the first place?
how we she spoken to - why was she obviously so upset - No just call the cops or expel her problem solved the lazy way

The non-lawsuit way.

Originally posted by stanguilles7
Funny how all the bleeding hearts on here want to blame everyone but the child and the parents, and pretend all the kid needed was a 'time out'.

These are the same parents who will sue the school if the teacher discipline the child.

If this is your philosophy of 'parenting'. to blame everyone else and never discipline your child, please dont have kids, and PLEASE dont send em to public school if you do.

edit on 17-4-2012 by stanguilles7 because: (no reason given)

Bleeding Hearts - Whom do you refer to - discipline is one thing - being arrested at 6 by cops for being naughty shows the school is not capable of handling the children placed in it's care.
Bleeding hearts who - Bleeding hearts "Oh please help us officer a little girl is running amok" Pathetic

reply to post by stanguilles7


I would imagine teachers and principals are trained in how to deal with conflicts such as this, and they could've found a way to deal with the situation until they found someone in the family. I think the police managed to get ahold of an aunt who were supposed to meet and pick up the girl at the police station. Why the school didn't think of contacting another family member is beyond me.

Originally posted by AshleyD
reply to post by Droogie

 

However, she won't be charged, the article states.

Well, at least that's something.

I feel bad for everyone involved including the child, the parents, the school staff, and the police.

Situations like this must be uncomfortable for everyone involved. I just hope the media doesn't blow the whole thing out of proportions.

Here's an additional news link with a video response from the family, as well as a link to the police incident report. Didn't read the one in the OP thoroughly.
Additional news link

Originally posted by Droogie
reply to post by stanguilles7

 

I would imagine teachers and principals are trained in how to deal with conflicts such as this, and they could've found a way to deal with the situation until they found someone in the family. I think the police managed to get ahold of an aunt who were supposed to meet and pick up the girl at the police station. Why the school didn't think of contacting another family member is beyond me.

How do you know they didnt?

And what SPECIFIC actions do you think the teachers and principals should have engaged in that they didnt? More soft talking and 'time outs'?

Originally posted by artistpoet


being arrested at 6 by cops for being naughty shows the school is not capable of handling the children placed in it's care.
Bleeding hearts who - Bleeding hearts "Oh please help us officer a little girl is running amok" Pathetic

'naughty'. lol

This was more than 'naughty'. You should actually read past the headline before forming an opinion. This child was breaking things, tore a bookshelf of a wall, and injured an adult.

reply to post by greeneyedleo

Exactly,the safety of the other children is of just as much importance.This seems like a drastic situation,certainly not something we will see happen every second day,so drastic measures had to be used.I do think,the child need not have been taken to the police department,maybe after she was handcuffed,she might eventually have calmed down,i just dont know,however,something was seriously wrong here.Biting on doorknobs-she sounds possessed,quite frankly.

The thing is,this child will need to undergo some pretty intensive counselling,to get behind the root of this violent,bizarre behavior( i have raised 3 kids,i do know what constitutes a normal tantrum.This is not normal.) If the cause can be determined while she is still so young,it is most likely that she can be treated with great success,or if there is a situation at home causing this,it can be remedied.

IF it is simply her idea of "having a bad day" then blame the people who have made it illegal for teachers to physically intervene in such situations-the politically correct crowd.Its because parents cannot give there out- of -control kids a good old-fashioned paddling on the backside,without being accused of child abuse,for trying to instill discipline in a way that has stood humanity in good stead for thousands of years.Why do you all think the world has become so fooked-up? Because people are too afraid of the good tried and tested way of bringing up children-when i was a kid,we even got paddled at school if we misbehaved in a way that disrupted the class-and you never had a parent trying to sue the school,or such bs.It was accepted that if you could not behave like a civilised person at least in public,and especially if you endangered others through your behavior-the consequences would have been swift and certain.And yes,from kindergarten-it is never too early to teach children how civilised people are expected to behave,and respect for others and their property.

Either way,social services would do well to have a long good look at this child and her home circumstances,just in case there is some abuse.Propably not,most likely a case of lazy/overly pc/uninvolved parents raising a child thats going to get into trouble with the law, often in her life.And hurt innocent people along the way.

What really gets my goat-paddling/smacking a naughty,out-of-control child,is,according to the ridiculous pc view,"disrespecting" or "humiliating" or infinging on the human rights of the child..So,you raise kids who has no respect for anyone or anything,with no idea of how far its safe to push any particular envelope-TILL one day they take out their little tantrum on the wrong person and gets shot and killed.More respectful to your child to teach them decent acceptable behaviour with lots of parental involvement,advice,discussions,teaching of how the world really works,and if necessary,occasionally a few good smacks on the backside.THAT is not abuse,its part of good responsible parenting.

good, i hope they put her in a cell over night

reply to post by stanguilles7


The police isolated her by putting her in a holding room and offered her a coke while she calmed down, I assume the school could've done something similar? Without the coke, though.

