Another little kiddo arrested

This time she was charged with assault and destruction of property.

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/article/178448/175/Milledgeville-Police-Handcuff-6-Year-Old-Girl

 

I used to have some neighbors who had a kid like this. I would have NO PROBLEM with the police handcuffing him. He was an extreme danger to everyone around him. He threw a paper cutter at his kindergarten teacher. He threw a huge chunk of concrete at my 5 year old son's face and split his lip clear through to the gums. When we read these stories, we may think about our own sweet little 6 year olds, but some of these children are dangerous enough to kill other children and need to be retrained in whatever way necessary.

 

I recently watched a Dr. Phil show about a 7-9 year old boy who had almost killed his little brother 2 or 3 times, he chokes him, burned him with an iron, punched him and so on. Yes, she was 6, and that's aweful, but look at her behavior. The article is very vague on HOW she was calmed. Did they just say, "Calm down, kid. Calm down, Kid." or did they honestly try and comfort her, and reassure her to find out what the issue is? I would have called the parent and asked the parent to talk to her on the phone, and if the child refused then have the parent come and get her. I understand where behavior like that is dangerous, but at the same time was it THAT dangerous? or could they have done things differently? What caused it? What calming techniques did they try? It's vague.

 

This is the path my son was on before we pulled him. He had major meltdowns that would require DH or I to pick him up. I can totally see the school calling in police for him if he continued there. And I can understand, to a point, that they have to keep others safe. BUT, the reason he was having major meltdowns at school was because of the way the school was dealing with him. Had they handled things with him differently from the beginning, he never would have gotten to the point he was when we pulled him. Within a month of coming home, his meltdowns were pretty much nonexistent. What he needed most was to be home with his mom!
Makes me wonder what this little girl is going through at school that is causing her to behave in such an extreme way.

 

Irrelevant, Mom2Scouts.

A child like that, assuming she really is "like that," is certainly not in a position of maturity to comprehend things like assault charges. This is NOT criminal behavior. This is a little girl having a hissy fit. Calling it criminal says, "this behavior is not age-appropriate." When really a 6 year old having a fit is entirely age-appropriate.

On the other hand, maybe she's not "like that" at all. It says she knocked down the bookcase, which is how the principal got hurt. That doesn't sound like she hurt the woman on purpose. She had a fit, somehow knocked down the bookshelf (which may or may not have been an accident) and the result was unintended. That's a far cry from the little boy who intentionally threw the paper cutter at his teacher.

 

Yep. But it couldn't possibly be the school's fault! The onus of responsibility sits entirely on the tiny shoulders of this little girl. :roll:

 

Yes, but in the story she didn't *just* "accidentally" knock over a bookshelf during a tantrum. It says "The report says the girl knocked over a shelf that injured the principal. It also says she was seen biting the door knob of the office and jumping on the paper shredder. And, it says, she attempted to break a glass frame above the shredder." Believe me, I'm no fan of how the public schools deal with behavior issues and I have a son who could throw tantrums better than any child I've ever seen, but this behavior goes beyond "age appropriate" and is both dangerous and destructive. I would much rather see her be handcuffed than have her going to the hospital with cuts from broken glass.

 

First, when I read this story early this morning, that information was not included (neither was the video). They have updated the link since then. Which is great! I'm all for more information.

Second, another of my friends asked a great question: why wasn't an ambulance called? Clearly this little girl was mentally disturbed enough to be a danger to herself and others. Individuals who are mentally disturbed need medical assistance, not assault charges. Especially if her "mood swings" are often like this and are not being treated. This little one needs help, not handcuffs. Or handcuffs will forever be in her future.

 

I just saw this on yahoo. Its interesting how many of the comments were against the girl, saying that all she needed was a good "whopping".

The handcuffs are more for the police, I think, than the little girl. A couple of grown men cannot hold down a little girl? Sure they can. But in our sue-happy society, the police department will be charged with brutality or worse, so to protect themselves, they "follow procedure"...

