In Port St. Lucie, Florida recently, a six year old was handcuffed (actually, one handcuff was put over both hands - she was a little girl), and hauled off to a mental facility. The parents were all hysterical and angry that their "little baby" was treated this way.The mother, who works in day care, said
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with my child."
Her father said that what happened to his daughter was
"just wrong."
The school contacted this little girl's parents several times about setting up a meeting to discuss her violent behavior in the classroom, but they never showed up. Hmmmm. Here's what happened on that particular day: The kid had yet another tantrum in the classroom after the teacher simply asked her to do something, and the girl was taken to the principal's office. The principal, 8 months pregnant, endured the kid yelling, throwing things, kicking the wall, throwing a calculator, electric pencil sharpener, telephone, container of writing utensils and everything else on the desk. The kid then physically attacked the pregnant principal, who called the police. In my opinion, the police and the principal did exactly the right thing. Leave it up to the medical authorities to determine whether this girl is being extremely poorly parented or in need of mental health treatment. There are those who cry over how little this girl is and wring their hands and say that there must have been some other way. No, there wasn't. The parents did not take responsibility, and their shame was delivered as arrogance as they sought sympathy (and probably a lawsuit). The school is supposed to be a safe place. This girl was, and is, a threat to other students, the faculty, and herself. I stand behind the school, the teacher, and the principal. I wish we could arrest the parents for negligence in letting their daughter's behavior get this far.
