Police handcuff kindergartner for tantrum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frankly, unless we were there, we have no idea how exactly this child was reacting, what preceded the incident or what behavioral problems the child might have. The real commentary here is how ill-equipped the administrators of a public school are in dealing with what is truly anticapatable behavior for a six year old. It makes me very sad that the adults handling this child couldn't come up with a more appropriate way to handle the situation. BTW, anyone who knows anything about children would realize that calling the police who at that point handcuff and place the child in a jail cell (even for five minutes) is completely inappropriate. Six year olds with NO behavioral problems are still developing self control. I am really appalled that any grown person thinks this was a good way to handle this situation.

Genuinely wondering, what would you have done? Assuming, of course, you'd already tried all the "duh" ideas: trying to calm her down, restrain her, calling her mom, reasoning with her, etc.

The point is, after working with children for over twenty years, calling the police would have never, EVER even occurred to me even if I had tried all the means you described above. Do you really think the child wouldn't have calmed down after a period of time? If the bear hug approach didn't work, what about placing her in room where she could do no harm to herself or others? This is assuming that this child was really capable of doing serious harm to others. Again, if we don't realize that this is not an indictment of a six year old's behavior but an indictment of how adults handled it, we are lost.

Thanks for this post. It's too bad that educators like you weren't present at the school when this child needed help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Genuinely wondering, what would you have done? Assuming, of course, you'd already tried all the "duh" ideas: trying to calm her down, restrain her, calling her mom, reasoning with her, etc.

The point is, after working with children for over twenty years, calling the police would have never, EVER even occurred to me even if I had tried all the means you described above. Do you really think the child wouldn't have calmed down after a period of time? If the bear hug approach didn't work, what about placing her in room where she could do no harm to herself or others? This is assuming that this child was really capable of doing serious harm to others. Again, if we don't realize that this is not an indictment of a six year old's behavior but an indictment of how adults handled it, we are lost.

How many schools have a room where she could do herself or others no harm? My elementary school doesn't and I would know because my DS has an emotional disability. They also aren't allowed to leave him unattended at any time. This child already showed she was capable of harming others and she clearly had been raging for some time already. She would have started in the classroom. That she continued to do it with the principal indicates that she truly was out of control.

If it wouldn't have occurred to you to call the police, what WOULD you have done? The child is raging, is tearing things off the wall, throwing things, threw a shelf which hit the principal, jumped on a shredder and was trying to break a glass frame. If I were doing all those things, I'd be worn out but she didn't slow down. She was raging and showing no signs of calming. Just what would you have done next? Being handcufffed is better than being pepper sprayed or TASED

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Genuinely wondering, what would you have done? Assuming, of course, you'd already tried all the "duh" ideas: trying to calm her down, restrain her, calling her mom, reasoning with her, etc.

The point is, after working with children for over twenty years, calling the police would have never, EVER even occurred to me even if I had tried all the means you described above. Do you really think the child wouldn't have calmed down after a period of time? If the bear hug approach didn't work, what about placing her in room where she could do no harm to herself or others? This is assuming that this child was really capable of doing serious harm to others. Again, if we don't realize that this is not an indictment of a six year old's behavior but an indictment of how adults handled it, we are lost.

How many schools have a room where she could do herself or others no harm? My elementary school doesn't and I would know because my DS has an emotional disability. They also aren't allowed to leave him unattended at any time. This child already showed she was capable of harming others and she clearly had been raging for some time already. She would have started in the classroom. That she continued to do it with the principal indicates that she truly was out of control.

If it wouldn't have occurred to you to call the police, what WOULD you have done? The child is raging, is tearing things off the wall, throwing things, threw a shelf which hit the principal, jumped on a shredder and was trying to break a glass frame. If I were doing all those things, I'd be worn out but she didn't slow down. She was raging and showing no signs of calming. Just what would you have done next? Being handcufffed is better than being pepper sprayed or TASED

I know there are a lot of people who are horrified by this. I do research on preschool expulsions and interview directors of programs that have to expel children with these types of behaviors. This incident could not have been the first time this child acted out, usually the child will visit the principles office many times, they will develop a plan with the family. And it is when the family is not compliant with the action plan and the incidents escalate that they have to think of the safety of the other children and their staff. I think it is foolish to think that nothing else was tried before calling the police. I have taught kindergarten, it is the year most children start social studies and learn about community helpers. When I had a child display violent behavior and couldn't get them to empathize with the "victim" the next move was to discuss what would the police do, somehow that higher authority above the teacher, principle, and parents made a difference...
I personally think that with the severity of the behaviors and the fact that she was safe from any physical harm the whole time arresting her is teaching her the consequences when you try to hurt someone.