I agree with ActressDancer that they should have called in some mental health professionals.

 

I just read on FB that the school tried to call the parents six times before calling the the police.
Mood swings or not, this child needed handcuffs in order to keep her from injuring herself or another person. Getting her help is a must, but to keep her from injuring herself or another person, she had to be restrained. I do not see this as a case where the child is being wrongfully charged as a criminal as much as the police had to do what was in the best interest of everybody involved. It isn't the polices duty to get the girl help. It is their duty to maintain the peace and if this child was uncontrollable, then again, it was for the best of all involved. Now that her "mood swings" have be been brought out for all to see, maybe now the young girl will receive the help she needs.

I am wondering if these are mood swings or if she a product of her home environment? Interesting.

 

Something else popped into mind, even if an ambulance was called, she still would have been restrained. What does it matter how she was restrained?

 

If the child was as out of control as we are reading, then it is pausible that a health professional would have had the child restrained with a jacket instead.

 

Just watched the video, and they lost me in the first few seconds.
Little girl: " They called the police for no reason."

Really?? Regardless of whether or not the police should have handcuffed her, should you not talk to your child and let her know that she did something wrong? And have her admit she did something wrong and be sorry for that!!??

When my kindergartner sometimes came home from ps saying Mrs C. didn't let me play at recess today, my first question was always "what did you do?"

What happened to teaching children to take responsibility for their actions. And 6 years old is NOT too young for her to understand she did something wrong!

 

SHE WAS ARRESTED AND CHARGED WITH ASSAULT!

That's not just a case of the police restraining her for her own good.

Yes, a mental health professional would have restrained her. I'm 100% ok with that. I am not OK with a 6yo having a criminal record over this. I agree that she was in the wrong, and that she should be punished and made to understand that her behavior was unacceptable. That's not the same as being a criminal.

 

Absolutely!

From what I have read, the parents are focusing on the child being handcuffed and forgetting about what caused the problem in the first place.
Obviously this isn't her first "mood swing". This is why I wonder if this is a part of the child's home environment or if her parents are neglecting a serious mental or emotional problem with their child.

 

Charging her as a criminal at her age isn't right. Cuffing her was right!
She HAD to be restrained for her own protection.

 

According to CNN:

"The 6-year-old was initially charged as a juvenile with simple battery of a schoolteacher and criminal damage to property, but the police chief said at a news conference Tuesday the girl would not be charged because of her age"

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/17/justice/georgia-student-handcuffed/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

 

Not having read everyone's comments....

1) We had a first grader in my friend's daughter's class. This child had the class and teacher cowering in the middle of the room while she had her tantrum, turning over desks and throwing chairs. Sometimes drastic behavior needs drastic measures.

2) The school REPEATEDLY tried to reach the parents.

3) Sounds to me as if the child intentionally knocked over the bookcase, but perhaps I'm reading into it.

4) While I don't necessarily agree that charges need to be filed, the parents need to have some sort of behaviorist in to help with this sort of behavior. They and the school needs to come to some understanding IN WRITING of how to appropriately deal with her when she goes into meltdown. THIS WOULD INCLUDE WHAT TO DO IF THE PARENTS ARE NOT ABLE TO BE REACHED.

5) Exactly at what point DO you call the police? When she hurts another child? And then the parents are yelling that the school allowed a dangerous situation, and failed in protecting the other children....

 

I'm glad more info is coming out about this....I imagine this child has severe issues, and they did what they did because they NEEDED to. This actually doesn't sound TOO outlandish if she was as out of control and as destructive as it appears. If it were my kid I would WANT them to do something to restrain her. Cuffs, jacket, etc....

 

Just guessing here, but I bet the school has been trying to deal with her behavior for some time, and the parents are refusing to accept that it's over the top. Maybe it was the only way to force the parents to see the seriousness of the situation. Also, with charges being filed, the emotional help (or whatever) might be court-ordered. The parents MUST comply. Just a thought. (And yes, I do understand the charges were dropped.)