I'm also interested in what caused the girl's tantrum in the first place, but I can't seem to find any information about it. It should bear some relevance to the story.

Originally posted by Droogie
reply to post by stanguilles7

 

The police isolated her by putting her in a holding room and offered her a coke while she calmed down, I assume the school could've done something similar?

I would imagine the schools concern with forcibly detaining a child i they would be sued.

Had that not occurred to you??

What I got from this article was a sense that this child is out of control. Mom is calling it 'mood swings.' Normal children have mood swings but to me a tantrum is a two year old stomping their feet and crying to get their way. A 6 year old acting violent and getting a slap on the wrist will result in an out of control teenager. I'm sorry but I believe the parents should be looked into. Why does this 6 year old have so much rage? Does she have mental issues? Is there underlying abuse that no one knows of? I believe the only reason she was handcuffed was to keep her from hurting herself in the back of the car. This mom seems like the type to sue at the first instance of wrong doing but if we looked at her parenting skills I don't think she would win mother of the year award. If I was a teacher and a child was acting this way and endangering other students it would be hard for me to simply sit the child in time out. Do you really think the girl would have sat in time out? This is a touchy subject but putting all the blame on the police and teachers (who are probably the only ones that have ever actually disciplined this child) is completely screwed up. So many people don't raise their kids anymore. They just let them grow up. This is the result.

Originally posted by MeesterB
I wonder if she will grow up with a healthy fear of authority and become a productive, law-abiding citizen.

I bet this girl will think twice before throwing a tantrum because, oh yeah! actions have consequences. Seems some parents are afraid to instill that truth

Edit: mom: "put your seatbelt on or you wont get that new video game!" kid: "No! I hate you!"
OR mom: "put your seatbelt on or the cops are taking you to jail" *click*

edit on 4/17/2012 by MeesterB because: (no reason given)

Im sorry but fear is a bad motivator. It will in end in violence when the person get to a point where they do not care anymore. This kid will probably always hate the police after this. This will only make people more susspicouss of the police force. And ones the reputation/true respect is gone then the police is just a group of bullies. Time for the police to look over their actions

reply to post by lindsay1984


On the basis of a news report, I wish you would stop assuming that this is about mental disorders, abuse and a lack of parenting. It's a news report, not an individual psychological report on the child.

This may be the result of a frustrated child that doesn't feel the adults are listening to her, that her feelings aren't taken into consideration, and that she is being treated unfairly. I think this is a more fair approach than attributing it to the aweful things you just mentioned, right off the bat.

That's why it's interesting to know what caused the tantrum, it may shed some light on why she acted like that.

reply to post by Droogie


So you are saying there is no reason for me to assume that this level of rage is not alarming? I don't know any 6 year olds that act like that. She could have been upset with something that had just happened at school but why did she fly off the handle like that. You are saying this type of tantrum is normal? I have two children and if either one of them acted like that I think it would be safe to say that people would be questioning my parenting skills and also asking what is wrong with my child.

And I didn't say it was for sure a mental disorder, I just asked if it could be that.

This is an unfortunate incident, but most of y'all have never seen a kid with psychological problems have a mega melt-down. They become out-of-control very quickly, they are full of adrenaline, making them somewhat stronger, and short of initiating bodily restraint procedures which are risky not only to the staff but also the child, I think they had no other choice than to call the police.

If the staff restrains the child and she is injured, the school could be held liable in a court of law. By calling the police and making them do it, the school takes care of the issue and cannot be sued.

If this kid was capable of pulling down bookshelves and causing injury, it could have been so much worse. So, in this case, I would agree that it was the proper thing to do, only because I have worked in situations in which kids could (and did) go wacko very quickly, and even though they're small, they can be dangerous. Biting, scratching, kicking, throwing things, you name it. We always taught ways to avoid being injured while avoiding injury to the tantruming patient, and told to call the cops if things got too crazy.

There are two places I think blame should be placed:

1. Our current sue-happy culture, where schools are terrified to do the right thing for fear of being sued.

2. This kid's parents, for not nipping this type of nasty, tantruming behavior in the bud before she started public school. This kid learned that having melt-downs will get her what she wants (or get her out of situations she doesn't want to be in). Imagine this kid in a few years, and the damage she can do to her fellow students, teachers and staff. Children's bites are a big cause of e-coli and staph infections, because they don't wash their hands after using the restroom and then put their fingers in their mouths. It's safer to be bitten by a dog.

Stop imagining a sweet little 6 year old in a cute dress and mary janes, and imagine a kid (perhaps bigger than most kids her age) with psychological problems, a nasty, mean temperament, and a shrieking voice straight from hell. Imagine her injuring her classmates, pulling hair, punching, biting, screaming, kicking, and all hell breaking loose as all attempts to calm her down have failed and the tantruming continues for over 20 minutes.

Now imagine this kid at home doing the same thing, and her parents cave immediately and give her what she wants or placates her with candy or soda pop.

Here we have the poster child for our modern American culture and the poster parents for people who pop out kids like puppies but have no idea how to handle the monsters they create.