[Anonymous]

I think she should have been transported to child psychiatric ward and not the police station.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Genuinely wondering, what would you have done? Assuming, of course, you'd already tried all the "duh" ideas: trying to calm her down, restrain her, calling her mom, reasoning with her, etc.

The point is, after working with children for over twenty years, calling the police would have never, EVER even occurred to me even if I had tried all the means you described above. Do you really think the child wouldn't have calmed down after a period of time? If the bear hug approach didn't work, what about placing her in room where she could do no harm to herself or others? This is assuming that this child was really capable of doing serious harm to others. Again, if we don't realize that this is not an indictment of a six year old's behavior but an indictment of how adults handled it, we are lost.

How many schools have a room where she could do herself or others no harm? My elementary school doesn't and I would know because my DS has an emotional disability. They also aren't allowed to leave him unattended at any time. This child already showed she was capable of harming others and she clearly had been raging for some time already. She would have started in the classroom. That she continued to do it with the principal indicates that she truly was out of control.

If it wouldn't have occurred to you to call the police, what WOULD you have done? The child is raging, is tearing things off the wall, throwing things, threw a shelf which hit the principal, jumped on a shredder and was trying to break a glass frame. If I were doing all those things, I'd be worn out but she didn't slow down. She was raging and showing no signs of calming. Just what would you have done next? Being handcufffed is better than being pepper sprayed or TASED

As a teacher of children who are emotionally disturbed, if there's a situation where a child is truly raging and can't come down, even with therapeutic restraint and other strategies, then you call for an ambulance, they have ways to safely restrain a child and take them to the hospital where they can receive the medical care they need. An ambulance, which takes a child to medical care is entirely different from a police car taking a child to jail.

That isn't to say that there aren't a million things to try first, which I'm guessing they didn't, but there's no excuse for putting a small child in a jail cell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Genuinely wondering, what would you have done? Assuming, of course, you'd already tried all the "duh" ideas: trying to calm her down, restrain her, calling her mom, reasoning with her, etc.

The point is, after working with children for over twenty years, calling the police would have never, EVER even occurred to me even if I had tried all the means you described above. Do you really think the child wouldn't have calmed down after a period of time? If the bear hug approach didn't work, what about placing her in room where she could do no harm to herself or others? This is assuming that this child was really capable of doing serious harm to others. Again, if we don't realize that this is not an indictment of a six year old's behavior but an indictment of how adults handled it, we are lost.

How many schools have a room where she could do herself or others no harm? My elementary school doesn't and I would know because my DS has an emotional disability. They also aren't allowed to leave him unattended at any time. This child already showed she was capable of harming others and she clearly had been raging for some time already. She would have started in the classroom. That she continued to do it with the principal indicates that she truly was out of control.

If it wouldn't have occurred to you to call the police, what WOULD you have done? The child is raging, is tearing things off the wall, throwing things, threw a shelf which hit the principal, jumped on a shredder and was trying to break a glass frame. If I were doing all those things, I'd be worn out but she didn't slow down. She was raging and showing no signs of calming. Just what would you have done next? Being handcufffed is better than being pepper sprayed or TASED

As a teacher of children who are emotionally disturbed, if there's a situation where a child is truly raging and can't come down, even with therapeutic restraint and other strategies, then you call for an ambulance, they have ways to safely restrain a child and take them to the hospital where they can receive the medical care they need. An ambulance, which takes a child to medical care is entirely different from a police car taking a child to jail.

That isn't to say that there aren't a million things to try first, which I'm guessing they didn't, but there's no excuse for putting a small child in a jail cell.


What I have heard anecdotally is that EMS, at least in DC, will not transport a child from a school to a hospital in these types of situations without parental consent. Again, not sure if this is true, but it would potentially put a wrinkle in these situations when a parent cannot be reached. Do they need a commitment order of some kind to transport absent parental approval?

[Anonymous]

I wonder if the school called 911 and the police responded. Not an ambulance. That's why when I needed to call 911 for my DS, I was sure to give his bipolar status and that he needed an ambulance. I think if I wasn't clear about what I needed just the police would have responded. Instead of an ambulance as well as the police.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point is, after working with children for over twenty years, calling the police would have never, EVER even occurred to me even if I had tried all the means you described above. Do you really think the child wouldn't have calmed down after a period of time? If the bear hug approach didn't work, what about placing her in room where she could do no harm to herself or others? This is assuming that this child was really capable of doing serious harm to others. Again, if we don't realize that this is not an indictment of a six year old's behavior but an indictment of how adults handled it, we are lost.

