First-Grader Arrested, Handcuffed After Fight

Kids fought when I was little too, but times are different and bullies are different. Nobody came to school and shot as many people as they could when I was a kid. None of the boys were killing or raping younger children. We scuffled. I don't think it's a police state at all. I just think things are getting way too out of control and people want something done about it. There are some seriously bad parents out there. This kid's parents probably thought it was just fine. I bet they wouldn't even have done anything about it. Now the police did something, and the problem is, it's made it worse because now the parents are going to make the child think that he should pay no price for this behavior. Bottom line, children can't and shouldn't be allowed to go around hitting each other. Parents only seem to teach the "you'll get in trouble if you get caught" message instead of the "it's wrong" message. I've never become friends with anyone I threw down with, never. It made things worse because once it crossed that line into physical violence with no real consequences to either of us, it was 'gloves off'.

I heard a woman at Wal-Mart one time talking with her daughter about a boy at school who had hit a girl she was friends with. Her mother said "he should know not to hit girls". I said "I'm sorry to interrupt, but, nobody should hit anybody, no matter whether they're a boy or girl, don't you think?". She said that was true, but said it like someone who has suddenly realized something brand new. Why is this such a tough concept? People think this is a silly situation, but for all we know this kid could be a bully. Physical violence shouldn't be considered a right of passage or a part of growing up. It is wrong and shouldn't be tolerated.

I agree with IBM. If the parents won't deal with it, the cops have to. I'm willing to guess that this isn't the first time this kid's taken a fist to someone. Maybe the cops can scare it out of him now so that somebody bigger doesn't beat it out of him later.

I must admit that I am surprised. That 8 year old was fighting a 10 year old. I would have thought the older one would have kicked the snot out of the younger one. It would have happened that way in the early 1960's Ohio when I was 10. But no, you call the Law these days. Probably drag Childrens Services or whatever they call it in Florida into the fracas. GEEEEZZZZ I hate some of this Passive Political Correctness.

HES AN 8 YEAR OLD BOY! LOL when i was that little there was a fight everyday in my neighborhood and no 1 that young ever got arrested and my step dad was a police man this is getting out of hand. big deal he bitch slapped another boy cause they got in a dispute people did that all the time an never got in trouble.

Age and size have little to do with who "wins". It's aggression. So I guess if your kid gets knocked around you should just let it slide. What's the age limit on letting it slide? 10? 14? There are 10 year olds who beat and kill toddlers, but they're only 10, so when should someone have begun worrying about their behavior? Sure, in the good old days it usually stopped at a scuffle and then was over, unless the instigator was a bully, and even then nothing was done. So at what point do we worry about it? At what age does your kid come home beaten up and you stop passing it off as "kids being kids"? I see this as part of the problem. People don't take it seriously, even when it's systematic bullying. How many years of a kid's life have to be spent on a wire every day waiting to get beaten up by "just a boy being a boy" until it's taken care of? I'm not talking about this specific case, though the boy in question could have been a regulation bully for all I know. I'm talking about the general attitude of letting children engage in violence against each other and letting it pass. I've even seen people congratulate their kid for "getting the best of 'em" in a fight. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

Do you people think that the individual police men enjoy responding to these calls? Do you think they feel it is best solution for them taking these children to the juvenile center in order to solve the problem? Hell no, cops think you know. These kinds of situations irritate them. The only reason they don't tell the parents off is because unfortunately it would put their job on the line. What happens when an officer is called to a situation like this. While hes playing the parent part his partner or friend on the force was killed on the other side of town trying to stop an armed robbery. I can imagine what he would later say to the parent who did not know how to discipline their own child that they needed to call the police. Cops are not all just mindless drones of the government people.

Most of them hate their job. Everyday all day they have to patrol, infiltrate, respond, mediate and whatever else to the worst people in the worst areas of our society. It gets annoying.

[edit on 10/8/2004 by DYepes]

Hey...your society feeds them violence on TV,,,,news,tv shows, cartoons, sports,,,,yes sports and the kids are vaccinated with god knows what,,,,the ritlin/behaviour problem children are born.

Ya dont like the violence,,,quit pushing it and quit injecting them with things that may produce this behaviour. I know I know,,,,blame the parents,,,the ones that both have to work to make ends meet nowadays. Perhaps when we get these implantable microchips going in society the parents can log in to the childs chip and get a brainwave reading on his behaviour....whacha think?

I know, The parents can keep the children from all the media stuff and its all their fault assume the responibility and quit blaming.

Some of you remind me of doctors.....you can present the medicine to mask the ailment but you are clueless when it comes to the cause.

Yes, blame the parents. Too bad if they have to work and make ends meet... they had the child. If they can't handle it, they shouldn't have it. It's not like buying a puppy and finding you don't have enough time to walk it for an hour a day so you put it out in a fenced yard. It's a child which will grow into an adult. It will either be the adult that marries your daughter or the one that rapes her. Extreme example, but for this I believe we need to deal in extremes. These aren't care bears that will collect dust on a shelf once the owner's interest wanes. They're children. They need to be raised, not just taken care of. It's more than just feeding them and making sure they're not bleeding or in pain. More than teaching them to walk, speak, read and write. They need to be taught how to be a decent person. Taught not to hit because it's wrong, not because they'll get in trouble if caught. They need to be monitored and cultivated. If the parent isn't willing or able to do that, they shouldn't have the child. Society pays a high price for failed parenting.