You're assuming this was a "normal" child. No, she would not have necessarily have just "calmed down" eventually-- and what if she hurt herself or someone else in the mean time? Your 20 years of experience doesn't add up to a hill of beans if someone ends up seriously injured.

I agree, and I'm an educator.

Imagine YOUR child being in that class. I wonder how calm you would be if that same incident occurred in your child's classroom. Who cares what the root of the behavior is at that point; get her out of the room and find help. Calling an ambulance would have been the right thing to do if restraining her didn't calm her down.

You do what you can to protect the majority. simple fact . . .

Should I let a fight occur btw. two senior boys in my classroom b/c it would seem too outrageous to call security - and perhaps even the police? (which has happened in my school)

No wonder the system is falling apart at the seems. You can't save the world, hon, but you can do your best to ensure that most feel secure in their environment - b/c w/o a safe environment, there's no learning going on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the school called 911 and the police responded. Not an ambulance. That's why when I needed to call 911 for my DS, I was sure to give his bipolar status and that he needed an ambulance. I think if I wasn't clear about what I needed just the police would have responded. Instead of an ambulance as well as the police.

Then the police officer calls for an ambulance when they realize the situation. Police officers are required to be in good physical condition, and are trained in physical management. Surely they can safely hold a tantrumming child long enough for an ambulance to come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Genuinely wondering, what would you have done? Assuming, of course, you'd already tried all the "duh" ideas: trying to calm her down, restrain her, calling her mom, reasoning with her, etc.

The point is, after working with children for over twenty years, calling the police would have never, EVER even occurred to me even if I had tried all the means you described above. Do you really think the child wouldn't have calmed down after a period of time? If the bear hug approach didn't work, what about placing her in room where she could do no harm to herself or others? This is assuming that this child was really capable of doing serious harm to others. Again, if we don't realize that this is not an indictment of a six year old's behavior but an indictment of how adults handled it, we are lost.

How many schools have a room where she could do herself or others no harm? My elementary school doesn't and I would know because my DS has an emotional disability. They also aren't allowed to leave him unattended at any time. This child already showed she was capable of harming others and she clearly had been raging for some time already. She would have started in the classroom. That she continued to do it with the principal indicates that she truly was out of control.

If it wouldn't have occurred to you to call the police, what WOULD you have done? The child is raging, is tearing things off the wall, throwing things, threw a shelf which hit the principal, jumped on a shredder and was trying to break a glass frame. If I were doing all those things, I'd be worn out but she didn't slow down. She was raging and showing no signs of calming. Just what would you have done next? Being handcufffed is better than being pepper sprayed or TASED

As a teacher of children who are emotionally disturbed, if there's a situation where a child is truly raging and can't come down, even with therapeutic restraint and other strategies, then you call for an ambulance, they have ways to safely restrain a child and take them to the hospital where they can receive the medical care they need. An ambulance, which takes a child to medical care is entirely different from a police car taking a child to jail.

That isn't to say that there aren't a million things to try first, which I'm guessing they didn't, but there's no excuse for putting a small child in a jail cell.

What I have heard anecdotally is that EMS, at least in DC, will not transport a child from a school to a hospital in these types of situations without parental consent. Again, not sure if this is true, but it would potentially put a wrinkle in these situations when a parent cannot be reached. Do they need a commitment order of some kind to transport absent parental approval?

No, they don't. I speak from experience. EMS is hesitant to transport a child for any reason without parental consent, when it's not a situation where a child needs immediate care. So, if the child has calmed down when they arrive, or if they can talk the child down, they may not transport, or wait until a parent can be reached, in the same way that they may suggest waiting for parents for a child who needs minor stitches or has a sprained ankle. But if the child is in immediate danger because they can't be calmed down they will transport. It's rare but I've seen it happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point is, after working with children for over twenty years, calling the police would have never, EVER even occurred to me even if I had tried all the means you described above. Do you really think the child wouldn't have calmed down after a period of time? If the bear hug approach didn't work, what about placing her in room where she could do no harm to herself or others? This is assuming that this child was really capable of doing serious harm to others. Again, if we don't realize that this is not an indictment of a six year old's behavior but an indictment of how adults handled it, we are lost.

You're assuming this was a "normal" child. No, she would not have necessarily have just "calmed down" eventually-- and what if she hurt herself or someone else in the mean time? Your 20 years of experience doesn't add up to a hill of beans if someone ends up seriously injured.

I agree, and I'm an educator.

Imagine YOUR child being in that class. I wonder how calm you would be if that same incident occurred in your child's classroom. Who cares what the root of the behavior is at that point; get her out of the room and find help. Calling an ambulance would have been the right thing to do if restraining her didn't calm her down.

You do what you can to protect the majority. simple fact . . .

Should I let a fight occur btw. two senior boys in my classroom b/c it would seem too outrageous to call security - and perhaps even the police? (which has happened in my school)

No wonder the system is falling apart at the seems. You can't save the world, hon, but you can do your best to ensure that most feel secure in their environment - b/c w/o a safe environment, there's no learning going on.

If my child was in that class, I'd have a vested interest in knowing that the kid was getting help that was research based and likely to work, because she'll surely be back.. Scared straight programs don't work, research shows that. Kids don't get the message "Don't do that" they get the message that "you're the kind of person who belongs in jail" and they conform their behavior to the expectations. Furthermore, destroying the school's relationship with the parent isn't going to help.

[Anonymous]

We had a child in my sons class physically assaulted a teacher and the class needed to be evacuated. I happened to be volunteering that day and saw how everything had gone down. As all the kids were evacuating the room for safety reasons, the child threw a chair and an easel at the principal and the guidance counselor. It was pretty scary and it started a huge online debate with the parents on how everything should be handled. The boy was suspended and the mother went directly to the police to obtain restraining orders against the teacher and principal. The parent even called the teacher a racist. That's not the case. She adored my child that was the same race as the other child.

I wound up writing a letter to the entire school board voicing my concerns with this child my thought that a mainstream school may not be for him. I also wrote a letter of recommendation for the teacher. She's awesome and always on top of things. She treats every child in that class equally and I was prepared to testify if it came to that. The child returned to school the next year and with a new administration the parent was still having to adjust her schedule to accommodate all the suspensions. She couldn't use the race card though because now everyone involved was African American. The child was eventually put into another school. The mother is in denial about her child's issues and I can only hope she has now gotten the care her child so desperately needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frankly, unless we were there, we have no idea how exactly this child was reacting, what preceded the incident or what behavioral problems the child might have. The real commentary here is how ill-equipped the administrators of a public school are in dealing with what is truly anticapatable behavior for a six year old. It makes me very sad that the adults handling this child couldn't come up with a more appropriate way to handle the situation. BTW, anyone who knows anything about children would realize that calling the police who at that point handcuff and place the child in a jail cell (even for five minutes) is completely inappropriate. Six year olds with NO behavioral problems are still developing self control. I am really appalled that any grown person thinks this was a good way to handle this situation.

You should reread your first sentence before you go being appalled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the school called 911 and the police responded. Not an ambulance. That's why when I needed to call 911 for my DS, I was sure to give his bipolar status and that he needed an ambulance. I think if I wasn't clear about what I needed just the police would have responded. Instead of an ambulance as well as the police.

Then the police officer calls for an ambulance when they realize the situation. Police officers are required to be in good physical condition, and are trained in physical management. Surely they can safely hold a tantrumming child long enough for an ambulance to come.

I'm guessing you don't spend a lot of time in DC, and have little exposure to the MPD. Good physical condition isn't how I'd describe many of them.

But anyway - you're OK, with a police officer (or a staff member) physically restraining a child for an extended period of time, but not handcuffs? I really don't see the difference, except that I think there's a greater likelihood of the child being injured while being restrained by an adult than by handcuffs. As for transporting to jail, I agree that wasn't the right move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the school called 911 and the police responded. Not an ambulance. That's why when I needed to call 911 for my DS, I was sure to give his bipolar status and that he needed an ambulance. I think if I wasn't clear about what I needed just the police would have responded. Instead of an ambulance as well as the police.

Then the police officer calls for an ambulance when they realize the situation. Police officers are required to be in good physical condition, and are trained in physical management. Surely they can safely hold a tantrumming child long enough for an ambulance to come.

I'm guessing you don't spend a lot of time in DC, and have little exposure to the MPD. Good physical condition isn't how I'd describe many of them.

But anyway - you're OK, with a police officer (or a staff member) physically restraining a child for an extended period of time, but not handcuffs? I really don't see the difference, except that I think there's a greater likelihood of the child being injured while being restrained by an adult than by handcuffs. As for transporting to jail, I agree that wasn't the right move.

There are way too many out of shape cops around and the cops should have called for an ambulance.